SMS / MMS Email-to-Text Gateways

Most US / CA carriers accept email delivered to a phone-number-based address at their SMS or MMS gateway. To send, address an email to [email protected] using the gateway for the recipient's carrier (10-digit number, no dashes). MMS gateways accept subject, body, and one media attachment; SMS gateways are plain text only and truncate at 160 characters.

United States carriers

Carrier	SMS gateway	MMS gateway
AT&T	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Verizon	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
T-Mobile	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Sprint (now T-Mobile)	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
US Cellular	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Boost Mobile	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Cricket Wireless	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Virgin Mobile USA	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
MetroPCS (Metro by T-Mo)	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Google Fi	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Consumer Cellular	`[email protected]`	(uses AT&T/T-Mo MMS)
Straight Talk	`[email protected]` (Verizon MVNO)	—
TracFone	Varies — uses underlying carrier	—
Page Plus	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Republic Wireless	`[email protected]`	—
Ting	`[email protected]`	—
Xfinity Mobile	`[email protected]` (Verizon)	`[email protected]`

Canadian carriers

Carrier	SMS gateway	MMS gateway
Bell Canada	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Rogers Wireless	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Fido	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Telus	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Koodo	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Virgin Mobile Canada	`[email protected]`	(uses Bell)
Freedom Mobile	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
Sasktel	`[email protected]`	`[email protected]`
MTS	`[email protected]`	—

United Kingdom & Australia (select)

Carrier	SMS gateway
UK — O2	`[email protected]` (reply by email only, account required)
UK — Vodafone UK	(no public email-to-SMS gateway since ~2010)
UK — EE / T-Mobile UK	(no public gateway — use third-party SMS API)
AU — Telstra	(no email-to-SMS; use paid API)
AU — Optus	(no email-to-SMS; use paid API)

How to use a gateway

Replace number with the full 10-digit phone number (US/CA) or country-code + number. Do not include +, dashes, spaces, or parentheses.
Subject and body are concatenated in most SMS gateways. Keep total under 160 chars to avoid truncation / split.
MMS gateways accept one attachment (JPG, PNG, GIF, or 3GP); total message must usually be under 300–600 KB depending on carrier.
If the recipient replies, the reply lands in the sender's email inbox (From: number@gateway). The return-path can be reused for a conversation.
Delivery is best-effort — carriers can filter aggressively, especially with image attachments or from bulk / new senders. Use a verified SMTP sender and keep volume low.
For reliable automated messaging at scale, use a transactional SMS API (Twilio, MessageBird, Vonage, Plivo) — these give delivery receipts and carrier-independent routing.

Sample email to send a text

To:      [email protected]
From:    [email protected]
Subject: (leave blank)

Hello from email-to-SMS!  Keep it under 160 characters.

For MMS with a photo, attach a JPG / PNG under ~600 KB and use the MMS gateway address.

Legal / etiquette

US: the TCPA prohibits unsolicited automated messages to cell phones without prior express consent. Personal 1-to-1 messaging is fine; bulk / marketing needs opt-in and usable opt-out.
US: if using gateways for mass messaging, register a 10DLC brand + campaign (A2P 10DLC rules in effect since 2023).
Always honor STOP / UNSUB replies immediately and do not reuse the number.

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