Text message a landline

Ever needed to text message, oh I don't know, grandma, but she doesn't have a cell phone? Watch our video on how this works, then refer back to this article for the steps.

Watch this: Send text messages to a landline

01:24

This is actually just to help you discover a feature you probably didn't know you had. Sprint and Verizon allow this on their networks in the U.S.; check with your local carrier to see if they also permit it. If they do, it's simple.

1. Write your text message and include the landline phone number in the to: line. The text message will be sent to a special service which converts it into a voice mail, using text-to-speech technology.
2. You'll get a confirmation message telling you how much the message will cost to send, and asking you to text message a one-time confirmation for that number.
3. From then on, any text to that number will be automatically sent.
4. On the other end, the person picks up the phone and hears your message read out to them. (This is the part you have to watch the video to really get.)
5. They can even choose to record a reply back.
6. Then you'll get a text message confirming they got the message and letting you know how to access their reply. Thanks to Stephanie for sending us an e-mail, tipping us off to this.