Topic
SMS guides and articles
30 articles from eSMS Africa about SMS. Newest first.
- SMS vs WhatsApp Business in Africa: an honest comparison for businesses SMS reaches every phone; WhatsApp is better for rich conversations. A fair comparison of reach, data, OTP, cost and consent for African businesses, with GSMA and Meta sources. Insight· 7 min read
- African SMS Country Guides & Sales Resources Coverage, pricing, Sender ID and compliance guides for every African market - view online or export a branded PDF. Help· 1 min read
- African SMS Country Guides & Sales Resources Coverage, pricing, Sender ID and compliance guides for every African market - view online or export a branded PDF. Resources· 1 min read
- How to run a high-converting SMS campaign in Africa A practical playbook for bulk SMS that lands, gets clicked, and converts across African markets. Guide· 1 min read
- Understanding delivery reports (DLRs) Read the delivery status of every message you send. Help· 1 min read
- Phone Number Formats for SMS (E.164) Format recipient numbers correctly to maximise delivery. Help· 1 min read
- Why Is My SMS Not Delivered? Troubleshooting Common reasons SMS fail and how to fix them. Help· 1 min read
- OTP SMS Best Practices for Authentication Deliver one-time passwords reliably and securely with eSMS Africa. Help· 1 min read
- Downloading SMS Reports and CSV Logs Export your SMS logs and monthly delivery reports as CSV for reconciliation. Help· 1 min read
- Understanding SMS Delivery Reports (DLR) How delivery receipts work and what each status means for your SMS. Help· 1 min read
- Registering a Sender ID for SMS in Africa What a Sender ID is, why it needs approval, and how to register yours per country. Help· 1 min read
- What are SMS best practices? Use a registered sender ID, keep messages concise, personalise where possible, respect opt-in for promotions, include a clear call to action, and send at sensible local times. Help· 1 min read
- Why do some messages arrive from a number instead of my brand? That usually means the sender ID isn't registered for that country. Register an alphanumeric sender ID so your brand name appears and deliverability improves. Help· 1 min read
- What's the difference between transactional and promotional SMS? Transactional messages (OTPs, alerts, reminders) support an existing relationship and are prioritised by operators. Promotional messages (offers, campaigns) require explicit opt-in Help· 1 min read
- Can I receive inbound SMS (MO)? Yes. Inbound (mobile-originated) messages to your registered number or shortcode are delivered to your inbound webhook in real time, so you can build two-way SMS experiences. Help· 1 min read
- What happens if a message fails? The delivery report shows a failure status and the operator's error code. Retryable failures (e.g. temporary network issues) can be retried automatically; permanent failures (e.g. Help· 1 min read
- Can I schedule messages? Yes. You can schedule a send for a future time (from 5 minutes up to 7 days ahead) via the API or dashboard - useful for reminders and timed campaigns. Help· 1 min read
- Can I personalise messages? Yes. Use template variables like #name# in your text and provide values per recipient via contact-list columns. Each person gets a personalised message. Help· 1 min read
- How do I send bulk SMS? Send to up to 10,000 recipients per API call, or use a saved contact list in the dashboard. Upload a CSV of numbers (and optional variables), then send a campaign to the whole list Help· 1 min read
- How many characters can an SMS have? 160 characters for standard (GSM-7) encoding, or 70 for Unicode (UCS-2). Beyond that, messages are concatenated into multiple segments and reassembled on the handset. Help· 1 min read
- What is an SMS segment? A standard SMS holds 160 GSM-7 characters. Longer messages are split into 153-character segments (or 67 for Unicode). You're billed per segment sent, so concise messages cost less. Help· 1 min read
- Which African countries do you cover? Send SMS across 50+ African countries with direct routes. Help· 1 min read
- What is 2FA / OTP and how do I implement it? Add SMS one-time passwords to secure logins and transactions. Help· 1 min read
- Why was my message not delivered? Common reasons for failed delivery and how to fix them. Help· 1 min read