Text SMS

A comma-separated values (CSV) file stores tabular data (numbers and text) in plain text. In general terms, it is just an Excel file that is saved in different type. You can save your file as .csv by just changing its type in the following manner:

The CSV file format is supported by:

• Google spreadsheet

• Microsoft Excel spreadsheet

• Libre spreadsheet

• KSpread

• OpenOffice Calc

Flash SMS

A Flash SMS is the one that instead of being saved in the SIM or memory of the receiving phone, pops up on the receiving phone’s screen, without the user taking any action. When dismissed the message is usually gone i.e. it appears directly on the main screen.

A flash SMS proves to be more effective than a usual SMS in case you wish to catch the recipient's attention immediately. The recipient can also save this SMS in his/her inbox by using the option of saving the flash SMS.

To send a flash message-

1. Login to the MSG91 panel and select SMS.

2. Select Send SMS option from the sidebar. Fill out the details, and then Click on the "Review & Send" option.

3. Checkmark 🗹 the "Send as a Flash SMS" option and Click on Send SMS.

Also, if you want to send a Flash message using API, you just need to pass an additional parameter "flash=1" in your API.

NOTE: If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number: For, 91xxxxxxxxxx, etc

Transactional VS Promotional

Following are the listed differences between Transactional and Promotional routes:

There is one more route (SendOTP route) which is for SendOTP. If you are looking for OTP services, we would suggest you opt for SendOTP because it has various advantages over the traditional transactional route:

1. Voice backup for failed SMS OTP, on our cost.
   
   

2. We generate the OTP on your behalf, we send and we verify. You just have to call the APIs.
   
   

3. The backend algorithm makes sure that the OTP is processed from our end in less than half a second.

P.S. We have upgraded mobile verification with SendOTP 2.0- faster, better performance, and enhanced security. To know about SendOTP 2.0 contact [email protected].

Scheduled SMS

You can follow these steps to schedule the SMS:

1. Compose your message by the regular method by clicking on SMS<Send SMS or Send Custom SMS.
   
   

2. After composing your message click on the Schedule SMS button.
   
   

   

   
   

3. Select the Date, Hour & Minute according to which you wish to schedule your SMS.

   

   
   
   

4. Click on Schedule- The balance required to deliver these SMS will be deducted at the same time.
   
   

5. Your message will be delivered on the scheduled date and time.
   
   

Delivery Report of Scheduled SMS

You can find the delivery reports of your scheduled SMS under check SMS section > Logs & checkmark the option "show schedule SMS". If you cancel the Scheduled SMS the credits will be refunded to your account instantly. You can also send that message before the scheduled time by clicking on the Send Now button.

For sending it via API please pass the parameter as “schtime”: “YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS“ schtimeschtime

NOTE: If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number: For, 91xxxxxxxxxx, etc

You can save frequently sent messages in your dashboard by using the "Add template" option.

1. The "Add template" option appears on the right-hand side of the screen (when you click on the message box).
   
   

2. Type your message and click the "Add template" button in order to add the template to your list of frequently used messages.
   
   

   

   
   

3. Confirm your message and click on "Save draft" to add this template to your account.
   
   

   

The template has been added. Now to use a saved template, just click inside the message box, add select the required template from the list visible on the right-hand side of the screen. 

To remove the template from your list, all you need to do is to click on the message box to check your saved templates. Now, click on the "delete" icon to delete the selected template.

You can check the balance from the Panel as mentioned in the screenshot.

Panel

• Login to the panel. You will see the Wallet balance a the top right corner.
  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

Transaction Logs

Also, you can see all the previous Transactions in the Transaction Log.

• You can see a dropdown on your account name on the top left of the panel. There you will see the option to see your Transaction Log. 
  
  

• You can also find this dropdown in the bottom left if you have selected any service from the MSG91 Dashboard.

Custom SMS is a feature through which you can send messages to many people at one time by changing some fields such as the name of the receiver, mobile number, or other details. The content other than these fields will remain the same for all recipients.

