2. Get and Install Telegram

Telegram messenger is available for the following (e.g. click the links on your phone to open the Google Play or iTunes App store):

• Telegram for Android
• Telegram for iPhone/iPad
• Telegram for Windows Phone
• Telegram for Web
• Telegram for Mac OS X
• Telegram for Windows/PC/Mac/Linux

3. SMS activation and registration

When you launch the Telegram app after installing it, you will see the window showing Start Messaging button. Tap (touch and leave) the Start Messaging button.

Tap Start Messaging button in Telegram for Android

In the next displayed screen, Telegram will ask you to select your country and to enter your phone number. After selecting your country and entering your phone number, tap Done at the top-right, Telegram will send an activation code via SMS to this phone number.

Select country and phone number
Enter the code which you received in your SMS from Telegram.

Enter activation code

After verification, Telegram will take you to its registration screen where it will ask you to enter your name. Enter your name then tap Done.

Enter your name in Telegram for Android.

4. Add a Username in Settings
Add a username in settings; this can later be used for others to contact you via convenient web site:
telegram.me/mguhlin

5. Add a new Contact

If you are using your phone number for the first time in Telegram and you don’t have any contacts and chat records associated with this number in Telegram, you will need to add new contacts to start messaging.

Telegram looks for phone numbers in the contacts list of your phone and if any number is associated with a Telegram account, you can see those contacts in Telegram and start messaging them. So if you want to chat with your friend using Telegram, you can ask your friends to register with Telegram and make sure you have their phone numbers in your phone’s contacts list.

Alternatively, you can also invite your friends from other apps like WhatsApp in Telegram. To do this, tap on the menu button of your Android device, select Contacts, tap on Invite Friends, and then select the app from which you want to invite your friends.

6. Sending an Audio/Text Message using Telegram

Unlike most instant messaging clients, Telegram messenger lets you send normal text messages and any type of files. These messages are stored in the cloud. Since normal messages are stored in the cloud, you can synchronize them to all of your devices including your desktops. 

To start a chat in Telegram, tap the new message icon at the top-right, and then select the contact with whom you want to chat. Note that you can also create a group or a broadcast list. The group allows group members to interact with each other, with all their communications being shared among them. The broadcast list allows you to send out information but doesn’t allow people to interact.

7. Create a New Group

To create a new group, click on the 3 horizontal bars/lines that appear in the blue bar to the left of the word Telegram. This will let you see the following:

From this screen, you can Invite Friends as well as create a new ways to connect with others, including the following:

1. New Group – You can use this to have a group conversation–text AND audio–with others. Note that everyone in the group has access to participate and engage in the conversation.
2. New Secret Chat – enables an encrypted chat with another individual that can be set to expire at a future date.
3. New Broadcast List – This allows you to send out a “broadcast” message (audio or text) to others but they have no ability to interact with anyone else you broadcast to.

8. Start a New Chat

To start a new chat, tap on the pencil in the bottom right hand corner…looks like this:

You will see the following:

Notice that you can simply start typing or insert an emoticon, tap the paperclip to attach a file, or press and hold on the microphone to quickly record and send an audio message.