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Can i send TEXTS from my laptop?

i think this may be a dumb question but can i send texts to people's phones with a phone number from my laptop?


i need to send a bunch of these and i don't want to have to do it on my phone.


TIA

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1), with 64 bit Win7 Boot Camp | iCloud

Posted on Feb 23, 2013 2:04 PM

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Posted on Feb 23, 2013 2:09 PM

Almost very carrier has the option to send an SMS or MMS message via email, but each carrier will have a specific domain address. For example, to send to an AT&T customer you would email the txt to the at:


1234567890@txt.att.net. That email address gets translated by AT&T's servers and routed to their mobile phone as an SMS text.


SMS tetx limits on characters still applies.

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Question marked as Best reply

Feb 23, 2013 2:09 PM in response to hotwheels22

Almost very carrier has the option to send an SMS or MMS message via email, but each carrier will have a specific domain address. For example, to send to an AT&T customer you would email the txt to the at:


1234567890@txt.att.net. That email address gets translated by AT&T's servers and routed to their mobile phone as an SMS text.


SMS tetx limits on characters still applies.

Feb 23, 2013 2:12 PM in response to Michael Black

thank you michael.


i am trying to figure out if this is a practical thing for me to implement.


so - you are saying that if /I/ am on ATT then i can send a TEXT to a phone number from within Mac Mail and i would simply append the phone number with "@txt.att.net" and then the person would receive my mail message as a text is that right?


THANKS

Feb 23, 2013 2:35 PM in response to hotwheels22

Hi,


The Messages app can do this.


The basic method is you have an AIM Account in Messages and display the Buddy List (Window menu).

You then add the Phone Number as it is were a Buddy with a leading +1 (As in +1234567890)


There are restrictions:-

1) the Computer has to set as if it is in the United States (System Preferences > Language and Text > Region)

2) The Phone has to be in the United States AND
3) Has to be on a carrier that supports AIM's SMS forwarding


User uploaded file


The Leading +1 is in fact a country code but AIM have never rolled this out further than the Untied States.

Their site has a list of carriers on it somewhere.




User uploaded file
10:35 PM Saturday; February 23, 2013

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"


 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Feb 23, 2013 2:38 PM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

User uploaded file For the Points User uploaded file



User uploaded file
10:37 PM Saturday; February 23, 2013

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"


 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Feb 23, 2013 2:41 PM in response to Michael Black

hi michael.


so i am not sure i am understanding if this is practical.


these phone numbers are from people that signed up on a homes tour with just their phone number and no email address. i would like to thank them for visiting without having to call them.


as i think about this, it is not practical for two reasons:


1. they would have to have a phone that allowed them to receive/see a text message since not all phones will accept text messages.


2. i would have to know which /carrier/ they were on before sending a text to them because i would have to append something to their phone number prior to sending the text?? i mean, i wouldn't simply be able to append something based upon my cell carrrier i would have to somehow know what THEIR carrier required is that right? i mean, if this is the case this is totally not practical or applicable for this situation.


THANKS

Feb 23, 2013 2:45 PM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

thanks ralph. always a pleasure.


so - glad i asked but still a bit confused.


with respect to the Messages app (that "buddy" list thing always slays me) - the /carrier/ would have to be US based, the /phone/ itself would have to be able to be able to SHOW/VIEW text messages and then there is an issue where the /carrier/ has to support the FORWARDING of my "AIM's SMS forwarding"?


also, can you break it down for me a bit more? AIM is some Mac OS application? SMS is basically text messaging and forwarding is just the method for AIM to get a Messages message to SMS...?


THANKS

Feb 23, 2013 2:48 PM in response to Csound1

oof. thanks.


google voice account involves getting a new phone number which i can then forward to my regular phone and it can transcribe messages to my google email account? i mean, i have one of these but i am not sure i know how to use it(!).


also, /how/ would i send and receive text messages from my Mac? i mean, i am logging into google and sending the text from google on the web and the text will show as coming from my google phone number?


- jon

Feb 23, 2013 2:51 PM in response to hotwheels22

Your GV account will be associated with your actual phone, think of it as an additional phone number for the same phone. Texts sent to that number appear on your phone and on your Mac (at the GV web page).


Calls to the GV number can go anywhere you choose, or nowhere at all, up to you.


You can send from either location and also receive at either location.

Feb 23, 2013 5:04 PM in response to hotwheels22

hotwheels 22 wrote:


hi michael.


so i am not sure i am understanding if this is practical.


these phone numbers are from people that signed up on a homes tour with just their phone number and no email address. i would like to thank them for visiting without having to call them.




THANKS


That's a problem then. With that kind of list, yes to use email, you would need to know the carrier associated with each phone number in order to put the right SMS gateway address with each number.


You could create a group in your contacts and send a group SMS. There is a $0.99 app that will use contact groups to send group SMS - I am not sure, but I think it sends a single SMS to every contact in the group? I've never used it, so cannot say for sure just how it handles everything, but its an option, although you'd have to do it from your iPhone and not your computer.

Feb 23, 2013 5:40 PM in response to hotwheels22


hotwheels 22 wrote:


send texts to people's phones with a phone number from my laptop?

email will send txt to people's number. Carrier specific.



AT&T – cellnumber@txt.att.net


Verizon – cellnumber@vtext.com ???

Verizon - cellnumber@vzwpix.com pictures too


T-Mobile – cellnumber@tmomail.net

Sprint PCS - cellnumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com

Virgin Mobile – cellnumber@vmobl.com

US Cellular – cellnumber@email.uscc.net

Nextel - cellnumber@messaging.nextel.com

Boost - cellnumber@myboostmobile.com

Alltel – cellnumber@message.alltel.com

Can i send TEXTS from my laptop?

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