Samsung, Please add this to Samsung messages!

[andrew409]

So I got an iPhone months ago and was able to text my friend without a phone number but has a outlook email. My iPhone eventually broke, and I switched to a Samsung, but now I can't contact my friend since Samsung doesn't allow me to message people with emails.

[Pianodude58]

I know you want to use Samsung Messages, however, you can always use Google Messages.

[CEParsons]

Google Messages isn't a web-based messaging service, though. OP states his friend has no active phone number. iMessage can be used with just an email/Apple account, and OP wants parity on his Samsung phone.

[Pianodude58]

I just texted to two email addresses using Google Messages with no issues.

[CEParsons]

Interesting. Out of curiosity, how did they recieve the messages? I was under the impression that Google Messages required an active SIM or phone number to set up.

[Pianodude58]

The contact received the message in their Outlook email account and then replied to me.

[CEParsons]

Neat! Didn't realize you could do that. Could be a solution for OP, though I'm not sure this would be exactly what they're looking for.

[andrew409]

I'm specifically looking for a way to text my friend with an outlook email with a message, not a email. On my iPhone, I was able to text my friends outlook email and my friend received it in the messages app, and in summary, im not looking forward to emailing my friend or if I manage to send a message to my friend, I wouldn't like it if they only received my message in they're outlook email app.

[CEParsons]

There is no iMessage equivalent on Android, unfortunately.

The closest you can possibly get is an iMessage workaround like OpenBubbles or BlueBubbles. These solutions require a Mac, but allow you to use iMessage and Facetime on your non-apple device. If you don't have a Mac, but really, really require iMessage access on your Samsung device, you can pick up old refurbished mac minis under $200. While they probably wouldn't be sufficient as standalone computer, they should be just fine as a BlueBubbles server.

Beware, Apple has a history of coming after these kinds of solutions to maintain exclusivity, so if you go this route, it may or may not be a long-term fix.

A second best (also cheaper, simpler, and more likely to remain functional long-term) would be a web based messaging service such as Facebook messenger.

[realaud]

I did not know  you could do that.  I have been using Google messages for years.  But, then, all my contacts have phone numbers, so the issue never came up.  Now, I see in the new message window it says: type name, phone number or email address (that last part is actually hidden, but it's there). It goes via SMS. One wonders, though, why text to email rather than just send an email?