Starting June 17, 2025, AT&T is officially shutting down its email-to-text and text-to-email services. If you’ve been sending or receiving SMS messages using email (for example, by emailing 1234567890@txt.att.net) this change directly impacts you. After that date, messages sent using this method will no longer be delivered to AT&T or Cricket Wireless subscribers.

This change doesn’t just impact casual users. It’s a major shift for anyone that relies on these services to send reminders, alerts, or customer communications.

What’s changing?

For years, AT&T offered a simple way to send SMS via email using a recipient’s 10 digit long code (10DLC) and a domain like @txt.att.net or @mms.att.net. Starting June 17, 2025:

• You will not be able to send texts using email to AT&T or Cricket subscribers.
  
  

• You will not receive texts forwarded to your email from these carriers.
  
  

• Both email-to-text and text-to-email gateways will be shut down.

If your business sends texts through automated systems using email, including notifications from internal systems, appointment reminders, or monitoring alerts, this update could break core parts of your workflow.

Why is this happening?

AT&T hasn’t released a public technical reason for the change, but email-to-text services are outdated and vulnerable to spam and abuse. With the industry-wide push for A2P 10DLC messaging compliance and better carrier filtering, many providers are sunsetting legacy systems in favor of verified, secure messaging channels.

What can you do instead?

The good news is that you don’t need to switch carriers. But you do need to switch how you send messages.

The best way forward is to use one of the following A2P messaging options:

• 10DLC: Great for businesses sending local, personalized messages.
  
  

• Toll-free: Ideal for support and marketing messages with national reach.
  
  

• Short codes: Best for high-volume, time-sensitive campaigns like 2FA or mass alerts.

If you’re not sure which number type is right for your business, SignalWire can help. We have resources to help guide you through the process of choosing a phone number, and our team of experts is here to help you get registered no matter the number type.

We support registration for A2P 10DLC, toll-free, and short code, and we’ll help guide you through the process so you stay compliant and connected. Our messaging platform gives you the flexibility to send SMS and MMS at scale.

Next steps

No matter your operation – if you’re a healthcare provider, software company, school, or local business – if you’re relying on email-to-text today, you need to plan your transition now.

Don’t wait until June 17. After that date, AT&T and Cricket will no longer deliver messages sent via email-to-text or text-to-email. To avoid service disruption, register your messaging number now and switch to a platform that supports modern messaging.

SignalWire is ready to help you make the move with powerful APIs and world-class support. Sign up for free and get started with our messaging platform free trial.