FAQs

Frequently asked Tech and API related questions

From contact uploads to API challenges, we've got the answers to all of your SMS enquiries.

Explore the frequently asked questions about our platform and integrations below. For more in-depth tutorials and guides, view our SMSGlobal view our SMSGlobal knowledgebase.

2-Way SMS using SOAP API

To send a 2-way SMS, call the method api2WaySendSms

Parameter	Description	Presence
ticket	The ticket used to validate this request, returned from a call to apiValidateLogin	Mandatory
sms_from	If replies are to be pushed back to a URL, parameter should be set to ‘api2way’ If replies are to be pushed back to the main account email address, parameter should be set to ‘reply2carl’	Mandatory
sms_to	MSIDSN of the recipient that the message will be sent to. Eg: 61447100250 (Do not use + before the country code)	Mandatory
msg_content	Message to be sent	Mandatory
msg_type	Depreciated. Should be set to ‘text’	Mandatory
userfield	A user-defined string which will be posted back to the server to help determine which message is being replied to	Mandatory
unicode	Depreciated. Should be set to ‘0’	Mandatory
schedule	To schedule the message to be sent some time/date in the future. Leave blank to send immediately. Time/Date format is: "yyyy‐mm‐dd hh:mm:ss"	Mandatory

Can I receive replies back to my Email using HTTP API?
Can I use the shared numbers when sending an SMS using an HTTP API?
Developers Sandbox testing
Using our developer sandbox service you are able to build and test your messaging application in full. Test your integration to our gateway. This service allows you to test integration in a closed-loop – testing the code and reporting functions – as if you were sending campaigns in production.
Please be advised that once your account is set for sandbox testing, the messages from your software/API will reach our system but, will not leave our system or reach the destination number. Sandbox testing is just for you to test if the messages sent from your API reach our system.
Once you have completed the tests from your software/API, we can move your account from sandbox testing to normal routing allowing you to send messages to your customers.
Enabling Multi-part messaging using HTTP API
Enabling Unicode Messages using SMPP API
How to do a Mobile Number Portability (MNP) lookup?
SMSGlobal provide an MNP lookup service, to see if an MSISDN is in service please submit a ticket below, providing details such as:
- Account Username
- The number(s) you wish to look up
Our customer success team will contact you within 24 hours with the information required.

How to schedule messages in a different time zone using HTTP API

By default, your message will be scheduled to send according to the timezone listed under your 'Settings' in MXT. Refer to the article on How Do I change my timezone in MXT?

However, it is also possible to specify a different timezone for scheduling messages. This can be done by including the timezone parameter, such as:

timezone=Australia/Melbourne

A full list of supported timezones are displayed below:

