We already covered how to set up Text Message Forwarding from your iPhone to another iOS device or Mac, but there was a key troubleshooting element we unknowingly left out of the guide.
As mentioned in the original story, you need to have iMessage enabled on your iPhone in order to enable text message forwarding. More importantly, however, you need to have an email address enabled in iMessage settings during the setup process, as discovered by MacRumors. If not, you're likely to run into an issue where the activation code never appears on your iPad or Mac.
If you attempt to enable text message forwarding but the activation code never shows up, here's what you need to do:
Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
Scroll down to the Messages option and tap on it.
Tap on Send & Receive.
Enable an email address by tapping on it. A check mark will be placed next to it once it's active.
Now, back out of the Send & Receive section and request another activation code be sent to one of your devices. Easy, right?
The MacRumors report goes on to say you can go back and disable the email address after all of your devices are set up and everything will remain working.
Getting access to all the newest features in an app may come with a side of disappointment. As features are added or adjusted, others may disappear, even if they are new. Such is the case with the Reader Mode that Chrome beta introduced in its last update. However, as AndroidPolice points out, this feature that was once in the main menu, is now something you have to enable to access. Here's how:
Step 1: In your Chrome beta app, navigate to chrome://flags
If you're using the Chrome beta to read this post, you can just click this link to get to the setting and skip to Step 3.
This is the chrome://flags settings area.Nicole Cozma/CNET
Step 2: Press the menu button and then "Find in page." Type Reader in the search box.
Step 3: Tap the Enable link and then tap the Relaunch Now button at the bottom of the screen.
Left: Normal website. Right: Reader Mode enabled. Not a huge difference for CNET's mobile site, but will be more noticeable on sites with many mobile ads.Nicole Cozma/CNET
When you open a webpage with paragraphs of text, there will be a new Reader Mode button that appears to the left of the tab count. One tap will enable it, and if you want to return to normal reading mode, just scroll back to the top and tap it again.
Were you using the Reader Mode before the most recent update to the app? Do you prefer the button placement to the menu? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
As Google gets set to release its newest Android devices, CNET sat down with some of the division's head team members to chat about security software, screen sizes and getting users to update their gadgets.
David Burke, VP of engineering for Android, said he thinks most people want a "phablet" but just don't know it yet.Stephen Lam, Getty Images
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Google may be tightening the ties between its operating systems for mobile devices and PCs, but they won't be merging anytime soon, a senior member of one of Google's software teams said.
In a wide-ranging interview at Google's corporate headquarters here, Brian Rakowski, Google's vice president of product management for Android, said that the two teams in charge of the Android mobile device software and the Chrome OS software for PCs work together much more. But that won't mean sweeping changes, at least for now.
"There's no plans to change the way the products work," said Rakowski.
Android and Chrome, both headed by Google Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai, are important businesses to Google. The company's cash cow is still search and advertising -- now a $50 billion a year business -- but Google CEO and co-founder Larry Page has called Android "the future" of the company.
There's good reason for his interest in Android. It has become the most widely used operating system in the world, powering more than 80 percent of the globe's smartphones. Chrome OS, a separate piece of software developed to power lightweight PCs, has a smaller presence; it made up only 2 percent of desktop computer shipments, though it has been popular among educators. The convergence of Android and Chrome OS would represent a significant, though not unexpected, shift for Google.
Google's Android department has been busy over the past month. Earlier this month, the companyunveiled the newest additions to its Nexus line of devices: the large-screened Nexus 6 smartphoneand the 8.9-inch Nexus 9 tablet, both of which serve to showcase this year's updates to the Android software. The latest version, called Lollipop, has a new look called "material design" and boasts improvements to notifications in addition to better battery life.
Earlier this week, CNET sat down with Rakowski, along with VP of Engineering for Android David Burke and Group Product Manager for Android Gabe Cohen, for an interview and demo of Lollipop's abilities. Below are snippets of the conversation.
Google has tightened the ties between Android and Chrome OS, the company's two main software platforms.Google
On Android and Chrome coming together: Last week, CNET and others reported that Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google's vice president of engineering for Android, had expanded his role to also oversee engineering of Google's Chrome operating system.
The move was the latest indication of the two platforms coming together. In June, Google said it would make it easier for app makers on Android to bring their programs to Chrome OS, and vice versa. On Friday Google said Pichai will take on even more product responsibilities at Google, which could indicate a push toward more harmony among all of Google's software platforms.
In an interview, Google confirmed Lockheimer's role change to CNET but downplayed its implications for the two software platforms. "There's no plans to change the way the products work," said Rakowski, when asked if Android would take over Chrome.
"Some of the Chrome OS teams are moving under Hiroshi. Turns out they're solving similar problems," said Rakowski. "It make sense for them to work together."
On small-screen options: Google is officially in the "phablet" business -- a large-screen device that serves as a hybrid phone andtablet.
Google's Nexus 6, with its 6-inch display, is the biggest phone the company has ever made. It's even bigger than Apple's 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, which was launched in September.
The popularity of large phones has had another effect as well: Neither Google nor Apple offer new devices with smaller screens.
The Nexus 6 is the largest phone Google has ever made.Josh Miller/CNET
Burke said that people who want a small-screen Android device can still buy the Nexus 5, released last October, or choose to buy a device made by another company.
But he also said he thinks some consumers just don't know they want a phablet yet: "If you gave them a phablet for a week, 50 percent of those would say they like it and not go back," he said.
