VoIP.ms SMS

- June 18, 2017

Everyone

Communication

( 232)

Description

VoIP.ms SMS is an Android messaging app for VoIP.ms that seeks to replicate the aesthetic of Android Messages.

# Rationale #

A number of people use VoIP.ms as a cheaper alternative to subscribing to a voice plan for their mobile devices.

Unfortunately, this can make sending text messages rather difficult, as the VoIP.ms SMS Message Center is clearly built as a diagnostic tool for use in desktop browsers, not as an easy way to send and receive messages on a mobile device.

VoIP.ms does provide a mobile version of this interface with an improved UI, but it still lacks important features that are only possible with a dedicated app.

# Features #

• Clean material design aesthetic based on that of Android Messages, Google's standard messaging app for Android
• Push notifications
• Synchronization with device contacts
• Message search
• Comprehensive support for synchronization with VoIP.ms
• Completely free

# License #

This application is open source; it is made available to the public under the Apache License 2.0. You can download the source code from the application's GitHub repository, which is located at https://github.com/michaelkourlas/voipms-sms-client/.

Reviews

4.6

232 total

5 173

4 38

3 8

2 4

1 9

Jeffrey T

Excellent work! Is it difficult to implement? Would be neat if it could be integrated into some of the open source messaging tools like disa.im. Similarly, if it could get some kind of default status as the main sms tool (even if we don't plan to use regular sms).

Nicolas Charlebois

Best way to send/receive SMS from Voip.ms. Easy to setup, and working really well. I like that the dev is constantly making it better. The only thing I'd like is the possibility to change de color of the LED for the notification of an incoming SMS. Thanks!!

Étienne Clément

A life saver app for those who rely solely on VoIP. MS for their day to day calls and don't want to purchase carrier SMS plans.

Jonas

This works awesome since the most recent update on my note 4! Thanks.

Ivan Luo

It is as easy to use as the phone message. Thank you!

Jean-Alexandre Beaudet

Works wonders on my OnePlus 3! Had to do the Battery Optimization trick (set to not optimize) for notifications to work correctly with the new update.

User reviews

Jeffrey T July 15, 2017

Nicolas Charlebois June 27, 2017

Étienne Clément July 19, 2017

A life saver app for those who rely solely on VoIP. MS for their day to day calls and don't want to purchase carrier SMS plans.

Michael Kourlas September 15, 2016

That's a popular feature request, but one that is impossible to implement without turning VoIP.ms into a fully fledged SMS app that can send and receive carrier SMSes. That's the only way Android will let an app respond to SMS requests from other apps such as Contacts.

Jonas June 20, 2017

This works awesome since the most recent update on my note 4! Thanks.

Ivan Luo June 29, 2017

It is as easy to use as the phone message. Thank you!

Jean-Alexandre Beaudet June 14, 2017

Works wonders on my OnePlus 3! Had to do the Battery Optimization trick (set to not optimize) for notifications to work correctly with the new update.

Michael Kourlas June 18, 2017

Glad you like the app!

Curtis Fast June 15, 2017

Very pleased that I can now send & receive long messages that will be automatically split into multiple SMS texts.

Michael Kourlas June 18, 2017

Glad you like the app!

Kristopher Kolpin June 15, 2017

App works amazingly! Recent updates from v0.50 and up have really made it more fluid and less buggy.

Michael Kourlas June 18, 2017

Glad you like the app!

Charles Demers June 12, 2017

Awesome! Only issue so far is notifications don't always seem to work. I have to open the app to make sure I didn't miss anything. Everything else is just awesomeness. Edit: Make sure to disable "battery optimization" if you have issues with notifications. Seemed to fix it right up for me.

Michael Kourlas June 12, 2017

Glad to hear the battery optimization trick works -- I'll recommend it to others.

Morgan Lim June 12, 2017

App has improved a lot, and dev is very responsive and helpful, even adding commonly requested features. If you have a low end device (like me, <= 1GB RAM) I would recommend setting up email for notifications, as the push notifications in this app don't actually contain the messages, but just indicate to the app that it's time to sync with the server - so if the app cannot start for whatever reason, no notification comes through. Despite small problems, this app is still the best option for sending SMS through voip.ms, and it's completely free!

