Quick Setup Guide
Link your phone to your computer, then write your texts on the computer
Install the Android App
Install the SMSTunnel app on your Android phone from Google Play. It links your phone to your account so it can send, from your number, the texts you write on your computer.
Sign In to Your Account
Open the app and sign in. You have multiple options:
One-tap sign in
Classic registration
QR Code
Scan from dashboard
First time?
Don't have an account yet? Signing in with Google or Facebook in the app creates one for you, or you can register with your email. Google and Facebook sign-in work immediately; email accounts are activated after a short review.
Link Your Phone to Your Computer
The link is created by you. Unlink anytime in the app (Connections), or sign out of the app.
- 1
In the app, turn on the service. The app first explains that it will send, from this phone's SIM, the texts you write on your computer, then Android asks for permission to send SMS.
- 2
On your computer, sign in to your dashboard with the same account. The phone shows up under Phones.
- 3
You can also link a phone by QR code: open Phones → Add phone on your computer, then in the app open Connections → Link with QR code and point the camera at the code.
Keep the link running
While linked, the app shows a notification ("SMSTunnel is linked to your computer") with a Stop button. If texts are delayed, allow the app to run without battery restrictions in your phone's settings.
Write Your First Text
In the dashboard, click Send SMS, choose your phone, type the number and the message, and click Send. Your phone sends it from your own number — nobody needs to touch the phone. The text appears under Messages with its status.
Optional: sync received texts
In the app, turn on Sync received texts (a card on the app's Dashboard, or in Settings). After you agree, texts your phone receives from then on appear in Messages, with a Reply button. It is off by default, your existing inbox is never read, and you can turn it off anytime. Only you can see the synced texts: in your dashboard, and through API keys you explicitly allow to read received messages. Websites and apps you link with a QR code or a standard API key cannot read them.
You're All Set!
Your phone and computer are now linked. What you can do next:
Reply from the computer
With sync on, answer incoming texts from Messages; the reply goes out from the same phone.
Link another phone
Link each of your own phones and choose which one sends.
Connect your own website
Using WordPress? See below to let your site hand texts to your phone.
Use the API
Create an API key so your own software can hand texts to your phone. API reference
Using WordPress? Link Your Site Too
The SMSTunnel plugin lets your own WordPress site hand texts to your linked phone — login codes, form and order notifications — sent from your number.
A. Install the Plugin
Installation Steps:
- 1
Go to WordPress Admin → Plugins → Add Plugin
- 2
Search for SMSTunnel
SMSTunnel on WordPress.org → - 3
Click Install Now
- 4
Click Activate
B. Link the Site to Your Phone
In WordPress, open SMSTunnel → Quick Setup and pick one of these methods:
Pairing Methods:
Scan QR Code from App (Recommended)
You approve the link on your phone; your site gets only its own key, which cannot read your received texts.
- 1. In WordPress, go to SMSTunnel → Quick Setup
- 2. A QR code will be displayed
- 3. In the app, open Connections → Link with QR code
- 4. Point your camera at the QR code
- 5. Approve the connection on your phone. Done! To unlink the site later, remove it in the app (Connections)
Sign in with Google / Facebook
API key is set automatically
The plugin also keeps your account sign-in, which gives the site the same access as your dashboard, including your synced received texts. To give a site only its own key, use the QR code instead.
- 1. In WordPress, go to SMSTunnel → Quick Setup
- 2. Click "Sign in with Google" or "Sign in with Facebook"
- 3. Authorize the connection
- 4. Done! API key is configured automatically
Email & Password Authentication
API key is set automatically
The plugin also keeps your account sign-in, which gives the site the same access as your dashboard, including your synced received texts. To give a site only its own key, use the QR code instead.
- 1. In WordPress, go to SMSTunnel → Quick Setup
- 2. Enter your SMSTunnel account email and password
- 3. Click "Connect"
- 4. Done! API key is configured automatically
Use the same credentials you used to register in the mobile app
Manual API Key
- 1. Sign in to your dashboard
- 2. Open Apps → Add an app, pick WordPress and click Create the key
- 3. Copy the key (it's shown only once)
- 4. In WordPress, go to SMSTunnel → Settings
- 5. Paste the API key and save
Optional: End-to-End Encryption for Your Site
Your site can encrypt each text for your phone before sending it. Scan the encryption QR code from the plugin settings with the app: the phone shares only its public key, and its private key never leaves the phone, so we store only encrypted text that we cannot read.
- 1. In WordPress, go to SMSTunnel → Encryption Settings
- 2. Start the encryption pairing to show a QR code
- 3. Scan the QR code with the SMSTunnel app
- 4. Done — texts from your site are now end-to-end encrypted