Learn about sending and receiving texts, including how to block texts, restore deleted texts, text to and from email, and send international messages. IMessage is free to set up and use. It comes already installed on Apple devices, like Mac computers, iPhones, and iPads. It won’t cost anything to activate on your device, but it could cost you money through data usage charges. The app sends your messages using the Internet connection on your device. If you are an iPhone owner, you can send an international text message using a variety of apps. Some work more like chat services that use your data plan or Wi-Fi, while others assign a text-only phone number to every contact. The go-to app for free international texting on an iPhone is iMessage. We've tried everything with international code without with the email that is registered to iMessage I tried texting he tied texting me on the phone number and the email that I have for iMessage nothing worked so far. Apple’s built-in texting app iMessage allows free texting across all iOS devices and Mac OS as long as they have internet access. Basically, iMessage is not using your vendor’s text message. You can send pictures or text messages through iMessage to any iOS or Mac device for free.

Communication is important while traveling abroad. Whether it is staying in touch with friends and family back home or keeping in contact with travel partners, you need a way to stay connected. The problem is most of our cell phone plans don’t cover texting outside our home country. When it is available it comes at a high price. Luckily, there are ways to text for free when you are abroad.

There are many scenarios when we may need to text abroad and I will cover the following:

• How to Text for Free While Traveling Abroad
• How to Text Home from any Country in the World for Free
• How to Text from Home to Another Country for Free

How to Text for Free Abroad

As I mentioned in How To Use Your iPhone for Free Abroad, WiFi is king. With WiFi you can basically do anything for free which include texting. However, you can’t use your traditional texting apps to do this.

Texting from your smartphone in another country means you will pay to send and receive texts messages if you send a traditional SMS. Luckily, there are free ways to send texts using WiFi. When you have a WiFi connection you will not be using your data plan and all data will be sent and received over WiFi. However, you must use texting and messaging apps to do this.

There are a number of great apps for texting and messaging over WiFi.

iMessage

This messaging service is built right into your iPhone. When you are texting another person with an iPhone or iDevice the messages that are sent are 100% free. Be sure to be connected to WiFi and that the recipient has an iPhone. For a detailed description on using iMessage head over to this post which goes into detail.

Third Party Apps

We don’t all have an iPhone and we don’t need to. The debate over Android devices and iPhones is for another day and luckily it doesn’t matter which you prefer. There are great messaging apps for both types of phones.

WhatsApp

I am a WhatsApp user and have been for a long time. WhatsApp allows you to send free messages anywhere in the world over a data connection. What this means is when you are abroad you must have a WiFi connection to use it without being charged. When it is not connected to WiFi is uses your data plan which means it will not be cheap if you are traveling on your mobile plan based at home.

WhatsApp allows you send messages to anyone who has the app. It is available for just about any smart phone and only $0.99. Tell your friends and family to download it before you leave and stay in contact whenever you have a WiFi connection.

Download it here.

Facebook Messenger

Facebook messenger is another simple solution. Not only is it free but you will already have access to all of your facebook friends as contacts. This is different than sending a message through facebook but basically serves the same purpose as a texting and messaging app. Instantly reach your friends and let them reach you by activating push notifications. It doesn’t matter if your friends are on facebook at the time or not. It will send a notification directly to their phone using the app. It is a simple app and another favorite of mine.

Imessage On Or Off

Download it for Android and iPhone

How to Text Home from any Country in the World for Free

Texting home is just like texting within the country you are traveling. You will need WiFi connections to text and message your friends or family. Just follow the steps above to text to your home country while traveling abroad.

Have an iPhone? Learn how to call home for free too.

How to Text from Home to Any Other Country for Free

So you just got home from traveling and you made some friends abroad but how do you stay in touch? Well besides email and Skype you can still text anyone abroad for free using third party apps.

The key to remember at home is you DO NOT need a WiFi connection to text abroad.

Why is this the case? When you are at home you already have a data plan with your smart phone. This means you can avoid expensive international texts by using the same apps listed above. The benefit of texting from home you only need your regular cell phone plan and you do not need to be connected to WiFi. There is no problem with using WiFi but it is not necessary.

Sending a text through WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger would be just the same as sending an instant message if you were on your laptop. You are using an internet connection to send the message. In this case, with your smartphone, you are using your data plan that you already pay for at home for regular use. Sending messages through these apps will have no extra charge as long as you already pay for a data plan at home. If you have a smart phone you probably have a large data plan.

This means you can text your friends from home using third party texting and messenging apps. My favorites are WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger but there are dozens available. Due to the fact both parties need the app, using a popular app makes life easier. It increases the chances that a lot of your contacts have already installed the app on their phone.