Michael Kourlas June 12, 2017

I've tried to improve performance of push notifications by implementing a wake lock for the synchronization process -- hopefully correctly this time! You might try turning off battery optimizations as well, which is what another reviewer suggested. Glad you like the app!

Janvier Doyon June 11, 2017

This app is just incredible. With the voip.ms service, you can use this app to send and receive SMS messages the same way you would do so with a regular cell phone company. The app is always updated and the developer answers support requests really quickly.

Michael Kourlas June 12, 2017

Glad you like the app!

Giuliano Liker June 13, 2017

Fantastic app!

Michael Kourlas June 18, 2017

Glad you like the app!

Deniz Okten June 13, 2017

You rock! Where do I donate?

Michael Kourlas June 18, 2017

You can donate using PayPal -- here's a link: paypal.me/kourlas

David R June 11, 2017

Great update!

Michael Kourlas February 5, 2017

This has to do with a timeout issue; I'll be adding the ability to configure the timeout in a future release.

June 12, 2017

Great app

Michael Kourlas June 18, 2017

Glad you like the app!

Jason Agouris June 12, 2017

Does what it says, nice. UPDATE : Michael's updates continue to make this an even far more worthy app, especially now with multiple DIDs! Nice work Michael, thanks for sticking with this. Upped my rating.

Michael Kourlas September 15, 2016

Regan Walsh June 12, 2017

Great app. I'd love it if it had Android Auto support.

Michael Kourlas June 12, 2017

There's an issue open for that on GitHub. Glad you like the app!

Alex Kwiatkowski January 11, 2017

This app polls for new messages; it doesn't work using pushes. Also, it only allows you to be signed into one DID at a time, but if you have more than one in the voip.ms account you'll need to switch between them in the settings.UPDATE after developer reply: I already had "Push notifications" enabled in the app settings but messages don't arrive until I open the app. I will continue to investigate. It doesn't matter too much since I have configured voip.ms to email me when an SMS arrives, and my email is pushed so I don't miss anything.

Michael Kourlas January 11, 2017

The app does support push notifications -- you have to turn them on in settings. The app also supports polling using the sync interval feature, but you don't have to use it.

Joel Blain November 24, 2016

Almost perfect but... I changed for 5star, Micheal is really kind to help us with his app*** update, emoji works fine, was swiftkey keyboard that i needed to fix, using dedicated icon instead of using the enter key *** Can receive emojis from sms but can't send them, the emoji tab don't show up with my Samsung edge s7. Sometime I got duplicate sms, don't know why. But this app is far better than using the sms portal from Voip.ms. If mms were working, I would pay any cost for this.

Michael Kourlas November 22, 2016

Unfortunately VoIP.ms doesn't support MMS; there's nothing I can do.

Mike February 5, 2017

Works great. Only thing I wish it did was display a message on the lock screen telling me that I have a message and what the message is. As it is now I just get a sound or vibration. Sometimes I don't notice I have a message. Thanks for making this! Reply to Dev. All my othet apps pop up on the lock screen, and i have all notifications enabed for this app.

Michael Kourlas June 11, 2017

Try updating to 0.5.0 -- the app uses a new push notifications system that might be more reliable.

Jonathan Houghton May 29, 2017

Good app that allows me to use Voip.ms SMS easily. But I have problems receiving texts at times. Some texts don't come through at all and others are cut off after about 100 characters. Not sure if it is a VoIP.ms problem or a problem with the application

Michael Kourlas June 11, 2017

Unfortunately, that sounds like a VoIP.ms issue, though you might try the 0.5.0 release that just came out to see if the problem is fixed. Glad you like the app!

Chris Kadet December 14, 2016

Great app.! Thanks for the effort of making VoIP.ms testing easier. With that said, sometimes texts won't send if I move around the city, I guess because the IP has changed. Is there a way to avoid this?

Michael Kourlas February 5, 2017

You should just use '0.0.0.0' as the allowed IP in the VoIP.ms API settings.

Dmitry Polyakov June 17, 2017

Almost excellent! But messages stuck from time to time. Also some time the app stuck from notification message call, when i try to open message from notification directly. Also may I know the purpose of file access permission in a new version? Thx.

Michael Kourlas June 18, 2017

Try updating to a newer version -- it might fix those problems. The external storage permission is needed to set and display ringtones on external storage, as well as to import and export the database.

andrewson tonkin March 29, 2017

Is it possible to make this app or another version work with our own sms server? Just curious when the next update is coming out? Messages that are already delivered are giving errors.

