I have iMessage but can not text non apple users on my iPad. I have ios 7 and Mt Lion.

Well, my iphone 4 had regular updates until 7. I never downloaded 7. But, everyone I know who did 7, had to turn SMS on.

And if they DID know what they were talking about, they most likely wouldn't have had to ask for help

As I said, everyone I know who had this problem, had SMS turned off by default after updating to iOS 7.

And cell voice doesn't matter. A plain iPad shouldn't be able to text SMS/non imegssage users. Since iMessage goes through wifi it doesn't need a network connection. Cell phones do.

Yes, I've had a cellular data plan with each iPad. Still doesn't have cell voice.

What? We are talking iPads not iPhones.

IMessage works over cell data or WiFi. SMS works over cell voice.

We're talking about iMessage. Which is on iPhones, iPads, and desktops. And the OP even mentioned Mountain Lion. I guess I lost track of the conversation, as you responded to a conversation from months ago.

Yeah, text goes over voice.My bad.

iPads have never been able to send SMS texts. This is different to the general iMessage service provided by apple to send messages.

SMS text uses the Voice & text services form the carriers cellular network, The Data services offered by carriers for iPads do not include access to Voice and Text.

ccpickre wrote:

As I said, everyone I know who had this problem, had SMS turned off by default after updating to iOS 7.

There is no such switch for iPad. The "Send as SMS option" is only available on iPhones.

There is no way an iPad Wifi or cellular would ever be able to send SMS text mesages to non Apple devices.

It can send iMessages through Apple's servers to other iDevces regietered with iMessage only.

Yes, I know. I realize now that people were talking about the iPad, but the OP was about iPhones. Hence the confusion.

So even though I'm on a 4g cellular plan, even with an 'SMS' app I still will not be able to text android users?

You will be able to text.

Texting apps are different. They use the internet rather than cellular networks. If I understand correctly, they create a fake phone number so you can text people. That's what I did when my iPhone was disconnected.

Yes. If you have a 3rd party SMS App you will be able to text. The message is sent over the internet to the App developers servers wich convert it to a real SMS and sends it to your intended target. You'll get a number assigned to you by the App developer so other people can text you to it and any SMS you send out will come from that number.

Okay, so here's the wrap-up. I did get the 'text free' app at no cost. But when I found out it wanted to create a 'new phone number' as a texting identifier of sorts for lack of a better word, i decided not to use it. I didn't want the hassle of using 2 different phone numbers to text from. Because my android and i-pad are both 'hookd up' to the same cellular plan with sprint, i thought i could text with imessage the same way I do with my android. I realize now that isn't possible unless I,m willing to use the SMS app.. I'm just going to abandon imessage on the i-pad and stick to my android for messaging. This only became an issue because i wanted to send a few pictures taken with my pad to some friends. The ones I texted/imessaged to iphone users went through but the rest 'failled'. Next time I'll take pictures that I might later want to text someone with my android. Thanks to everyone who offered insights and solutions.

There's always facebook.

Here is what I found out: I used to have my iphone and ipad linked and I think texting worked, but I had to take it in to my carrier and they set it up. I'm not that tech savy.

Then my other research online said the following:

The Apple iPad comes with most of the same features as the iPhone, except the phone. This means it can't be used for phone calls or Short Message Service (SMS) text messages without installing an additional app. If your clients and business colleagues use Apple iOS devices, including the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, you can send and receive text messages using iMessage, which is already on your iPad. However, iMessage is not exactly the same as SMS. To receive true SMS messages from phones made by other manufacturers, you will need an SMS texting app, which are available from the App Store. Business and Entrepreneur.

Search App Store for SMS Texting

Read the descriptions carefully to ensure the app can send SMS messages to cell phones. Some popular apps include Textie, Text Me! and Fring. Some apps only allow you to send texts to people who use the same app.

Other answers:

Most iPad users already own a cell phone to make calls, send and receive messages, you know, the basics.

However, when you're being cradled in your favorite chair or propped up in your bed tapping and swiping away on your iPad and you want to send that text message, it seems too much of a task to get up and locate that cell phone.

Of course, you can send those iMessages out to other iPad and iPhone owners from your iPad. But, what about sending text messages from your iPad to the non-iOS toting friends?

Many realize early on that the iPad does not have the "native" capability to send standard text messages to non-iOS devices or other cell phones, it's not designed to do that.

However, downloading an app designed for that will allow you to directly text people using your iPad even if they don't have an iPad. Here's what you can do: Check the Apple app store for "textPlus Free Text +" a free app that will allow you to send those text message to whomever you want.

Other answers

iMessage. The iMessage app comes with the iPad, and it is one of the easiest ways to send text messages. You can turn on iMessage in the iPad's settings under "Messages". In addition to using the email address associated with your Apple ID, you can input additional email addresses to help people reach you. iMessage can send text, photos and video, however, you are restricted to sending messages to iPhone, iPad and iPod

Free Texting Apps. Text Me! and textPlus both offer free texting to iPad users. Text Me! won About.com's 2012 Reader's Choice Award. It offers users a free phone number capable of sending SMS messages to the US, Canada and 40 other countries around the world. You can also receive voice mail and send unlimited pictures. textPlus recently added voice calls to their service, using VoIP to allow free calls to other textPlus users and cheap local and international calls to non-textPlus users.

Skype. The leading VoIP service, Skype allows you to use your iPad much like a phone. However, while Skype is great for voice calls and video conferencing, it does not offer a texting plan. You can send SMS messages through Skype, but you will be charged a fee similar to the one you'd be charged if you simply used your voice plan. But you can receive free messages from Skype, so it is a possible solution for those who want the ability to receive messages but don't plan on sending any

Text is the one used in this article for its excellent performance on messaging on new iPad. This one not only is free to download and install, but also make your text messages to others for free. This app doesn't require you to text with others using Textie, instead, it can let you send or receive messages to any other Textie user, any email address, and even to most U.S. mobile phones.

Turn on your ipad and go to the App store, search and install Textie.

After the installation of Textie, open it.

Then you will see the ” New Account ” option, tap on it.

Enter the details of the account, and choose ” Done “.

Check your email which you just used to create the account now, you then will get the activation code in the email.

Enter the code into the Textie.

Read and skip the two messages you get.

Tap on the button on the top of the app, and you now can start to send text messages to whoever you want.

Well, in addition to Textie, there are more apps you can use to send and receive SMS from iPad, such as Fring.