SMS

From VoIP.ms Wiki

Revision as of 19:03, 20 March 2013

Short Message Service (SMS). This feature introduced on 2013 will allow you to send and receive messages with your DID Number (US DID Numbers Only).Currently is in beta and will remain free throughout 2013 (the price will be 1 cent per message starting in 2014).

Please note that this feature is for regular customer usage. No automation, telemarketing, bulk sending or receiving will be allowed.

Identifying an SMS DID Number

The first you need to know is that this feature is only available for US DID Numbers at this moment, also you will encounter that some numbers will have now a little icon of a phone device, this has been deployed to indicate that the number support SMS.

You can start ordering a DID Number from your portal >> DID Numbers >> Order DID >> Local Numbers >> US Numbers and you will be able to purchase your desired number, just make sure it support the SMS feature.

Configuring the SMS service

Once purchased the SMS Service need to be activated on the DID settings, from your portal >> DID Numbers >> Manage DID >> Edit Selection >> SMS.

On that section you can activate and configure some forward options for the SMS service.

  (Feature in beta) This phone number has SMS capability. This means the number can receive SMS text messages as well as sending them. Please        
  activate one or more options for the SMS delivery. This feature is currently in beta and will remain free throughout 2013 (the price will 
  be 1 cent per message starting in 2014). Please note that this feature is for regular customer usage. No automation, telemarketing, bulk 
  sending or  receiving will be allowed.   

The first action to take is to mark the Short Message Service (SMS) service, by enabling this field the SMS Service will be active and free until 2014.

• VoIP.ms SMS Portal: This is enabled by defualt and it can't be modified, that's mean that you will be able to Create and Send messages from the SMS Message Center.

• SMS Email Address: By activating this option all the SMS Messages will be sent to the email address you configure on the field. The greatest power of this option is that you will receive your SMS Messages direclty to your email and you will be able to Reply these messages from your email too. You just need to click on reply on the email.

 To reply the SMS Message via your email is important to click on Reply and DON'T change or modify the destination mail "TO"  
 (sms@voip.ms)and the subject E.G [#USXXX] Message sent to 5555555555 (this subject will change according to the SMS  you sent).

• SMS Forward: You can have your SMS Messages forwarded to your cellphone or other number with the SMS feature supported, with this option you just receive the SMS Messages from our system however you can't reply the Message using this option.

• SMS URL Callback: By enabling this option you will be bale to send the messages to another destination E.G your own server. If selected SMS Messgages received by your DID will Send a GET request to the URL Callback provided. Available Variables for your URL:

 {FROM} The phone number that sent you the message
 {TO} The DID Number that recieve the message
 {MESSAGE} The content of the message
 Example: http: //mysite.com/sms.php?to={TO}&from={FROM}&message={Message}

• URL Callback Retry: When selected, we will be expecting an "ok" output (without quotes) from your URL callback page as an indicator that you have received the message correctly. If we don't received the "ok" letters (without quotes) from your callback page, we will keep sending you the same message every 30 minutes.

Once you configure the desired option click on Apply Changes.

Send and Receive Messages

SMS Message Center

To start using the service you will need to use the SMS Message Center, from your portal >> DID Numbers >> SMS Message Center.

From the SMS Message Center you can check your SMS History, send and receive SMS messages.

• Search Range: Select a Date Range of your SMS History, you can select the starting date to the final date,by marking the "Show Details" field the text messages will be displayed.

• Search Filter: You can filter your Search by DID, Contact and Type (Sent, Received and Both).

• Send New SMS Messages: By clicking there another window will be opened in order to compose a new SMS Message.

• Checking a Message: To check a received SMS Messgage just click directly to it in order to display the information.

Create a New SMS Message

You can create a new SMS Message we will explain you all the parameters you can find on this section:

• DID: If you have more than one DID Number you can select the one you want to use to send your message.
• Contact: The destination phone number or if you have a Phone book entry start typing the name and the system will display the information if finded.
• Message: You can compose your message on that field, please note that you have up to 160 characters.

Then click on Send Message to send the SMS.

Important information to know about the SMS Service

• The SMS Service is in BETA version, that's mean is not fully deployed, is important for us if you report any issue or inconvenience with this service.

• The SMS Service will be free until 2014.

• The SMS Service is only available for US DID Numbers marked with the distinctive SMS Icon. No ETA for Canadian DID's to be available for this service, but you can still send messages to Canadian lines.

• The SMS Service can't be used for automation, telemarketing, bulk sending or receiving.

If you have further questions don't hesitate to contact the Support Staff on the Live Chat or Ticket System.