Michael Kourlas June 11, 2017

Realistically, that's not possible without recompiling the app from source and setting up your own Firebase account. The problem you describe is a known issue with the VoIP.ms API -- it's just too slow to respond, and so the app thinks the request failed. The 0.5.0 release -- which just came out -- lets you configure the timeouts, which may help.

Louis-Philippe Bellerose March 16, 2017

Great app! Works like a charm! You should also automatically activate the auto call back in the url callback option. It should resolve the problem of receiving messages when not connected.

Michael Kourlas June 11, 2017

That shouldn't matter, actually -- the server is always online and FCM should take care of auto-delivering messages to offline devices. Glad you like the app!

Jonagh January 6, 2017

Exactly the thing that Voip.ms was missing. Voip.ms should promote this app on their site (I didn't know about it until recently). One request: I have two DIDs (phone numbers), if there was some way for me to send (and receive, without forwarding) from both that would make this app 5 stars! Thanks.

Michael Kourlas February 5, 2017

That's on my to-do list.

February 10, 2017

Best-looking. Push notifications mostly working but wish it could be better. When it works, incoming text will wake phone, turning the screen on momentarily with audio cue and phone vibration. NextPlus as fast as 2 seconds, Freedom Mobile: 20 seconds. Other times wait 1 minute, even 8 minutes, nothing. Yet I can open home screen, wait 40 seconds and notification suddenly arrives. Concerned about not so much fear of missing out so much as wasting time and money because a meeting location changed and I didn't get the text in time. Not consistent enough for me. Might be voip.ms beta SMS network problem, not app's fault. Leaving voip.ms service for now to switch to Fongo, its app can wake my phone within 5 seconds, every time. But if using voip.ms, I recommend voip.ms SMS.

Michael Kourlas June 11, 2017

I suspect these issues have more to do with VoIP.ms than the app, but you might try updating to the 0.5.0 release to see if there's any improvement.

carloleroux October 4, 2016

The apps that made it possible to switch to voip.ms Since update to firebase sms come in a lot quicker than they used to. Great job on that. Only don't side to sms via voip.ms is that we cant send mms. Keep coming the great work

Michael Kourlas October 4, 2016

Thanks for the positive feedback! Hopefully VoIP.ms will support MMS at some point, but seeing as the SMS feature itself is still in beta I don't think it'll happen anytime soon. :(

Leon J October 25, 2016

This app is a must-have for anyone replacing a normal cellphone plan with VoIP.ms. The only room for improvement I see is limited by VoIP.ms, unfortunately (MMS and short code support, default-SMS setting in Android). The developer was quick to respond to the only issue I've had using this app.

Michael Kourlas November 22, 2016

Thanks for the positive feedback!

Adam Tuck January 17, 2017

Makes data only possible..... Thanks to the developer for all their hard work on this app. If you are considering switching to data only, this app (& voip.ms service) makes it possible. The only improvements I can suggest are to: add a function to group several texts together, and add a longer timeout for the API response. Other than that it is perfect.

Michael Kourlas February 5, 2017

Both suggestions are on my to-do list.

TiYi Tse December 17, 2016

Very useful tool Only problem is that the sound notification is not working to my Samsung Galaxy S6. Not even vibration. So, have to manually watch for texts.

Michael Kourlas February 5, 2017

Perhaps you're using some particularly restrictive notification settings for apps?

Arad Gharagozli October 5, 2016

Great work Beautiful work. Nicely done. Recently been getting some errors but I sure it will go away. No big deal. Thanks Michael

Michael Kourlas October 6, 2016

Thanks for the positive feedback! What kind of errors are you getting?

Kris Waygood March 10, 2017

Awesome app. Developer has had excellent response time to comments and requests I've made in the past. Only thing I think is missing now is the ability to have multiple accounts with distinctive notification sounds for those of us with many phone numbers. Be happy to put money down for a "pro" version if it had those features

Michael Kourlas June 11, 2017

That's on my to-do list, but I think you'll have to wait for Android O. https://github.com/michaelkourlas/voipms-sms-client/issues/25

Med Pharm June 1, 2017

Great work Michael... I look forward to the continued development of the app. It is truly a must have for all those with VOIP.ms account. Having being using for a while now, and has truly been a lifesaver. I am able to use voip.ms service with zoiper soft phone, plus your beautiful app, I do not miss anything while travelling internationally. I am looking for forward to new updates, such as having multiple DID

Michael Kourlas June 11, 2017

I'm glad you like the app! Multiple DID support was just added to the 0.5.0 release.

