How to Send Text Messages to Land Line Phones

Picture messages cannot be sent to a landline phone.

Text messaging isn't limited to cellphone-to-cellphone communication. In some cases, texts can also be sent to a landline phone. The recipient won't actually see the text message; instead, your mobile carrier will detect that the recipient's phone is a landline and will use text-to-voice technology to convert the message into a format that the landline owner can receive. Sending a text message to a landline can mean faster communication with someone who does not own a cellphone or does not know how to read or respond to text messages on a mobile device.

Instructions

1. Type a text message on your cellphone, using full words rather than shortened text abbreviations. Text-to-voice does not make sense when the automated voice reads a message typed with short abbreviations.

2. Prepare the message as if you were sending it to another cellphone, but enter the recipient's landline number in place of where you would usually enter a mobile number.

3. Press "Send" and your text message will be sent to the landline phone. The person who picks up the phone will hear the message read out loud.

Tips & Warnings

• If possible, inform the intended recipient that you can send a text message to their landline so she will understand why an automated voice is reading a message on the other end of the phone.

• If an answering machine picks up an incoming text-to-voice call, some of the message may be lost because reading of the message will begin when the landline phone is answered.