Send free SMS in Canada to Bell, Fido, Rogers, Virgin, Solo, and TELUS cell phones through the Internet

First published on July 10, 2007

Last updated: July 22, 2013

I used to go to canadiancontent.net for this information, but that site never gets updated anymore and seems to have turned into a Google AdSense cash grab. So here’s a list of links where you can send free SMSs to cell phones from the different Canadian wireless providers:

(Note: the recipient might get charged, of course, depending on their specific plan)

E-mail to text

There are some e-mail to text services, but the recipient usually has to have signed up and paid for this service, unlike the web forms above that are free:

[10digitnumber]@txt.bell.ca (Bell and Solo)
[10digitnumber]@pcs.rogers.com
[10digitnumber]@sms.fido.ca
[10digitnumber]@msg.telus.com
[10digitnumber]@vmobile.ca (Virgin Mobile)
[10digitnumber]@mobiletxt.ca (PC Mobile)
[10digitnumber]@msg.koodomobile.com
[10digitnumber]@sms.sasktel.com and [10digitnumber]@pcs.sasktelmobility.com
[10digitnumber]@text.mts.net (MTS Allstream Inc./ Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.)
[10digitnumber]@txt.windmobile.ca (you have to active it first)

Note that, as reported in the comments, some providers (such as Fido) are forcing the recipient to pay an extra monthly fee in order to receive e-mail to text messages.

—————————

Know of any other providers’ text message links or e-mail formats? Leave a comment to let me know!

There is no official form to send text messages through the Internet to other providers such as 7-Eleven Speak Out Wireless or Petro Canada.

This entry is filed under Telephony, Vancouver / BC / Canada and written by Peter Keung. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

66 Responses to “Send free SMS in Canada to Bell, Fido, Rogers, Virgin, Solo, and TELUS cell phones through the Internet”

July 15th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Julia says:

Thanks! This is very useful!!
December 14th, 2007 at 8:23 am
Alex says:

The recipient has to actually sign up for such a service (email to text), and that costs a few dollars per month. So, many numbers will simply not work.
The web gateways are free. I am working on posting a form like on this page:
http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-text/send_sms
July 21st, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Zing says:

When I recieved an e-mail (I’m on rogers) it said I needed to subscribe. Is that gunna cost me anything?
July 21st, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Peter says:

@Zing: Yes, the e-mail service will probably cost you.
July 31st, 2008 at 10:34 am
Zoe says:

Virgin Mobile seems to show up as Bell for some reason when you use the 411 reverse look up… Virgin is so not text msg friendly. are they the only provider that doesn’t have their own web-phone text form??? haha.

I like that on Rogers you can make an account and store all the Rogers/Fido numbers (yea fido works with the rogers form).

Telus is good cause you can hit BACK and the number and message you just sent are still there, its quick to send another msg. unfortunately they got rid of the ‘sent from’ number so ppl dont know who the msg is from anymore…

Bell is anal with their anti-spam picture codes :@ those drive me crazy. if you type it in wrong you have to start the msg over… COPY/PASTE so you don’t have to type the whole thing over if you fail! haha

I’m pretty sure [10digits]@vmobile.ca works for virgin and the recipient doesn’t have to pay to receive it. it shoes up as from ‘[email protected]’ but theres a limit on characters so dont go nuts with the email lol.
August 10th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Kelly says:

Very handy links. I have used the Rogers link and I have tried the Virgin Mobile phone#@vmobile.ca. Both work like a charm. This is really useful.
August 18th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Ken says:

Thanks so much for the links!
January 11th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Leia says:

Oh man, thank you SO much for this! I just spent the past hour trying to figure out how to get important, time-sensitive E-mails to forward to my phone as an SMS. I use Fido, but I am not signed up for any kind of internet or extra services aside from service and caller-id, and entering my [email protected] in tandem with a filtering/forwarding system through gmail totally worked. As far as I can tell, it’s free, too!

I love you for this. Really.
March 24th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Ray says:

Can we send pics to a solo mobile from the internet?

