Send Free SMS from Gmail

Send Free SMS from Gmail

Gmail had been a wonderful email service to everyone when it was launched on 2004. With 1GB storage at that time, it trashed all other free email service provider such as Hotmail and Yahoo! mail.

Almost eight year later, now Gmail brings email (or online conversation as what Gmail like to refer as) to another level with the introduction of free text messages (SMS) from Gmail to mobile phone.

How to send Gmail SMS to any mobile phone (from Gmail):

1. Enter your contact’s name in the ‘Search or invite friends’ box in Chat, and select Send SMS from the box of options that appears to the right of your contact’s name. Or, if you already have a Chat window open for this contact, just click Options, and select Send SMS.
2. In the dialog box, enter a phone number in the ‘Send SMS messages to this number’ field. This feature is only launched in selected countries. Click here for the list of supported countries and operators. If you are not located in one of these countries you can still use it, but you won't see the SMS option in Chat until you enable it manually in the Chat settings page.
3. Click Save.
4. A Chat window appears. Just type your message as you would normally. When you hit Enter, the message will be sent to the phone number you entered.

If your contact replies, the text message response will appear as a reply in Chat. These conversations are stored in your Chat history just like regular chats (but keep in mind that you can’t go off the record while communicating via SMS).

SMS charges: Google does not charge for using this service. However, mobile providers' standard charges will apply to any SMS messages sent from a mobile device to Google Chat. Please check your mobile provider's price plan for details.


FAQ about Gmail SMS chat
How many free Gmail SMS available to each Gmail account?
Initially, each Gmail account will be granted a credit of fifty (50) messages. Each time you send a message, your credit decreases by one. Every time you receive an SMS message in Chat (for example when a phone user replies to one of your messages) your credit increases by five, up to a maximum of 50. If your SMS credit goes down to zero at any point, it will increase back up to one 24 hours later. So, you won't ever be locked out of the system.

Tips: When you Gmail SMS credit is low, you can always send a Gmail SMS to your own phone, and then reply to that message multiple times (your each reply increases your Gmail SMS by five).


How to Start or Stop Receiving SMS from Google Chat?
If you receive an unwanted SMS message from Gmail Chat, you can block future messages from the sender. Just reply to the message with the word 'BLOCK'. If you change your mind about that sender, you can send a message with the phrase 'UNBLOCK' to the phone number from which the message was sent (the SMS messages sent from Gmail Chat have their own number associated with the sender's email account).


What are the supported mobile operators?
As at the time of writing, Malaysia's supported mobile operators for Gmail SMS are DiGi and Maxis. For a list of updated mobile operator supported for Gmail SMS in Malaysia and worldwide, kindly refer here.


[ Source : SMS with Gmail ]