Known Issues for SMS Messages

Why Can't I Use My Publication List in My SMS Send?

When you include a publication list as part of an SMS send, that publication list cannot include any spaces in its name. Check your publication list before the send to make sure the name does not include any spaces, either by changing the name of the publication list or creating a copy of the list and renaming the copy.

Why Can't I Use SubscriberKey for my SMS Sends Using the XML API?

The XML API does not support the use of subscriber keys, so it cannot be used for any subscriber-key-based sends, including SMS sends. SMS uses subscriber keys because the sends go to a phone number and not an email address. In order to send SMS messages via an API interaction, you will have to rewrite the applicable portions of your code to use the web service API. 

Why Can't I View Tracking Information for Both SMS and Email Sends for a Single Subscriber?

Subscriber data for SMS sends remains separate from subscriber data for email sends, even if you send from the same account and the SubscriberKey is the same for all sends. The ExactTarget application maintains information for SMS and email sends on separate lists. While person-based tracking remains in development, you can run a tracking extract to take information from your email and SMS sends and combine that data in a third-party application. 

How Can I View Information on Subscribers in a Publication List?

To see information, you can sort your all SMS subscribers list by publication list to see the following information on individual subscribers

• Opted In
• Opted Out
• Active
• Unsubscribed

You can also use a query activity to search for information on subscribers from a publication list.

How Do I Find the Most Complete Tracking Information On My SMS Sends?

Follow the steps below to view tracking information for triggered sends:

1. Click the Interactions tab.
2. Click Messages.
3. Click SMS.
4. Select the checkbox next to the job who tracking information you wish to view.
5. Click the View Tracking button.

This view shows the following information:

• The text of the message
• The time the send started
• The time the send ended (last message sent)
• Number of SMS messages delivered to the mobile carrier
• Number of SMS messages undelivered to the mobile carrier (due to technical problems or a bad mobile number)
• Number of SMS messages queued by the mobile carrier, waiting to be delivered

Using a query activity, you can view subscriber and publication list information (such as when the subscriber joined and what publication list they belong to).

You can also retrieve tracking information on MT sends via the SOAP API.

NOTE: Your account must be enabled to use the SOAP API, and you must be familiar with a programming language in order to make use of this functionality.

Why Can't I Send SMS Messages to Other Countries Using My United States Short Code?

Due to the limitations of short and long codes, you can use short codes only for subscribers located in the country in which your short code was assigned. For examples, US short codes can only reach US subscribers, Canadian short codes can only reach Canadian subscribers, UK short codes can only reach UK subscribers, and so on. All of these codes can be managed on one account. For example, you can provision a US short code, a UK short code, and a German long code, and you can manage all of them from a single ExactTarget account.

If you want to reach subscribers in multiple countries from a single number, you can request an international long code. An international long code provisioned in the UK, Sweden, or Germany can reach customers in 120 countries.