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SMS Notify! API

Send and receive text messages worldwide or MMS messages to U.S. recipients from your website or application through Esendex's SMS gateway. SMS Notify! uses DIDs or short codes assigned to your account license key to send MT text / MMS messages and receive MO text / MMS messages. Use a Web Services client in any programming language to interact with the SMS Notify! API.

Here's how sending a message works:

  1. Your server or application makes a request to Esendex's programmable SMS API.
  2. The API sends a response back to you.
  3. The API sends your message to the appropriate aggregator.
  4. The aggregator delivers the message to the appropriate carrier.
  5. The carrier acknowledges receipt of the message (short codes only).
  6. The carrier delivers the message to the recipient's cell phone.

API Features

Text Message Length

The maximum message length depends on the parameters in the SendMessage request. Note that spaces are included in the character count.

  • If IsUnicode = True and Concatenate = True, the max message length is 67 characters
  • If Concatenate = True, the max message length is 153 characters
  • If IsUnicode = True, the max message length is 70 characters
  • If IsUnicode = False and Concatenate = False, the max message length is 160 characters

United States SMS

All U.S. carriers limit their text messages to 160 characters in length (including spaces). When sending a text message to a recipient in the U.S. with more than 160 characters, the SMS Notify! API will automatically split the message into two or more messages for delivery.

Canadian SMS

Messages from Canadian carriers vary from 136 to 160 characters in maximum length (including spaces). Esendex sends to Canada the same way as the U.S. To ensure complete message delivery, Esendex advises that your application only send messages to Canadian recipients in 136-character increments. If the message is longer than 136 characters, the best practice is to split the message on your application side at the 136-character mark; this will prevent data loss that may occur from Canadian carriers that truncate anything over 136 or 140 characters.

Postbacks

Use postbacks to know when your MT message has been sent or your application has received a MO or response message. Esendex SMS Notify! API will automatically post information to a URL you specify each time an SMS has been sent or received. See our wiki for information about how to use postbacks.

DID System Keywords

The SMS Notify! API will automatically respond to select keywords when receiving text messages with DIDs.

Short Code System Keywords

The SMS Notify! API will automatically respond to select keywords when receiving text messages with short codes.

Short Code Incoming Keyword Management

You may assign non-system keywords to short codes.

Unicode Support

The SMS Notify! API supports Unicode with International Extended DIDs.

Message Concatenation

SMS Notify! supports message concatenation.

SMS or MMS and Invalid Phone Numbers

SMS Notify! automatically cleans up certain phone number errors. Learn more about handling invalid phone numbers.

IP Ranges

  • 204.193.131.1 - 204.193.131.126
  • 174.140.140.65 - 174.140.140.126