Cant text android users

An iPad is incapable of natively sending an SMS or MMS text message. Those require a cellular telephone voice connection, which an iPad is not capable of. Without an iPhone to connect with the iPad to share the iPhone's SMS texting capabilities, an iPad is limited solely to Apple's internet iMestage service, other internet based services, or email and carrier specific SMS gateway email addresses.

Hi. That's right. You need a phone to send SMS messages. You were only able to use your iPad because you set up the phone to relay the messages. There are some apps in the app store that will relay messages, but they charge a fee for the service.

Because, as I said, it is incapable of making a cellular telephone voice channel connection. LTE has nothing at all to do with it. SMS messages are sent over the cellular voice network, not the cellular data network. An iPad is not capable, and no iPad has ever been capable of connecting to any cellular service providers voice network.

I have the same iPad/Android texting problem also. Thank you for your answer, but I am quite non-technical and still don't get it. I have used a work-around for a couple of years and that is using Facebook Messenger to message a friend with an Android phone. But this is so cumbersome and annoying, and impossible to use group messaging, that it will cause me to look at buying a non-Apple device when I get a new one. I actually can't believe that Apple hasn't solved this problem - it doesn't seem to be insurmountable, since Facebook does it (and, I assume, Skype, WhatsApp and any number of third parties). Any layman' explanation for why it's so impossible for Apple?

There is nothing for Apple to solve, and it strictly speaking is not even a problem as such. It is simply a fundamental difference in technologies that are mutually incompatible.

Facebook, Skype, WhatsApp, iMessage, etc are all internet messaging services. They use an internet connection, and thus can use a wifi or wired (ethernet) internet connection or a cellular data connection which is just an internet connection over a cellular network.

The limitation of internet messaging services is that all parties must be using the same service. So a Whatsapp user can send to and from another Whatsapp user, but not an iMessage user. Same thing for Facebook messenger. And Apple’s iMessage Service, free from Apple, is only available betweeen Apple device users.

SMS and MMS messaging originated decades ago in the 1980’s and use a small unused portion of bandwidth in the cellular telephone voice service connection. They have nothing at all to do with the internet, and pre-date the internet. SMS and MMS require a cellular telephone with a cellular telephone network voice channel connection.

The advantage of SMS and MMS texts is that they can be sent to and from anyone with a cellular telephone with a cellular telphone voice service as they are handled entirely by the cellular telephone networks and have nothing to do with the internet.

An iPad is incapable of connecting to any carrier‘s cellular telephone voice network. They lack the hardware and firmware to do so. Thus, by itself, an iPad is literally incapable of sending or receiving anything over a cellular telephone voice connection, which includes SMS and MMS texts. These are old technologies that have norhing to do with the internet. An iPad, wifi only or cellular and wifi, is an internet data only device. And the internet has nothing at all to do with SMS texting.

Ok, I think I understand well enough. Thank you for the explanation. However, understanding it doesn't solve my problem.

Here's a question: is it possible for an Android phone to install an app that emulates whatever it is that allows Apple devices to text each other? My biggest problem is that I have some groups (including my family) who have phones using different platforms and I would like to be able to text the whole group at once. I wonder that no one has come up with a sort of universal internet solution to this... a way for the SMS signal to be sent out simultaneously over the internet also (or something like that). Maybe someone needs to come up with a new standard? It feels like VHS and Betamax all over again, but worse!

Hi Loball1. You're right about Beta vs VHS. In this case, it's the phone providers' (Verizon, ATT, etc.) proprietary technology vs the internet's open technology. But your problem has already been solved. Look in the app store for SMS message services. The catch is, they're not free, because they have to pay to get in on the phone game.

My iPad has LTE built in so why can't I send SMS texts? Silly Apple

You are right

No, only Apple devices can send and receive iMessages. You and everyone you text would need to stick to the same internet messaging service.