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How to Send a Text from Gmail (Step-by-Step Guide)
Ajay Goel
Last Updated on October 9th, 2023
GMAIL TIPS AND TRICKS
how to text from Gmail
Wondering how to send a text from Gmail?
Everyone knows how useful Gmail can be. It lets you set up meetings, chat with team members, create to-do lists, and more.
But can you send text messages from Gmail?
In this article, I’ll describe three methods you can use to send text messages directly from Gmail.
This Article Contains:
(Click on a link to jump to that specific section.)
How to Send a Text from Gmail
Method 1: Using the Mobile Service Provider’s SMS Gateway
Method 2: Using a Third-Party Service
Method 3: Using a Chrome Extension
Let’s jump right into it.
How to Send a Text from Gmail
Gmail used to have a straightforward process for sending a text message using your Gmail address.
Under the Labs tab in Gmail Settings, you could enable Text Messaging (SMS) in Gmail Chat.
But that was back in 2014.
There’s no more Labs tab today (it’s been renamed Advanced), and the text messaging feature that used Gmail’s chat window has been removed.
So how do you send a text from Gmail now?
I’ll describe three other methods you can use today send text messages through Gmail:
Method 1: Using a Mobile Service Provider’s SMS Gateway
Method 2: Using a Third-Party Service
Method 3: Using a Chrome Extension
For each method, I’ll cover the step-by-step process and also highlight its limitations.
Method 1: Using a Mobile Service Provider’s SMS Gateway
For this method, you need to know both your recipient’s ten-digit mobile number (without the country code) and their SMS or MMS gateway address.
What Is an SMS Gateway?
SMS (Short Message Service) gateways enable a computer to send an SMS message to a telecommunications network (for example, Verizon, AT&T, etc.).
These gateways take a message sent through an email client like Gmail and route it to a mobile network. The mobile network, in turn, delivers the message to the recipient.
Similarly, there are MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) gateways for MMS messages (messages that contain images, audio, and other non-text data).
Here are the SMS gateway addresses for popular mobile network providers in the US:
Verizon – number@vtext.com
T-Mobile – number@tmomail.net
Sprint – number@messaging.sprintpcs.com
AT&T – number@txt.att.net
Boost Mobile – number@smsmyboostmobile.com
Cricket – number@sms.cricketwireless.net
U.S. Cellular – number@email.uscc.net
And the MMS gateway addresses for these providers in the US are:
Verizon – number@vzwpix.com
T-Mobile – number@tmomail.net
Sprint – number@pm.sprint.com
AT&T – number@mms.att.net
Boost Mobile – number@myboostmobile.com
Cricket – number@mms.cricketwireless.net
U.S. Cellular – number@mms.uscc.net
If you live in the EU, APAC region, or elsewhere, check this list to find out the SMS gateway addresses for your mobile network provider. However, note that the list may not be up to date for some areas.
Once you have the SMS gateway address, follow these steps to send a text message from Gmail:
1. Log in to gmail.com from your web browser.
2. Click Compose from the Gmail inbox’s Main Menu (left sidebar) to open the Compose window.
Gmail Text Compose
In the To field of your new Gmail message window, type in the recipient’s 10-digit cell phone number (no country code), followed by ‘@’ and their SMS gateway address.
For example, this is how we’d send to 1234567890@vtext.com for a Verizon user.
Gmail Text Cellphone Number
4. Enter your email message and hit Send.
Usually, there’s a limit of 140 characters for a Gmail SMS.
Some systems can automatically split a large message into smaller chunks and send them as multiple texts. However, not all systems offer this capability. Some may even convert that message into an MMS, which may not be supported by your recipient.
To be safe, make sure that your text message is less than 140 characters long.
Limitations
Some limitations of sending texts through Gmail using SMS/MMS gateways are:
You need to know the SMS/MMS gateway address of the recipient in advance — and some mobile networks don’t even offer an SMS gateway address at all.
Neither the email formatting option nor emojis can be used if you’re sending a message over an SMS gateway from Gmail.
For sending anything other than plain text, you’ll have to use an MMS gateway, and MMS gateways are not supported across all mobile carriers.
Method 2: Using a Third-Party Service
If you have an extensive mailing list, remembering each recipient’s SMS gateway is nearly impossible. And as I mentioned before, some mobile network providers don’t even offer an SMS or MMS gateway.