You can follow the below-mentioned steps to send a custom SMS:

1. Create an Excel Sheet with the first row reserved for the heading of the respective column, and save the file in CSV format. (You can read about the CSV file on What is a CSV file?)

2. Select "Send SMS" on the panel, and click on the mobile number field to import the sheet created by using the Upload File option which appears on the right-hand side of the screen.

3. Enter the Sender ID through which you wish to send the SMS

4. Select the column in which the mobile numbers are present.

5. Type in the content of the SMS you wish to send. Select the variable field where you want the variable field to be inserted.

6. Set the name of the campaign, and Click on Preview and Send.

7. Once you are sure by checking the preview you can send the SMS by pressing the Start SMS process button.

NOTE: If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number: For, 91xxxxxxxxxx, etc

The balance transfer is now easy and instant, anytime you can move your credits from one route to another. Follow the steps below:-

1. Login to your MSG91 account.

2. You can click on the bottom left corner of the panel at your initials.

3. In the Transaction log, you will get an option of Move balance, click on it. 

4. Fill in the required field and then click on "Move balance" you will see the successful notification pop-up. 

Send SMS is a feature using which you can send messages to many people at one time by using an excel file or manually entering them in the mobile number field available.

You can follow the below-mentioned steps to send an SMS using an excel file:

1. Create an Excel Sheet with the first row reserved for the heading of the respective column, and save the file in CSV format. (You can read about the CSV file on https://msg91.com/help/what-is-a-csv-file)

2. Login to the MSG91 panel and select SMS.

3. Select the Send SMS option from the sidebar and enter the Sender ID through which you want to send the SMS. 

4. Click on the mobile number field and upload the sheet created by using the browse file option which appears on the right-hand side of the screen. You can also type in the numbers here if required.

5. Enter DLT Template ID and type in the content of the SMS you wish to send.

6. Select the name of the campaign, and click on Send.

For a video tutorial, refer to the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAOFd28ggBg&feature=youtu.be

NOTE: If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number: For, 91xxxxxxxxxx, etc

You can choose the Group option to send SMS in bulk. The Send SMS on Group feature saves your time, just save your group once with the numbers of data and you can use it anytime to send the bulk SMS. 

1. Select SMS from the dashboard and click on the Send SMS option from the sidebar. Select/Enter the Sender ID through which you want to send the SMS.

2. Click on the mobile number field and all created group in the phonebook appears on the right-hand side of the screen, you can either upload a CSV file or select a group from the phonebook to send SMS.

3. Enter the DLT Template ID and Type in the content of the SMS you wish to send in the Message.

4. Select the name of the campaign (optional), and click on Send SMS Now or Schedule as per your requirement.

NOTE: If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number: For, 91xxxxxxxxxx, etc

This is because your account is a demo account and we have added some credits to your account for you to test our services. This demo content acts as a safety feature so that no one misuses the provided credits. 

If you are satisfied with our trial services you can activate or switch your DEMO account to a USER account by buying credits. Kindly contact your account manager or our support team for guidance.

FOR OLD PANEL: 

1. Login to the MSG91 panel and select SMS.

2. Goto Send SMS and simply click on the name of the route given at the top of the page to change the selected route.

FOR NEW PANEL :

​

1. Login to the MSG91 panel and select SMS.

2. Goto Send SMS and simply click on the Send SMS (NEW). Click on Use SMS template and from there you can change the route.

Feel free to contact us in case of any confusion.

NOTE: If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number: For, 91xxxxxxxxxx, etc

You can now keep your sensitive SMS content safe and secure. Use encrypted SMS settings to hide the SMS content that you are sending. Please check the details below:

1. Select SMS from the Panel and go to the Send SMS option from the sidebar.

2. Fill out the required details in the Send SMS section and then click on review & send.

3. In the Review & Send SMS window, Click on advance option

4. Enable the Send with Encryption checkbox. Once the encryption is enabled you can see the lock icon as shown in the attached screenshot.

