Sending SMS from Gmail

You can send SMS messages to your contacts’ mobile phones using Gmail Chat. To do so from Gmail:

• Enter your contact’s number 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.

• 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.

• Click Save.

• 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).

>>     Note regarding mobile phone subscribers in North America: depending on which mobile plans your contacts in North America have, they may be charged by their mobile providers for receiving text messages.

>>     Note regarding phone subscribers of Pelephone in Israel: your contacts on the Pelephone network will receive your SMS messages for free, and will be charged for replying according to Pelephone's pricelist for core service. Special rates and packages do not apply.

>>     Note regarding mobile phone subscribers in Zambia: your contacts in Zambia will receive SMS messages for free, and will be charged for replying according to their operator's price for sending an international SMS to the USA.

Replying to SMS messages

     When you receive an SMS message from a Gmail contact, add the incoming number to your phone's address book (this number is associated with the sender's Gmail account, so you can use it to send Chat messages to that person in the future). Then, you can reply to the message as you would any other text message, and your reply appears as a Chat message in your friend's Gmail account.

Block SMS from Gmail

      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).

 

Start or Stop Receiving SMS from Google Chat

     If you no longer wish to receive SMS messages from any Gmail user, you can text 'STOP' to the system number of your carrier. When you text 'STOP' you will receive a message confirmation and you will no longer receive SMS messages from any Gmail user. To reactivate the service text 'START' to the system number.

                                        

Country	Operator	System message number
Afghanistan	Afghan Wireless Communication Company	2125000
Afghanistan	Etisalat	8080000
Afghanistan	Roshan	4664000
Algeria	Nedjma	+213558996000
Angola	Movicel telecomunicações, SA.	910110000
Angola	Unitel	46645 000
Bahrain	Viva	87700000
Bahrain	Zain	94004000
Bangladesh	Citycell	3232000
Benin	ETISALAT Bénin	+22995650000
Cambodia	Smart	1000000
Cameroon	MTN	8741000
Cameroon	Orange	23798008001
Congo, Democratic Republic	Vodacom	+243822063000
Cote D'Ivoire	Moov Cote d’Ivoire	41918000
Cote D'Ivoire	MTN	4442000
Cote D'Ivoire	Orange	2258200
Egypt	Mobinil	34000
Ghana	MTN	1980000
Ghana	Tigo	8000
Ghana	Zain Ghana	5000
Guam	iConnect Buddy	500000100
Guinea	Orange	4664000
India	Aircel	56070000
India	Loop Mobile	56070000
India	MTS	56070000
India	Reliance	56070000
India	Tata DoCoMo	56070000
India	Tata indicom	56070000
Indonesia	Axis	71000
Indonesia	Indosat	367000
Indonesia	Telkomsel	4664000
Indonesia	Tri	4665000
Indonesia	XL	94640000
Iraq	Zain	2601000
Israel	Orange	1000100
Israel	Pelephone	10000
Jordan	Umniah	99813000
Jordan	Zain	909070000
Kazakhstan	Kcell/Activ	30000
Kenya	Airtel	+254786100000
Kenya	Orange	10000
Kenya	Safaricom	+254700999000
Kenya	Yu	+254754001002
Kuwait	Viva	5078000
Kuwait	Wataniya	1971000
Kuwait	Zain	898000
Kyrgystan	Megacom	46245000
Liberia	Cellcom	8000
Malawi	Airtel	+265 991903000
Malawi	TNM	80000
Malaysia	DiGi	222350000
Malaysia	Maxis	26006000
Maldives	Dhiraagu	+9604664000
Maldives	Wataniya	4645000
Morocco	inwi	333000
Mozambique	Vodacom	841800000
Niger	Orange	91994968
Nigeria	Airtel	08021600000
Nigeria	Glo	20202001
Nigeria	MTN	40500
Nigeria	Starcomms (CDMA)	33166000
Nigeria	Visafone	610000
Pakistan	Mobilink	2434000
Pakistan	Ufone	4664000
Palestinian Terr.	Jawwal	972597912200
Palestinian Terr.	Wataniya Mobile الوطنية موبايل	5000
Philippines	Globe	2662000
Philippines	Smart	4664000
Philippines	Sun Cellular	22020000
Saudi Arabia	Mobily	611011000
Saudi Arabia	STC	88555000
Saudi Arabia	Zain	710466000
Senegal	Orange	+221774699000
Senegal	Tigo	22408000
Sierra Leone	Comium	600000
South Africa	8ta	081160061300000
South Africa	MTN	27839300613000
Sri Lanka	Dialog	4664000
Sri Lanka	Etisalat	103200000
Sri Lanka	Mobitel	89000000
Tanzania	Tigo	46000
Tanzania	Vodacom	255766790000
Thailand	DTAC	42662000
Thailand	True Move	47640001
Tunisia	Orange	871818100
Tunisia	Tunisiana	871222000
Uganda	MTN	0902801000
Uganda	Orange Uganda	+256790791500
Uganda	Uganda Telecom	+256715887000
Ukraine	Intertelecom	0944004000
Uzbekistan	Ucell	45000
Vietnam	VinaPhone	9666000
Zambia	Zain	14062050300
Zambia	MTN	14062050300
Zambia	Zamtel	+2603566000

SMS in Chat commands

Here are some commands that might come in handy for you down the road when using SMS with Chat:

• HELP: Text this command to any Gmail SMS number and you'll get a response reminding you of some of the basics of SMS and a refresher of some of the other useful commands
• STOP: This command will block all SMS messages from Gmail
• START: Re-enables you to receive SMS messages from Gmail if you're currently blocking them
• BLOCK: Send to the code number for a particular contact to block messages from that specific person
• UNBLOCK: Allows a blocked contact to send you SMS messages in the futur.

