[Paskell]

I don't get why hangouts doesn't include this.. Apple has I messenger and its the most missed thing from my iPhone I wish Google would have their own version. Since my lake house has zero service and only WiFi..

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[B. Diddy]

Hangouts simply incorporates SMS, which relies on the cell signal by design. Hangouts itself is sort of Google's iMessage.

[kd0h]

If you actually use the "hangouts" part (gmail to gmail) it works just in Wi-Fi, but as B. said SMS/MMS to a phone # needs the cell network

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[Paskell]

They need to just imply it to switch between or to another android device etc as the iPhone does.. I don't have the patients to use a diff app or txting app should be in hangouts

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[jvai]

If you actually use the "hangouts" part (gmail to gmail) it works just in Wi-Fi, but as B. said SMS/MMS to a phone # needs the cell network

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you know when google did this..

when they broke google voice wifi calling via the mobile phone, i remember that transition when i was on the nexus s 4g; all of a sudden, gv wouldn't call out unless via the phone channel, then i noticed later how hangouts wouldn't sms to numbers via wifi..

[NexusNick123]

I don't get why hangouts doesn't include this.. Apple has I messenger and its the most missed thing from my iPhone I wish Google would have their own version. Since my lake house has zero service and only WiFi..

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Yea in the same I wished it work by WiFi as well because sometimes I drop service,and my messages won't send

Sent from my Nexus 5 using AC Forums mobile app

[LeoRex]

I don't get why hangouts doesn't include this.. Apple has I messenger and its the most missed thing from my iPhone I wish Google would have their own version. Since my lake house has zero service and only WiFi..

It does. Hangouts and iMessage are functionally very similar in the sense that you can send messages via SMS (which uses your cell signal), or you can use the native messaging protocol (which requires a data connection). Like iMessage, to send the native Hangouts message, the recipient needs to be on Hangouts (i.e. a google/gmail account). But UNLIKE iMessage, Hangouts doesn't hold your number hostage... if you or your party logs out or leaves Hangouts, it handles it.

You can send text messages, photos... you can also make voice and video calls to other Hangouts contacts as well. You can even send/receive hangouts messages (including video) from your desktop browser as well (if you are logged into Google+) .

The one thing that is lacking, and the one thing that EVERYONE is waiting for, is the ability to make voice calls to external phone numbers (VOIP).... meaning you could send and receive regular voice calls if your service sucks and you only have a Wi-Fi signal.

[skyrockett]

YES! i hoped that they will make an announcement about VOIP for hangouts but they didn't!

[Droidprincess]

Google will eventually!

sent from my hot Note 3 😉

[calbrs04]

Could also be that Apple has a patent.

[skyrockett]

im not switching to apple.. those miniature screens are useless.. No way it could be used for GPS

[calbrs04]

I had an iPhone 4s for a year to see what the big deal was. The only things that I liked is that it would automatically back up the phone every night when I charged it, and the battery life.

[LeoRex]

To put this to rest...

Hangouts CAN:

Send/receive SMS to EVERYONE via your phone's radio (traditional SMS)
Send/Receive Hangout text video and picture messages to another Hangouts user... functionally identical to traditional text programs, but over your mobile data or WiFi connection
Send/Receive Voice AND Video calls to other Hangouts users over your mobile data/WiFi connection
... and a few more communication stuff (like group hangouts, etc).
You can send a hangouts message to someone via your desktop browser, etc...

The transition between SMS and Hangouts texts is seemless... and it doesn't lock you into the Hangouts messages like iMessage does.

What it can't do:

Make voice over IP calls to external phone numbers (yet).... functionality that everyone is expecting will be added to Hangouts at some point, current guess is that when they roll Google Voice into hangouts, we'll be able to do VOIP calls using your Google number.

[Paskell]

I don't care about voice call. The question was why no SMS via WiFi. That's the only useful thing I need! Haha

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[davinwv]

I don't care about voice call. The question was why no SMS via WiFi. That's the only useful thing I need! Haha

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Google needs to buy MightyText (and the former Googlers who developed it) and incorporate the functionally into Hangouts.

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[BaMaDuDe87]

I don't care about voice call. The question was why no SMS via WiFi. That's the only useful thing I need! Haha

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Im confused iMessage doesn't do that either.

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[calbrs04]

Im confused iMessage doesn't do that either.

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I was about to say the same. When it goes as an imessage it is the same as a hangouts message and not an sms.

[Paskell]

Really so tell me why an imessage can send via WiFi and a hangout cannot.. Pretty simple to see

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[calbrs04]

Really so tell me why an imessage can send via WiFi and a hangout cannot.. Pretty simple to see

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I send hangout messages from my tablet and notebook all the time from WiFi. It just won't send it as a sms. The same way that I can send an imessage from my MacBook.

Hangouts on WiFi will only send to other hangout users, same as imessage on WiFi will only send to other imessage users.