In such scenarios, you can opt for third-party email-to-SMS services that help you send text messages from Gmail.
One such texting service is TextMagic.
TextMagic helps you send SMS texts via email, have online conversations, and more. And in addition to Gmail, it also works with other email service providers like Yahoo.
Gmail Text TextMagic
Here’s how to get started with TextMagic:
Register and create an account on TextMagic.
Login with your Username and Password.
Navigate to the Services section in the left menu and select the Email to SMS page.
Click Add allowed emails and enter your Gmail inbox address.
Once done, you can use your email account to send SMS via Gmail.
Here’s how to use TextMagic to send text messages through Gmail:
1. Open Gmail and click on Compose from the Main Menu.
2. In the To field, enter the recipient’s 10-digit cell phone number (no country code) followed by “@” and the SMS gateway address textmagic.com.
For example, this is how you would send a message to 1234567890@textmagic.com.
Gmail TextMagic Cellphone Number
3. Type your message in the text body and hit Send.
Any responses to your text will be routed back to your Gmail account.
Limitations
Even though it’s an easy-to-use service, TextMagic has its limitations:
It’s relatively expensive to send bulk text messages via TextMagic. TextMagic charges $0.004 (£0.033) for each message you send using this service to a US number (pricing varies across countries). However, inbound messages are free.
TextMagic doesn’t provide email-to-SMS support for all countries. For example, the service is unavailable in India, China, and South Africa, etc.
Method 3: Using a Chrome Extension
If you’re looking for an easy method to send texts from Gmail, you can opt for a handy email-to-SMS tool like Send Your Email to SMS (text). It’s a free Chrome extension available on the Chrome Web Store.
Gmail Text Chrome Extension
To use the service, all you need to do is:
Install the extension from the Google Chrome Web Store.
Open Gmail and authorize the tool to access your account.
Click Compose to send a new message.
Click on the mobile icon to Add phone numbers.
Gmail Text Chrome Extension Add Phone Numbers
Type the phone number, or add a number from your Google Contacts list. (If you need help with Google Contacts — most people do — check out our step-by-step guide.)
GMail Text Chrome Extension Google Contacts List
Now type your message in the email body and hit Send.
The Send Your Email to SMS extension also lets you forward an email message to a mobile number.
Here’s how you do it:
Open Gmail and click on the email you want to forward.
Click on the mobile icon on the top to forward the email as a text message.
Gmail Text Chrome Extension Mobile Icon
Type the phone number you want to forward the message to, and click Forward as a Text Message.
Gmail Text Chrome Extension Forward
Once sent, replies to the text will be delivered back to the sender’s Gmail inbox.
Limitations
Here are some limitations when using the Send Your Email to SMS (text) extension:
You can send emails as text messages only to US- and Canada-based phone numbers.
You can send only ten emails as SMS texts every month for free. To send more, you have to purchase a Premium Plan at $54.99/month for 1,000 messages.
So which method should you choose?
All three methods I’ve covered here allow you to send emails as text messages from Gmail, and it ultimately comes down to your personal or business needs.
For the SMS Gateway method, you need to know the recipient’s SMS gateway address in advance. It allows a Gmail user to send text messages directly from the Compose window. The service is free of cost to the sender, but the recipient may be charged for messages received.
If you want to use TextMagic, you need to create a separate TextMagic account, and it isn’t free. However, the advantage is that you only need to know the recipient’s 10-digit cell phone number.
If you want to use the Chrome extension, you don’t have to know the recipient’s SMS gateway address. However, there’s a limit to the number of texts that can be sent for free.
What’s my final verdict?
If you ask me, I’d probably take the Chrome extension route as it doesn’t require keeping track of confusing gateway addresses, and you can send a modest number of SMS messages for free.
Sure, it’s not a lot of messages, but it’s enough if you’re looking at email-to-SMS as a backup option for emergencies.
Additionally, it’s super easy to set-up. All you have to do is go to the Chrome Web Store, install it, and you’re done!
And if you’re on the lookout for the best Chrome extensions for Gmail, why not try out one that will streamline your entire email marketing experience?
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The best part?
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Wrapping Up
While Gmail doesn’t have a dedicated feature for SMS messaging anymore, you can use the methods I’ve covered in this article to send emails as SMS text messages.
