Sending SMS text messages from a mobile phone (often called ‘text messaging’ or simply ‘texting’) seems to be getting more and more popular each day. Social networking services like Twitter are making texting more commonplace than e-mail and IM combined.
Texting is today’s version of reaching out and touching someone. In fact, I received most of my birthday well-wishes via text message this year. That’s a first. I guess today’s fast-paced world is all about keeping things short (the first ’s’ in SMS), simple and sweet.
So what if you have a phone that cannot send SMS text messages? (Do they still make those?) What if your mobile plan doesn’t include text messages? Or, what if you want to use the big keyboard and monitor on your computer instead of the tiny keypad and screen on your phone to stay connected with your texting-obsessed friends?
Many people don’t know Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger can be used to send and receive text messages in addition to IMs. It’s simply a matter of adding mobile phone information to your contacts or creating new entries specifically for texting. Do this step once and you will be able to send text messages to those contacts and receive their responses from your desktop computer, the same way you IM today. The first time you send a text to one of your contacts they will need to authorize using their phones. The best way to see this process for yourself is to send a text to your phone first.
Watch the short (1:20) video below to see how to set things up and start texting from your PC. Click on the video to start/stop playback. You can also double-click the video to switch to full screen mode. Press the ‘ESC’ key to return to normal playback inside the browser.
Note: This video requires installation of Microsoft Silverlight which is one of the products I work on and wrote about previously. Silverlight 1.0 will release later this summer. The one-time installation takes just a few seconds and you just need to click the “Get Silverlight” button below to get started. I will begin using Silverlight more in future posts for video, photo galleries, etc. Don’t worry, it’s safe. 
Video: How To Send SMS Text Messages using Windows Live Messenger
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How do you send a message to the computer from the phone?
If you reply to a message that was sent using Live Messenger it will be displayed on the sender’s computer. I am not familiar with a way to send a text to a computer user without that user sending an initial message.
When I try to send a text to a mobile phone on Windows Live Messenger I get “none of your contacts have a mobile number defined”– ANY ADVICE?
I am able to send SMS text messages using the latest version of Windows Live Messenger with no problem. I simply follow the instructions located here. I am running Version 9 (Build 14.0.5027.908).
Here in denmark it tells me i have to buy mobile credits for WLM to send sms’s
I am trying to send my cousin a text but it keeps saying ” This message was not sent because messages can’t be sent to this mobile number.” What can I do to fixt it.
I was using mobile text messaging successfully for about a week then all of a sudden all my mobile contacts
fail with the message “Message Not Sent, Messages cannot be sent to this mobile phone”
I went to my personal mobile phone set up and authorized the use but still get the same error message
Any thoughts?
Do you get this error in Messenger or on the device? If on the device, you might try the instructions here.
the prob wid me is the service is not available in my small country ( maldives ) kekke.
but thanks to the post
i can text to phone and recieve
but do yu know how i can recieve picture text
I don’t believe picture text (MMS) is supported at this time.
I have been trying to figure out how to set this option. When I go to my TOOLS/Options/Phone tab, the tick box for “allow people on my contacts list to send messages to my mobile device” is not accessible. How do I turn this feature back on?
Appreciate the help,
CY
Hi Choo Yeung,
Where are you connecting from? I believe some options are disabled based on origin of your Messenger connection. Have you tried from a different machine?
I keep getting this message when I try to send a test “This message was not sent because mobile messenging is temporarily unavailable resolved.” When I do a search on the WEB the complaints go back as far as two years. Is there any resolution that you know of?
Dude, I’ve been trying to get this settled, but no “texting” option appears for the certain contacts I wanna text.