How to Send SMS from your Windows Desktop Using your Android's Phone Number

by Chris Thomas on 18 August 2017 · 10742 views

If you're a frequent PC user, you probably find yourself switching between using your computer's keyboard and the touchscreen keyboard on your smartphone. You receive a text from someone on your phone and you have to go through the hassle of picking up your device, unlocking it, and handling your mobile messaging duties on the small screen before switching back to your PC.

This repeated back and forth can become a real nuisance, but luckily there are plenty of ways to send/receive text messages using your phone number and even manage your entire Android device from the comfort of your PC.

In this guide we'll cover all the methods you can use to handle your Android's text messages from your Windows desktop for the sake of convenience and productivity:

1. AirDroid

AirDroid is a robust app that lets you control every aspect of your Android device via the internet from any computer that can access a browser. You simply install the AirDroid app on your smartphone or tablet and then visit the AirDroid web app page to sign into your device using the login credentials you created in the mobile app. Once you're logged in, you'll essentially have remote access to your Android phone's screen, which of course includes the ability to send and receive text messages. We've done a complete guide on how to setup and use AirDroid.

2. TeamViewer

TeamViewer is another app that lets you control your entire Android device remotely from any computer. In fact, you can even use it do the opposite – control your computer from your Android device's screen. Simply install the mobile app from the Play Store (linked to above) and then install the TeamViewer QuickSupport app for Windows. This app is also compatible with Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS, so it's useful for remotely controlling virtually any device. Originally intended for providing remote technical support, this app utilizes 256-bit AES session encoding and can transfer files, HD video, and sound in real-time between devices.

3. MightyText

MightyText is one of the oldest apps for sending text messages from PC and as such it's highly specialized for that specific purpose rather than being an overall remote control app. However, this gives it the advantage of having a unique interface instead of being a mirrored copy of your Android's screen. The convenient dashboard provides quick access to your SMS messages, as well as push notifications, incoming calls, contacts, and your phone's photos and videos. Simply install the Android app from the Play Store (linked to above) and then install the MightyText desktop client to get started. The free version lets you send up to 250 messages per month. Purchasing MightyText Pro costs $4.99 a month and allows for unlimited texts, scheduling messages, adding signatures to texts, unlimited message storage, templates, and the removal of ads.

4. MySMS

MySMS is very similar to MightyText because it lets you send and receive SMS and MMS messages in a proprietary interface instead of mirroring your exact Android screen to the computer. The desktop module can be accessed via any web browser using the MySMS web app or via the desktop client, which is available for Windows 8/8.1/10, Windows 7/XP, and Mac OS X. The free version of MySMS allows for unlimited text messages unlike MightyText, so that's one definite advantage. The paid version costs $9.99/month and provides features like message scheduling, call management, syncing texts to another phone, message backup and export options, and archiving texts to Dropbox, Google Drive, and Evernote.

5. PushBullet

PushBullet is a very versatile app that is designed to bring notifications, data, and app functionality from multiple devices to your PC. In addition to being able to send and receive SMS messages on your PC, it also lets you reply to messages on popular messenger apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Kik. You can also use it to dismiss notifications on your phone via the PC. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the ability to create custom alerts and notifications regarding specific topics or events, so it's very useful for staying up-to-date on things that are important to you. There's a Windows desktop client, as well as apps, extensions, and add-ons for iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera.

6. Pulse SMS

Pulse SMS is a newer entry into the SMS-from-PC field, but it brings a few new features to the table, including support for dual-SIM phones and the ability to blacklist numbers within the web app. It also offers an extensive variety of theme options that can be customized on a per-conversation basis, integrated GIF selections from Giphy, delayed and scheduled message sending, snooze notifications, a nifty search feature for finding specific messages or conversations, and an automatic backup and restore feature that syncs with a web account. However, the remote texting feature is only available as a 1-week free trial and after that you'll have to pay the surprisingly low price of $0.99/month or go with the appealing $10.99 lifetime membership.

7. Mobizen

Mobizen is a full-featured screen mirroring app that lets you control your full Android device from your PC. However, the downside is that the free version requires you to connect your Android phone to your PC via USB. If you want to use WiFi or 3G/LTE to connect remotely then you'll have to upgrade to the Professional version which costs $3.99/month and provides the ability to record the mirrored screen, on-screen drawing, transparency adjusting, call and SMS notifications, push notifications, and the removal of the Mobizen watermark. As with other screen mirroring apps, you'll need to download the Android app from the Play Store (linked to above) as well as the desktop client.

8. Join

Join is a powerful device syncing app that lets you send and receive SMS, MMS, and group messages from your Android using a web app on any device. You can receive notifications and respond to them (i.e. - responding to WhatsApp notifications on your Windows PC). It's compatible with Tasker and Google Assistant so it can be used to control and automate virtually any digital task. It can also be used to remotely transfer files to and from your mobile device and computer, which is useful for loading APKs from your PC onto your Android phone. Other interesting features including clipboard sharing, taking screenshots from your Android phone on your computer, and requesting your Android phone's location or making it ring so that you can locate it. Once you've installed and setup the Android app from the Play Store (linked to above), the PC side can be accessed via the Join web app, Chrome extension, or Windows 10 app (costs $1.49). This app is available for free as a 30-day trial, after which you'll have to pay a one-time charge of $4.99 to unlock it permanently.

9. Vysor

Vysor is an Android screen mirroring app that lets you control your entire phone on your PC. Once you've installed the Android app from the Play Store (linked to above) you'll need to install the appropriate desktop client (it's available for Windows, Mac, and Linux) or the Chrome browser extension to access your phone using the login credentials setup on your Android device. However, the free version only support USB connectivity, so you'll have to hook your phone up to the PC via USB cable and then enable USB debugging. If you want to use WiFi/remote connectivity then you'll have to upgrade to the Pro version which costs $2.50/month or $40 for a lifetime membership.

10. Cortana

Most people don't know that the Windows 10 Anniversary update equipped Cortana with the ability to send and receive texts from phones running on Android or Windows Phone. To use this functionality you'll need to download the Cortana Digital Assistant app for Android (linked to above). Once installed you'll have to make a few settings adjustments in the app and in Windows 10 to activate the “Send notifications between devices” feature. After that's done you can use a simple voice command like “Text (Contact Name)” or type the command “SMS (Contact Name)” into the Cortana search field. Text messages received on your Android phone will also appear in your Windows 10 notification area along with a convenient Reply field.