SMS FAQ

Before sending SMS messages please make sure that at least one of your DIDs has the feature activated. You can activate SMS by signing in to Commio.io.

To activate DIDs go to Inbound Configure Numbers. You may edit a single number by clicking on the Edit Icon (shaped like a pencil). If you want to bulk add SMS, just select more than one DID by clicking on it (or "Select All") and highlighting them gray. A Pencil icon will appear above the configure numbers table. If you click on it a "Bulk Edit" pop-up will appear. Check the SMS checkbox, slide the button to the green position and click on the "Set" button.

You can get the "account_id" and "user_id" values that you'll need to make API requests from the "Profile" --> "User Profile" tab in Commio.io.

You will create a token in Commio.io under the API Tokens tab. 

Under the SMS tab you will need to configure the IP Whitelists and SMS Configuration Inbound.

SMS FAQ

1. For MMS support, do you have guidelines on how a multi-part mime body should be formatted before base64 encoding it (for MMS with text and image etc)

   When sending a multi-part message from a mobile device our carrier actually splits the content into two separate messages that are sent and billed individually. For consistency, we recommend sending from customer applications in the same fashion. One outbound SMS message with text content, and one outbound MMS message with base64 encoded binary content.

2. For MMS is there a maximum message payload?

   Maximum payload for MMS messages is 1MB.

3. For MMS what header fields are supported?

   The Commio messaging system does not currently analyze or forward specific headers. Support for this feature may be added in a future release.

4. For SMS/MMS the SMPP protocol and MM4 both have the concept of delivery confirmations. I do not see this in the API spec. Are delivery confirmations part of the service offering?

   When sending a multi-part message from a mobile device our carrier actually splits the content into two separate messages that are sent and billed individually. For consistency, we recommend sending from customer applications in the same fashion. One outbound SMS message with text content, and one outbound MMS message with base64 encoded binary content.

5. Is messaging to short codes supported?

   Messages to short codes is currently not supported. Only to DIDs.

6. If a MMS is sent to me and I reject it (non 200ok response), is that billable?

   Rejections are handled as failures, so they will be retried until the system eventually gives up. You will be billed for this transaction, because we will already have been billed by our carrier at that point. Further details are included in the next question.

7. If a Message is sent to me and I send back an error, is there a retry or does the message just fail? Will the far end receive a notification that it failed?

   An initial submission attempt will be retried four additional times in the event of a failure. The initial timeout is set for ten seconds, and ten additional seconds are added for each subsequent attempt. After the fifth failure we consider the message undeliverable. We do not trigger a followup message to the original sender to indicate that a failure was encountered.

8. How do you all handle message segments. For example say I send you 400 characters of text for an sms, do you guys break that message up and bill appropriately?

   A maximum of 910 characters can be sent in a text message, but they will be chunked off into 140 character segments and billed accordingly. Sending emojis embedded in your messages will cause the character set to be changed and your messages to be split into 70 character chunks.

9. The IP address of my server is subject to suddenly change. Is IP Whitelisting required or can it be disabled?

   SMS IP Whitelisting is enabled by default for all accounts. If the above scenario is applicable to a customers network, our team has the option of disabling SMS IP Whitelisting on the backend. 

Additional SMS documentation, including API details, can be found at the following link:

https://apidocs.thinq.com/#bac2ace6-7777-47d8-931e-495b62f01799