Configure SMS Groups

This article guides the Enterprise Admin on how to configure an SMS Group.

Definition of SMS Group

Group Texting

SMS Group is not for group texting. To know more about group texting, check this article.

Before You Begin

• You must have the SMS service enabled for your Enterprise account. Please contact your provider to get this service added.

• The target MS Teams users who are going to be members of an SMS Group must be a member of User Groups being sync’d on your Enterprise account.

Note to the Reseller:

• There must be an SMS Carrier Profiles at the Reseller level that is assigned to the Enterprise or “All Enterprises”, and that should successfully connect to your SMS providers. See SMS Carrier Configuration as a Reseller Admin.

• There must be uploaded phone numbers assigned to the Enterprise.

Listing SMS Groups

From the Enterprise portal, navigate to Enterprise> SMS > SMS Groups.

The page will show all available SMS groups, the member count, and the phone numbers assigned to the SMS group. Click on the group name to see the group member composition or to update the SMS group.

Creating an SMS Group

1. From the Enterprise portal, navigate to Enterprise > SMS > SMS Groups.
   
   

2. Click the Add New Group button.
   

   

3. Enter the group name, group owner and select the group members. The group’s owner and members need to be SMS enabled users and these users need not have individually assigned phone numbers.

   

4. Assign the phone number(s) to the group by moving the numbers to the Assigned DID(s) area.
   

5. Click Save.

Result:

The new group will be added to the SMS Group table, but will not get reflected in the member users’ Teams client until the SMS app is sync’d. To sync, see the Sync the SMS App to Finalize the Changes section below.

Updating SMS Groups 

1. From the Enterprise portal, navigate to Enterprise > SMS > SMS Groups.

2. Click the group name to edit the SMS group.
   

3. You may update the group name, group members or phone numbers.
   
   

   

4. Click Save.

Result:

The SMS Group configuration will be updated but will not get reflected in the member users Teams client until the SMS app is sync’d. To sync, see the Sync the SMS App to Finalize the Changes section below.

Deleting an SMS Group

1. From the Enterprise portal, navigate to Enterprise > SMS > SMS Groups.

2. Under Actions, click ... and click Delete Group.
   
   

   A pop up displays.

3. Click the Delete SMS Group.

   

Result:

Deleting the SMS group automatically unassigns the phone number and returns it to the enterprise pool.

The SMS Group appears to be deleted from the SMS Group table but will not get deleted in the member users Teams client until the SMS app is sync’d. To sync, see the Sync the SMS App to Finalize the Changes section below.

Once the app is sync’d, the corresponding team in MS Teams will have its name appended with _ARCHIVED and the date of the deletion.

Sync the SMS App to Finalize the Changes

To finalize the SMS Group creation, the Microsoft Global Admin (or the provider if granted the proper consent) must sync the app to Microsoft.

If need to create more SMS Groups or update more SMS groups, repeat the applicable procedure described above.

If need to configure Teams users for SMS, see Configure SMS Users or Configure SMS Users in Bulk.

Then finalize by sync’ing the sms app. For detailed information, see Customize and Deploy SMS App for an Enterprise.