Sending SMS through Skype

 

This is available to virtually all phones.

It costs a few cents to send (depends on the country sending to, but around 10 US cents per text sent), so you need to have money in your Skype account.
If you do not have money in the account, either-
- click on the $0.00 at the top right of the Skype window, and "Visit account page" will appear under that - click on that.
--- or --
- go to this URL: https://secure.skype.com/account/
Sign in using your Skype name and password.
Near the top right, click on the blue "Buy Skype Credit" button.
Enter your details and click on the blue "Next" button at the bottom of the page.
Choose a payment method, click the box next to "I agree to the Skype Terms of Service" and click on the blue "Next" button at the bottom of the page.
Follow the instructions (depends on the payment method).
Once finished, you should see a money balance at the top right of the Skype window. You can now make calls and send SMS texts.

To send an SMS text, click on "Call Phones or Send SMS" at the bottom left of the Skype window, and a Call Phones or Send SMS" window will pop up top right. At the top of this pop-up window select the recipient's country, and enter the phone number (minus the lead zero for non-North American numbers) - you can do this on your keyboard or by clicking the numbers in the pop-up window with your mouse. Then click on the odd-looking grey icon to the left of the green phone icon at the bottom right of the pop-up window.
Type your message (you can enter up to 160 characters) and then click on "Send SMS" to the right.

Clicking on "Skype" at the top left of the screen and then selecting "Preferences" - "SMS", you can choose to have the recipient see the sender as your Skype name or you registered mobile phone number.
However, with Japanese phones, when you send Skype SMS to Softbank/Docomo phones the sender comes up as a Hong Kong phone number (+85...). You _cannot_ send SMS through Skype to AU phones - a message will come up near top right of the SMS pop-upwindow saying "Misc error"


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