On theft-deterrent "kill switch" software: To try to curb smartphone theft, government officials across the country have been pushing for antitheft software known as a "kill switch" to become standard on smartphones. The software is designed to deter theft by locking a phone so a thief can't wipe its memory -- making it useless and unable to be be resold.
In California, legislators passed a law that goes into effect in July 2015, mandating that all phones sold in the state include a kill switch, and that it come automatically turned on.
When Apple in September released iOS 8, the mobile operating system that powers its iPhones and iPads, it automatically turned on its kill-switch feature for the first time.
Google vowed to include a kill switch on the newest version of Android. Its software, dubbed "Factory Reset Protection," requires people to type in their Google password to reset a phone. The problem: It's not automatically turned on by default.
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon applauded Google's new software but preferred that it be automatically turned on. "We will continue to encourage every actor in the smartphone industry -- including Google -- to take the necessary, additional step of ensuring this technology is opt-out on all devices," Gascon said in a statement.
Rakowski said Google doesn't know when it will automatically turn on the feature, but it will be compliant with the law by next year's deadline.
On fragmentation, and getting new software on users' devices: Pichai has called Lollipop the "biggest, most ambitious" Android release to date. There are sweeping changes to the user interface -- an effort Google calls "material design" -- as well as improvements to notifications and battery efficiency.
But that won't mean much if Google can't get people to update their devices.
Whenever Apple criticizes Android, it often says Google's operating system is "fragmented." At an Apple product launch in October, the company's senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, said more than half of people with Android devices use Jelly Bean, a version of the software that was released in 2012.
To spur adoption, Google said it's creating ads to get people familiar with Android. The company last week began airing a television commercial about Android's brand with the tagline, "Be together. Not the same."
Some of Google's advertising will also focus on the newest version of the software, Lollipop, and its new "material" visual design, Rakowski said. "We want people who have 'material [design]' devices to make fun of their friends who don't."
print is not standing still, continuing to tinker with its plans as it seeks to win over new customers.
Sprint is trying to attract more iPhone customers.CNET
The latest: an adjustment to its widely touted "iPhone for Life" plan, now offering customers the ability to sign up for a version of the plan that lets them swap in a new iPhone every year. The original plan called for customers to pay as little as $20 a month to lease a new iPhone 6, which could be turned in for a new model after two years.
The new plan now allows for annual upgrades and starts at $30 a month. It will also make the iPhone 5S available for lease. Both options take effect on November 14. In addition to the cost of the iPhone itself, customers need to sign up for a $50 plan for unlimited talk, text and data.
It's just the latest offer from the suddenly active Sprint, which under new CEO Marcelo Claure has been relentless in rolling out new plans and promotions. The original iPhone for Life plan was intended to let Sprint stand out in a period where it typically suffered higher subscriber losses as customers looking for an iPhone switched to a rival carrier. With the annual upgrade option, Sprint is upping the ante.
Sprint has been particularly aggressive because it continues to bleed subscribers. Its network is widely perceived to lag far behind its competitors in both speed and coverage, due largely to the slow process of upgrading its infrastructure. Sprint touts its Sprint Spark, which combines multiple bands of spectrum for a faster connection, as its answer to the competition, but it is only available in limited markets.
While a customer choosing a base 16GB iPhone 6 model will pay $30 a month under the new program, the fee rises to $40 a month for a 128GB iPhone 6. A top-of-the-line 128 GB iPhone 6 Plus costs $45 a month.
Sprint claims its plan saves customers $444.96 over a comparable T-Mobile plan, $570 over AT&T and $667.44 over Verizon. Unlike the rival plans, Sprint customers under iPhone for Life don't own their iPhones. At the end of the lease period, customers can continue to pay the lease on a month-to-month basis, purchase the smartphone or turn it back in.
In addition, the iPhone 5S 32GB will be available for $21 per month and the iPhone 5S 64GB for $24 per month.
Google's most powerful product chief just got more powerful.
Sundar Pichai, a well-respected executive who oversees some of the company's most important businesses, has been elevated to take on even more of Google's core products, the company confirmed to CNET.
Pichai already runs Android, the most widely used mobile operating system in the world; Google's Web-based software Chrome; and the company's suite of apps, including Gmail and Docs. Under the reorganization, he will additionally have oversight over research, search, maps, the Google+ social network, ads and infrastructure, according to Recode, which earlier reported the news.
The promotion punctuates Pichai's quick rise inside the company as well as CEO Larry Page's desire to focus on off-loading some of his management duties to better focus on overall business strategy. While Google's search and advertising business still generates $50 billion a year in revenue, some financial analysts fear its business is slowing. The company last week reported that paid clicks for the third quarter rose 17 percent from the same period last year. That compares with 26 percent growth the year before.
While Pichai is taking on those new responsibilities, Page will continue to directly oversee a number of Google's divisions, including the YouTube online video service run by veteran Google employee Susan Wojcicki. Page will also manage business and operations.
Pichai, a well-liked figure at the company, has been a magnet for Google's product teams. He has been at the company since 2004, managing the Chrome department. He added Google Apps to his responsibilities in 2012 and Android in 2013.
Pichai was the clear star of Google's I/O developer conference in June -- serving as the keynote's master of ceremonies as Google showed off its latest developments in Android and Chrome.
Though Google confirmed the staff change to CNET, it declined to comment further or disclose his compensation.