Alternative Paid Options

WiFi is almost everywhere these days. We can find it in remote hostels, cafes, and airplanes. However, what do we do when we need to text without a WiFi connection?

You can buy a prepaid package from your mobile carrier before you leave the country. For example, AT&T will allow you to purchase 50 global text messages for $10 per month. You can add this to your plan before you leave and remove it when you get home. If you send 50 texts it will be a lot cheaper prepaying the $10 than paying the international texting rates. This is handy for traditional texts and there are no third party apps required.

International data packages are expensive for most carriers. Using AT&T as an example again, you are looking at $30 for only 120MB. That is not much for emailing or browsing the web but that is enough to a lot of messages using WhatsApp. If you prefer, you can use an app that uses data to send and receive messages. Be sure to pre-purchase data from your carrier before you leave for your trip.

WhatsApp has a handy built-in Usage Calculator in the settings. This allows you to monitor all of the data you have sent and received.

Data Usage

As you can see, since I last cleared my statistics, I have sent and received 1,267 messages using WhatsApp which used 7.6 MB of data. That is not very much data and it is a lot of messages. So if you were to purchase 120 MB you will be able to send thousands of messages using the App with your pre-paid purchase. For some, this may be the best option and is one I use often.

Keys to Remember for Texting Abroad for Free

• Always use WiFi overseas
• Pre-Purchase data if you need to connect without WiFi
• Make sure all parties download the apps

There is always a way to stay connected for free when you are traveling. If you can cut back on the texting and only text when you have WiFi then it will always be free. If you must text without WiFi, pre-purchase an international data plan before you leave.

Imessage Texting Online

Try these steps first

1. Restart your device:
2. Check your network connection. To send a message as iMessage or MMS, you need a cellular data or Wi-Fi connection. To send an SMS message, you need cellular network connection. If you turn on Wi-Fi Calling, you can send SMS messages over Wi-Fi.
3. Check with your carrier to see if the type of message you’re trying to send, like MMS or SMS, is supported.
4. If you’re trying to send group MMS messages on an iPhone, go to Settings > Messages and turn on MMS Messaging. If you don't see an option to turn on MMS Messaging or Group Messaging on your iPhone, then your carrier might not support this feature.
5. Make sure that your device has enough space to receive images and videos.
6. Make sure that you entered the correct phone number or email address for the contact.

If you see a Waiting for Activation alert, learn what to do.

If you still need help, find your issue below to learn what to do next.

If you see a red exclamation point

If you try to send a message and you see with an alert that says Not Delivered, follow these steps:

1. Check your network connection.
2. Tap , then tap Try Again.
   
3. If you still can’t send the message, tap , then tap Send as Text Message. Messaging rates may apply. Contact your carrier for more information.

If you see a green message bubble

If you see a green message bubble instead of a blue one, then that message was sent using MMS/SMS instead of iMessage. There are several reasons for this:

• The person that you sent the message to doesn't have an Apple device.
• iMessage is turned off on your device or on your recipient’s device. To check if iMessage is turned on for your device, go to Settings > Messages > iMessage.
• iMessage is temporarily unavailable on your device or on your recipient’s device.

Learn the difference between iMessage and MMS/SMS messages.

If you receive messages on one device but not the other

If you have an iPhone and another iOS device, like an iPad, your iMessage settings might be set to receive and start messages from your Apple ID instead of your phone number. To check if your phone number is set to send and receive messages, go to Settings > Messages, and tap Send & Receive.

If you don't see your phone number, you can link your iPhone number to your Apple ID so you can send and receive iMessages from your phone number. You can also set up Text Message Forwarding so you can send and receive MMS and SMS messages on all of your Apple devices.

If you have issues with a group message

If you’re in a group message and stop receiving messages, check if you left the conversation. Open Messages and tap the group message. If you see a message that says you left the conversation, then either you left the conversation or you were removed from the group message. You can rejoin a group message only if someone in the group adds you.

To start a new group message:

1. Open Messages and tap the Compose button to start a new message.
2. Enter the phone numbers or email addresses of your contacts.
3. Type your message, then tap the Send button .

If you have other issues with a group message, you might need to delete the conversation and start a new one. To delete a group message:

1. Open Messages and find the conversation that you want to delete.
2. Swipe left over the conversation.
3. Tap Delete.

When you delete a message, you can't recover it. If you want to save parts of a message, take a screenshot. To save an attachment in a message, touch and hold the attachment, tap More, then tap Save.

Learn more

• If you still can't send or receive messages, contact Apple Support.
• If you don't receive SMS messages, contact your carrier.
• If you switched to a non-Apple phone, learn how to deactivate iMessage.
• Learn how to report unwanted iMessages.