How to SMS Text Your Friends in the USA Free

January 8th, 2010 4 Comments
Skype and other providers of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) charge for SMS messages, which are technologically similar to e-mails, Google Voice (GV) is a great solution for those in the USA to bypass their mobile providers and use their smartphone (Blackberry, Android OS Phone) to send text messages via their data plan. But by default GV forwards the messages to your phone and you text back using GV as an old school phone operator relaying the message to your intended recipient. This is great until you run into international roaming where texts can run up your bill fast, and even get charged to receive them! So in my constant conquest to reduce my mobile bill to pennies I worked this out:
You will need the following:

 Google Voice Logo
  1. Sign up for a Google Voice account here. Pick an area code that is close to your friends in the US or Canada.
  2. Inform your stateside friends of your new number, and tell them to call or text you at that number from now on. This ensures that it is always the same price for them (standard text fee) and free for you, provided you have a working data plan.
  3. In your GV Account Settings (top right hand corner) click on Voicemail and SMS. Under SMS Forwarding, check the box and add your Blackberry email or whichever e-mail notifies you immediately on your phone. Then Save. This can also be accomplished with a Gmail account or other mail apps as long as they are notifying you of new emails like an SMS. If you’re like me though, you get a lot of e-mail that is not urgent, and that’s why I recommend using another dedicated e-mail for incoming SMS.
  4. Now that you’re receiving SMS from the US/Canada for free (assuming a data plan) you have to set up replying to SMS. This is where the GV App comes in. GV runs best on Android (Google), but Blackberry does well too, just with fewer features. In the GV App, go to Settings and change the Update Interval to something that is prompt enough, but not going to drain your battery too much. Then Save. I set mine to 10 minutes because if I really need to send an SMS back really fast, I will manually hit Refresh in GV and respond there.
  5. To initiate an SMS, simply go to your Address Book (Blackberry) or Contacts (Android) and select SMS Using Google Voice. On a Blackberry, this option will only be displayed under the Address Book, not in recent calls or any other function.

There you have it, free SMS to and from the USA with only minor changes in the way you text. And of course, you can always text like you used to. Feel free to post questions below.
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4 Responses to “How to SMS Text Your Friends in the USA Free”

  1. Taryn says:
    January 8, 2010 at 12:33 pm

    Hello Ben

    Thank you for the useful information. Does this only apply to USA carriers or does this work from other countries, South Africa in particular?

    Thank you.
    Taryn

  2. Lane Lease says:
    January 14, 2010 at 12:04 pm

    Thanks for the article. I enjoyed reading it. You have a very good site.

  3. admin says:
    January 14, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    It applies to any country that you can get data services on your phone in. No matter where the phone was bought. That’s the beauty of it, if you have the web, you have your Google Voice number. Good luck.

  4. rankpay promo code says:
    January 26, 2010 at 8:09 pm

    Google Voice is an absolute lifesaver. The features of it are amazing, take for example the ability to listen in on voicemail messages. I’ve got a few extra invites. Also I hope that Apple rethinks the Google Voice app, hwo could such an amazing program get killed by Apple?

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