Can you send text messages through WiFi? Short Message Service (SMS) used to be one of the most popular forms of communication at one point in time. Millions of people used SMS when it was first introduced, and even today, it is available on virtually every mobile carrier and device.
There are more than four billion active users who use SMS on a regular basis. While the technology has advanced dramatically nowadays, it is still important to understand the difference between an SMS text message and a message sent through an application such as WhatsApp.
The concept of adding text functions to a mobile phone began in the early 1980s. When SMS was eventually introduced, it was the joint work of several standards bodies. Through the hard work and efforts of these organizations, SMS was made available to the general populace and was available all over the world.
The first SMS message was sent over Vodafone back in 1992. In the past, the amount of text that could be sent over SMS was limited. For instance, you could not send more than 200 characters before the SMS would be broken down, and you would have to send two together. That has changed dramatically, and a number of advancements in the world of communications has introduced us to a completely new range of technologies.
How To Send A Text Over WiFi
SMS Today
Nowadays, companies such as Google and Apple have introduced a variety of additional features that are incorporated in their basic SMS apps. For instance, the latest protocol of text messaging that is in use nowadays is the Rich Communications Services. This is a much more efficient and streamlined version of SMS, and it is useful on Android-based smartphones. However, to make it work, you will need the Google Carrier Services, and the Google Messages app on your device.
What Does it Do?
Once you have installed these two applications on your phone, you should open the Messages App. Check it to see if there are any recent updates that you need to install, and grant any permissions that the app might require. You will need to make sure that both the Carrier Services and the Messages App have been updated to their recent versions, because each new version adds more security features and provides greater convenience and new features to enhance usability.
Now, tap on the horizontal three dot menu that is a standard on almost all Android apps, and is located on the upper right hand corner of the messages app. From there, you should click on Chat Features. This will take you to a separate section of the screen where you will be allowed to enable the services. Once you activate it, Android is going to activate the Chat Features Services and you will get a prompt saying “connected” once it is actually done.
Once the service has been enabled, you will gain access to a separate menu known as Chat Features, which will allow you to disable and enable a variety of different features, such as:
- Sending and receiving texts over Wi-Fi through LTE, instead of relying on the standard SMS/MMS features;
- Sending and receiving high-res photos or videos on your device;
- Getting read receipts on your device;
- Adding or removing group chat members without having to use MMS;
- Naming a group chat;
- Adding typing indicators so that the other person knows that you are writing.
This is now being called the next generation of SMS technology, because it gives you virtually the same kind of features that you would expect from a mobile application. On top of that, it only uses the Wi-Fi connection and doesn’t use your balance.
People no longer rely on SMS because it has gotten redundant and old. SMS is a messaging protocol that is more than 25 years old, and it was in dire need of an upgrade. Thanks to this technology, you will now be able to enjoy the advanced features, such as the use of emoji, in your text messages as well. Now, you might have noticed that this guide is only designed for Android devices, and doesn’t mention Apple as much. That’s because Apple has already introduced their own Rich Communications Services tool, which is the iMessage.
Also Read: How to Know if Someone Blocked You on iMessage (10 ways)
The iMessage is the standard messaging tool that you will find on almost every Apple device. The company has updated their platform to ensure that you are able to send and receive interactive messages without using your balance. Even if you are not connected to Wi-Fi, the message will be sent using your LTE connection, and if you have a package, you won’t have to pay anything over the top. However, if you don’t have a package, only the cost of sending the data will be charged depending on how much data was consumed. There’s no fixed fee as there used to be when sending an MMS before.
It’s a very convenient way of messaging and talking to people while being more expressive. You can even send GIFs if you want through the messaging tools that are available nowadays. Google gets credit because instead of waiting for mobile application developers to integrate this service into their networks, the company has gone ahead and made it a default option on all of their devices. This now means that virtually every Android device, of which there are more than two billion, now support this option.
Many people have completely avoided using SMS nowadays because they feel that there are other applications that are less expensive and easier to use. While that may be true, the recent advancements made by companies such as Google have allowed more and more people to make the switch back to SMS and text.
However, before you can use these features, you have to follow the tips given above to unlock the features. If you don’t see the Chat Features menu, it’s probably because you have not updated your SMS app, so make sure you do that.
