SMS on Nexus 7

[BigLar]

I recently got a Nexus 7 with ATT LTE running KitKat. It's a very nice device with one glaring omission; no SMS. As the device is on a wireless network (with a dedicated phone number from ATT) I expected that I would be to use SMS but apparently that is not the case. Even if I send an SMS from my iPhone directly to the dedicated number of the Nexus 7 nothing is received.

It has an app called Hangouts but it seems rather limited.

In contrast, my iPad 2 (WiFi-only) has messaging that, when on a WiFi network, seems to run concurrently with my iPhone such that when an SMS arrives both devices can display it.

So I guess I've got two questions:

1. Is it unusual that I can't get SMS on a tablet and there any other tablets that will?

2. Is the ability of the iPad 2 to receive SMS due to an Apple trick wherein SMS coming into the iPhone are automatically routed, via WiFi, to the iPad or is there something else going on?

I'm RMAing the Nexus 7 and don't want to make the same mistake again.

 

[Eug]

This is to be expected. To oversimplify... Cell phone plans have two plan components, voice and data. SMS travels over voice, whereas instant messaging travels over data.

Therefore you can use a voice-only plan on a cell phone and still send and receive SMS. OTOH, if you have a data-only plan, you cannot send and receive SMS. The Nexus 7, as does basically any other cell-enabled tablet out there, uses data-only plans.

The iPad 2 cannot receive SMS either. What you're receiving on the iPad 2 are instant messages, called iMessages. The difference though is that Apple integrates the instant messaging and SMS application. However, you can still tell them apart because Apple's SMS are green, and their iMessages are blue. Furthermore you are not sending those messages to a phone number on the iPad 2, because the iPad 2 doesn't have a phone number. You are sending them to an email address. Apple hides this though because they've associated that email address with that phone number.

For the record, I never use iMessaging on my Apple products. There are still potential gotchas, and SMS-only is still more reliable (at least with my carrier). The drawback though is that I can never get these messages on my iPad because I am not using iMessaging.

 

[BigLar]

Way to go, Eug! In your first paragraph you got me more information than I'd been able to get in several hours of reading, hassling, and fretting. Much appreciated!

My entire family are on iPhones so, if I understand you correctly, if I were to get an iPad Mini with LTE service to replace the Nexus 7, I'd be able to "fool myself" into thinking that I had SMS on the Mini, even if it was really only iMessaging.

 

[thedosbox]

if I were to get an iPad Mini with LTE service to replace the Nexus 7, I'd be able to "fool myself" into thinking that I had SMS on the Mini, even if it was really only iMessaging.

If you want to hold onto the Nexus 7, you could try a cross-platform messaging app such as whatsapp, kik, viber, bbm etc. However, you'd need to convince your iOS contacts to switch also.

 

[Eug]

My entire family are on iPhones so, if I understand you correctly, if I were to get an iPad Mini with LTE service to replace the Nexus 7, I'd be able to "fool myself" into thinking that I had SMS on the Mini, even if it was really only iMessaging.

Yep. In a nutshell.

If you want to hold onto the Nexus 7, you could try a cross-platform messaging app such as whatsapp, kik, viber, bbm etc. However, you'd need to convince your iOS contacts to switch also.

That's one reason I just stick with SMS. Cross platform, and even works on dumbphones.

 

[BigLar]

The main problem of a cross-platform solution would be that if ANY problem ever developed with anyone else's phone, guess whose fault it would be?!!!

A clear path to pain-killer addiction. .

Thanks for the suggestion, though.

 

[s44]

You could run the Google Voice app on the Nexus, or use the MightyText app to text from your real cell phone number.

 

[MrSquished]

there is an awesome app called Mighty Text. install it on your phone, install it on your Nexus 7 and if you use Chrome browser, install it there.

you can now text from your main cell phone number from your tablet PLUS right from your Chrome browser on your pc. makes typing messages pretty darn easy.

 

[Red Storm]

This is one of the areas where Google Voice (or having a Google Voice #) really shines. Love being able to send and receive texts from my phone, tablet, or computer. Also can make phone calls.

 

[Dulanic]

You could run the Google Voice app on the Nexus, or use the MightyText app to text from your real cell phone number.

Best way IMO is mightytext. Great app. I love texting from my pc through my phone. I like Google voice too but no one knows my Google voice #.

 

[thedosbox]

That's one reason I just stick with SMS. Cross platform, and even works on dumbphones.

Agreed, and is foolproof if all your contacts live in the same country. However, SMS charges get expensive once you start crossing borders.

 

[Eug]

Don't you need an Android phone for MightyText? I assume he has an iPhone.

Agreed, and is foolproof if all your contacts live in the same country. However, SMS charges get expensive once you start crossing borders.

All my international SMS/MMS are included with my plan. Unlimited, no extra charge. Mind you, I don't often text internationally so it's almost moot for me.

