The TL;DR version: Does anyone know of a way to SMS text on a tablet using your original phone number seamlessly, that can also text pictures, without having to pay monthly for unlimited?
However, below I cover many of the answers I might get, why they don't work, and I also explain why I'm asking in the Note 4 forums. If there is a better place for this question, please redirect me, thank you.
So I'm practicing to become an Android teacher, a service I hope to erect one day and turn into a business. I intend to be one of those people that can talk someone out of switching to Apple by proving that Android does everything Apple does. One dead end I seem to be hitting is SMS texting from a tablet. I've actually met people who claim that the reason they don't want to move away from Apple is because of the ability to text from a tablet. So I've been experimenting with my phone (Note 4) and tablet (LG G Pad 7.0) to do the same, and what I'm seeing is really odd, and the biggest roadblocks seem to be related to the Note 4.
With Verizon, they have their own texting app that seems to work on all devices, so with them they're in the clear. I have AT&T, so I figured I'd start with AT&T Messages. Can't even start there, because my "device isn't compatible with this version." Which is odd because my parents have an S4 and an S5 and they have AT&T Messages. Also I tried over and over to log in on my G Pad and it seems like it's never going to happen. Maybe for my future students it will work out, but for me that bridge is blocked.
The popular one seems to be Mightytext. It installed on my G Pad and it asked to install onto my phone. Again, "device isn't compatible" for the Note 4. Seriously? What is up with the Note 4? Why does this particular phone model seem adamant on preventing the use of alternative texting applications? (This is why I'm posting this on the Note 4 forums, if there is a better forum for answering my question please redirect, thank you)
Before all of this, I assumed Hangouts was the way to go. After plenty of frustration trying to figure out why Hangouts was using my Google Voice number by default, I finally found out how to switch to SMS on my phone and text from Hangouts using my phone number. Unfortunately those SMS texts do not transfer over to the G Pad at all.
Then I found out about Google Messenger! Thought I finally found my answer. But this time, Google Messenger doesn't install onto the G Pad, saying "device isn't compatible".
For a second it seemed like Pushbullet was the answer, and it was working great. Until I realized it limits you to 100 texts per month, and it doesn't let you send picture texts from the tablet.
Next app I tried, Go SMS Pro. Works on the phone. Not the tablet. Device requires SMS capability. It's funny how it let me install the app on the tablet even though it's main requirement doesn't exist on the device it's being installed to, should have given me another "device isn't compatible with this version" notification. But I digress.
It seems like I'm losing this one in terms of the Apple vs. Android fight. It might seem irrelevant, texting on a tablet, but for some people it's entirely relevant, and as a salesman I lose a lot of money in saying something (Anything Apple can do Android can do equally) and being wrong. Does anyone know of a way to SMS text on a tablet using your original phone number seamlessly, that can also text pictures, without having to pay monthly for unlimited?
I do type a lot, I know, it's one of my weaknesses :/
However, below I cover many of the answers I might get, why they don't work, and I also explain why I'm asking in the Note 4 forums. If there is a better place for this question, please redirect me, thank you.
So I'm practicing to become an Android teacher, a service I hope to erect one day and turn into a business. I intend to be one of those people that can talk someone out of switching to Apple by proving that Android does everything Apple does. One dead end I seem to be hitting is SMS texting from a tablet. I've actually met people who claim that the reason they don't want to move away from Apple is because of the ability to text from a tablet. So I've been experimenting with my phone (Note 4) and tablet (LG G Pad 7.0) to do the same, and what I'm seeing is really odd, and the biggest roadblocks seem to be related to the Note 4.
With Verizon, they have their own texting app that seems to work on all devices, so with them they're in the clear. I have AT&T, so I figured I'd start with AT&T Messages. Can't even start there, because my "device isn't compatible with this version." Which is odd because my parents have an S4 and an S5 and they have AT&T Messages. Also I tried over and over to log in on my G Pad and it seems like it's never going to happen. Maybe for my future students it will work out, but for me that bridge is blocked.
The popular one seems to be Mightytext. It installed on my G Pad and it asked to install onto my phone. Again, "device isn't compatible" for the Note 4. Seriously? What is up with the Note 4? Why does this particular phone model seem adamant on preventing the use of alternative texting applications? (This is why I'm posting this on the Note 4 forums, if there is a better forum for answering my question please redirect, thank you)
Before all of this, I assumed Hangouts was the way to go. After plenty of frustration trying to figure out why Hangouts was using my Google Voice number by default, I finally found out how to switch to SMS on my phone and text from Hangouts using my phone number. Unfortunately those SMS texts do not transfer over to the G Pad at all.
Then I found out about Google Messenger! Thought I finally found my answer. But this time, Google Messenger doesn't install onto the G Pad, saying "device isn't compatible".
For a second it seemed like Pushbullet was the answer, and it was working great. Until I realized it limits you to 100 texts per month, and it doesn't let you send picture texts from the tablet.
Next app I tried, Go SMS Pro. Works on the phone. Not the tablet. Device requires SMS capability. It's funny how it let me install the app on the tablet even though it's main requirement doesn't exist on the device it's being installed to, should have given me another "device isn't compatible with this version" notification. But I digress.
It seems like I'm losing this one in terms of the Apple vs. Android fight. It might seem irrelevant, texting on a tablet, but for some people it's entirely relevant, and as a salesman I lose a lot of money in saying something (Anything Apple can do Android can do equally) and being wrong. Does anyone know of a way to SMS text on a tablet using your original phone number seamlessly, that can also text pictures, without having to pay monthly for unlimited?
I do type a lot, I know, it's one of my weaknesses :/
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