How to Use Facebook Mobile

If you have a smartphone, then you can easily update your Facebook status, upload pictures and videos or check out your friends' Facebook updates using your mobile web browser. What if you only have a traditional cell phone, though, that does not provide access to the web? Happily, you can perform all of these tasks as well, as long as your phone allows SMS (text messaging).

The key is that you must first sign up for Facebook Mobile. To do so, log into your Facebook account from your computer's web browser, just as you typically would. In the right pane of your Facebook Home page, click on the "Connect on the Go, Try Facebook Mobile" link in the "Get Connected" section.

This takes you to the Facebook Mobile page. Click the "Edit Settings" link at the bottom of the window. Make sure you are on the "Mobile" tab on the "My Account" page. Under "Activate a Phone," click on the "Register for Facebook Text Messages" link.

This opens a dialog that will walk you through the steps to activate your cell phone with Facebook Mobile. In the first step, select your country and your cell phone provider in the drop down lists. Click "Next."

For the second step, you will need your cell phone. Create a text message with the letter "f" without quotes in the body of the message. Send the message to "32665," which spells "FBOOK" on your keypad.

After sending the text message, you will receive a reply with a confirmation code. When you get this code, click "Next" on the Facebook dialog box. Type the code into the "Enter Code Here" box. If you do not want your cell phone number displayed on your Facebook profile, be sure to clear the "Add my cell number to my profile" check box. Click "Confirm" to complete the activation.

You now see a confirmation message on Facebook and will receive a text message on your cell phone confirming that your number has been activated. This message includes some basic information on how to use Facebook Mobile text messaging, as well.

Complete the setup on Facebook by selecting the check boxes for the notifications you want sent to your cell phone via SMS. You can further customize these settings by typing in the names of specific friends whose Facebook updates you want sent to your phone. You can enter times you want these text messages sent, which is handy if you do not want them during class or in the middle of the night. You can limit the number of text messages you receive every day as well. Click the "Save Preferences" button when you have made all of the changes you want.

Text messages to "32665" along with keywords to perform a number of actions. To update your status, simply type your status update directly to the number. To send a message to a friend on Facebook, type the word "msg," the friend's name and your message. For example, to send a message to Lisa Brown, type "msg Lisa Brown Hi Lisa, how are you?" (without quotation marks) and Lisa will receive the message on Facebook. Similarly, type the word "wall" instead of "wall" and the message will post on your friend's wall.

If you can't remember these keywords, simply text "help" to 32665 and Facebook Mobile will reply with a complete list to which you can refer.