There are 2 ways of sending your friends free SMS Text Messages to their cell phones. Note that some providers charge the receiver while others don’t. I know that if you use Rogers website to send the text message no one gets charged. i.e. it’s 100% free.
I was going to blog this as part of my Christmas countdown since it would be nice to be able to send all your friends a free text message wishing them a Merry Christmas but I figured it’s too generic and not just limited to that occasion.
Method 1: From the wireless carrier’s website
Each wireless company has a website from which you can send free Text Messages:
- Free text messages to Rogers Wireless cell phones
- Free text messages to FIDO cell phones
- Free text messages to Telus cell phones
- Free text messages to BELL Mobility cell phones
Method 2: By email. Yes email!
you can easily send emails to your friends’ cell phones directly from your email. You just need to know the number and the carrier of the recipient to start emailing them to their cell phone. Here is a list of the emails of different carriers. You need to replace the part before the “@” with your friend’s number.
- Rogers Wireless: [10-digit phone number]@pcs.rogers.com
- Fido: [10-digit phone number]@fido.ca
- Telus: [10-digit phone number]@msg.telus.com
- Bell Mobility: [10-digit phone number]@txt.bell.ca
- Kudo Mobile: [10-digit phone number]@msg.koodomobile.com
- MTS: [10-digit phone number]@text.mtsmobility.com
- President’s Choice: [10-digit phone number]@txt.bell.ca
- Sasktel: [10-digit phone number]@sms.sasktel.com
- Solo: [10-digit phone number]@txt.bell.ca
- Virgin: [10-digit phone number]@vmobile.ca
You need to replace the [10-digit phone number] with your friend’s number. For example, If your friend’s number was 613-123-4567 and their carrier was Rogers, you’d send an email to [email protected]
Very handy post! I think you should warn though that some providers (Telus at least) will charge the receiver for incoming messages from the website or e-mail.
Wow.. great information.
Thank you.
Oh I didn’t know Telus does that! Thanks for the tip Ted! I’ll update the post saying which ones charge and which ones don’t.
If anyone has more details about a particular provider please let me know!
Bell charges for incoming texts also, unless you have a text messaging plan.
sweet!
Anyone know if you can do this with Speakout Wireless from 7-11?
The ‘email’ thing doesn’t really work with Rogers. They will just send you a text to your cellphone saying you have an email from (insert email address) and to reply with “red” to receive it… so it would cost the sendee a text message to read what you wrote.
Brian
err “read” not red… this comment box text is so tiny
Brian
I’ve always used this. The bad thing about it is, you always have to enter a “validation code” w/e its called and I always end up forgetting, ending up not sending the text xD hahaha
but its great! used this all summer =)
Generally speaking, it is supposed to be free to receive text messages even without a plan unless perhaps if you’re roaming in another country. Atleast with Rogers and Telus it is.
If I email a text message to my husband’s Bell cell, he still gets charged.
Ghostie,
The rules are different for email and website texts and it isn’t consistent across carriers. It used to be 100% free with Bell/Aliant. Now if you have a text package it is either free or gets deducted from your text package … I’m not sure which.
Use this with extreme caution or your family and friends might not be too happy with you!
I’ve never had service with Bell, but I was a client with Telus for years and I would text on a pay-per-use basis and it was always free to receive text. Perhaps, I’m wrong about Rogers.
I’m with Telus pay and talk and it costs me $.15 to receive a text msg. Sometimes when the text msg gets too long, it gets broken into 2, and I end up getting charged $.30 for a really long msg.
You do not have listed in your bunch for Virgin
From Text messages to Virgin cell phones is there a link for Virgin subscribers??
I’ve always used this for my Rogers/Fido/Telus friends and it saves me SO much because I 90% always text when I’m @ home
. I’m with Rogers and have received an e-mail text – it didn’t charge me for it and was able to read it too
I don’t think Koodo gets charged for incoming texts but I do have a plan so that is probably why. Since Koodo is a part of Telus, you might if you’re not on their unlimited messaging plan.
In the summer, both Telus and Bell changed their policies and now charge for incoming texts unless you have a texting plan.
Rogers and Fido still do not. I am unsure of the others …
Telus Mobility has always charged the recipient for text messages sent from the Telus Mobility web site. It may be free for the sender, but it’s definitely not free for the receiver!
I’m not sure if Telus Mobility charges for text messages received since I’m on an unlimited plan, but I used to be charged per message sent from the site even though it was free for me to receive text messages.
Since all the changes Rogers is the only one and the ones they own like Fido do not charge for incoming text messages and all others do . Doesnt matter how the person sends it , if they have incoming its charged to the person who gets it on the phone .What this did now is cause more confusion and somewhere someone is going to end up with a huge phone bill . Also some spammers are texting too cells now too .A million spam messages will make a providers millions of dollars in revenue and if the person complains it is nothing to refund 15 cents but then you have to call , wait onhold , explain this issue .
A humours note some even text people they dont like anymore all day so they get a $50 a day phone bill charge .
Does this also work for sending to special numbers eg. 21212?