Reply from Peter: I don’t think so.
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Chris – Msg PHD says:

Hi Katy,

I am not familar with Cuban carriers but as a lead tech for a message notification software company, here is something I use to help my clients.

** Send a message to your personal email address or any of the free emails you can signup for from your phone. ex: To: [email protected]. **
Note: This normally charges a message to your plan unless you are on an unlimited plan.

When it arrives in your email inbox you have your cell’s unqiue address. Now this does not always work if your carrier does not support email to phones or reversed.

Hope this helps
April 15th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
SMSwiki says:

An excellent resource for worldwide SMS gateways is available on Wikipedia (sortable too).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_gateway
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:30 am
mike t. says:

Will I be able to sms back to my Canadian contacts and receive their reply on my Blackberry while traveling in Argentina? If so, can I do this without charge if I’m at a WiFi location? FYI I’m using gmail.
May 9th, 2009 at 2:23 am
dLight says:

Anyone know of a way to send a message to Videotron cell phones in Quebec?

Thanks

Oh, if you have gmail, you can tell it to send a message to someone as if it was coming from your cell phone email address. So when they reply, it will show up on your cell. Except that it will not work with Bell because the verification email sent by gmail is cut off by Bell and the code is missing.
May 9th, 2009 at 11:57 am
neoSonix says:

After chipping away at trying to get the Roger’s email to work, ( I sent my friend and email to the rogers link and it asked him to get a subscription ) I attempted, on a lark, to try his roger’s number at (hisnumber)@fido.ca. It worked like a charm, no subscription, no anything. As far as some of the earlier posts, I actually find Virgin Canada to be the easiest to deal with for web to sms features. You can get any email, forward it to [email protected], and it will come out on that phone as a free text message…including those friends with pay as you go and no time left. The best grouping of features I have found, is using Gmail to forward to a txt email number with filters…in my Gmail, I use the filters so that if the subject is Message Cell, Gmail forwards the message to (mynumber)@vmobile.ca..so all friends need to know is my normal email with a specific subject line to get ahold of me on the go. Cheers all, and I hope this little blurb equals the help I have gotten from your blog so far.
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:31 am
CandieBrown says:

Ive had solo mobile for about a year now and its the worst customer service ever .I want to try bell or rogers…can i keep my solo phone and just change it over ??

Reply from Peter: Unfortunately a Solo phone is only good on a Solo plan. Therefore, you will have to buy a new phone from either Bell or Rogers. I prefer GSM phones and thus Rogers because it separates the swappable “brain” of your plan (the SIM card) from the phone. Check this SIM card guide for more information on that.
June 24th, 2009 at 10:54 am
adam f says:

btw, the telus doesnt work anymore. i love sending the text a song on Rogers!

Reply from Peter: Thanks for pointing that out. I’ve now updated the Telus link.
July 4th, 2009 at 1:28 am
Rosalie Heddy Savard says:

so, how to send a free text in the mobile

Reply from Peter: I don’t think that’s possible without a plan from your phone provider (and then that’s not free anymore).
July 6th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Barb says:

I have clicked on the ‘Solo Mobile’ site
http://www.txt.mysolo.ca/
and it does not always come through….I usually get and ‘IE CANNOT DISPLAY THIS PAGE’ message.

I have tried lowering the Security and even put the addy in the Trusted Sites, but the site is not reliable.

I have also tried the links presented here by other people. The sites work but The problem is that the person is not receiving the messages. I live in Canada
Thanks for all your help!

Reply from Peter: That’s the supposed official site for Solo, but I have also had problems loading it sometimes. Have you tried the Bell site, since Solo is simply a subsidiary of Bell?
July 19th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Xayoz says:

[10digitnumber]@sms.sasktel.com

Reply from Peter: Posted. Thanks!
August 27th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Jim says:

I just tried this August 2009 and it worked with pc mobile (President’s Choice)

[10 digit phone]@mobiletxt.ca
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:31 am
Pong says:

Fido [10digitnumber]@fido.ca does not work anymore they make you pay for it now. It’s 5$ if this service used to work for you please call in and make a complaint to the manager. Tell them this is bullshit!