Africa/Abidjan

Africa/Accra

Africa/Addis_Ababa

Africa/Algiers

Africa/Bamako

Africa/Bangui

Africa/Banjul

Africa/Bissau

Africa/Blantyre

Africa/Brazzaville

Africa/Bujumbura

Africa/Cairo

Africa/Casablanca

Africa/Ceuta

Africa/Conakry

Africa/Dakar

Africa/Dar_es_Salaam

Africa/Djibouti

Africa/Douala

Africa/El_Aaiun

Africa/Freetown

Africa/Gaborone

Africa/Harare

Africa/Johannesburg

Africa/Kampala

Africa/Khartoum

Africa/Kigali

Africa/Kinshasa

Africa/Lagos

Africa/Libreville

Africa/Lome

Africa/Luanda

Africa/Lubumbashi

Africa/Lusaka

Africa/Malabo

Africa/Maputo

Africa/Maseru

Africa/Mbabane

Africa/Mogadishu

Africa/Monrovia

Africa/Nairobi

Africa/Ndjamena

Africa/Niamey

Africa/Nouakchott

Africa/Ouagadougou

Africa/Porto-Novo

Africa/Sao_Tome

Africa/Timbuktu

Africa/Tripoli

Africa/Tunis

Africa/Windhoek

America/Adak

America/Anchorage

America/Anguilla

America/Antigua

America/Araguaina

America/Argentina

America/Aruba

America/Asuncion

America/Atka

America/Bahia

America/Barbados

America/Belem

America/Belize

America/Boa_Vista

America/Bogota

America/Boise

America/Buenos_Aires

America/Cambridge_Bay

America/Campo_Grande

America/Cancun

America/Caracas

America/Catamarca

America/Cayenne

America/Cayman

America/Chicago

America/Chihuahua

America/Coral_Harbour

America/Cordoba

America/Costa_Rica

America/Cuiaba

America/Curacao

America/Danmarkshavn

America/Dawson

America/Dawson_Creek

America/Denver

America/Detroit

America/Dominica

America/Edmonton

America/Eirunepe

America/El_Salvador

America/Ensenada

America/Fortaleza

America/Fort_Wayne

America/Glace_Bay

America/Godthab

America/Goose_Bay

America/Grand_Turk

America/Grenada

America/Guadeloupe

America/Guatemala

America/Guayaquil

America/Guyana

America/Halifax

America/Havana

America/Hermosillo

America/Indiana

America/Indianapolis

America/Inuvik

America/Iqaluit

America/Jamaica

America/Jujuy

America/Juneau

America/Kentucky

America/Knox_IN

America/La_Paz

America/Lima

America/Los_Angeles

America/Louisville

America/Maceio

America/Managua

America/Manaus

America/Martinique

America/Mazatlan

America/Mendoza

America/Menominee

America/Merida

America/Mexico_City

America/Miquelon

America/Moncton

America/Monterrey

America/Montevideo

America/Montreal

America/Montserrat

America/Nassau

America/New_York

America/Nipigon

America/Nome

America/Noronha

America/North_Dakota

America/Panama

America/Pangnirtung

America/Paramaribo

America/Phoenix

America/Port-au-Prince

America/Porto_Acre

America/Porto_Velho

America/Port_of_Spain

America/Puerto_Rico

America/Rainy_River

America/Rankin_Inlet

America/Recife

America/Regina

America/Rio_Branco

America/Rosario

America/Santiago

America/Santo_Domingo

America/Sao_Paulo

America/Scoresbysund

America/Shiprock

America/St_Johns

America/St_Kitts

America/St_Lucia

America/St_Thomas

America/St_Vincent

America/Swift_Current

America/Tegucigalpa

America/Thule

America/Thunder_Bay

America/Tijuana

America/Toronto

America/Tortola

America/Vancouver

America/Virgin

America/Whitehorse

America/Winnipeg

America/Yakutat

America/Yellowknife

Antarctica/Casey

Antarctica/Davis

Antarctica/DumontDUrville

Antarctica/Mawson

Antarctica/McMurdo

Antarctica/Palmer

Antarctica/Rothera

Antarctica/South_Pole

Antarctica/Syowa

Antarctica/Vostok

Arctic/Longyearbyen

Asia/Aden

Asia/Almaty

Asia/Amman

Asia/Anadyr

Asia/Aqtau

