SMS known issues and resources – xMatters Support

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
France	33755531236	Update -> 2-Way Service please test 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	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	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, this is causing delivery failures. We are working with Service Providers on a resolution.
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	+447860028602	Update - Under Investigation 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.
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