How to send and receive email via SMS from your LIME or Digicel Feature phone

This article’s a shot across the bow at Telecom Provider and their services folks, just based on the title alone. This is definitely aimed at those users of either Telecom Network who from time to time and need to send or receive a quick email from your feature phone. Yep, you read that right: feature phones can indeed send email, albeit brief and short. And yes, believe it or not it’s very much possible just not much advertised by either Telecom Provider.

Just as you can send SMS (Short Messaging Service) or Text messages via Gimme 5 of LIME’s Anywhere Plans for Free as described in How to activate Digicel VIP Text and get Free Texting on Digicel or LIME phone as IM gets more popular you can also send and receive email for free.

How to do it is quite simple and it’s still free on either LIME or Digicel. In my examples I’ll use God’s phone number which is 777-7777 as I’m non to keen on y’all sending me emails as texts. Try Calling him just to make sure he ain’t vexed about you texting him prayers!

How to send email to a Feature phone: Singles to extra cover

First here’s how to send a short email to a regular cellphone:

1. Go to your email account and login

2. For Digicel, type 1876xxxxxxx@digitextjm.com in the email address e.g. 18767777777@digitextjm.com

3. For LIME, type 876xxxxxxx@digitextjm.com in the email address e.g. 8767777777@txt2lime.com

4. Then Type the rest of your message. Keep it less than 120 characters

5. Press send. The recipient will receive the Email as a text

Note: LIME used to be 876xxxxxxx@cwmobile.com but after rebranding a LIME from their old name of C&W back in 2008 all that went out the window. That’s Telecoms for ya!

Note: as of Press Time, the @text2lime.com server returned DNS Server not found, suggesting LIME may have finally disable sending email to feature phones as well. RIP Feature phones

How to send Text to email from Digicel: Lick them for Six

1. Then there’s sending Text to someone’s email:

2. Open up the Text messaging section of your feature phone as usual

3. For Digicel and LIME, type the email address at the very beginning of the Text

4. Leave a space

5. Then Type the rest of your message. Keep it less than 120 characters

At this point LIME and Digicel diverge on different pathways. For Digicel, the steps are as follows:

1. Select 555 to send the email

2. Press send. The recipient will receive the Text as an email

Have Free Wi-Fi Internet send Free MMS LIME Email: Boundaries down fine Leg for 4

For LIME, thanks to that change from the @cwmobile Email Server to @txt2lime.com, you need to have a mobile phone that MMS (Multi Messaging Service) capable based on the post by n0tr3v3 on the Peperonity.com forum[2].

LIME’s disabled email sending from Text, apparently on the argument that you have to have Data in order to access and uses what’s essentially a Data Service. Thus calling LIME Customer Care will get you nowhere. To which I reply “Like Duh-uh, if you have free or paid Internet on you Feature phone then you have to use MMS to send email”.

Really LIME?

Anyway, here’s how to send email from you MMS capable feature phone to LIME phones, omce you have a Data Service. The recipient needs not have Data Service and they’ll receive it as a text:

1. Create a new/create MMS in your feature phone

2. Write your text as per usual

3. Select email sending option

4. Type 876xxxxxxx@digitextjm.com in the email address e.g. 8767777777@txt2lime.com or any email address for that matter

5. Press send. The Feature phone recipient will receive the MMS as an Text and the email recipient will receive the MMS as an Email

Troubleshooting Text Messaging: Back to the Pavillion for Tea

If you’re having problems with sending or receiving Picture Messages or MMS, here’s how you troubleshoot before pestering the good folks at LIME or Digicel Customer Care:

1. For picture Messages, make sure you and the recipient have the SAME exact model. Picture messages are proprietary to the mobile phone and as such are not commonly interpreted by different models. Just saying!

2. Both you mobile phone and the recipient has to have a Data Service activated and have at least three (3) Bars of signal with EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM evolution) or GPRS (Global Packet Radio Service) enabled

3. Charges for sending Picture messages and MMS apply to both sender and recipient, unlike Text. Hopefully one day this’ll change

4. Receiving the MMS and Picture Message is actually free. At the instant of opening it though, you are charged

Text Message troubleshooting is a no-brainer, but I’ll include it anyway:

1. If you find you’re unable to receive or send SMS that means you cache is full. Empty BOTH sent and received Text Messages i.e. Sent, Inbox, Outbox and Draft.

2. If your Text Messaging Cache is empty and you still can’t send or receive Text Messages, then check the MCN (Message Center Number) or SMS Gateway if it’s correct.

3. For LIME the MCN is +18768141109; for Digicel it’s +18763800154. Correct it, typing it exactly as you see it written here.

4. After doing any of the above, turn the phone off, do a battery pull, wait five minutes and reboot. This re-authenticates the phone to the Mobile Provider’s Network and thus set you up to be able to send and receive Text Messages.

Conclusion: Long Live the Feature phone and SMS Freeness

So that’s it!! For further codes check my previous article How to activate Digicel VIP Text and get Free Texting on Digicel or LIME phone as IM gets more popular. I’ve tested it out myself and it works, albeit expect delays due most likely to Network congestion Use the above advice and bedazzle your friend with your ability to Send and receive basic Email despite no smartphone.

The simple reality for most Jamaicans remains: Feature phone’ll continue to trend heavily as long as SMS is free until smartphones and Mobile Internet become cheaper. Also LIME is a real meanie, wanting you to have Data Service in order to send and receive email on you mobile phone, which no doubt has to be a smartphone or Data Service Capable Feature phone. So stay tuned to this blog to witness when that becomes a reality.