In this video, we'll show you how easy it is to send and receive

text messages with your phone using Hangouts.

You also can send multimedia messages to share photos, videos

and even animated GIFs. You can use these SMS and MMS features

if you have the Hangouts app on Android 4.0 and higher.

Just remember that all text message charges through your mobile operator still apply.

First, check which device you're using for Hangouts.

If you're using a Nexus 5, Hangouts is already installed

as your primary text-messaging app.

But if you aren't using a Nexus 5

and have Android 4.4 or higher,

you'll need to make Hangouts your primary text-messaging app. Here's how:

Open the Hangouts app on your Android device

and go to "Settings". Open the "SMS" section

and touch "SMS disabled." The change will make Hangouts your primary text-messaging app

If you're using Android 4.3 or lower

you'll need to turn on text messages in Hangouts.

First, open the Hangouts app on your Android device

and go to "Settings". Open the "SMS" section

and tick the box beside "Turn on SMS". The change will make Hangouts

your primary text-messaging app.

When you turn on SMS, all of your existing text messages

are imported into Hangouts. You can only access these messages

on your Android phone, not from any other Hangouts on the web,

iOS device or your tablet. If you decide later that

you don't want to use Hangouts as your text-messaging app,

untick the box beside "Turn on SMS". Once you've turned on text messages

in Hangouts, there are three ways to add a contact for the text message.

Your first option is to open a new Hangouts page

and type the phone number directly in the search box.

The second way is to search for a contact's name or number in the new Hangouts page.

Then choose "Send SMS to" and touch the number of the contact you want to message.

The third option is to choose a contact from the conversation list.

Then choose "SMS" from the drop-down items.

If your contact isn't available on Hangouts and has a phone number,

you'll see an SMS icon with the contact's profile photo.

Once you've chosen the contact, type your message in the message box.

You can also send photos or videos via text message.

To send a photo or video with your text message,

on the right side of the message box, touch the camera icon.

A box will appear where you can choose what you want to do:

take a photo, take a video or attach an existing photo.

Once you've made your selection, touch the send icon to send the message.

You can also customise your settings for text and multimedia messages.

You can adjust your notifications to vibrate or sound, delete old messages,

automatically display multimedia in messages and more.

If you have more than one Hangouts account, you can only use one at a time

for text messages.

Another setting you can manage is for wireless alerts.

It lets you control whether you receive emergency alerts like

AMBER alerts or extreme weather threats so that you're aware of major events

near your location.

Now you can keep up with all your family and friends in one place

by using the Hangouts app to send and receive text in multimedia messages

for your phone number. For more information about

sending and receiving text and multimedia messages using Hangouts,

go to the Hangouts Help Centre at

support.google.com/hangouts.