5. Now click on the Send SMS option to send an encrypted message.

Note - Encrypted SMS cannot be resent and you will not be able to decrypt the content in the future.

NOTE: If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number: For, 91xxxxxxxxxx, etc

To send SMS worldwide you must make sure to:

1. comply with the respective Sender ID rules of the country you are sending SMS to as there are different Sender ID registration processes for different countries. Refer to this article to check these rules.

2. always add the correct country code to the mobile numbers while sending the SMS (e.g. 919999999999)

If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number.

Note- You don't need to add a '+' or '-' sign or include any space before the number.

Convert Excel To CSV

1. Open your excel file
   
   

2. Click on File and Save as
   
   

3. Select where you would like to save the file (like your desktop or a drive)
   
   

4. In the File Name area, name your document.

5. In the Save as Type area, select CSV(Comma Delimited) from the pull-down menu

6. Click Save

7. You may receive one or two warnings about the formatting of .csv, click yes

For MAC Users

• Open your excel file
  
  

• From File, go to 'Export To > CSV'
  
  

• Save 
  
  

Sometimes, even when sending purely Transactional or OTP messages, your message can fail with a DND error. It is important to note that messages approved under the Service Explicit or promotional category on the respective DLT platform will not be delivered to DND-enabled numbers. We request that you approve the content (Transactional or OTP) under the Service Implicit / Inferred category on the DLT platform to resolve this issue.

As per TRAIs guidelines, a person can enable DND (do not disturb) on his mobile number.

Type of DND options:

1. Full DND: A person who SELECTS the 1st option, i.e. all 8 categories are Blocked except Service Implicit (Template) SMS. Here, any Service Explicit or Promotional SMS will not be delivered to this mobile number.

2. Promo DND: A person who SELECTS the 2nd option, i.e. all 8 categories are Blocked except Transactional, Service Implicit, and Explicit (Template) SMS. Here, only Promo SMS with numeric header will not be delivered.

3. Industry-wise DND: A person can select industries from which they do not wish to receive any promotional and service explicit Template SMS.

Note:

In order to allow your SMS to be delivered to that customer (recipient), then you need to ask him to change his DND Preference. For this, he has to download the DND 2.0 app from Play store or Appstore and change the DND preference to receive your Explicit (Template) SMS.00

You can follow the below-described steps to send SMS from MSG91 dashboard:

1. Login to MSG91 user panel.

2.     Click on “SMS” from the user panel.

3. Now click on the Send SMS (New) option.

4. You can send SMS by Segmento, uploading a CSV file, connecting a Google spreadsheet, or manually entering values.For sending SMS manually, please click on Enter manually.

5. Enter the mobile number. After entering the number, you have two options: "Use the SMS template" or "Enter message manually.". In the Use SMS template option, select the template and sender ID from the selection. If you have a URL in your SMS content, you can tick on the URL shortener option. 

NOTE: If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number: For, 91xxxxxxxxxx, etc

6. After adding the template and Sender ID, please go to the variable mapping option and enter the values for each variable in your SMS content.

7. After entering the values, click on Review & Send.

7. After clicking on Review & Send, a new window will pop up where you can enter a mobile number. The message will be sent, and you can check the delivery report after some time, or you can also check the logs.

8.  You will receive a success pop-up message, and you can check the logs for the delivery status.

If you are using API and need to send a "+" sign in the content, you need to triple encode the + sign in the message content.

Here is a sample code for PHP:

<?PHP
$message = "YOUR+++MESSAGE+++++WITH++++ PLUS++++SIGN";$message = urlencode($message);$message = urlencode($message);//now the message is double encoded
//send this message?>

You can use this for encoding -https://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/dencoder/

If you are sending an SMS from your account and your account status is 'demo,' you will receive the content as:

"You have received this SMS as per your testing. To start sending actual content, kindly contact [email protected]. -- Team MSG91"

To activate your account, KYC verification is required. There are two options to do the KYC you can either do the E-KYC or You can upload the documents.

Once you log in to your MSG91 account, a pop-up will appear prompting you to update your KYC details. 

