You can’t completely turn off SMS on an iPhone. Regular text messages come from your carrier, and iOS has no switch that stops your phone number from receiving them. What you can do is stop your iPhone from sending SMS: go to Settings > Apps > Messages and turn off Send as Text Message (and MMS Messaging for picture texts).
If what you really want is to turn off iMessage, the blue-bubble service, that’s the switch at the top of the same screen. Both are explained below, along with how to stop texts from bothering you and how to stop SMS showing up on your iPad or Mac.
What each Messages setting controls
| Setting | Turning it off means |
|---|---|
| iMessage | No blue-bubble messages. Texts to and from other Apple users go by RCS or SMS/MMS instead, as green bubbles. |
| Send as Text Message | When iMessage can’t be delivered, your iPhone won’t fall back to sending a regular SMS. The message fails instead. |
| MMS Messaging | You can’t send photos, videos or group texts over your carrier’s MMS service. |
| RCS Messaging | Texts with Android users use plain SMS/MMS instead of RCS (only shown on iOS 18 or later with a carrier that supports RCS). |
Apple’s guide to iMessage, RCS and SMS/MMS explains the three message types. The short version: iMessage and RCS need Wi-Fi or cellular data, SMS only needs a cellular signal, and SMS isn’t end-to-end encrypted.
How to stop your iPhone from sending SMS
- Open Settings.
- Scroll down and tap Apps, then tap Messages. On iOS 17 or earlier, tap Messages directly in Settings.
- Scroll down to the SMS/MMS section.
- Turn off Send as Text Message. Older iOS versions call it Send as SMS.
- Turn off MMS Messaging if you also want to stop picture and group texts from going out over your carrier.
- If you see RCS Messaging, turn it off too if you don’t want RCS chats with Android phones.
Warning: With all of these off, you won’t be able to text anyone who doesn’t use iMessage, including Android users. And if you have no internet connection, even messages to iPhone users will fail rather than going out as SMS. You’ll see a red Not Delivered alert on those messages.
This is useful if you’re on a plan with no texting, or if you’re traveling and want to avoid SMS charges. For travel, also check your roaming settings.
How to turn off iMessage
- Go to Settings > Apps > Messages.
- Turn off iMessage at the top of the screen.
Messages to other Apple users now go out as green-bubble texts over RCS or SMS/MMS, which need a texting plan. You lose iMessage features like end-to-end encryption, syncing across your Apple devices, and messaging over Wi-Fi without a cellular signal.
Switching to an Android phone? Turn off iMessage (and FaceTime in Settings > Apps > FaceTime) before you move your SIM card, while the iPhone still has a cellular connection. Otherwise other iPhone users’ texts can keep going to iMessage and never reach your new phone. If you no longer have the iPhone, Apple’s iMessage deregistration page removes your number: enter it, and then enter the six-digit code Apple texts to you.
How to stop incoming texts from bothering you
Because you can’t switch off incoming SMS, these are the practical options:
- Silence them: turn off notifications for Messages or mute a single conversation. Our guide to silencing text notifications covers both.
- Block specific senders: open the conversation, tap the name or number at the top, and tap Block Caller. Here’s more on blocking spam texts on iPhone.
- Filter unknown senders: texts from people who aren’t in your contacts can be sorted into a separate list so they don’t clutter your inbox.
- Ask your carrier: some carriers can block all text messaging on a line, often through parental-control or account settings. This is the only way to truly stop SMS from arriving. Options vary by carrier and plan.
How to stop SMS texts appearing on your iPad or Mac
If green-bubble texts show up on your other Apple devices, that’s Text Message Forwarding. To turn it off:
- On your iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > Messages.
- Tap Text Message Forwarding.
- Turn off the switch for each device you don’t want receiving SMS.
iMessages will still appear on those devices as long as they’re signed in to iMessage with the same Apple Account. If you want the opposite, see how to sync messages from iPhone to iPad.
Common questions
Will turning off Send as Text Message stop people from texting me?
No. It only affects messages you send. Anyone can still text your number, and those messages still arrive.
Why are my messages to another iPhone green after I turned iMessage back on?
iMessage can take a few minutes to reactivate. Check Settings > Apps > Messages > Send & Receive and make sure your phone number is checked. Messages already sent as SMS stay green.
Does turning off SMS save money?
Only if your plan charges per text, such as when roaming abroad. Most plans include unlimited texting, so there’s no cost saving at home.
Matthew Roberts is the founder and editor of ARS Digitech. He started the site to answer the iPhone questions his friends and family kept asking him, and it has grown into a library of iPhone and iOS how-to guides. Matthew writes and maintains every tutorial on the site, checking steps and menu names against Apple’s official support documentation and updating guides when an iOS release moves a setting.