For Virgin, Speakout Wireless, and tons of other providers there is a big list on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_gateway#Carrier-provided_Email_or_Web_to_SMS_gateways
I email my husband’s Rogers cell since I haven’t a cell. Don’t know about the charge since it’s a work phone…
Melissa, my son has Speakout phones, and we’ve had no luck at all tracking down something to use yet for me to email him a text! We’ve tried the suggested ones on the Speakout forums, to no avail, and will try the one on Ted’s link above, even though it’s US. Have emailed Ztar, the provider, but never heard back from them on multiple tries.
Cool! I use Virgin, and I just tested it and it works!
Thanks!
Email to text for Rogers customers only works if the person is paying for the $5/month service:
http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-text/email_text?content10=email_text
Not only do they charge(cell carriers)you can not send a text message via Telus,Bell or rogers ie Fido without registering first.Fido’s new web site does not even recognize my sign in phone number.
plus YOU are chrged for minute usage during business hours.
I have Bell and I do have the Text Messaging package so I don’t get charged but the thing with email text messages is that it will only show me up to 116 characters (I think) and then the message just ends… I don’t get a 2nd text with the rest of the message as I would with a cell to cell text that is longer than what Bell offers such as Rogers. Bell offers 140 character texts and I believe Rogers offers 160 characters so sometimes I will get a 2 or 3 pg text from friends with Rogers. So email texts are frustrating because the person sending them isn’t counting the characters they can send and so they go on and on and I have to then ask for them to send the message in pieces. I find that people can email my home email and I have my cell set up to receive notifications from my email provider and I can get all of my email that way. Much easier. It would be nice if Bell would allow multi-page email texts but I have called a bunch of times and it’s not something that can be fixed.
Seems like Rogers has changed their link. It is only allowing me to get to the page where I sign in to do enhanced text messaging. Must have a cell phone or be in the continent to use it. I’m trying to send a text to my girlfriend while I am in Colombia, and can’t get on.
I’m having the same problem as Bob…
Does anyone have information on the law suit for the increased charges / change in contract for incoming text messages. I want to sign on.
You can sign in with an email address as well…but, i don’t think the site is operational yet. I’m having problems as well. Hopefully, it’s still free and we can use an alias cell number/email address.
The Rogers page for sending free text message requires sign-in with 10 digit of cell phone number and password. That means we need to sign up with our phone number… Wonder if that would charge in our phone bill as a regular message?
THANK YOU very much for this post!
hi, i have cell no.416 540 4605 and 647 878 4170.
i had asked for a new package.it came i didn’t like
it,so retuned.but you put a number on a handset that
i had returned and every month you are sending me bill
for the phone that i don’t have.i have talked to your
agents 3,4 times. they have credited my account but
statements keep comming.isn’t any one over there to
be able to solve this problem. thanks
I have an LG phone from telus and I have just started using this free internet text messaging program like maybe 10 minutes ago. I’ve sent a few text messages to my friend and it works, because she sent one back onto my email, where I wanted it to go to. (I pressed for her to send it to my email, not cell) I am just wondering, is it free to read text messages on my email? My friend sent it on my email, not my cell phone so it should be free right? If its not, I’m screwed from my mom
you aren’t charged on your email – your friend who sent it to your email might be
“Seems like Rogers has changed their link. It is only allowing me to get to the page where I sign in to do enhanced text messaging.”
This link does not need registration.
http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-text/send_sms?setLanguage=en&setProvince=NU
Method 1 website to phone for Koodo:
http://koodomobile.com/en/on/sendamessage.shtml
Thanks for the rogers short cut link Dan, it’s weird the way they want you to register now to send a text.
At least in the case of the service provider Rogers, yes there is a monthly service charge to use the website to phone texting service. I am aware that you can send text messages though Microsoft’s msn messenger service. Does the person recieving the message via msn messenger have to sign up for any service or is the text sent straight to thier phone?
Just another note, make sure if you send from email that you do not have a long signature because then it may be too many characters for one message. Sending from work may have an automated signature and then a blurb on confidentiality etc…
I am with PC Mobile. I text PC Mobile users with @mobiletxt.ca
The address for MTS is (area code phone number)@text.mts.net
Not as the one given, I hope the rest are right.
With their new plans (and perhaps their old…it’s so confusing) Fido will not be charging for text messages sent from an e-mail addy. Only texts from a cell phone will be free.
Hi. Okay, so I have Fido. And what it is, is unlimited text messaging. Now the guy said that if I leave My province and text, then it will charge me, but does the same go for if I am in my own province texting someone in another country? How much of the cost?
the link for methord one doesn’t work for telus. the link is broken.
ROGERS:
2 way txt messaging from the Rogers Website is free – for the sender, and for the receiver. You just need to sign it for security purposes I guess. It does not charge your phone…
HOWEVER…. starting Jul 7, 2009, Rogers is changing its policy. All receiving txts on ur phone will be charged 0.15c (regardless of sender’s origin – website, phone – all mediums). Sending txt msgs from website is still free, but the receiver gets charged.
Sending txt msgs from phone has always been 15c, but now if sent to someone in another country – its 75c. The receiver will be charged according to their plan in their country.
Hope this clarifies everything! So txt away from the website until July 7!
its a pain in the ass
why not just get a phone like a normal person
how do you send messages threw solo???
Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa!!!