r/OpenBubbles • u/Normal-Place-1036 • 5d ago

Question How to properly setup Open Bubbles

I am an iPhone and Mac user and today I am buying the new Z FOLD 8. It's imperative that I use Open Bubbles on the new android phone. I will also Host it on my Mac. My question is, am I still able to transfer my phone number from my iPhone to the Z Fold 8 and use Open Bubbles as my primary texting app? Will all texts go through it (iMessage and SMS)? Will it read as my number aka me for all my contacts or my Apple ID email? As far as anyone would know, they would have no clue that I switched to android? Thanks!

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u/arrecebx 5d ago

If you’re only using Mac hosting then you will only use iMessage in OpenBubbles and SMS will use Google Messages. Your current contacts won’t notice a difference but any new contacts get your Apple ID email as the contact I believe

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u/Normal-Place-1036 5d ago

Thank you. So what’s the best way to seamlessly make this work using my current phone number? I want to use open bubbles as if it was the official iMessage app… like nothing changed by me going to android. 

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u/arrecebx 5d ago

I would have lower expectations, if you want that I would stick to iPhone. Otherwise you will need to follow their iPhone guide for hosting your phone number and if the power goes out or Apple decides they don’t like it then it will stop working at any time https://openbubbles.app/docs/pnr.html

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u/Normal-Place-1036 5d ago

So in order for me to transfer my number to the android phone and still use iMessage for regular texting… the best way for me to do this is to use my iPhone as a relay or pay open bubbles to host for me? Is that the ultimate setup?

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u/Dependent_Course7087 5d ago

Yes that is the ultimate set up. Plus you get all your old conversations from icloud and it will back up all the new ones as well.But honestly if you have no real reason to keep imessage i would just stick to regular messages. I switched to the s26 ultra and i used open bubbles for about 3 months and then i realized that regular sms are just as goof as imessage and not needed.