Last updated on November 5th, 2026 at 02:59 pm
A text just landed on your iPad? Check the bubble color. Green (SMS, MMS or RCS) was forwarded by your iPhone: open Text Message Forwarding in the iPhone’s Messages settings and switch the iPad off. Blue is the iPad’s own iMessage: turn iMessage off in the iPad’s Messages settings. If the iPad uses Messages in iCloud, switch that off on the iPad first, because it keeps forwarding on.
Applies to: iPadOS 26 or later on the iPad and iOS 26 or later on the iPhone.
What is landing on your iPad decides which switch you need
Three Apple features can put your conversations on an iPad, and each has its own switch in a different place. Matching what you see to the right row saves you from turning off more than you need to.
| What you see on the iPad | What sends it | Where you switch it off |
|---|---|---|
| Green bubbles: texts from Android phones or other non-iMessage numbers | Text Message Forwarding (SMS, MMS and RCS relayed by your iPhone) | On the iPhone |
| Blue bubbles sent to your phone number | iMessage on the iPad, answering for your number | On the iPad |
| Both colors, plus older conversations you never received on the iPad | Messages in iCloud, which syncs your whole history | On the iPad |
| Only the alert sound or banner bothers you | Notifications | On the iPad, under Notifications |
All three rely on the iPad being signed in with the same Apple Account as the iPhone. None of the switches below erase conversations from the iPhone. If you want a safety net anyway, back up your iPhone to iCloud before you start.
Green bubbles: take the iPad off Text Message Forwarding
Text Message Forwarding is an iPhone feature. The iPhone receives carrier texts from your mobile network and passes copies to your other Apple devices, so the switch lives on the iPhone and you will not find it in the iPad’s settings.
- On your iPhone, open Settings.
- Tap Apps, then Messages.
- Tap Text Message Forwarding. A list of your other devices appears, each with its own switch. A Mac signed in to the same account can appear here too.
- Turn off the switch next to the iPad. Leave on any device that should still get your texts.
On older versions of iOS and iPadOS, Messages appears directly in the main Settings list rather than under Apps, and the Messages in iCloud switch may be labeled Sync this iPhone or Sync this iPad. Apple’s Forward text messages from your iPhone to other devices explains the forwarding list.
If the iPad’s switch is missing or will not stay off
Apple notes that devices using Messages in iCloud always have Text Message Forwarding turned on. In practice, that means the forwarding list cannot be the whole fix while Messages in iCloud is on for the iPad: that feature syncs every conversation, green and blue, on its own. Turn it off on the iPad, then go back to the forwarding list if you still need to.
Warning: while Messages in iCloud is on, deleting a conversation on one device deletes it on the others. If you plan to clear out old threads on the iPad, switch the setting off first.
- On the iPad, open Settings and tap your name at the top.
- Tap iCloud.
- Next to Saved to iCloud, tap See All.
- Tap Messages in iCloud and turn off Use on this iPad. Read any prompt before you confirm.
Leave the iPhone’s own setting alone. Apple’s personal safety guide, Manage safety settings in Messages, describes the same pairing: to keep messages to one device, sign out of iMessage on the others and turn off Messages in iCloud there.
The iPad also drops out of the forwarding list when iMessage is off on it, or when it uses a different Apple Account from the iPhone. If you have already done either, there is nothing left to switch off on the iPhone.
Blue bubbles: switch off iMessage on the iPad, or just your number
Here you have two levels. Turning iMessage off stops the iPad sending and receiving iMessages entirely. Removing only your phone number keeps the iPad usable for iMessage through an email address.
To turn iMessage off on the iPad:
- On the iPad, open Settings > Apps > Messages. Make sure you are holding the iPad, not the phone, or you will switch off iMessage on the iPhone instead.
- Turn off iMessage.
To keep iMessage but drop your number:
- On the iPad, open Settings > Apps > Messages > Send & Receive.
- Under You can be reached, tap your phone number to remove its checkmark. Keep a checkmark next to the email address you want the iPad to use.