Reply from Peter: Thanks for pointing that out. I have added that info to the post to make others aware of this.
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:08 am
Tulipman says:

Make no mistake about it Peter … your crap is very useful, thx.
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:00 am
LUIS says:

and for Verizon users:

your # [email protected] or @vzwpix.com just like it regular e-mail and done!…

Kuban.
any other help e-mail me
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:12 am
LUIS says:

check this out:

Gizmo5 now supports 2-way text messaging. Send SMS messages directly from
your Gizmo5 account. Your friends can reply directly to your messages and you’ll
receive their reply right in Gizmo5.

Sending SMS messages from Gizmo5 mobile is easy, follow these steps:

Step1: Select a contact and click Call/SMS.

Step2: In the Select Number screen choose the option to ‘Send SMS’

Step3: Start typing in your message and hit send.

You can also enter in any mobile number by going to the main Menu and selecting ‘SMS’.

http://gizmo5.com/pc/products/features/two-way-sms

Kuban/US
September 8th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Luc says:

For Videotron Cellular, they use the same address as Rogers , so "Videotron cell number"@pcs.rogers.com

Reply from Peter: Thanks! I’ve now added a note about this in the post.
September 16th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Cynthia says:

How can I communicate with a cuban, I have a koodo mobile, I know that I cannot send SMS by ma phone. Which site is the more secure to send SMS free by Internet and how can my friend reply to me?
September 21st, 2009 at 7:05 am
Marybeth says:

Rogers and Fido are torturous. Rogers you can send a message to [email protected] The person has to subscribe once but no fee is paid. The $5/monthly fee comes later if you choose to add the spam filter.

Fido is evil and doesn’t accept anything it seems. The #@fido.ca doesn’t work, I don’t think it works even with the $5/monthly fee. Everytime I send a message to it, it comes back as failed. Any helpful pointers!!!???!!! Please!
September 29th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
kai shi says:

is there any for virgin?
October 10th, 2009 at 9:32 am
djDeathx says:

For Virgin mobile use [email protected]

cheers!
December 8th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Max says:

A couple of people have recommended gizmosms.com.

I sent a test message to myself 2 hours ago via http://www.gizmosms.com/ (now owned by Google, but most of the Gizmo services are on hiatus). It didn’t give an error message, nor has it come through, so I would not recommend it.

My phone gets messages at (mynumber)@vmobile.ca and it works great; too bad the other phone companies aren’t so simple.
January 19th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
Nacia14 says:

I use Sasktel, and the email works fine (from PC to my cell), but whenever i try to attach a sound file or picture (even if it is modified for a cellphone screen) It only comes up as a blank text message. any tips?
February 6th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
justine says:

the guy at the top of this comment page is wrong about Bell. You have it right here, [email protected] is correct!!
April 16th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Greg says:

MTS (MTS Allstream Inc./ Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.) uses the following format:

[email protected]

Reply from Peter: Added, thanks!
April 21st, 2010 at 6:47 am
Marla says:

Thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!

FYI: the Bell address works for Solo: [email protected] I just confirmed it.

Also, for SaskTel, [email protected] and [email protected] both work. Or, if one doesn’t work, then try the other one.

Reply from Peter: Thanks, added!
April 27th, 2010 at 7:24 am
big Z says:

Thanks very much Peter. You have saved me a lot of work of looking for this type of service. sent an sms to my son who is on his way to Montreal without a driver’s licence.
May 1st, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Derek says:

Wow, was just searching for texting via computer and this is more than I ever expected. Thanks for all the work involved in making and updating the list.
May 1st, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Derek says:

The Roger (includes Fido) link does not allow text messaging without first signing up with a phone number. I tried to reach someone at Fido so for me the link did not work as I do not want to sign up with Rogers (we all know the a pain once they have your phone and email).
June 9th, 2010 at 10:50 am
corey says:

i have videotron and I used the [email protected] to send a text to myself. i first had to respond to the text by replying YES and now for each message sent I get asked to send a text with the word Reply.
Does anyone know if I get charged for these texts sent?
July 31st, 2010 at 6:30 am
William says:

Morning: Just found this site from a newspaper article here in Peterborough. I did not see any information about Virgin Mobile. Wonder if anyone knows if it is possible to text to that system…? Cheers.

