Every text message you send passes through several companies before it reaches a phone. Each one has a different job, and each one can report a problem. Knowing who does what helps you read your delivery results and understand why some messages fail.
The four stages
- Mobile Commons sends the message. You choose who gets it, what it says and when it goes out. Mobile Commons builds the message and hands it to an aggregator.
- The aggregator routes it. An aggregator is a messaging company that connects Mobile Commons to the wireless carriers. It works out which carrier each phone number belongs to and passes the message along.
- The wireless carrier accepts or rejects it. The carrier, such as AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon, has the final say. It checks things like whether the number is active, whether the line can receive text messages, and whether the subscriber has blocked your short code. If the carrier rejects the message, it sends back an error code that says why.
- The phone receives it, or doesn't. Even after the carrier accepts a message, the phone has to be reachable. If the phone is off or out of coverage, the carrier holds the message for a limited time. If the phone never comes back online, the message expires.
How you find out what happened
The result travels back the same way the message went out. The carrier reports the result to the aggregator, and the aggregator passes it to Mobile Commons as a delivery receipt. A delivery receipt says the message was delivered, or that it failed and includes an error code explaining why.
Mobile Commons records the result for every message. Your broadcast reports use these results.
Who controls what
- Mobile Commons controls who receives a message, what it says and when it's sent.
- The aggregator controls getting the message to the right carrier.
- The carrier controls whether the message enters its network, and picks the error code when it doesn't.
- The phone has to be on, connected and able to receive text messages.
The carrier decides whether a message is delivered. Mobile Commons decides what to do with the result. List cleaning is one of those decisions: it uses the error codes to stop sending to numbers that can't receive messages.
What a failure can mean
A failed message doesn't always mean the number is bad.
- Permanent failures mean the number can't receive text messages, for example because it's disconnected or the line isn't set up for texting. Sending again won't help.
- Temporary failures mean the message couldn't be delivered this time, for example because the phone was off. A later message may be delivered.
The same real-world problem can come back as different error codes from different carriers.
FAQ
Why do some messages fail even though the number worked before?
Numbers change. A subscriber can switch carriers, cancel a line or block your short code. A phone can also be off or out of coverage when your message arrives.
Can Mobile Commons make a carrier deliver a message?
No. The carrier has the final say on whether a message enters its network.
Does a failed message count against my list?
It can, if you use list cleaning. See How List Cleaning Works.