David B May 8, 2017

Very useful app. I am now able to have a data only plan. What would make the app perfect would be if it could be setup as the default messaging app (not sure if it's possible) and if it could handle MMS (not supported by voip.ms)

Michael Kourlas June 11, 2017

Unfortunately, it's not a real (carrier) SMS app so it can't be set as the default. It also can't support MMS until VoIP.ms adds support for MMS.

Andrew Currie November 11, 2016

It's not you, it's VoIP.ms A noble effort; too bad VoIP.ms makes connecting such a fiddly affair.

Michael Kourlas February 5, 2017

Thanks for the feedback!

January 11, 2017

like it i have been using this for 5 months now, its good and easy to use. but i have to say, sometimes i received the messages hours later, and sometimes i received the same messages many times though i asked the senders they only sent once. Could you fix this?

Michael Kourlas February 5, 2017

For the first issue, do you have push notifications enabled? For the second issue, that might not be a problem with the app. Check the VoIP.ms message centre to see if you actually received the same message multiple times.

Jesse January 12, 2017

This is brilliant This covers a big hole in terms of using sms with a VoIP setup. Thank you to the developer for putting this together. The interface is very simple but effective.

Michael Kourlas February 5, 2017

Thanks for the feedback!

Atsushi Yamamoto January 11, 2017

Works great Took a while to realize that I had to change synchronization frequency, but everything else works great. Thanks for your work!

Michael Kourlas February 5, 2017

Thanks for the feedback!

S Woodside November 4, 2016

This app does exactly what I need, provides ability to reply to see who SMS messages are from and reply from my SMS DID.

Michael Kourlas November 22, 2016

Thanks for the positive feedback!

What's New

# 0.5.3 #

• Add DID to conversation view

• Bug fixes

# 0.5.1-2 #

• Bug fixes

# 0.5.0 #

• Partial re-write

• Language change from Java to Kotlin

• Multiple DID support

• Conversation archival support

• Notification inline reply support

• Android Wear support

• Firebase App Indexing support

• Support for changing connection and read timeouts

• Simplified push notification system

• Miscellaneous UI improvements

• Bug fixes and performance improvements

• Removal of some synchronization features

Additional information

Updated

June 18, 2017

Installs

10,000 - 50,000

Current Version

0.5.3

Requires Android

4.1 and up

Content Rating

Everyone

Learn more

Interactive Elements

Users Interact, Shares Info

Permissions

Report

Flag as inappropriate

Offered By

Michael Kourlas

Developer

Visit website Email michael@kourlas.com Privacy Policy

1266 Jester Court Manotick, Ontario K4M 0A2 Canada

Similar

CounterPath Corp

Bria Android Edition – the SIP Softphone with Video, Voice, SMS, IM & Presence

PC Ability

This app uses the official VoIP.ms API to manage your entire VoIP.ms account.

Regis Montoya

CSipSimple - High quality OpenSource SIP

snrb Labs

Voice without Minutes (now including SMS)!

Innovation Works

call recorder & international calling & free calls, VoIP & free texting

Finarea

Download MobileVoip to use your favorite voip provider on your phone or tablet!

TalkU International Inc.

√Free calls & SMS text
√Cheap International calling & texting
√Free Phone number

Securax LTD.

Highest ranked softphone on google play.
Wideband, video, Encryption & FREE

Zenitalk VOIP, call with us

Make calls using Wifi or 3G.
The cheapest VoIP service for international calling

Finarea

With VoipDiscount you can call at the lowest rates possible!

Finarea

Calling family and friends overseas has never been cheaper.

Wiratel LLC

Make conversation with the best prices anywhere in the world with Voip Turkey.

Media5 Corporation

The famous SIP Softclient with High Audio Quality for the Android family!

i-p-tel GmbH

Free SIP/VoIP Client

007VoIP.com

The cheapest rates! High quality calls! Worldwide VoIP on your mobile phone.

Mobile Telecommunications

Bring voip to your tablet or phone and make wifi calls (VoIP)

PC Ability

Unlocks all of the PRO features of VoIP.ms Console