Set up an SMS Channel for Twilio
This topic describes how to set up a Twilio SMS channel on Yeastar P-Series PBX System, so that agents in your business can receive and reply to SMS messages from customers on their Linkus UC Clients.
Requirements
The Yeastar PBX should meet the following requirements:
- Firmware: Version 37.12.0.23 or later
- Plan: Enterprise Plan (EP) or Ultimate Plan (UP)
- FQDN: PBX can be
accessed via Yeastar FQDN. Note: Due to the limitation of the third-party platform, the FQDN domain name must NOT contain underscore character(s), otherwise the messaging channel will encounter authentication failure, or will fail to receive messages.
For more information about the configuration, see Configure Network for Remote Access by a Yeastar FQDN.
Supported message types and limits
- Supported message types
- The Twilio SMS channel supports text messages and multimedia messages (MMS), where the supported MMS file types are determined by Twilio. For more information, see Twilio supported MMS file types.
- Limits
-
- File size: Max. 100 MB
- File retention period: 24 hours
Procedure
Step 1. Obtain a Webhook URL on PBX
- Log in to PBX web portal, go to .
- Click Add, and select SMS.
- In the ITSP drop-down list, select
Twilio.
A Webhook URL for Twilio is generated and displayed in the Webhook URL field.
Important: The URL will change once you leave the current page, please make sure you use the latest Webhook URL for the configuration on the service provider's customer portal. - Note down the Webhook URL.
Step 2. Configure a number for SMS on Twilio
If your business communicates with US-based customers, you should confirm the registration requirements with the SMS service provider and complete the phone number registration to avoid disruption in message delivery.
- Search and purchase a number with SMS
feature.Tip: You can check the SMS service pricing here.
- Edit the purchased number to configure the messaging webhook with PBX's Webhook URL.
- Enable the geographic permission for the desired region(s) where you want to
send SMS messages, so that messages can be successfully sent to the phone
numbers within the region(s).Note: This setting should be completed in the parent account.
- Go to your account's dashboard, note down the Account
SID and Auth Token, as you will need
to use it on PBX later.Note: The account MUST be the one used for purchasing the number. That is, if the number is purchased using a sub-account, you need to access the sub-account's dashboard to obtain the information.
Step 3. Create and configure an SMS channel on PBX
- Log in to PBX web portal, go to .
- Click Add, and select SMS.
- In the Authentication tab, enter the authentication
information of Twilio.
- Name: Enter a name to help you identify the channel.
- ITSP: Select Twilio.
- Account SID: Paste the Account SID obtained from Twilio.
- Auth Token: Paste the Auth Token obtained from Twilio.
- In the Messaging Settings tab,
configure the channel.
- In the Message Sending Rate drop-down
list, specify the number of messages that PBX can send per
second.Note:
- If the number of messages to send exceeds the set value, PBX will arrange the messages in queue and send them at the sending rate.
- If the sending rate set in PBX exceeds the limit set by the SMS service provider, it may result in message delivery failures. Contact your SMS service provider to confirm the sending rate limit of your account and increase the limit as needed.
- Optional: If you want the system to automatically close the sessions that have been inactive for a specific period of time, select the checkbox of Close Session Automatically, then set the timeout in the Session Timeout (Days) field.
- In the Number section, click
Add to add a message routing
rule.
- Number: Enter the purchased
number in E.164 format (
[+][country code][phone number]
). For example,+14102161183
. - Destination for Inbound
Messaging: Specify the destination of
inbound messages from the number.
Option Description Extension If selected, choose an extension from the Extension drop-down list. Only the extension user can receive inbound messages from the number.
Message Queue If selected, choose a queue from the Message Queue drop-down list. All the agents in the selected message queue can receive inbound message(s) of new sessions in the queue. However, only the user who picks up a session will be able to receive and respond to the follow-up inbound messages in the session.
- Extensions allowed to create messaging sessions: Select the extensions that are allowed to initiate a messaging session with customers.
- Number: Enter the purchased
number in E.164 format (
- Click Save.
- In the Message Sending Rate drop-down
list, specify the number of messages that PBX can send per
second.
- Click Save.
Result
- A messaging channel for Twilio is created successfully. You can see the channel displayed in the Messaging Channel list with Status showing .
- PBX automatically tracks and records the number of messages sent
and received on the channel, where the Total column
indicates the total number of sent messages, including both successfully
sent messages and failed ones.Note:
- For sent messages, PBX only tracks the number of the messages sent from agents' Linkus UC Clients. If you want to calculate the actual cost of sent messages, consult with the SMS service provider for the precise number of messages transmitted, as long text messages (longer than 160 characters) are automatically split into segments and then re-assembled when they are received, increasing the number of sent messages.
- You can filter the statistics by a time period using the time filter.
What to do next
Send text messages to the phone number and see if the specified agent can receive messages on his or her Linkus UC Client.