Note : If you do not see the pop-up, you can click on 'Complete Your KYC,' and the pop-up will appear.

1. If you want to do the E-KYC please click on the e-KYC option and complete the KYC process using the authorized person's Aadhaar card (e-KYC is only for India). Enter the Aadhaar Card number and click 'Next.' An OTP will be sent to the mobile number registered with your Aadhaar Card.

Once you have verified the OTP, you can click on allow and the KYC will be completed for your account.

​

                                                                              OR

2. You can also select the 'Verify' option to complete the process by uploading scanned copies of the required documents. 

There are two categories: 

• DRIVING LICENSE/PASSPORT (of the authorized person)  

• TRADE LICENSE/BUSINESS REGISTRATION. (Upload a clear copy of an original document of your organization.)

• 
  

Please ensure you upload these documents accordingly and click on submit.

After uploading the documents, please wait at least one hour as our system processes them. It may take some time to complete the verification.

In case you encounter any issues while completing the KYC process, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] for assistance.

Introduction: MSG91 is a leading communication platform that provides a wide range of services to businesses of all sizes. Its services include SMS, voice communication, email marketing, two-factor authentication, and more. We can configure MSG91 as a Custom Connector on the MoEngage Dashboard.

This guide will help you set MSG91 as a Custom Connector on the MoEngage dashboard.

                                                                          Integration 

Prerequisites - Ensure you have access to the MSG91 Dashboard and have an Authkey for your MSG91 account.

If not,

1. Create a New Account: For signup click on this link.

2. Get Your Authkey: Refer to this helpdoc on how to create an Auth key.

​

• To set up MSG91 as a Custom Connector on the MoEngage dashboard, please follow these steps:

1. Log in to the MoEngage dashboard.

2. Navigate to Settings -> Channel -> SMS & Connectors and click on the SMS Connector Config tab.

3. Click +CREATE beside the Custom Connectors option on the left menu to add a new connector.

Once you click Create, a new connector named ‘New Connector’ gets added to the left menu. Select this newly added connector to set up your custom connector.

Step 1: Set the Connector

Step 2: Configure the API URL

- This field contains information about the URL that should be used to send an API request to the Sender. In the API URL field paste the below 

API URL- 

https://api.msg91.com/api/sendhttp.php?authkey=value&sender=value&mobiles=value&route=value&message=value&DLT_TE_ID=value&response=json&pluginsource=70

- Select: GET as a Method

- Here is the description of the above API URL Parameters:

Step 3: Test and Save the settings

Click Send Test SMS to verify whether the configuration is correct. After a successful test, Click Save to save the settings.

Step 4: Delivery Tracking

Delivery tracking allows you to track the delivery status of the SMS messages sent using custom connectors. Delivery tracking will show a metric - Delivered, which helps you understand whether messages have been delivered to the user and analyze delivery failures and errors.

You can configure delivery tracking after creating the sender in the MoEngage Dashboard. For information about Delivery Tracking, refer to Delivery Tracking in Custom Connectors.

Here is the sample response:

Mapping Guide: You can either map the fields from the delivery response or map the fields manually by choosing the desired option. This mapping helps MoEngage to understand the custom connector's delivery response.

Refer to the below image for reference:

Then, Click Save to Save the delivery tracking configuration for the custom connector.

Unicode is an encoding standard in which you can send SMS in different non-English scripts and target a wider audience. It uses UTF 8 encoding of international standards and provides a unique number to each character. A 

Unicode is a 4 Byte character that covers all the non-English languages in the world.
It is compatible with all the browsers, devices, search engines, operating systems, and other parts of the internet ensuring a seamless multi-platform system to convey text messages in different international languages.

A typical SMS credit consists of 70 Unicode characters unlike that of GSM-7 (English text characters) whose 160 characters make an SMS credit.  

Below are some of the characters which are treated as Unicode, along with this emojis or emoticons are also considered Unicode.

Note: All junk and hidden characters act as Unicode.