Reply from Peter: Unfortunately there’s no known official web form at the moment for Virgin, but there is an e-mail address you can send to (as listed in the post).
September 13th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Dan says:

Peter! You rock!
After searching for days for an answer to email to text issues with SPoT messenger service and Virgin Canada (neither had any answers) your forum solved the issue with the correct @ address for Virgin. Simple now that I think of it, but lost in all the beaurocracy "crap" I’ve relayed the correct address to SPoT, and they should now include it in their drop down menu for providers on their activation pages.
September 16th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Jonny says:

Any ideas about chatr; great service but really need this feature

Reply from Peter: I’m not sure, but you could try the Rogers one since they’re run by Rogers.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
bottleneck70 says:

http://websms.rogers.page.ca/2way/send.php will work but a little tedious and you have to sign up first. But it is better than paying a fee.
September 29th, 2010 at 7:22 am
Louis_G says:

how i can know with cellphone number …the compagnis on cellphone

sorry my english its bad…Exemple

418-804-5555 —> rogers or fido or bell or koodo.

Thanks

Reply from Peter: You can probably find some mappings online, but now with number portability, I’m guessing that such things are quickly becoming ineffective.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:35 pm
Herb says:

You need to add Wind Mobility as a carrier

Reply from Peter: Sure, once they support it
October 12th, 2010 at 6:31 am
Clive says:

Thanks. Most useful info.

Anyone know if Virgin charges extra? I just sent a test to my own cell and it works and I was able to reply to my computer from my Virgin cell. Very cool.

Thanks

Clive
November 1st, 2010 at 8:53 am
user777 says:

Is that any idea/tip how to send text on Public Mobile cell number from PC? Thank you.
November 8th, 2010 at 8:02 am
Stephen says:

Does anyone have the sms address for the new Videotron Cell Company in Quebec active since September 2010
November 11th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Pascal Patry says:

I’m also looking for the new SMS address for videotron. Nothing seems to work anymore since they have this new 3G+ network. I can send an SMS via their website, but this is frigging annoying since I have to log in every time I want to message someone. I’d rather just send a mail… That way, I can easily message my wife from my IPad.
November 11th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Pascal Patry says:

Spoke to someone at videotron about this.. wonderful reply again:
"Gabner-Louis: When they showed us the feature on the website they did say they were working on it, but since then there are been no more information. I guess there are other things that need attention right now. And I’m not saying the Email to SMS is not important, but there are priorities I guess."
November 26th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Latoya says:

Provider E-mail to SMS address format
Bell Mobility [email protected]

Bell Mobility [email protected]

Fido [email protected]

Microcell [email protected]

Manitoba Telecom Systems [email protected]

NBTel [email protected]

PageMart [email protected]

PageNet [email protected]

Rogers [email protected]

Telus [email protected]
January 9th, 2011 at 12:16 am
tanis says:

To whomever was wondering if virginmobile charges on texts from pc.
As far as i know,NO!Im using a PayAsYouGo virginmobile with NO MINUTES and still receive texts from PC.
resident of Manitoba.
January 9th, 2011 at 12:34 am
tanis says:

As well i found a way to PC to phone VOICE,just like a regular phone for free.5 minute limit on each call but hey,its free,guess its not the topic though and im not trying to advertise some company,but if ur curious Pete let me know,and cheers for all the info….think i found a new fav blog
January 15th, 2011 at 2:32 am
dLight says:

@Tanis
Share the website please.
By the way Gmail chat has free calling in Canada/US

____________________

For those with Gmail…
Create a filter for [email protected] (or whatever you like after the "+") and forward it to the SMS email to your cell.
Works great, except it cuts off at 140 characters including Subject and senders address.

This works because Gmail ignores what comes after the "+".
Also, Gmail ignores "." (period characters).

