SMS known issues and resources

Worldwide commercial SMS has been undergoing transformations and regulation changes in several regions.

Problem

This article covers known and confirmed message delivery or response problems reported to xMatters Customer Support.

We suggest caution when using SMS as a sole primary contact method for critical notifications.  Please consider pairing SMS with other contact methods such as the xMatters Mobile App, telephone, or email.

Environment

  • All versions of xMatters
  • SMS Notifications

Update

Country Number Notes and Updates
Singapore +6582410968

Resolved

Messages into this country are now being marked as "Likely-SCAM" as part of a new country regulation.

 

We are in the process of fulling these new requirements in order for messages to be properly identified.

 

Brazil 29562

Update - Resolution in progress no ETA.

1-Way Service

  • Intermittent: We're working with our service provider to resolve problems with message responses
Saudi Arabia

xMatters

Resolved

We have provisioned an alpha sender id "xMatters" for Saudi Arabia in place of +447860028602.

 

SMS Messages are not being delivered to devices in Saudi Arabia.  

Due to new country regulations, traffic is only allowed between 8am - 10pm local KSA time.

France 33755531236

Resolved

2-Way Service is operational with the number listed below.

We have provisioned a new number. SMS messages will be arriving from randomized short code, and a "reply to" number 33755531835 will be appended to all messages for responses.

Testing:

We are in the process of testing a new number.

Delivery Failures

  • Regulatory changes have impacted SMS message delivery to France.
  • xMatters is working with Service Providers to address delivery challenges.
Mexico +529993190005

Resolved

2-Way Service is operational.

Update -> 2-Way Service operational except for AT&T Mexico fix in progress,

1-Way Service

  • Regulatory changes have impacted SMS message delivery to Mexico.
  • SMS messages are being delivered, however, responses may not be reaching xMatters.
  • We are working with Service Providers on a resolution.
Philippines 639221100125

Resolved

2-Way Service is operational.
Update -> 2-Way Service operational except for Globe Telecom.

For other providers, see special considerations - click here

Update:

For best results, we suggest following the best practices listed in this document, specific to the use of characters outside of SMS default character set.

Update:

Users on this Globe Telecom may not be able to respond directly to SMS notifications. The suggested workaround is to respond to +639221100125.

xMatters Support is actively working with providers to address this issue.

1-Way Service

  • Some carriers do not accept special characters, which is causing delivery failures.
  • We are working with Service Providers on a resolution.
Japan 85296657358

Resolved

2-Way Service best practices - click here

New outbound number is: 92706

Some customers report inconsistent delivery for some carriers in Japan.  We are continuing to troubleshoot.

We are aware of the following carrier-specific limitations.

  • KDDI is limited to 140 characters (latin) or 70 characters (unicode)
  • Softbank is limited to 664 characters (latin) or 332 characters (unicode)
  • NTT Docomo/Rakuten is limited to 660 characters (both latin and unicode)

For more information on unicode click here.

Testing:

We have provisioned the following numbers and have begun testing:

  • Softbank: 241289
  • NTTdocomo/Rakuten: 08014093051
  • KDDI:0009310026

Delivery Failures

  • Regulatory changes have impacted SMS message delivery to Japan.
  • xMatters is working with Service Providers to address delivery challenges. 
Vietnam 84563292587

Resolved

1-Way Service only

  • Intermittent: We're investigating reports of problems replying to SMS messages

 

Resources

Unicode and its impact on SMS

SMS Numbers Used by xMatters

xMatters SMS Reference Guide

Mobile Clients vs SMS - Why SMS STINKS

 

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