How to act on failed deliveries
Automated routing
To ensure delivery, we provide an automated routing between several carriers. If any carrier is down, we will automatically select another.
When the message is delivered to the mobile network, it is out of our hands.
If you want an early warning then you can set up so that you also get a "preliminary report", then you will know if our first broadcast attempt failed, so you can keep extra check on that particular message.
Let us know if you need help.
Handling of delivery reports
Mobile operators will report delivery back to us in different forms, some more clear than others. This report is automatically sent back to our customers, and it is the customers responsibility to act accordingly.
We have no way of knowing what messages are critical and correctly addressed, and what messages was sent as a bulk message to hundreds of unknown numbers. This is why we cannot act on every delivery failure as if it was a correctly addressed message to a valid number. Our customers are the only ones who have this information, and that is why you must monitor your delivery reports.
Validity time
Mobile operators will try to deliver the message for up to 72 hours before giving up and sending us the report. They call this the message “Validity time”.
If you need the report sooner you can make the validity time shorter and terminate the message early. Let us know and we can fix it to any destination that will allow shortened validity time.
Action upon failed delivery
First, check if the number is valid and on the network.
Can you call the number, are the signals going through?
- SMS: can you send an SMS with your regular mobile phone number?
- Fax: Do you hear a fax tone when you call the number?
If yes, we need to know this to be able to report back to the mobile operator.
When you receive
Auto Blocked Recipient
txtSUBSCRIBER_UNKNOWN
txtSUBSCRIBER_UNAVAILABLE
txtMISSING_NUMBER
txtNUMBER_NOT_NUMERIC
txtNUMBER_TOO_SHORT
txtNUMBER_TOO_LONG
txtINVALID_NUMBER_SMS_AREA_CODE
txtNO_VALID_COUNTRYCODE
txtINVALID_NUMBER
the number is almost always not valid.
Contact us, by email or phone.
If the number is valid and on the network, we should be able to deliver.
Sometimes local regulations in mobile traffic changes and we might need to make some adjustments. Contact us as soon as possible, mobile operators will only hold logs for a few days.
Error types and meaning
Duplicate message, the message have been blocked by TellusTalk´s loop control. You have sent an identical message to the same recipient within a 2 minute period.
Solution - do not send the same message to any one mobile number within 2 minutes of each other.
Auto Blocked Recipient, the message have continuously failed to be delivered to the destination.
Each time you send a message to a mobile operator, they will charge full price for the transaction. Even if it fails.
This automated blocking is a service we provide to prevent you from paying for sending messages that will most likely fail. The block prevent new send for an increasing time span each time a message fails. These are the time criterias; 4 h, 8 h, 16, 32.. up to maximum of 2 weeks between send tries.
Solution - Check the validity of the number, is it still active?
If active it might have lost its registry to the Carrier’s Network and the following procedure might fix delivery issues.
You need two mobile phones for this
Turn the 1st mobile off
Remove SIM card
Insert SIM card in 2nd mobile
Start the 2nd mobile and let it cycle through its startup sequence
Turn the 2nd mobile off and remove SIM card
Insert SIM card in the 1st mobile and start it, it is after restart complete re-registrered on the Carrier’s network.
If this doesn´t work, but the number is valid and active, contact us!
More general errors
These errors are often temporary errors or errors that can be fixed with some adjustments.
Always, first check that the number is valid and active, can you text it from your own phone?
Then contact us and we will sort it out.
Unknown number (message sent, recipient absent or missing on carrier network report from Carrier)
txtSUBSCRIBER_UNKNOWN
Error in selection Number (II)
Failed delivery (fax)
Local hardware error -- almost always means that there is no fax machine at the other end, can also mean that someone answered at the other end unexpectedly
Error in selection Number (II) - almost always means that there is no fax machine at the other end, can also mean that someone answered at the other end unexpectedly
Failed delivery (error is with the recipient mobile, reported from Carrier)
txtSUBSCRIBER_UNAVAILABLE
txtHANDSET_MEMORY_FULL Solution - Contact the recipient, the phone inbox might be full.
txtHANDSET_ERROR
Subscriber Error:submit_sm or submit_multi failed
Subscriber Error:1: Unknown destination
Subscriber Error
Subscriber Error:151: Error from HLR, call barred - message barred at operators end
Subscriber Error:153: Error from HLR, absent subscriber - subscriber unavailable
Operator Expired - the operator has attempted to resend and deliver the message until the maximum validity time is reached
Failed delivery (technical error with the Carrier)
txtSMSC_FAILURE (SMSC error with the network)
txtOTHER_ERROR (error not specified in delivery report)