There are quite a few messaging apps that you can use from the comfort of your computer, but if you're looking for a quick and easy way to send text messages without whipping out your phone, most US carriers make that pretty easy too.
All you have to do is send the message to an email address using an SMS Gateway. Each carrier has an SMS gateway specific to their service, which will convert the email into a text message for you.
So what do you need to send that message? You need to know what carrier the recipient is on, then look up their corresponding email address below.
How to Send Text Messages Using Email
To send a text message from your email account, use the following format and replace the [10-digit-number] with the recipient's phone number:
- AT&T: [10-digit-number]@txt.att.net
- T-Mobile: [10-digit-number]@tmomail.net
- Sprint: [10-digit-number]@messaging.sprintpcs.com
- Verizon: [10-digit-number]@vtext.com
- MetroPCS: [10-digit-number]@mymetropcs.com
- GoogleFi:[10-digit-number]@msg.fi.google.com
- Cricket: [10-digit-number]@sms.cricketwireless.net
- Virgin Mobile: [10-digit-number]@vmobl.com
- Alltel: [10-digit-number]@message.alltel.com
- Republic Wireless: [10-digit-number]@text.republicwireless.com
To send a multimedia message from your email account, use the following format, also replacing [10-digit-number] with the recipient's phone number:
- AT&T: [10-digit-number]@mms.att.net
- T-Mobile: [10-digit-number]@tmomail.net
- Sprint: [10-digit-number]@pm.sprint.com
- Verizon: [10-digit-number]@vzwpix.com
- MetroPCS: [10-digit-number]@mymetropcs.com
- GoogleFi:[10-digit-number]@msg.fi.google.com
- Cricket: [10-digit-number]@mms.cricketwireless.net
- Virgin Mobile: [10-digit-number]@vmpix.com
- Alltel: [10-digit-number]@mms.alltelwireless.com
- Tracfone: [10-digit-number]@mmst5.tracfone.com
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when using this kind of service. Most of these tips should be the same across the board for all carriers:
- On T-Mobile, messages are limited to 160 characters. If a message exceeds 160 characters, it's will be converted to a picture message.
- On AT&T, the person receiving the text can reply and you will receive the response via email.
- On Google Fi, you can send text messages as well as attachments, including images, video, and audio files up to 8MB in size.
- When sending pictures or any other types of files, send them as an attachment.
What If You Don't Know the Recipient's Carrier?
If you don't know the recipient's carrier, if their carrier is not listed here, or if you want to send a text message to a number that isn't on a US carrier, Chrome users can use an extension to send a text message to any number using Gmail.
CloudHQ's extension Send Your Email to SMS works in a slightly different way: after you enter the recipient's number, you can then send your message either as a text or as a link.
Your email address will be included in the text message the recipient receives, and they can reply directly to the SMS and it will be delivered to your inbox.
To use CloudHQ's extension, you will of course need to grant the third-party app access to your Gmail account in order for it to work.
If you decide you no longer want to use CloudHQ, you can uninstall the extension and revoke access to the app in your Gmail Sign-in and Security settings, which you can reach at myaccount.google.com/permissions.
To see how the process in action, check out the video below: