Question

Scenario A

I receive one of the error messages below when I send an outbound Text message.

  • We couldn't deliver this message
  • We couldn't send the message

Scenario B

When I review the message details in my Text history, the status of my message is either Undelivered or Failed:

Why are my SMS messages failing?

Answer

There are multiple reasons why an SMS message can fail. Some common reasons why SMS messages may be failing to send:

  • The destination handset is unreachable.
  • The destination phone number does not support Text.
  • The SMS message exceeds the 160 character limit.
  • The end user sent an opt-out code to one of your messages. For more information on opt-outs, see the article: About opt-out keywords for Zendesk Text.
  • The limit of 500 daily, 1000 weekly, or 2,000 monthly per number has been reached for outbound SMS sent by US and Canada toll-free numbers.

If SMS messages are still failing to send or if you need your US/CA toll-free numbers verified, contact Zendesk Customer Support with the ticket ID where the SMS message failed.

Powered by Zendesk