Asia/Aqtobe

Asia/Ashgabat

Asia/Ashkhabad

Asia/Baghdad

Asia/Bahrain

Asia/Baku

Asia/Bangkok

Asia/Beirut

Asia/Bishkek

Asia/Brunei

Asia/Calcutta

Asia/Choibalsan

Asia/Chongqing

Asia/Chungking

Asia/Colombo

Asia/Dacca

Asia/Damascus

Asia/Dhaka

Asia/Dili

Asia/Dubai

Asia/Dushanbe

Asia/Gaza

Asia/Harbin

Asia/Hong_Kong

Asia/Hovd

Asia/Irkutsk

Asia/Istanbul

Asia/Jakarta

Asia/Jayapura

Asia/Jerusalem

Asia/Kabul

Asia/Kamchatka

Asia/Karachi

Asia/Kashgar

Asia/Katmandu

Asia/Krasnoyarsk

Asia/Kuala_Lumpur

Asia/Kuching

Asia/Kuwait

Asia/Macao

Asia/Macau

Asia/Magadan

Asia/Makassar

Asia/Manila

Asia/Muscat

Asia/Nicosia

Asia/Novosibirsk

Asia/Omsk

Asia/Oral

Asia/Phnom_Penh

Asia/Pontianak

Asia/Pyongyang

Asia/Qatar

Asia/Qyzylorda

Asia/Rangoon

Asia/Riyadh

Asia/Riyadh87

Asia/Riyadh88

Asia/Riyadh89

Asia/Saigon

Asia/Sakhalin

Asia/Samarkand

Asia/Seoul

Asia/Shanghai

Asia/Singapore

Asia/Taipei

Asia/Tashkent

Asia/Tbilisi

Asia/Tehran

Asia/Tel_Aviv

Asia/Thimbu

Asia/Thimphu

Asia/Tokyo

Asia/Ujung_Pandang

Asia/Ulaanbaatar

Asia/Ulan_Bator

Asia/Urumqi

Asia/Vientiane

Asia/Vladivostok

Asia/Yakutsk

Asia/Yekaterinburg

Asia/Yerevan

Atlantic/Azores

Atlantic/Bermuda

Atlantic/Canary

Atlantic/Cape_Verde

Atlantic/Faeroe

Atlantic/Jan_Mayen

Atlantic/Madeira

Atlantic/Reykjavik

Atlantic/South_Georgia

Atlantic/Stanley

Atlantic/St_Helena

Australia/ACT

Australia/Adelaide

Australia/Brisbane

Australia/Broken_Hill

Australia/Canberra

Australia/Currie

Australia/Darwin

Australia/Eucla

Australia/Hobart

Australia/LHI

Australia/Lindeman

Australia/Lord_Howe

Australia/Melbourne

Australia/North

Australia/NSW

Australia/Perth

Australia/Queensland

Australia/South

Australia/Sydney

Australia/Tasmania

Australia/Victoria

Australia/West

Australia/Yancowinna

Brazil/Acre

Brazil/DeNoronha

Brazil/East

Brazil/West

Canada/Atlantic

Canada/Central

Canada/East-Saskatchewan

Canada/Eastern

Canada/Mountain

Canada/Newfoundland

Canada/Pacific

Canada/Saskatchewan

Canada/Yukon

Chile/Continental

Chile/EasterIsland

Etc/GMT

Etc/GMT+0

Etc/GMT+1

Etc/GMT+10

Etc/GMT+11

Etc/GMT+12

Etc/GMT+2

Etc/GMT+3

Etc/GMT+4

Etc/GMT+5

Etc/GMT+6

Etc/GMT+7

Etc/GMT+8

Etc/GMT+9

Etc/GMT-0

Etc/GMT-1

Etc/GMT-10

Etc/GMT-11

Etc/GMT-12

Etc/GMT-13

Etc/GMT-14

Etc/GMT-2

Etc/GMT-3

Etc/GMT-4

Etc/GMT-5

Etc/GMT-6

Etc/GMT-7

Etc/GMT-8

Etc/GMT-9

Etc/GMT0

Etc/Greenwich

Etc/UCT

Etc/Universal

Etc/UTC

Etc/Zulu

Europe/Amsterdam

Europe/Andorra

Europe/Athens

Europe/Belfast

Europe/Belgrade

Europe/Berlin

Europe/Bratislava

Europe/Brussels

Europe/Bucharest

Europe/Budapest

Europe/Chisinau

Europe/Copenhagen

Europe/Dublin

Europe/Gibraltar

Europe/Helsinki

Europe/Istanbul

Europe/Kaliningrad

Europe/Kiev

Europe/Lisbon

Europe/Ljubljana

Europe/London

Europe/Luxembourg

Europe/Madrid

Europe/Malta

Europe/Mariehamn

Europe/Minsk

Europe/Monaco

Europe/Moscow

Europe/Nicosia

Europe/Oslo

Europe/Paris

Europe/Prague

Europe/Riga

Europe/Rome

Europe/Samara

Europe/San_Marino

Europe/Sarajevo

Europe/Simferopol

Europe/Skopje

Europe/Sofia

Europe/Stockholm

Europe/Tallinn

Europe/Tirane

Europe/Tiraspol

Europe/Uzhgorod

Europe/Vaduz

Europe/Vatican

Europe/Vienna

Europe/Vilnius

Europe/Warsaw

Europe/Zagreb

Europe/Zaporozhye

Europe/Zurich

Indian/Antananarivo

Indian/Chagos

Indian/Christmas

Indian/Cocos

Indian/Comoro

Indian/Kerguelen

Indian/Mahe

Indian/Maldives

Indian/Mauritius

Indian/Mayotte

Indian/Reunion

Mexico/BajaNorte

Mexico/BajaSur

Mexico/General

Pacific/Apia

Pacific/Auckland

Pacific/Chatham

Pacific/Easter

Pacific/Efate

Pacific/Enderbury

Pacific/Fakaofo

Pacific/Fiji

Pacific/Funafuti

Pacific/Galapagos

Pacific/Gambier

Pacific/Guadalcanal

Pacific/Guam

Pacific/Honolulu

Pacific/Johnston

Pacific/Kiritimati

Pacific/Kosrae

Pacific/Kwajalein

Pacific/Majuro

Pacific/Marquesas

Pacific/Midway

Pacific/Nauru

Pacific/Niue

Pacific/Norfolk

Pacific/Noumea

Pacific/Pago_Pago

Pacific/Palau

Pacific/Pitcairn

Pacific/Ponape

Pacific/Port_Moresby

Pacific/Rarotonga

Pacific/Saipan

Pacific/Samoa

Pacific/Tahiti

Pacific/Tarawa

Pacific/Tongatapu

Pacific/Truk

Pacific/Wake

Pacific/Wallis

Pacific/Yap

US/Alaska

US/Aleutian

US/Arizona

US/Central

US/East-Indiana

US/Eastern

US/Hawaii

US/Indiana-Starke

US/Michigan

US/Mountain

US/Pacific

US/Samoa

HTTP API Parameters for Sending an SMS

Find below a list of parameters when issuing a HTTP Request.

Parameter	Description	Presence
action	Action to be taken. [Default: sendsms]	Mandatory
user	Your SMSGlobal username	Mandatory
password	Your SMSGlobal password	Mandatory
from	MSIDSN or Sender ID that the message will appear from. Eg: 61409317436 (Do not use +before the country code)	Mandatory
to	MSIDSN of the recipient that the message will be sent to. Eg: 61409317436 (Do not use + before the country code)	Mandatory
text	Message to be sent. Must be URL encoded.	Mandatory
maxsplit	Enables splitting of message if text exceeds 160 characters. Specifies number of times allowed to split.	Optional
scheduledatetime	To schedule the message to be sent sometime/date in the future. Time/Date format is: "yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss" which is URL encoded.	Optional
timezone	To schedule a message to go in a custom timezone. Pick one from this list. Make sure this value is URL encoded.	Optional

HTTP API PHP Sample Code

HTTP Request version of sending an MMS

MMS Attachments are base64 encoded. Below are a couple of examples of how to encode an attachment in different programming languages.

PHP

$path = 'myfolder/myimage.png';
$type = pathinfo($path, PATHINFO_EXTENSION);
$data = file_get_contents($path);
$base64 = 'data:image/' . $type . ';base64,' . base64_encode($data);

Java

private static String encodeFileToBase64Binary(String fileName) throws IOException {
File file = new File(fileName);
byte[] encoded = Base64.encodeBase64(FileUtils.readFileToByteArray(file));
return new String(encoded, StandardCharsets.US_ASCII);
}

Integrating with SMSGlobal
Is SSL supported when Integrating with SMSGlobals API's?
Scheduling messages using HTTP-API
To schedule a message for later sending, first include the parameter 'scheduledatetime'. This should be in the format
```
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
```
An example request containing this parameter might look like the following:
```
https://www.smsglobal.com/http-api.php?action=sendsms&user=USERNAME&password=PASSWORD&to=61447100250&from=SMSGlobal&text=Hello!&<span>scheduledatetime=2013-12-25 15:00:00</span>
```
Note: as usual, you will want to URL encode this scheduledatetime parameter.

For example, 2013-12-25 15:00:00 would represent 25 December, 2013, at 3pm. When the message is successfully scheduled, the API will print out a delayed message ID in the format:
```
SMSGLOBAL DELAY MSGID:1203396573
```

