How to Send a Text Message to Any Phone Number for Free

1. Navigate to Txt2day. Fill out the text boxes for the phone number you want to text to, your email address, the receiver's phone provider, and the text message you want to send. The site has an option to help you look up the phone service for the number if you don't know what it is.
2. Visit the Free SMS site. This website has a list of links for all major phone carriers; click on the one for the phone number you want. This connects you to the carrier's web page, where you can send free text messages to the number in question.
3. Open your browser to Mobile Mammoth. Scroll down the page to the 'Send a message' box. Enter the phone number you want and your email address into the appropriate text boxes. Select the carrier from the 'Wireless carrier' drop-down menu. Click the 'Agree to terms' selection, then enter your text and click 'Send' to send your free message.

How to Send a Message to a Cell Phone Using Outlook

1. Double-click the 'Microsoft Outlook' icon on your computer's desktop. If an Outlook icon does not appear on your desktop, click the Windows 'Start' button and then choose 'Microsoft Outlook' from the menu options.
2. Click 'New E-Mail' in the top menu to create a new message.
3. Enter the recipient's mobile email address in the 'To' field. The mobile email address is comprised of the recipient's 10-digit cell phone number followed by the SMS gateway. The SMS gateway is the equivalent of a domain in an email address and varies from one cellphone service provider to another. For example, a Sprint customer's mobile email address would look something like 1234567890@messaging.sprintpcs.com
4. Enter a subject in the designated field and then type your message. On most cellular networks, you'll need to limit your message to 160 characters or less. Longer messages may be truncated or sent as several messages.
5. Click the 'Send' button and your message will be delivered to the recipient's cellphone within a few seconds.

How to Get Free Text Messaging on Your Cell Phone

1. Using the web browser on your mobile phone, create an account on txtdrop.com or textem.net. You may also use a computer if you do not have internet access on your mobile phone. Complete the registration information which includes providing your mobile number and email address and confirm your account by clicking on the link in your email. Once confirmed, head back to the website and log in.
2. Locate the messaging tab on the home section of your user page. Enter the recipient's mobile number in the 'to' field, followed by your mobile number or email in the 'from' field. Type your message in the message box. Depending upon the service that you are using the character limits may be different. For example, text2day.com only allows you to send 140 character messages at a time, while textem.net does not impose a character limit. However, the recipient may receive multiple texts if the character limit is over 160.
3. Submit the message and confirm the submission by entering the validation code if prompted. Wait for the message to populate in your sent folder to confirm that it has been sent to the recipient. If the recipient chooses to reply, the message will be sent to your email address. You will receive the email on your phone if you have email capabilities.

How to Send a Free Text Message to a Nextel Phone

Text Via Email
1. Launch the email client you regularly use. If you use web-based email in place of an email client, log in to the website that hosts your email account.
2. Click on the 'Compose' or 'New' buttons in your email client to begin writing a new email message.
3. Enter the email address of the Nextel user you need to contact in the 'To' field of your new mail message. All Nextel email addresses are in the following format: tendigitnumber@messaging.nextel.com, meaning that you would enter 3135551212@messaging.nextel.com if you wanted to send a text to (313) 555-1212.
4. Compose your message. Remember that text messages are limited to 160 characters, and that any characters in excess of 160 may be omitted or divided into multiple messages.
5. Click the 'Send' button in your email client. While cell phones do not directly receive emails as text messages, the Nextel system forwards your message to the Nextel user as a text.
Text Via AOL Instant Messenger
6. Launch AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). Log in using your AOL screen name and password, and click the 'Sign In' button in AIM.
7. Start a new instant message. Click the 'People' menu on the top of your 'Buddy List' window and select 'Send Instant Message.'
8. In the 'To' field within AIM, enter the 10-digit mobile number of the Nextel user you want to text, preceded by the country code, which is +1 for the United States. For example, if you wanted to text message (212) 555-1234, type the following in the 'To' field: +12125551234.
9. Compose the text message in the body of the AIM window, just as you would if sending it to an AIM user.
10. Click the 'Send' button in the lower-right hand corner of the screen to send the message to a Nextel phone.

How to Attach a Nokia Hands

1. Press the power key on the Nokia hands-free device and hold it down until the green light starts to flash. This will place your headset in the pairing mode and allow it to be detected. Turn on your cell phone, locate the Bluetooth feature on your cell phone and activate it.
2. Set the Bluetooth mode on your cell phone to search to allow it to detect other Bluetooth devices. Choose the Nokia devices on the listed items that the cell phone has detected. If the phone does not detect the headset, make sure it is powered on.
3. Enter 0000 as the pass code when the cell phone requests it to complete the connection. Test the headset connection by making a call using your cell phone and the Nokia hands-free headset.

How to Identify a Phone Number for Free

1. Enter the phone number into a reverse phone number search website. The owner's name and address may be available for free in one of these directories (see Resources). A reverse search works for most phone landline numbers, unless the number is an unlisted number.
2. Enter the phone number into a call tracking website. These sites provide a database of information compiled from other people who report receiving calls from the same number. Two of the most used sites are Who Calls Me and 800notes.com (see Resources). The amount of information available for a phone number varies.
3. Find information on the number's area code and three-digit prefix. Even if you can't get information on the specific phone number, you can still find its general place of origin through the area code and prefix. Many phone companies, like Verizon, offer free area code lookup (see Resources) that will give you the caller's state. Next, use a search engine like Google to look up the area code and prefix together in order to narrow down the location even further. For example, if the number is (708) 555-1212, search for '708-555.' The area code tells you that it's an Illinois number, and the prefix narrows down the exact city or town.
4. Call the number and ask the person who answers to give you the information. You may not even have to ask because if it's a business, the employee may answer the call with the business name. Use this direct method when you can't find the information through indirect means. For example, if you're getting repetitive calls or hang-ups, you are entitled to know who is harassing you.

How to Send Web SMS

SMS via Email
1. Open your email client and compose a new email. Begin entering your recipient's phone number (with 1 + area code) into the 'Send To' box.
2. Determine the mobile carrier of your recipient and find the U.S.-based text messaging domain (see Resources) for that carrier.
3. At the end of your recipient's phone number, append the '@' symbol and then type in the domain that you found.
4. Type your SMS message into the body of the email and send your SMS message. You may want to include your name in the body, as your email address may not identify you on your recipient's phone.
SMS via Websites
5. Determine the mobile carrier of your recipient, and find an online service that allows you to send SMS messages (see Resources).
6. If required, register with the website of the service and then enter your recipient's mobile number in the appropriate text box.
7. Type your SMS message in the corresponding box and send your SMS when finished.
Google Voice
8. Request an invite from a friend or acquaintance with Google Voice. Google Voice is still in beta mode, so it is only accessible via invite.
9. Open your email invite and click on the link. Sign up for Google Voice or enter your existing Google account information.
10. Activate your phone to work with Google Voice. You will have to verify the phone number by accepting a call from Google Voice and entering the key code that Google Voice gives you prior to the call. Once your phone is verified, you can send SMS messages to mobile users from the main dashboard in your Google Voice account.
11. While at the Google Voice dashboard, click on 'SMS' and type in your recipient's number. Then type in your SMS message and press 'Send.'