Using the SMS Composer (SMS Connector App Legacy)

Launching and using the SMS Composer in the SMS Connector App (Legacy)

Legacy app - migration recommended

⚠️ The SMS Connector App (Legacy) will be retired in mid-2026. Organizations should plan their migration to the Unified Connector App now. Enterprise administrators should contact their ConnecttoTeams service provider to scope and schedule the migration.

Introduction

The SMS Composer, a component of the SMS Connector App (Legacy),  is a dedicated dialog for sending SMS and MMS messages from within the Microsoft Teams client. It gives you an interface to initiate an SMS message without having to leave Teams. This guide shows how to launch and use the SMS Composer.

In addition, this guide also explains the effect of deleting messages from a Teams channel which is dedicated to SMS when using the SMS Connector App (Legacy).

In this guide

In this article, we’ll cover the following topics:

1. Methods for launching the SMS Composer from within Microsoft Teams:

   1. Via “Respond to Message” Button: Discover how to invoke the SMS Composer from Activity Feed and Teams Channel

   2. Via Microsoft Teams Chat “Actions and apps”: Explore another way to launch the SMS Composer.

   3. Via “Compose SMS” from Chat Actions: Find out how to use this option to launch the SMS Composer.

   4. Via App Tagging in a Teams Channel: Learn about tagging the app to quickly send SMS

2. Using the SMS Composer: Learn how to use this handy composer.

3. Deleting SMS Messages from Teams channel: Understand how to delete SMS messages directly from within Microsoft Teams.

Before You Begin

• Understand the full user experience as a ConnecttoTeams user by reading the article Using the SMS Connector App (Legacy).

Launching the SMS Composer

The SMS Composer can be launched from several places within the Microsoft Teams client. The four methods below all open the same SMS Composer dialog; the difference is your starting point — a notification, a chat, a channel, or a message you want to respond to. Pick whichever matches where you already are.

1. Using the Respond to Message Button

The SMS Composer can be invoked by clicking the Respond to Message button which can be seen in the following places within Microsoft Teams.

1. The Respond to Message button can be seen in the notification card which corresponds to a received SMS from a remote party in the Microsoft Teams activity feed screen.
   

2. The Respond to Message button can also be seen in the Teams channel associated to the remote party of the SMS conversation (either a single mobile number or a group text).
   

When the Respond to Message button is clicked, it launches the SMS Composer with the sender and recipient already selected based on the conversation history.

• When the channel is for a 1-1 conversation, the recipient box is pre-filled with the sender's number or contact name.

• When the channel is for a group text, the recipient box pre-filled with all members of the group text.

Note on Group Texting

Reply only : From the Teams channel, you can only reply to group texts; initiating a new group text is not possible.

Initiating a Group Text: To start a new group text, using the SMS Page within the App.

2. Using Microsoft Teams Chat “Actions and apps”

To launch the Actions and apps menu in the Microsoft Teams native chat composer area, follow these steps:

1. Click on the “+” or “…” icon (whichever is available).

2. Search for the SMS app and select it. Please note that the app’s name or logo may have been modified during deployment. Ensure that you use the correct app as directed by your ConnecttoTeams provider.
   

3. Using “Compose SMS” from Chat Actions

Select any message from MS Teams Chat screen and click on the ellipsis icon (…) or right-click anywhere in the chat area to launch More actions menu. Click on the Compose SMS action added by the ConnecttoTeams SMS app.

The app may have been renamed and rebranded upon deployment. If the app has been rebranded, look for the icon and name your ConnecttoTeams provider assigned.

4. Tagging the App

App tagging is a quick way to send a single SMS from the Teams channel tied to a 1-1 SMS conversation.

1. Select the teams that correspond to your desired SMS CallerID number. Then select a channel underneath this team that corresponds to remote party. Click Reply and command the SMS app by using the @ sign. For example, @sms
   
   

2. Simply enter the desired message after the app tag then click send.
   

   

3. Depending on your Teams Channel notification settings, you will get a confirmation message in the banner and in the feed.
   

   

   
   

Note

The Reply option below the card is Microsoft's framework reply. When used, the reply is a regular MS Teams chat message and will NOT be sent as an SMS message.

Using the SMS Composer

The SMS Composer is a handy interface for sending SMS from within the Teams application. It has the following fields:

• From : Drop down box showing all the numbers that user can use to send SMS. It shows SMS numbers assigned to user exclusively or SMS Group numbers with which the Teams user is either a group owner or a group member.  

• Select Recipient : Field to enter the SMS number or contact name of intended recipient.

• Message : Box to enter the text part of the message

• Attachment : Used to attach files to send as MMS.  

Here are instructions on how to use the SMS Composer.

1. Select the desired FROM number (SMS CallerID) from the drop-down menu of the SMS Composer. If there is only one number enabled for  your user, then this list will only have one option for FROM number.
   
   

2. Enter in the Select Recipient box the contact name (if available) or type the full mobile number of the target recipient.
   

   

   
   

   Contacts

   To know more about saving contacts, refer to Working with Contacts.

   It is possible to broadcast SMS to multiple recipients by pressing the enter key or comma key. Note that the maximum number of recipients is 10.

   

   
   

   Note on Group Texting

   Note: The SMS Composer does not currently support initiating group texts. For instructions on starting a group text using the SMS app, refer to the Group Texting guide.

3. Compose your message text with or without attachments, then click Send button.
   

   Note

   When sending MMS, be aware that there are limitations imposed by carriers. It’s essential to understand these MMS limitations before using MMS.

4. Click Send button.

After you send the message, it will appear in a dedicated Teams channel for the SMS conversation, ad also in the SMS Page within the application.

Deleting SMS from Teams Channel

This section describes what happens when a message is deleted from a Teams channel that is dedicated for SMS. Note that deletion is local — the message is removed from your Teams client only, not from the underlying record.

1. Look for the recipient's number or the channel in Microsoft Teams.
   
   

2. Select the message you want to delete by clicking the trash icon to the right.
   

   

3. Click Delete from the pop-up window.
   

   

What happens to deleted messages?

• Within your Teams client, the deletion also syncs to the embedded SMS Page within the application.

• The deleted messages are still be accessible by the Enterprise Admin. The SMS messages are still recorded in the SMS Transaction Report that is viewable by the Enterprise Admin. Even when Secure SMS is enabled for your organization and the SMS Transaction Report does not show the actual message to the Enterprise Admin, the deleted message still appears in Microsoft Purview (the archiving solution of the Microsoft platform).  

Next Steps

Here are related topics worth exploring once you're comfortable with the SMS Composer:

• Using the SMS Page Within the App — Browse and manage your full SMS conversation history from one place. The SMS Page is also where you go to start group texts (which the SMS Composer cannot do).

• Working with Contacts — Save phone numbers as named contacts so the Composer's Select Recipient field suggests them by name.

• Group Texting — Learn how group texts work in ConnecttoTeams and when to use them instead of broadcasting from the Composer.

• MMS limitations — Understand carrier-level constraints on file size, file types, and MMS delivery.

• Migrating to the Unified Connector App — Prepare for the retirement of the SMS Connector App (Legacy). The Composer's role is replaced by AI-Powered SMS and the AI Messaging Assistant on the new app.