Supported file formats for MMS using an API

File Type	Media Type	Compatibility / Support
Images
JPEG, JPG	(image/jpeg)	Good support
GIF: GIF87a, GI89a, animated GIF89a	(image/gif)	Good support
PNG	(image/png)	This is B&W image format from the old days of WAP
WBMP (Wireless Bitmap)	(image/wbmp)	This is B&W image format from the old days of WAP
BMP (Windows Bitmap)	(image/bmp)	Dependent on handset support
Audio
MP3	(audio/mpeg)	Partial support; some handsets may limit the use of the file due to DRM concerns by the manufacturer
MID, MIDI	(audio/mid or audio/midi)	Good support
WAV	(audio/wav)	Good support
AMR	(audio/amr)	Partial support, GSM handsets only
IMY, eMY	(audio/imelody)	Partial support
Evc	–	Not currently supported
AAC	–	Not currently supported
Video
MPeG, MPG, MP4	(video/mpeg4)	Support may vary by handset
3GP	(video/3gpp)	Good support
Text
TXT, TeXT, US-ASCII	UTF-8, US-ASCII (not UTF-16) (text/plain)	Good support
X-IMeLODY	(text/x-imelody)	Partial to good
X-eMeLODY	(text/e-melody)	Partial to good

Troubleshooting HTTP API Character Encoding
When building applications using the HTTP API, it is important to account for any symbols that might interfere with the API string in some way. As a result, it is best practice to triple encode all API strings before calling the API.

Strings that contain symbols such as plus symbol + and ampersands &, and any Unicode characters, must be triple URL encoded and submitted in their encoded form. This ensures such characters a properly escaped. Many programming languages have functions available for URL encoding. For example:
Troubleshooting HTTP API Error code 13

Troubleshooting MMS API Error Codes

Status Code	Status Text	Description
0	Connection error	Indicates a connection error with the MMS Relay/Server
1000	Success	Indicates the request completed successfully
1100	Partial success	Indicates only some parts of the request were completed successfully. (e.g. some for a multi-recipient message some destinations could not be resolved). Please note, multiple recipients are not currently supported.
2000	Client error	MM7 Client made an invalid request.
2001	Operation restricted	Your Account does not have permission to use this feature.
2002	Address Error	The formatting of one or more of the addresses was not valid (should be MSISDN or email address).
2003	Address Not Found	The address supplied in the request could not be located by Access Manager. This code is returned when an operation is requested on a previously submitted message and Access Manager cannot find the message for the address specified.
2004	Multimedia	The server could not parse the MIME content that was attached to the SOAP message and indicated by the Content element or the content size or media type was unacceptable. Additionally it may be a content type not allowed by Access Manager
2005	Message ID Not found	Returned when an operation is requested on a previously submitted message which cannot be found.
2006	LinkedID not found	This code is returned when a LinkedID was supplied and Access Manager could not find the related message.
2007	Message format corrupt	An element value format is inappropriate or incorrect.
2008	Application ID not found	Your MM7 credentials are not valid.
2009	Reply Application ID not found	This code is returned when a Reply Application ID was supplied and Access Manager could not find the originating application.
3000	Server Error	Access Manager does not support this operation on multiple recipients. The operation MAY be resubmitted as multiple single recipient operations.
3001	Not Possible	The request could not be carried out because it is not possible. This code is normally used as a result of a cancel or status query on a message that is no longer available for cancel or status query. Access Manager has recognized the message in question, but it cannot fulfill the request because the message is already complete or status is no longer available.
3002	Message Rejected	Server could not complete the service requested.
3003	Multiple addresses not supported	Access Manager does not support this operation on multiple recipients. The operation MAY be resubmitted as multiple single recipient operations.
3004	Application Addressing not supported	Recipient MMS User Agent does not support the transport of application data.
4000	General service error	The requested service cannot be fulfilled.
4001	Improper identification	Identification header of the request does not uniquely identify the client (either the VASP or MMS Relay/Server).
4002	Unsupported version	Identification header of the request does not uniquely identify the client (either the VASP or MMS Relay/Server).
4003	Unsupported operation	The server does not support the request indicated by the MessageType element in the header of the message.
4004	Validation error	The SOAP and XML structures could not be parsed,mandatory fields are missing, or the message-format is not compatible to the format specified. Details field may specify the parsing error that caused this status.
4005	Service error	The operation caused a failure within Access Manager and should not be resent.
4006	Service unavailable	This indication may be sent by the server when service is temporarily unavailable, e.g. when server is busy
4007	Service denied	The client does not have permission or funds to perform the requested operation.
4008	Application denied	The application does not have permission or funds to perform the requested operation.