1. Login to the MSG91 panel and select SMS.

2. Select Send SMS option from the sidebar. On the bottom, you will see a settings icon. Click on it.

You can add the signature along with your message by using the Add Signature option 

To add your desired signature along with your message enable the option by clicking on the check-box beside the option of Add Signature. Similarly, if you want to remove the signature from your message just uncheck the check-box.

NOTE: Signature will affect your message credits by adding extra characters and space between SMS and signature.

To prepare your CSV file, open your excel file and put the desired data like mobile number, name, and message as per your requirement.

In your Excel workbook, switch to the File tab, and then click on Save As and save as type format in Unicode Text and save the file with .csv extension by removing .txt. 

Open your file with notepad and comma sperate the fields then save it as a type "All files" and choose encoding "UTF-8" then click on Save and then the extension will be .csv.

Your CSV is ready to send the Unicode SMS, just upload it to the panel. 

NOTE: If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number: For, 91xxxxxxxxxx, etc

Surely you can. To send messages in languages other than English, you can use the "Unicode" option for this.

Unicode is not just the language, you can also send emojis. The use of emojis in your messages can take them to the next level. it is an energizing 🏂 and underused augmentation 🏠 of the standard instant message with regards to special SMS.

Check this link here for more info on emojis: https://emojipedia.org/ (You can copy emojis from this link to add them to your messages)

Now if you are sending this SMS/campaign from the dashboard, you can simply select Unicode by clicking on the "English" button at the corner of the message box.

To send this using our APIs, all you need to do is pass an extra parameter "Unicode" in the API, the value for the same will be 1.
unicode=1 (for unicode SMS).

In order to delete a scheduled SMS, go to the SMS from the Panel, and select the Logs option from the sidebar. Checkmark the option "show schedule SMS". It will show you the scheduled SMS. You will see a Cancel button for those who are not sent yet. If you cancel the Scheduled SMS the credits will be refunded to your account instantly..

Click on confirm to cancel the scheduled message.

Follow the steps given below to resend any SMS:

1. Go to the SMS from the Panel, and select the Logs option from the sidebar..
2. Click on the message content and here in the pop-up window, you will get the Resend option.

3. By clicking on "Resend" you will get the dialogue box that says "Are you sure you want to send All SMS?".

 4. After clicking on the "OK" button your message(s) will be resent.

Note: You will be charged for Resend SMS and it will generate a new request ID of the sent SMS.

NOTE: If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number: For, 91xxxxxxxxxx, etc

You can check the balance either from the One API or from the SMS Segmento.

One API

1.     Login to the MSG91 user panel.

2.     Click on One API from the user panel.

3.      Visit the "Balance" option available in the sidebar of the MSG91 dashboard.

4. You will be able to see the entire purchase log and remaining balance. You can check the time of purchase, the number of credits purchased, credits, type: Promotional, transactional, or Send OTP, the amount on which you purchased, and its status.

5.     On the right-hand side of the panel, you will see the current balance in all the SMS types.

SMS Segmento

1. Click on the SMS Segmento

2. In the dashboard panel, you will be able to check your current balance for each SMS types

You may load the last message by using the Load Previous Message option which appears on the top in the Send SMS section when you compose an SMS.

Follow the below steps to get your Template ID to be used to send SMS API via Template(Flow) :

• Goto the SMS from the Panel.

• 
  

  
  

  • Click the "Template" section in the sidebar. On this page, you can add Template for your account by clicking on create a template. Copy the template ID from here and use the same as a Flow_ID, if any changes are needed, you can simply use the edit option on the right side of the screen to make the required changes. 

• 
  

Note: Previously defined variables in the added message cannot be changed. In case, you need to add some extra variables to the message, create a new flow by using this link. 

