Use this article to help you add a number to use for text support. For an overview of how to start using Text, see Getting started with Text for voice.
Adding a Text number
To start using Text, you'll need to choose a number. You can find the supported countries and address requirements for Text numbers at Zendesk Talk and Zendesk Text number address requirements.
- In Admin Center, click the Channels icon (
) in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social > Text.
- From the Numbers tab, click Add number.
- Select a country and a number type. Optionally, enter digits and phrases to find numbers with specific sequences of letters or numbers.
- Select a phone number from the list of available numbers. The icons next to each
number indicate whether it's capable of calls, SMS, and MMS.
- and click Next.
- Review your chosen number and click Next.
- Review and accept the terms of service, then click Next.
- For certain locales, you'll also need to agree to provide a business address for that country. Enter the address in the Country address certification window that appears.
- Click Finish.
Editing settings for a Text number
After you've purchased a Text number, you can configure additional settings.
To edit settings for a number
- In Admin Center, click the Channels icon (
) in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social > Text.
- From the Numbers tab, click on the number you want to edit.
- Edit the available settings:
- Nickname: Enter a nickname for your number in this field to make it easier to manage multiple numbers.
-
Group for routing: Click the drop-down menu to select the group messages
should be routed to for this number.
- Click Save changes.
Enabling a Text number for Talk
Text numbers with voice call capabilities can also be used for Talk, allowing you to provide both SMS and phone support from the same number. For details about providing phone support with Talk, see Getting started with Zendesk Talk.
Text numbers that are
capable of Talk appear with a phone icon in your list of numbers (Admin () > Channels > Text > Numbers tab).
- In Admin Center, click the Channels icon (
) in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social > Text.
- Select the Numbers tab.
- Click the number you want to enable for Talk.
- Toggle the Enable for Talk field to on.
- Click Save changes.
Deleting a number
You can delete an existing number if you don't want to use it anymore.
To delete a number
- In Admin Center, click the Channels icon (
) in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social > Text.
- Select the Numbers tab.
- Next to the number you want edit settings for, click the menu icon, then select Delete.
- Click Delete in the window that appears.
15 comments
Kelly M.
I have 2 phone numbers set up to receive text messages and am trying to route texts sent to one of the numbers to a specific group (and hence a specific view) within Zendesk. Although I have the text phone number set to route to this group, incoming text messages to that number are still appearing in my main support group and not the specified one. Am I missing something?
1
Dave Dyson
Hi Kelly,
I'd suggest taking a look at the Events log for one of your mis-routed text tickets. It may be that the ticket is initially routed to the correct group, but then another Trigger overrides that and assigns it to your main support group. Any trigger that made a change to the ticket should be listed in the events log.
For more information see Viewing all events of a ticket
Hope that helps!
0
Kelly M.
That was it! An ancient trigger slipped in and rerouted it. Thanks!
0
Dave Dyson
Awesome, glad that worked @...!
0
Matt Gargula - Manager
What is the threshold for when a text message becomes a new ticket or continues on the existing text thread?
Will New Inbound Texts from the customer always continue on one existing ticket?
For example, I tested this process and all of my texts continue on the same existing ticket. I even tried to mark the ticket as solved and delete the text thread from my phone then text again to try and create a new ticket, but it reopened the existing ticket.
I would like to understand how to manage that and how to be sure a new text thread from a month after the original wont continue on a solved/closed ticket.
Thank!
0
Ronald Suplido Jr
Hi Matt! I’m not aware of any threshold documented, but that’s why we recommend keeping just one text conversation active per customer. So working through follow up tickets is the only approach I believe. That’s why your Trigger must set the ticket to closed as the SMS channel can’t follow the same threading logic you have on the email channel.
So for instance, you can modify the trigger that sends out SMS messages apply a tag. This tag can then be used in a separate trigger to set that ticket to "closed" instead of "solved." Hope this helps!
0
Katie Meek
I have multiple phone numbers clients text for different reasons. I have confirmed they are routed correctly but we continue to have the tickets show up in the wrong group.
On a voice ticket we can see what number the client called to reach us. Is there a way to verify this for SMS messages? I have looked at the event log and it only provides the end user's phone number.
0
Jason Schaeffer
While the number the customer texted to will not show up in the events, you can see this on the History Tab if you go to Admin>Channels>Text. From there it will show all transactions and below that "Message Details". You can cross reference with the ticket ID to the Text and it will show you the number it was sent to. There is a screen shot below illistrating this:
Hope that helps!
0
Katie Meek
This would really be a beneficial feature for our agents when they are working SMS for multiple groups. My groups are separated in part by phone number so needing to ask an admin to check the history is not efficient.
0
Jason Schaeffer
You can also set the group for the direct SMS number under the same Admin>Channels>Text path, which is what the ticket will be assigned to should a customer text that number. I will mark this as a feature request having more visibility within the ticket in regards to the number for you.
Thanks!
0
Alexander App
Is it possible to create outbound text messages we can sent to our customers' mobile numbers from Zendesk? We are a quick commerce platform in Germany and would like to use this option (if possible) to inform our registered customer who already placed an order about longer delivery times in case of extreme weather, or other circumstances. Any thoughts?
0
James Persson
Suggest showing greyed out images showing if a mobile line has MMS capability or not. Or check boxes showing ticked or crossed etc.
0
Molly Philbin
Are texts able to come is as live interactions in Messaging?
0
Evy H.
I
I'm ccurious if i can use our current talk numbers and send text mmessages from them. Right now, all our text mmessages come from our toll free number.
If im reading this article ccorrect, it sseems i hAve to ccreate a text number.
0
Evy H.
this talks about creating the numbers. how do you send a text message? We have multiple phone numbers, one for each of our locations. How do we choose a specific number that the text will come from?
0