Troubleshooting REST API Response Codes

The following response codes apply to all requests. Check each request type in the list below for more response codes specific to that request. For more information please see our REST API Documentation.

Status Code	Meaning	Scenario
200	OK	The request was processed successfully
400	Bad Request	Your request contained invalid or missing data
401	Unauthorized	Authentication failed or the `Authenticate` header was not provided
404	Not Found	The URI does not match any of the recognised resources, or, if you are asking for a specific resource with an ID, that resource does not exist
405	Method Not Allowed	The HTTP request method you are trying to use is not allowed. Make an `OPTIONS` request to see the allowed methods
406	Not Acceptable	The `Accept` content type you are asking for is not supported by the REST API
412	Unsupported Media Type	The `Content-Type` header is not supported by the REST API

How to Create and Send a Campaign in MXT
Before you set up and send a campaign in MXT you need to prepare your contact lists. Once you have set up your contact list, you're ready to create a campaign and to start sending.
1. Select 'Send Messages' on the left hand side of the MXT menu, then click on 'Campaigns'.
2. Select the 'Create Campaign' tab to set up your campaign.
3. Give your Campaign a name and make sure that it's something that you can easily identify with later (this will be used for future reporting).
4. Chose the group you would like to send 'To', this will be a previously created contact group.
5. Select the name or number that you want your messages to be sent from.
6. Once you have chosen your Sender ID, click 'Next' to continue.
7. Write your message in the 'Message' box and enter the content you would like to send in your SMS.
8. Once you have composed your message, you can create rules and triggers.
9. Click 'Next' to continue.
10. Now it's time to send your campaign. At this point you have three different sending options.
Send it now, Schedule for later or Stagger my campaign.
11. Once you have chosen how you want your campaign to be sent, you will be able to calculate the total cost of sending the campaign.
12. Test and Confirm that your Campaign details are correct and that you're happy and ready to send.
13. Once you are happy with everything and ready to send your campaign select 'Finish' or 'Save for Later' to come back to the campaign at another time.

Troubleshooting SMPP API Error Codes

Error Code	Description
Error 1	ESME_RINVMSGLEN Message Length is invalid
Error 2	ESME_RINVCMDLEN Command Length is invalid
Error 3	ESME_RINVCMDID Invalid Command ID
Error 4	ESME_RINVBNDSTS Incorrect BIND
Error 5	ESME_RALYBND ESME Already in Bound State
Error 10	ESME_RINVSRCADR Invalid Source Address
Error 11	ESME_RINVDSTADR Invalid Destination Address
Error 12	ESME_RINVMSGID Message ID is invalid
Error 13	ESME_RBINDFAIL Bind Failed
Error 14	ESME_RINVPASWD Invalid Password
Error 69	ESME_RSUBMITFAIL Submit SM failed
Error 88	ESME_RTHROTTLED Exceeded allowed message limits
Error 102	Destination not covered or Unknown prefix
Timeout 400	Send message timed-out.
System Error 401	System temporarily disabled
No response 402	No response from SMSGlobal SMSC

How to create a contact list in MXT
1. Select 'Send Messages' from the left hand side of the MXT menu, then click on 'Contact Lists'.
2. Select the 'Create New List' tab.
3. Firstly, you will be required to enter:
- The 'Group Name'. Make sure this is easily identifiable, as you will need to use it to find each group.
- An 'Email Keyword'. If you use Email to SMS you can enter a 'Email Keyword' so you can send an email to this entire group by sending an email to your-keyword@email.smsglobal.com
- A 'Default From Address' (also known as Sender ID). Here you can use a shared number, choose a custom word, purchase a dedicated number or use a verified number dedicated to your account.
4. You can now choose whether you’d like to add additional 'Custom Fields' to your groups. Family name, given name, display name/nickname, mobile number and email address are always included as custom fields, but you can elect to add custom text, a number, radio buttons or drop downs by clicking on 'Add Field'.
5. Once all the information is filled out click 'Add Contact List'.
You must then upload the contacts for this group by clicking 'Select File' next to the 'Numbers' box. Browse your files and attach the relevant .csv or Excel file. Select the group you would like to import the contacts to from the 'Import To' drop down box. Click 'Next' once this is done.
You will then be asked to confirm spreadsheet details, once the details are confirmed your group will be created.