The right method for you ultimately depends on your needs. The point is that even with tons of advanced features, Gmail can’t meet all your requirements as standalone software.
That’s why you need powerful tools like https://speedsms.in/ to enhance Gmail’s capabilities. With advanced mail-merge and outreach features, https://speedsms.in/ is a must-have for any Gmail user.
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Ajay Goel
Ajay is the founder of https://speedsms.in/ and has been developing email sending software for 20 years.
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17 Comments
Diane Cato
January 4, 2021 at 12:14 am
Unfortunately we are on the receiving end of a mass messaging campaign that originated from a gmail account. In the the message is a link to pornography which is very problematic for several reasons. Blocking does not work. When you block one two more send you messages with links. Is there a way to somehow disable messages from email accounts? ATT and google have been of no help as they say they cant cross over phone/email
REPLY
R smith
May 17, 2021 at 11:08 am
I agree this is a great article telling people how to do it why don’t you tell other people how to block it. Whoever wrote this article is an idiot and it should be taken down immediately
REPLY
Caligula
June 17, 2021 at 9:13 pm
Blocking an incoming message depends on the device’s blocking instructions – consult your user manual.
REPLY
setayesh55
January 11, 2021 at 9:58 am
Hi, I wanted to buy an SMS panel from Sepidar company. Can anyone help me with this? Sepidar SMS has many features such as number bank
REPLY
Doc Alvarez
June 13, 2021 at 2:36 am
Great read!
REPLY
Kyeanna
October 26, 2021 at 4:48 pm
I need Heip now
REPLY
Sinchsms
March 11, 2022 at 8:04 am
Excellent blog, knowledge growing forever in your blog that purpose Bulk SMS Service Provider
use growing industries help full in this way.
Thanks, Regards
Sinch India
REPLY
PS Doff
June 26, 2022 at 9:36 am
Why do any of these things?
With GMail you can simply enter a phone number as the address and send.
Within the US the country code is optional.
REPLY
BillA
January 18, 2023 at 3:38 pm
No you can’t without also know the @mobilegateway address.
REPLY
Jim Rowan
July 6, 2022 at 6:10 pm
Just tried the Chrome extension. It worked fine with one problem:
The message is sent from a phone number that is unknown to the recipient. With so many spam texts these days, the recipient is likely to delete/disregard/ignore the text.
REPLY
Harry
July 7, 2022 at 3:40 pm
Textnow number code…If anyone can help
REPLY
Vips patel
September 22, 2022 at 9:47 pm
Other alternative is to use hotmail.com. I struggled with it for long. Called google tech support (they don’t know much and will tell you to do search internet)
I used @vtext.com to send to verizon phone. It worked once then stopped. Hotmail works every single time just fine.
REPLY
Ko
October 16, 2022 at 10:23 pm
Please can you give me the hotmail method to try?
REPLY
Head Honcho
November 29, 2022 at 9:55 pm
One of the best illustrations of GMAIL being used for text messaging. “SMS open and response rates as high as 98% and 45%, respectively — in contrast to corresponding figures of 20% and 6% for email.” – Chris Pemberton (“Tap Into The Marketing Power of SMS”) Although I’m still not a fan of text messaging because of robocall scammers… Complaints about spam texts were up 146% in 2020. This is not to bypass email spam, phishing, and website hackers.
Nevertheless, great breakout Ajay!
REPLY
Davjohn
August 30, 2023 at 6:21 am
After fighting to install it in Chrome, it works neither in Chrome nor in Firefox (which has a built-in “extension” to utilize Chrome extensions). I opened a Compose box in the email, addressed the email, and filled in the subject and body, but the red https://speedsms.in/ button was not there. There’s no way to send it as either an SMS or MMS. What’s the use if it won’t work?
REPLY
S
October 12, 2023 at 7:36 pm
Is there a way to reverse look up ? I just received a text message from a gmail account. It was inappropriate and a definite scam. I have the gmail address the message was sent from to my cell phone. So does that mean this scammer has my definitely has phone number but do they also have my email address too or other personal identifying information?
REPLY
Allison Agin
December 18, 2023 at 6:03 pm
my dad is a massage therapist and he can really relieve minor pains and injuries’
REPLY
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