<!-- Source: https://docs.vinsi.ai/telephony/textMessages -->
# Text Messages

Send and receive texts and picture messages from your VINSI phone numbers — one personal inbox, or a shared inbox for your whole team.

Created: September 16, 2026

Updated: September 16, 2026

## Overview

Open **Phone → Text Messages**. The page has two panels: **Conversations** on the left and the message thread on the right. You see the conversations for every number you've been given access to, merged into one list.

- **Personal inbox** — a number granted to one person. Only they see its texts.
- **Shared team inbox** — a number granted to several people. Everyone on it sees the same conversations and can reply from it.

## Who Can Use Text Messages

| Requirement         | Details                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| A paid support plan | The Phone product is included with any purchased support plan. Without one, the page shows **Phone requires a plan** with a **View plans** button. See [Billing](https://docs.vinsi.ai/account/billing).                                      |
| Menu permission     | Organization admins always see **Text Messages** in the Phone menu. Members need the **Phone** and **Text Messages** permissions — see [Roles & Permissions](https://docs.vinsi.ai/organization/manageOrganization#manageOrganization-roles). |
| A granted number    | An admin must give you access to at least one SMS-capable number before you can send or receive.                                                                                                                                              |

## Grant Numbers (Admins)

Organization admins decide who can read and send from each number.

1. On the Text Messages page, click the gear icon (**Change phone number**) next to **New Message**.
2. In the **Phone Number** window, find **Team number access**.
3. Choose a number in **Number…** and a person in **Member…**, then click **Grant**.
4. Repeat with other members to turn the number into a shared team inbox.

Grants are listed by number, with **shared (N)** shown when more than one person has access. Click the × next to a name to revoke access — that person immediately stops seeing the number's conversations and email alerts.

Only SMS-capable numbers owned by your organization appear in the list. To add one, [get a phone number](https://docs.vinsi.ai/telephony/phoneNumbers#phoneNumbers-buy). The **Team number access** section is hidden for members who aren't admins.

### Your Phone Number

The same window has a **Your VINSI phone number** list for your own number. Pick it and click **Save** (you'll see **Phone number saved**). Members can only choose a number they've been granted, and a number can't be saved by two people.

## The Inbox

Each conversation in the list shows:

- The other person's phone number and the time of the last message (today's time, **Yesterday**, or the date).
- A preview of the last message — prefixed with **You:** if you sent it.
- An unread count badge when there are new incoming texts.
- A small tag with the number the conversation is on (its friendly name, if it has one) — shown only when you have access to more than one number.

If the same person texts two of your numbers, you get two separate conversations. Click a conversation to open it; replies always go out from the number that conversation is on.

## Start a Conversation

1. Click **New Message**.
2. In **To:**, enter the phone number, e.g. `+1 805 555 1234`. A 10-digit US number gets `+1` added automatically.
3. If you have access to more than one number, choose the sending number in **From**. Otherwise your number is used automatically.
4. Type in **Type a message...** and press **Enter** or click the send button.

Press **Shift + Enter** for a new line. To reply to an existing conversation, open it and type in the box at the bottom.

### Photos, Video & Audio

Click the paperclip (**Attach photo or video**) to add files. They upload right away and show as thumbnails above the message box — click × on a thumbnail to remove it. You can send attachments with or without text.

| Rule   | Details                                                                                                                             |
| ------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Images | JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP                                                                                                                |
| Video  | MP4, 3GP                                                                                                                            |
| Audio  | MP3, AMR                                                                                                                            |
| Size   | 5 MB per file. Larger images are automatically resized and compressed; video and audio are not, so they must already be under 5 MB. |
| Count  | Up to 10 attachments per message.                                                                                                   |

Send stays disabled until every upload finishes. Incoming pictures appear in the thread (click one to open it full size), videos play inline, and other files show as an **Attachment** link with their size.

### Delivery Status

| Shown on your message | Meaning                            |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| ✓                     | Sent to the carrier.               |
| ✓✓                    | The carrier reported it delivered. |
| **Failed**            | The message couldn't be delivered. |

While a conversation is open, the page checks for new messages and status changes every 5 seconds.

## Unread Messages & Email Alerts

Opening a conversation marks its incoming texts as read. On a shared inbox, read status is shared — once anyone opens the conversation, it's read for everyone on that number.