Peace, Blessings and Grace for the New Year!
Always and All Ways!
January 15th, 2011 at 2:53 am
dLight says:

Oh, I forgot!
Bell + Telus cuts off at 140 characters because the definition of SMS on CDMA networks are limited to 140 characters!
Rogers which is GSM, does not cut off at 140 characters if I am not mistaken.

I used to get split messages from Rogers to my Bell when the message was too long! I am guessing that is a Rogers feature because Bell just truncates messages!

___________________________

For those people trying to send an email to text in other countries…
Usually there is a link to send messages right on the service provider’s web page.

Ask your friend/family for the website of their service provider.
In smaller countries, you may find that there is usually only one service provider.

Peace!
January 28th, 2011 at 5:43 pm
mica says:

Is there a cost to Email To SMS for Rogers. I cannot find this answer anywhere.
February 5th, 2011 at 11:26 pm
JHill says:

dLight, I don’t understand your instructions for GMail. The problem is I CAN’T create a filter until I get the verification code from my phone. It’s a circular logic problem, you see? So I don’t see what you’re trying to explain. Where EXACTLY in the GMail settings do I enter the +txt address? What field? What field do I enter the mobile text gateway?
February 12th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Kerry says:

have been texting my children through [email protected] from my computer for a few years now (yes, i am cell less, lol) works wonderfully still with other two (one has a LG touch and the other Blackberry Curve not sure of series) …..then my youngest upgraded his phone to Blackberry Curve 9300 series, he still receives my messages but cannot reply to it…..and ideas? thanks!
February 28th, 2011 at 7:51 am
tobin says:

im on a pay as you go rogers phone and its out of time right now and occasionaly is for a few days when i try going to the rogers site and log in it says my stuff invalid yet when i click the home button after the failed login then log into the home page it works but i cant get to the pc to mobile sms page also i tryed the pcs.rogers email thing and no reply on that for a while now
March 10th, 2011 at 9:41 am
jo says:

Ok

what happens with virgin mobile

I send it through gmail. Its an android phone. I send a text doing the exact instructions. But my boyfriend gets the message and it is undeliberable.
SO there is nothing useful about it. \

I can’t even delete his old phone number from his hotmail to add this one. so Its pretty useless
May 15th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
S.R. says:

How about the new mobile company Public Mobile in Canada? Does anyone know the domain for sending SMS/email to Public Mobile cells?
May 27th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Bob says:

What about public mobile????
June 6th, 2011 at 5:15 am
john says:

I sent an sms from telus website to a telus number, is it free?? and when the message will be sent?? i used www.sendsmsnow.com but it used to take long for sending an sms, but i hope the telus site is fast.

Reply from Peter: It should be free and sent immediately.
June 17th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
dLight says:

@JHill
Email yourself at [email protected]. Then create a filter that FORWARDS those email to [email protected] (or which ever email address listed in this blog for your particular cell phone provider!).

I was never able to validate my cell with Gmail!
The reply cuts off at 140 characters, just before the code is displayed!
So you can never validate from CDMA phones!
(Did Gmail plan it that way?!? Duh!)
June 20th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Guy Noir says:

For all of those people asking "how to send SMS messages to users in various countries" – here is a tip: get the phone user to send a small message from their phone to your email address first. The message should arrive saying who it is from…like [email protected]
Try it with your own cell to your own email address.
June 17th, 2012 at 6:39 pm
Cellular Nut says:

June 17, 2012.

Please update your cell company list above and bring in all the new cell providers on board in Canada !!!

Thanks for your info…

Reply from Peter: I would happily do so if they provided the same service. If anybody has other carriers’ SMS form links, please post a comment!
July 8th, 2012 at 11:26 am
HEY THERE DUDE says:

A SUGGESTION IDEA !!!

Possible place the newest comments at the top or start placing comments in yearly folders. As this page is getting very long and boring with repeat requests and comments all over your site. Your site needs more information about text messaging services and also include more generic type sites. As well as a few popular USA and international ones might help if persons are on holidays or a long vacation too.

Thanks from the front room at my home in Canada !!!

Reply from Peter: Good idea. I’ve cleaned up some of the redundant comments and will have all future comments go to the forum.