Abuse prevention with SMS

      If you send too many messages from web to mobile, without mobile responding, the web user will get blocked.       To prevent abuse, any Gmail user who sends an excessive number of SMS messages from Gmail, without getting any responses in return, will be blocked from sending further SMS messages.

SMS in Chat didn't work

      If you send an SMS message to a friend who doesn't receive it after a couple of hours, you may want to try again. Text messages can be a little flaky at times, and occasionally encounter some delays before reaching their recipient. If you see a message telling you that 'Something went wrong,' it could indicate that your message is taking a while, or that it might not go through at all. So, your best bet in this case is likely to try again.

Receiving SMS from Gmail

     Gmail users can send SMS messages to their contacts through Gmail Chat. To write back, reply to the message as you would any other text message, and your message appears as a Chat message in your friend's Gmail account.

How can I start sending SMS messages from Gmail?

     Anyone with a Gmail account can send SMS messages to their contacts in certain countries through Gmail Chat. To start texting, turn on the Text Messaging (SMS) in Chat labs feature in the Labs tab of your Gmail account settings. Once the lab is enabled, you can send text messages to your friends' phones.
If you don't have a Gmail account, you can create an account at http://mail.google.com/mail/signup.

Supported mobile operators

     Below is a list of supported mobile operators for SMS Chat in Gmail.

     If you are a mobile phone company, and wish to integrate with the SMS feature of Gmail, please drop us a note at: mobile-operators-gmail-sms-integration@google.com. Please note that this is for mobile phone companies only and we will not respond to individual requests.

More about Gmail SMS chat:

• Afghanistan
  Afghan Wireless Communication Company
  Etisalat
  Roshan

• Algeria
  Nedjma

• Angola
  Movicel telecomunicações, SA.
  Unitel

• Bahrain
  Viva
  Zain

• Bangladesh
  Citycell

• Benin
  ETISALAT Bénin

• Cambodia
  Smart

• Cameroon
  MTN
  Orange

• Congo, Democratic Republic
  Vodacom

• Côte d'Ivoire
  MTN
  Moov Cote d’Ivoire
  Orange

• Egypt
  Mobinil

• Ghana
  Airtel
  MTN
  Tigo

• Guam
  iConnect Buddy

• Guinea
  Orange

• India
  Aircel
  Loop Mobile
  MTS
  Reliance
  Tata DoCoMo
  Tata indicom

• Indonesia
  Axis
  Indosat
  Telkomsel
  Tri
  XL

• Iraq
  Zain

• Israel
  orange
  Pelephone

• Jordan
  Umniah
  Zain

• Kazakhstan
  Kcell

• Kenya
  Airtel
  orange
  Safaricom
  Yu

• Kuwait
  Viva
  Wataniya
  Zain

• Kyrgystan
  Megacom

• Liberia
  Cellcom

• Malawi
  Airtel
  TNM

• Malaysia
  DiGi
  Maxis

• Maldives
  Dhiraagu
  Wataniya

• Morocco
  inwi

• Mozambique
  Vodacom

• Niger
  Orange

• Nigeria
  Airtel
  Glo
  MTN
  Starcomms
  Visafone

• Pakistan
  Mobilink
Ufone

• Palestinian Territories
  Jawwal
  Wataniya Mobile

• Philippines
  Globe
  SMART
  Sun Cellular

• Saudi Arabia
  Mobily
  STC
  Zain

• Senegal
  orange
  Tigo

• Sierra Leone
  Comium

• South Africa
  8ta
  MTN

• Sri Lanka
  Dialog
  Etisalat
  Mobitel

• Tanzania
  Vodacom
  Tigo

• Thailand
  dtac
  True Move

• Tunisia
  Orange
  Tunisiana

• Uganda
  Orange
  MTN
  Uganda Telecom

• Ukraine
  Intertelecom

• United States
  All operators

• Uzbekistan
  Ucell

• Vietnam
  VinaPhone

• Zambia
  Airtel
  MTN
  Zamtell

SMS credit in Chat

    SMS credit is an allocation of SMS (text messages) that you're able to send to a mobile phone:

• Initially, you're granted a credit of fifty messages.
• Every 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.

"Buying" additional messages

      Keep in mind that if you'd like a higher message credit, you can always send an SMS to your own phone, and then reply to that message multiple times. Every time you send a reply message, your SMS credit is increased by five. Effectively, you're buying more messages by paying your phone company for these outgoing messages.

Source:  support.google