If an incoming text stays unread for 5 minutes, VINSI emails everyone who has access to that number. The email comes from **VINSI.AI Text Messages** with the subject **New text from (805) 555-1234** (or **N new texts from…**), previews up to 5 messages, and has an **Open Text Messages** button. Alerts go out within about 10 minutes of the text arriving. Several texts from the same sender are bundled into one email, and each text is alerted only once.

## Writing Messages That Get Delivered

The **Phone Number** window includes the guidance **Write messages that look real — even after 10DLC**. Even with a registered number, carriers such as T-Mobile filter texts by content. A message can show ✓✓ delivered and still be silently dropped before it reaches the phone.

| Reaches the phone                                                                   | Gets filtered                    |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| Hi from Acme Co. Your invoice is ready at acme.com/inv/123\. Reply STOP to opt out. | test · hi · bit.ly/x · URGENT!!! |

Checklist for a deliverable text:

- Say who you are ("Hi from Acme").
- State a clear purpose ("your invoice is ready").
- Use full website addresses — no link shorteners like bit.ly.
- Include opt-out language ("Reply STOP") at least monthly.

## SMS History on a Contact

In **CRM → Contacts**, open a contact and choose the **SMS** tab to see texts between your organization's numbers and any of the contact's phone numbers, newest first. Each entry shows the message, **From** or **To**, the date and time, and the delivery status of sent texts. The tab is read-only — reply from **Phone → Text Messages**.

## SMS Templates & Workflows

Reusable texts live in **CRM Admin → SMS Templates** (see [CRM Configuration](https://docs.vinsi.ai/crm/admin/crm-configuration#crm-cfg-sms-templates)). They're used by the **Send SMS** workflow action — they aren't offered in the Text Messages page.

1. Click **New SMS Template**.
2. Enter a **Template Name** (e.g. Appointment Reminder) and choose an **Icon**.
3. Write the **Message**. Use `{{name}}` for the contact's first name, plus `{{email}}`, `{{phone}}`, and `{{company}}`. A counter shows characters and segments (160 characters per segment).
4. Click **Create**.

Use the arrows to reorder templates, the pencil to edit, and the trash icon to delete. Workflows that used a deleted template fall back to their own message text.

In a [workflow](https://docs.vinsi.ai/crm/admin/data-automation#crm-da-workflows), the **Send SMS** action has these settings:

| Setting           | Details                                                                                                                     |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| SMS Template      | Pick a template or **Custom (no template)**. Appears only when templates exist. Edits to the template apply to future runs. |
| From Phone Number | The organization number the text is sent from.                                                                              |
| To                | **Phone (Primary)**, **Phone 2**, or **Phone 3** from the contact.                                                          |
| Message           | The text to send when no template is chosen. Supports the same placeholders.                                                |

## Limits

| Limit                     | Details                                       |
| ------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| Messages per conversation | A conversation shows up to 100 messages.      |
| Search                    | Conversations and messages can't be searched. |
| Delete                    | Messages and conversations can't be deleted.  |
| Attachments               | 10 per message, 5 MB each.                    |

## Troubleshooting

| Problem                                                            | What to do                                                                                                                             |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| "No sending number available. Ask an admin to grant you a number." | An admin needs to grant you a number under **Team number access**.                                                                     |
| "You can only use a number you've been granted."                   | Choose one of your granted numbers, or ask an admin for access.                                                                        |
| "That phone number is already assigned to …"                       | Another member already saved that number as theirs. Choose a different one.                                                            |
| "SMS requires a Telnyx number."                                    | That number can't text. Grant an SMS-capable number bought in VINSI.                                                                   |
| "Unsupported file type…"                                           | Convert to JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, MP4, 3GP, MP3, or AMR.                                                                                |
| "File too large after compression…"                                | Trim or re-encode video and audio to under 5 MB.                                                                                       |
| "Maximum 10 attachments per message."                              | Split the files across two messages.                                                                                                   |
| Shows ✓✓ but the recipient never got it                            | The carrier likely filtered the content. Rewrite it following the checklist above.                                                     |
| **Failed** on a message                                            | Check the number is a mobile number that can receive texts, then try again.                                                            |
| No **Team number access** section                                  | Only organization admins can grant numbers — ask an admin.                                                                             |
| No unread email alerts                                             | Make sure you have access to the number, and check your spam folder. Opening the conversation within 5 minutes means no alert is sent. |