How to
Troubleshooting SMS Activity
By effectively understanding SMS-related issues you can ensure that your flow designs deliver a consistent experience for recipients.
This article outlines all SMS activity events, possible SMS-channel specific failures, and other generic failures you may encounter.
Understanding SMS activity
Each SMS sent through Pendula generates activity that lets you track its progress from start to finish. These activities provide valuable insights into SMS behaviour, such as reasons for rejection, or failure to send.
SMS activity events
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Action started: The Outbound SMS node has started. It contains information about the node and its configurations.
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Message queued: The message has been queued for sending to the gateway. Extensive information and a preview are available on this activity.
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Message passed to gateway: The message has been handed to the gateway for delivery.
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Message sent: The message has been sent to the recipient.
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Message delivered: The message has been delivered to the recipient.
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Message rejected: The SMS was rejected by the gateway and was not sent. Common examples include: carrier or network issues, or blocked recipient. For a detailed troubleshooting guide, see Outbound SMS.
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Message failed: The SMS could not be sent; the gateway made an attempt but delivery failed. For a detailed troubleshooting guide, see Outbound SMS.
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Message validation failed: The SMS could not be sent due to an invalid format. Common examples include incorrectly formatted or missing phone number. For a detailed troubleshooting guide, see Outbound SMS.
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Action ended: The Outbound SMS node has ended with a 'success' or 'failure' result.
SMS channel-specific failure messages
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Errored: The SMS encountered an error during processing.
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No 'To' number specified: The recipient's phone number is missing.
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Invalid mobile number: The specified mobile number is not valid.
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Message too long (160 chars max): The SMS exceeds the maximum character limit of 160.
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'To' number is a premium number: The recipient's number is a premium-rate number and cannot be used.
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'To' phone number cannot be reached: The recipient's phone number is unreachable.
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Message Delivery - Message blocked: The message was blocked and could not be delivered.
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Not mobile phone: The recipient's number does not belong to a mobile phone.
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Invalid content: The SMS content is invalid or does not meet required standards.
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Bad request: The request to send the SMS was malformed or incomplete.
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Missing message: The SMS content is missing.
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Blocked due to compliance: The message was blocked due to compliance restrictions.
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Message cannot be sent with the current combination of 'To' and/or 'From' numbers: The message cannot be sent with the current combination of "To" and/or "From" numbers.
Other and generic failures
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In error: An unspecified error occurred during the SMS delivery process.
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Could not submit to carrier: The SMS could not be sent to the carrier for delivery.
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Missing recipient contact point: The recipient's contact point is missing.
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No suitable carrier configured: No suitable carrier is configured to handle the message.
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Could not collect statuses from carrier: The gateway could not collect delivery statuses from the carrier.
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Fail to deliver: A generic failure indicating the SMS was not successfully delivered.
By understanding these activities and their associated failure types, you can efficiently troubleshoot issues and ensure optimal SMS delivery.