How To Send Any Type Of File With iMessage On Your iOS Device [Jailbreak]

By

Jailbreaking opens up a world of possibilities for sending files with iMessage.
Jailbreaking opens up a world of possibilities for sending files with iMessage.

Some new jailbreak tweaks have surfaced in Cydia that allow you to open and send all kinds of files between iOS devices with iMessage. Apple’s messaging protocol can be used to send much more than simple SMS and MMS messages; you can send everything from a song to a PDF.

Attacher will let you send and receive all kinds of files with iMessage, and it includes a couple features that make it a compelling offering. A pair of jailbreak tweaks called SendAny and ReceiveAny also accomplish the same goal with a different approach. Which tweak option is best? Let’s take a closer look.

Attacher

Sent from the Mac...
And available on the iPhone!

I tried Attacher first on my jailbroken iPhone 4S, and I was impressed with the options it added to the camera/attachment icon in the Messages app. Sending a random file from the Messages beta app for Mac allowed me to view and open said file on my iPhone with ease. I particularly like the voice memo feature in Attacher that allows you to record, preview, and send a voice message from your iOS device.

A recent update to Attacher lets you send any file from an iOS device with iMessage, but the major con with the tweak design is that you need to manually enter the filesystem path for the file you want to send. This isn’t good at all for those that aren’t familiar with the iOS file structure. For the geeks, it still works great.

The developer of Attacher has informed me that he’s working on adding a file browser interface for selecting an attachment in a future update. He is also working on adding iPod integration to allow songs to be sent through iMessage. That will be nifty. You can of course send photos and video like normal from your device’s Camera Roll. For a free tweak, Attacher is a pretty nice enhancement for anyone who uses iMessage heavily.

SendAny and ReceiveAny

You can also send any file over iMessage with this pair of jailbreak tweaks. SendAny lets you send any type of file, while ReceiveAny allows your device to (you guessed it) receive any type of file from another device running iMessage. ReceiveAny is free in Cydia, while SendAny costs $2. There are a few reasons this pair of tweaks should be considered over Attacher.

Once you install them, the camera icon in the Messages app will be replaced with a little paperclip icon. Tap the paperclip and you will be greeted with SendAny’s Apple-like interface. What I initially loved about SendAny was its simplicity; it almost feels like Apple could have integrated these features itself. You still have the option to take or choose an existing photo/video from the Camera app, but there’s also the option to attach a file. This option will bring up SendAny’s fantastic file browser. If you’ve placed some files on your jailbroken iPhone with an app like iFile, you can find them here and attach them in iMessage. For the purpose of this article, I just grabbed an interface graphic from the Cydia app and sent it to the Messages app on my Mac. Everything worked great.

ReceiveAny will let you receive any file from another device or a Mac running the Messages beta. If that’s all you need, then don’t bother coughing up $2 for SendAny. The two tweaks do work together flawlessly.

Showdown

Now that we’ve taken a look at Attacher and the SendAny/ReceiveAny combo, here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons:

Attacher

Pros:

  • Can record and send voice memos in iMessage
  • Available for free

Cons:

  • Have to manually enter filesystem path to send files
  • slightly cluttered interface

SendAny and ReceiveAny

Pros:

  • Nice file browser for sending files
  • Simplistic interface

Con:

  • Costs $2 to send files from jailbroken iOS device

In case you didn’t know, iOS devices can already open files that are sent over iMessages from the Messages beta app for Mac. You can open any file on a non-jailbroken iOS device that the Mail app can open, you just can’t send any file like you could on a jailbroken device. If you just want to send files from your Mac to your iPhone or iPad, try using the Messages Mac app.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.