Follow the below steps to send SMS seamlessly—

i) Sender ID Approval (Some countries have specific rules and regulations for Sender ID) -

To send SMS globally - Follow sender ID rules for different countries
#Note - For Indian companies to send SMS in India - Follow DLT guide

ii) Template (To keep your communication secure, spam free, and easy to edit anytime)

Add a Template for transactional SMS in MSG91 - Follow its quick process

iii) Automate this SMS via RESTful APIs

​Integrate a single Campaign API for all channels - HelpDoc [Recommended]

​

OR

Integrate APIs separately for every channel -

For very specific use case which is not being solved by Campaign APIs - Use dedicated SMS API

#Note - If you are implementing OTP/Phone verification then use its dedicated service i.e. SendOTP - Follow its doc here

How can I schedule an SMS in the new dashboard? Where can I see its delivery report?

You can schedule your SMS via the panel by following these steps 

1. Compose your message by the regular method by clicking on SMS > Send SMS(New).

2. After composing your message click on the Schedule SMS button.

3. Select the Date, Hour & Minute according to which you wish to schedule your SMS.

4. Click on Schedule- The balance required to deliver these SMS will be deducted at the same time.

5. Your message will be delivered on the scheduled date and time.

​

Delivery Report of Scheduled SMS

You can find the delivery reports of your scheduled SMS under the check SMS section > Logs & checkmark the option "show schedule SMS". If you cancel the Scheduled SMS the credits will be refunded to your account instantly. You can also send that message before the scheduled time by clicking on the Send Now button.

For sending it via API please pass the parameter as “schtime”: “YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS“ schtimeschtime

NOTE: If sent without a country code, submission and deduction depend on the detected country based on the starting number: For, 91xxxxxxxxxx, etc

Now, you can export SMS reports daily on your server via SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol). Follow the below steps-

1. Login to your MSG91 dashboard and goto SMS.

2. Goto the Logs section and click on the Auto Export (FTP) option.

3. Provide your server's Hostname in the Host field, username in User field, password, and the path in the Folder field in which you receive the reports file. 

4. Once done, click on the Save button.

The reports will be sent to the given server location at the end of every day.

If you are passing Encoded messages via SMS APIs other than MSG91 template (V5) APIs, you have to Enable Decoding settings, else it will affect your SMS delivery..

1. Go to the SMS Service from your MSG91 Dashboard:

2. In the SMS dashboard select the option Message Decoding: 

Here you can select the Decoding as per your requirement:

1. Single Encoded Messages: 
If you are passing Single Encoded messages, then you have to enable Single Decoding on MSG91 panel; if not enabled, the message will be decoded twice, resulting in incorrect message content.
Example: Hello+User%21+%0A%0AWelcome+to+MSG91%2C%0AThank+you

​

2. Double Encoded Messages:
If you are passing Double Encoded messages, then you have to enable Single Decoding on MSG91 panel; if not enabled, the message will be decoded only ones, resulting in incorrect message content.
​Example: Hello%2BUser%2521%2B%250A%250AWelcome%2Bto%2BMSG91%252C%250AThank%2Byou

​

For any clarifications you can drop a mail to MSG91 Support at [email protected].

How to search templates added in MSG91 SMS Panel using the DLT template ID.

Step 1: Go to SMS Panel, Navigate to the "Templates" section. At the top, you'll find a search option drop down. You can search for templates using the following criteria: DLT Template ID, MSG91 Template Name, or MSG91 Template ID.

Step 2: Select the option "DLT Template ID"  from the dropdown menu. Enter the DLT Template ID into the search box. The system will filter the results to show the template, allowing you to view it directly.

The requests that are paused with the error 301: insufficient balance can now be played from your MSG91 panel when the account has been recharged.

STEP 1: 

Go to MSG91 dashboard >> SMS >> API failed logs

STEP 2:
Here you can check all the API failed requests by filtering the error code 301 from the filter option

All the failed requests with the error 301 will appear here.

STEP 3:

Now click on the Play All button which is appearing at the top after which an option to choose the time for which you want to play the paused requests will appear.

Note: The maximum time can only be upto 48 hours of the paused request.

After clicking the play button, the requests that are paused with the error 301 within the selected time range will be played. The status of the same can be checked in the logs section.