Using the SMS Page within the App

The SMS Page is the dedicated SMS view embedded in both the SMS Connector App (Legacy) and the Unified Connector App. It looks and behaves the same way in either app; only the path you take to open it differs. For the steps to launch the SMS Page in your environment, see the Launching the SMS Page section in SMS Connector App vs Unified Connector App guide.

Important: Not available with Secure SMS

The SMS Page is not available to Teams users when your enterprise has the Secure SMS feature enabled. Instead, send SMS from Teams channels (if you're using the SMS Connector App (Legacy)) or from Teams chats (if you're using the Unified Connector App). For more information, see When Secure SMS Feature is Enabled.

The SMS Page is organized into up to three panes:

• Left pane — the Message as selector at the top, with your recent conversations below it.

• Center pane (the Main Chat Dialog Screen) — the currently selected conversation, along with a message box for composing replies.

• Right pane (the Contacts pane) — appears only when invoked, for example by clicking the contact card icon to view or edit a contact's details.

Message as

The Message as dropdown determines which of your enabled SMS CallerID Numbers will be used to send messages. The list includes your personal numbers and any group numbers you own or belong to.

Note

You will only see the messages of the selected SMS CallerID Number in the conversation list. If you have more than one number, switching numbers will change which conversations are visible.

Recent Conversations

This lists the parties you have conversed with in the last 120 days. These could be individual phone numbers, corresponding contact names, or text group names.

Main Chat Dialog Screen

The Main Chat screen displays the recipient's numbers or saved contact names, the SMS/MMS conversation, and a message box for composing a new message.

Note

You will only see the messages of the selected SMS CallerID Number in the drop-down menu.

Sending SMS/MMS

To send an SMS or MMS using the application, do the following:

1. Select the desired SMS CallerID Number from the Message as drop-down menu.
   

   Note

   You may send to any country as long as the + and country code is included and your underlying carrier supports sending to international numbers.

2. Do any of the following:
   

   1. Select an existing conversation, type the new message, and click send icon.

      

   2. Click New icon and type the full number of the intended recipient(s) (country code included), compose a message and click send icon.
      

It is possible to send to multiple numbers by pressing the enter key or comma key. When multiple numbers are detected, SMS may be sent as a Broadcast SMS or as a Group Text.

Group Text Availability

The Group SMS (Group Text) feature is available only if the feature is enabled for your enterprise. For more information on group texting, see the Group Texting.

You can also send SMS to Outlook contacts and Microsoft Office 365 Organization contacts who have mobile phone numbers. Just type the contact's name in the recipient box. To know more about contacts, see Working with Contacts.

If you wish to send an MMS, use the paperclip icon to choose your attachment from your computer. Whatever file formats your carrier accepts, ConnecttoTeams will accept. Be aware of MMS limitations.

New Message Notifications

Users are notified when there are new SMS and MMS messages via the Microsoft Teams Activity Feed.

Here is a new message notification shown in Microsoft Teams desktop app.

Here is a new message notification shown in an iOS mobile device with Microsoft Teams app.

Deleting an SMS Message

Deleting an SMS message from the SMS Page also removes the corresponding message from wherever the conversation appears in Microsoft Teams. In other words, deletions stay in sync between the SMS Page and the Teams view of the conversation.

Deleting the SMS message only removes the message from the display on SMS App and Microsoft Teams. However, because the integration synchronizes all messages with Microsoft Teams, the message is still retained in the Microsoft Teams archive. Refer to Microsoft Teams Security and Compliance documentation for more info.

1. Hover the cursor over the message you wish to delete and click the trash icon beside the message bubble.
   

   

2. Click Delete from the confirmation window.
   

   

Deleting a Whole SMS Conversation Dialog

Deleting an SMS conversation is only available from the SMS Page and does not remove the conversation from Microsoft Teams. The conversation will still be visible in the Teams view (as a channel in the SMS Connector App (Legacy), or as a chat thread in the Unified Connector App). This option lets you keep the SMS Page tidy without affecting the Teams record. To do this:

1. Beside the relevant recipient's phone number or contact name, click the … and choose the Delete Conversation option.

   

   A confirmation message displays.

2. From the confirmation message, click Delete.
   

   

Result: The whole SMS conversation dialog is deleted. The message is deleted from the application but it would still appear in the corresponding Teams view.

Contacts

In the SMS Page, conversations with stored contacts are shown using the contact's name. Click the contact card icon to open the Contacts pane, which shows the stored details for that contact or buttons to allow you to save new or update.

If the contact is an Outlook contact (not an Azure organization contact), you can manage it directly from the Contacts pane. The full instructions for managing contacts is in the Manage SMS Contacts guide.

Sending to Multiple Recipients

From within the SMS Page, you are allow to send to multiple recipients. The following are 2 types of multi-recipient SMS messages.

• Group SMS

• SMS Broadcast  

Group SMS

This is the industry-standard group messaging method: each participant receives the message and, as long as their SMS provider allows it, can respond to the group text. For the full help guide on this feature, see Group Texting.

SMS Broadcast

This is a method of sending the same message to multiple recipients at once. Each recipient receives a copy as if the message were 1-to-1. When a recipient replies, it is a 1-to-1 message and only the original sender will receive it.

Warning

Take caution when doing an SMS broadcast — if you are in the US or Canada, you must comply with your 10DLC compliance rules, as a blast of large quantity or unqualified message content may cause your sending number to be blocked.

Next Steps

Now that you're comfortable with the SMS Page, here are a few related topics worth exploring:

• Manage SMS Contacts — Add, edit, and organize Outlook contacts so conversations show names instead of raw numbers.

• Group Texting — Set up and send industry-standard group texts where every participant can reply.

• MMS limitations — Understand constraints on file size, file types, and international MMS.

• When Secure SMS Feature is Enabled — Learn how Secure SMS changes which features are available on the SMS Page.