How to Send an SMS in South Africa

1. Purchase a cell phone handset when you arrive in South Africa, or use your existing phone if it is not locked to your home network. If your visit will be brief and you do not wish to buy a new phone, hire a handset at the airport.
2. Choose a mobile network from the four service providers in South Africa. Vodacom is the largest, followed by MTN, then Cell C and the most recent service, Virgin Mobile. Each provider's rates are similar, but choose the best deal for you depending on what you anticipate using your phone for while in South Africa. Consider whether you will be mostly sending texts, making calls, or using a lot of Internet data.
3. Buy a prepaid SIM card. This tiny chip is your key to getting connected. You can purchase a prepaid starter pack from a wide range of grocery stores, pharmacies and bookstores in South Africa from as little as 6 cents. Purchase directly from a retail outlet of your chosen service provider if you don't mind paying a little extra. There, you will have the convenience of a network employee on hand to answer your questions and offer assistance.
4. Insert the SIM card into your handset. This procedure will differ according to what type of phone you are using, but a store assistant should be able to help you perform this correctly. Remember, the SIM slot may be located under your phone's battery. Switch your phone on and follow the on-screen instructions to automatically register your SIM. You will receive a text message containing your new phone number, so save this or write it down.
5. Decide how much credit you would like to add to your phone account, and buy your first airtime top-up voucher. You can get this from the store where you purchased your SIM card, or alternatively from most convenience stores and gas stations. You can also top up your credit at an ATM using a debit or credit card.
6. Navigate through your handset menus to the SMS or text message option and select 'send new message,' or the equivalent command on your phone. Type your message, and enter the recipient's cell phone number. For an international text, remember to add 00 to the beginning of the number to send the message out of South Africa, followed by number 1, the U.S. dialing code. Press 'send' to launch your first SMS from South Africa.

How to Send an SMS Greeting

1. Press 'Menu' to launch your phone's options.
2. Press 'Messaging' and choose 'Create message.' Type in your SMS greeting.
3. Hit 'Send.' Choose 'Add from contacts,' if you want to send the SMS greeting to someone in your saved list of contacts. Choose 'New number' to enter the phone number of the person to whom you are sending the message, if they are not already saved in your mobile phone book.
4. A copy of your SMS greeting will automatically be saved in your Outbox. Look there to verify that it went through.

How to Unblock Blocked Calls on Cell Phones

1. Visit a website with a service that can help you identify blocked calls. An example is TrapCall (See Resources). This is an experimental service you can try out completely free of charge.
2. Click on the button that will let you try out the service for free on the main website. This will take you to a service page. Click on the 'Free' option. On the next page, you'll input your cell phone number, your time zone and your service provider.
3. Check the 'I agree to the Terms of Service' box and then click on 'Next step.' It will tell you to input some numbers into your phone. After you've done this, click on the button marked 'OK' and on the one marked 'Done.' Wait for the confirmation code to come, in the form of a voice-mail, on your cell phone.
4. Enter your name back on the webpage, along with the confirmation code and click 'Next Step.' After you've fully registered, all you have to do is wait until a blocked number calls you. Reject the call, and then the service will unblock the number for you, showing the number of the caller on your phone.

How to Send a Text Message From Gmail

1. Sign in to your Gmail account. Once you've signed in, click the 'Settings' heading located in the top right hand corner of the page.
2. Click the tab labeled 'Labs' in the 'Settings' menu. Scroll down to the section titled ''Text Messaging (SMS) in Chat.'
3.
Select the button labeled 'Enable' and then scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click 'Save Changes.'
4.
Type the cell phone number of the text message recipient into a chat box in Gmail, and then click 'Send SMS.'
5.
Type in a contact name for the recipent, and then click 'Save.'
6. Type your message into the chat window that appears and press the enter key on your keyboard to send the message.

How to Send Push SMS

1. Decide what 'action' you'd like to initiate. This could include retrieving address information for the restaurant you're going to for dinner or checking on the Eagles/Redskins score while in a meeting or even voting for your favorite 'American Idol' contestant.
2. Locate the push SMS number. Generally this number will not be as long as a traditional phone number. For instance, texting Google for information (466453) will initiate the receiving IP address to deliver the requested information, whether it be a baseball score or a traffic update.
3. Send a text message to the push SMS number. The body of your message will most likely be short--the name of a business/person and a zip code, a short question, a sports team, a move title or theater name or something similar. Make sure the message shows it has been sent from your out-box.
4. Retrieve the information. Once you have texted the push SMS number, you will likely receive information back within 30 seconds. The information may come in one text message or may come in several. Alternatively, if your push SMS was sent to initiate an action such as a purchase or to sign up for a service, you may not receive a confirmation depending on the service provider.
5. Sift through the information. Often, you'll need to sift through the received information. If you texted for movie theater information, you might receive several texts containing movies and show times. If you texted the name of a basketball team, you might receive scores for their current game, plus their weekly schedule.

How to Retrieve a Deleted Text Message From a Samsung Cell Phone

1. Purchase a SIM card recovery kit, which are available at spy and gadget websites such as BrickHouseSecurity.com or directly from the manufacturer at Dekart.com
2. Install the software on your computer by inserting the disk that comes with the kit into your computer and following the prompts.
3. Take out the SIM card on your phone. Remove the back of the casing and look for a white, rectangular piece of plastic that sits inside of a small metal holder. Lift up the holder and slide the card out.
4. Put the card into the USB card-reading device packaged in your kit.
5. Attach the USB cable to your computer.
6. Launch the software program, go to “File” and select “Download text messages”.
7. Undelete selected messages by right-clicking on the messages in red and choosing “Undelete”.

How to Send a Text Message From an Anonymous Online Number

1. Browse to a free text messaging site, such as txtemnow.com sendanonymoussms.com or AnonTxt.com.
2. Enter the receiver's cellphone number in the appropriate field.
3. Enter a contact name in the appropriate field.
4. Under 'Message,' enter the content of your message.
5. Click on the 'Send Message' button. Your message will be delivered promptly to the recipient.