However, if I were on vacation outside the country, I'd just use email or iMessage on my iPhone.

 

[thedosbox]

All my international SMS/MMS are included with my plan. Unlimited, no extra charge. Mind you, I don't often text internationally so it's almost moot for me.

Great for you. Up here, unlimited international text costs $10/month. Don't have that add-on? 25 cents per text to the US. It's even worse in the UK.

 

[Eug]

Great for you. Up here, unlimited international text costs $10/month. Don't have that add-on? 25 cents per text to the US. It's even worse in the UK.

I live in Canuckistan. Unlimited international SMS / MMS is extremely common. I'm on Fido and ALL of their post-paid plans include it, whether you want it not.

 

[thedosbox]

I live in Canuckistan. Unlimited international SMS / MMS is extremely common. I'm on Fido and ALL of their post-paid plans include it, whether you want it not.

http://www.bell.ca/Mobility/Products/International-Text-Messaging
http://mobility.telus.com/en/ON/mobile_messaging/int_mess.shtml?INTCMP=ILCq4srvesmsg2

Point being, not all carriers are the same.

 

[Eug]

http://www.bell.ca/Mobility/Products/International-Text-Messaging
http://mobility.telus.com/en/ON/mobile_messaging/int_mess.shtml?INTCMP=ILCq4srvesmsg2

Point being, not all carriers are the same.

That's why you need to shop around, if you regularly use international MMS. Like I said before though, international MMS is kinda irrelevant to me because I rarely use it, but unlimited international MMS is an extremely common feature. Also, remember that these add ons are often for legacy plans. Fido has the add on too but it is superfluous for all current Fido plans.

However, Koodo and Virgin include it too, and these are owned by Telus and Bell, the two links you provided, and use the exact same network.

 

[thedosbox]

That's why you need to shop around, if you regularly use international MMS. Like I said before though, international MMS is kinda irrelevant to me, because I rarely Use it. Also, remember that these add ons are often for legacy plans.

Not true on Rogers - their plans only include Canada wide text. Similarly, not true for "Three" or "EE" - two of the bigger UK carriers. Again, it's a big wide world.

Also, getting a bundle that includes international SMS often means giving up/paying more for some other option. e.g. Fido plans max out at 1GB of data and the 2GB add-on costs $25, Wind has limited coverage and speed, etc etc.

As for travelling, the advantage of a data-based messaging app is that your contacts don't need to be given a new number if you're using a local SIM. Just login to your account and voila. Picking up a "Three" SIM with unlimited data (£15) in the UK is way cheaper than roaming.

 

[Eug]

Fido is owned by Rogers, and I have 2 GB data and unlimited Canada wide voice + unlimited international SMS/MMS included on my Fido plan.

I have a $56 plan but got discounts so over 2 years so it will be under $45 per month.

Fido increases their plans to 2 GB several times a year, as do Koodo and Virgin. That's why shopping around is recommended, and just blindly accepting what their parent companies Bell, Telus and Rogers offer is not a good idea.

If unlimited MMS is not important to you because you prefer to use IM, then that's fine. However, if unlimited MMS is a consideration for you then there are lots of options available, and for a low price.

 

[gorcorps]

I would also recommend mighty text. It's a great app that I usually use to quickly send texts from the computer, but it'll work from a tablet too.

Google Voice would work as well, but it won't be as slick as mighty text.

 

[Eug]

I'll ask again, doesn't MightyText require an Android phone?

He said his entire family uses iPhones, and I got the impression he does too.

 

[thedosbox]

Fido is owned by Rogers, and I have 2 GB data and unlimited Canada wide voice + unlimited international SMS/MMS included on my Fido plan.

I have a $56 plan but got discounts so over 2 years so it will be under $45 per month.

Fido increases their plans to 2 GB several times a year, as do Koodo and Virgin. That's why shopping around is recommended, and just blindly accepting what their parent companies Bell, Telus and Rogers offer is not a good idea.

Again, great for you, but the last time I looked, Three and EE are not Canadian carriers. Hint: it's a big wide world, and conditions vary.

 

[gorcorps]

I'll ask again, doesn't MightyText require an Android phone?

He said his entire family uses iPhones, and I got the impression he does too.

Hmm, I guess it does. I never actually looked if it supported anything else but it doesn't look like it. That's a shame.

Google Voice is still an option, but you'll get a new phone number with that OP.

 

[s44]

Hmm, I guess it does. I never actually looked if it supported anything else but it doesn't look like it. That's a shame.

Google Voice is still an option, but you'll get a new phone number with that OP.

It looked like he was planning to use the new number he got with his tablet SIM anyway.

 

[BigLar]

I'll ask again, doesn't MightyText require an Android phone?

He said his entire family uses iPhones, and I got the impression he does too.

Yes, we're iPhone centric...for better or worse!