[LeoRex]

Really so tell me why an imessage can send via WiFi and a hangout cannot.. Pretty simple to see

It can, and does... sending messages over Wi-Fi or Mobile Data connection is what Hangouts does. I do it all the time. I gave my old smartphone to my daughter (sans SIM). She sends me Hangouts messages (ONLY over Wi-Fi) all the time. If you can not send a message, it means the recipient does not have a Google account and can't receive native Hangouts messages.

Why does it work in iMessage, then? Because you are probably sending that iMessage to another iPhone user.... Try sending an iMessage message to someone with an Android phone. You can't.. it's impossible because Apple doesn't make Android apps. Thank God for that... the last thing we'd need is Apple kidnapping phone numbers of people with Android phones as well.

Now, someone with an iPhone can go to the App Store and download Hangouts, log on in and you'll be right as rain sending them Hangouts messages over a data connection.

But in both iMessage and Hangouts... they need to be registered with the service in order to take the native message types. Otherwise it's SMS-only over the phone connection.

[DacyJ]

I had an iPhone 4s for a year to see what the big deal was. The only things that I liked is that it would automatically back up the phone every night when I charged it, and the battery life.

I miss that also.

[BaMaDuDe87]

You 100% can send a hangouts message on WiFi. Make sure that it is a hangouts message, going through Google servers, and not an SMS, going through carrier servers. Just like imessages go through apple servers and not carrier servers.

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[Jason Neri]

I don't know if people are purposefully ignoring the words being used or what..

HANGOUT MESSAGES are not SMS...he is asking why hangouts doesn't send SMS over WIFI... = NO CELL SIGNAL, NO CELL SERVICE, JUST WIFI

as far as i can tell as of this morning, you cannot send an SMS over WIFI in hangouts. it uses your CELL signal... that's the issue.

now maybe you all have been under a rock, or just for some weird reason paying for cell service AND using google voice to text and just didnt get what the point of google voice was, but that is a STEP BACKWARDS from what google voice had before.. where you were sending SMS over GOOGLES network via WIFI AND making calls over their network. so even though most of us tied google voice into our carriers phone, we really didnt need teh carrier, and like myself cancelled it. so now people like myself who have not had a cell service for a while now, wake up today with no way to text anyone because i have been using google voice for the past five years and just sending pictures via facebook messenger or other apps.

[jj14x]

I don't know if people are purposefully ignoring the words being used or what..
HANGOUT MESSAGES are not SMS...he is asking why hangouts doesn't send SMS over WIFI... = NO CELL SIGNAL, NO CELL SERVICE, JUST WIFI

No, not really. The question was answered correctly by more than one user. Let's review.

Question:

Really so tell me why an imessage can send via WiFi and a hangout cannot..

Answered once:

It can, and does... sending messages over Wi-Fi or Mobile Data connection is what Hangouts does.
....
If you can not send a message, it means the recipient does not have a Google account and can't receive native Hangouts messages.

Why does it work in iMessage, then? Because you are probably sending that iMessage to another iPhone user....

if you try to send an imessage to a non-iOS user, it not be sent over the WiFi connection, but instead, over the cellular connection.

Answered again:

You 100% can send a hangouts message on WiFi. Make sure that it is a hangouts message, going through Google servers, and not an SMS, going through carrier servers. Just like imessages go through apple servers and not carrier servers.

but that is a STEP BACKWARDS from what google voice had before.. where you were sending SMS over GOOGLES network via WIFI AND making calls over their network.

No - you never could send a true SMS over "Google's" network "only" to non-Android users. "Google's" network doesn't interface with non-Android users, unless they install hangouts (or Google Voice) app - and even in that case, it is no longer pure SMS - it is a 'message'. Just like how Apple's imessage works. imessage cannot send the message over the data connection (only) to a non ios user. When you try to send an imessage to a non-iOS user, it still goes over the cellular network.

Even calling via Google Voice was not entirely on Google's network - the Google voice app would make the call using your cellular radio to Google's servers and then, from there, it would interface with the telecom network to reach the person you dialed. It was not over your data connection.

Now Hangouts does support VoIP calling - but remember, it is only a data connection till Google's servers. After that, it still has to interface with the telecom network to reach the person you dialed. It is not entirely only on data (even though it may only be using data connection at your end) - slight technical difference.

so now people like myself who have not had a cell service for a while now, wake up today with no way to text anyone because i have been using google voice for the past five years and just sending pictures via facebook messenger or other apps

You CAN use the hangouts app to send SMS over WiFi to non-Google users - just like Google Voice did. Just need you to understand that it is not purely over WiFi. It goes over your data connection to Google. From there, Google will forward that message to the recipient's number over the telecom network. At the end of the day, you still get the SMS like functionality (recipient gets your message that you sent over your data network, and they can reply to it and you get the mesage), even though it is NOT technically SMS.

[JeffDenver]

The one thing that is lacking, and the one thing that EVERYONE is waiting for, is the ability to make voice calls to external phone numbers (VOIP).... meaning you could send and receive regular voice calls if your service sucks and you only have a Wi-Fi signal.

I can do that right now. You need a Google Voice number, but it works. I can send and receive voice calls, using normal phone numbers, on my wifi-only Nexus 7. I've been doing it for about a week now.

Edit - Sorry, just saw your post was dated from July.