Say Priya uses her iPad for messaging her book club through her Apple Account email but wants anything sent to her mobile number to stay on the phone. Unchecking the number does exactly that. To take your Apple Account out of Messages on the iPad altogether, tap your Apple Account on the same screen and choose Sign Out. Both options are on Apple’s Add or remove your phone number in Messages or FaceTime page. To see these settings from the phone’s side, read about turning on iMessage on an iPhone.
If a family iPad shows your texts to everyone, the real problem is usually a shared Apple Account. Switching features off works, but it breaks again the next time someone signs in or changes a setting. The lasting fix is for each person to have their own Apple Account on their own device.
- A child’s iPad: create a child account through Family Sharing (Settings > your name > Family), then sign the iPad in with that account. Apple covers this in How to set up Family Sharing. Purchases and subscriptions can still be shared without sharing a login.
- An iPad passed to a partner or relative: sign your account out of Messages on it, turn off Messages in iCloud, and let them sign in with their own account.
- An iPad you are selling or giving away: sign out of your Apple Account entirely and erase it, so your history goes with you rather than staying on the tablet. Apple lists both steps in What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone or iPad.
When the iPhone is lost, broken or already sold
Without the iPhone you cannot reach the forwarding list. Apple’s fix is to change your Apple Account password, which removes all phone numbers from your iPad and Mac. After that, iMessages to your number stop arriving on the iPad. Once you have a new iPhone, set it up with the same account and only turn forwarding on for the devices you want.
Test with two senders, and how to switch it back
Ask two people to text you: one with an iPhone and one with an Android phone. Their messages travel through different features (blue through iMessage, green through forwarding), so one test is not enough. Each should arrive on the iPhone only. If one still shows up on the iPad, go back to the row in the first table that matches its color.
Every change is reversible:
- Turn iMessage back on in the iPad’s Messages settings.
- Turn the iPad’s switch back on under Text Message Forwarding on the iPhone. If your Apple Account does not use two-factor authentication, a code appears on the iPad that you enter on the iPhone.
- Turn Use on this iPad back on under Messages in iCloud.
For forwarding to work, both devices need the same Apple Account, and the iPhone must be on and connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network.
Why texts come back after an update or a new device
Texts that return weeks later usually point to a setting being switched on again rather than a fault. A new iPhone restored from a backup, signing the iPad back in to your Apple Account, or someone else changing settings on a shared iPad can all do it. Recheck the three switches in the same order: Messages in iCloud on the iPad, iMessage on the iPad, then the forwarding list on the iPhone. A restart of both devices is a sensible first step if a switch looks off but texts still arrive.
If what really bothers you is the iPad lighting up, rather than texts being there at all, adjust its Messages alerts in Settings > Notifications. The iPhone equivalent is covered in turning off text message sounds on iPhone.
Questions people ask when the iPad still shows texts
Why is there no Text Message Forwarding option on my iPad?
The setting only exists on the iPhone, because the iPhone is the device that receives carrier texts. Open it from the iPhone’s Messages settings.
Do I have to turn off Messages in iCloud on my iPhone too?
No. Turning it off on the iPad stops the iPad syncing. Leave it on for the iPhone and any other device that should keep your full history.
Will old conversations disappear from the iPad when I switch these off?
Not necessarily. The switches control future delivery and syncing, so threads already on the iPad may stay until you delete them. Turn off Messages in iCloud on the iPad before deleting anything there.
Do verification-code texts still reach the iPad?
Codes sent by SMS are carrier texts, so once the iPad is off the forwarding list and Messages in iCloud is off on it, they should arrive only on the iPhone. Check with the next code you receive.
Does turning off Handoff stop texts on the iPad?
No. Handoff lets you continue an activity, such as a draft, on another device. It does not control which device receives your messages.
Matt Jacobs writes and maintains the guides on Support Your Tech, which he started in 2017. He spent most of his career keeping small-business PCs running and still takes the occasional consulting job, so the steps here come from fixing the same problems on other people’s computers. Every guide is checked on his own Windows 11, Windows 10, Mac, iPhone and iPad before it goes up.