Send and Receive SMS or MMS messages directly from UCx with Webex
SMS/MMS messaging is available as an Add-On for Voice Seats in Webex or Teams.
Benefits include:
- Send & Receive SMS or MMS messages from your business phone number.
- Use the same messaging interface you use every day with Webex or Teams.
- Embedded App allows for new feature development VS legacy BOT did not.
- New Features: Scheduled Sending, Message Templates, Group Messaging, Broadcast, etc.
Capabilities:
- Messaging Limits and Spam Guards:
- Unlimited Inbound, 1000 Outbound Messages a day per user.
- If abnormal or high-risk activity is detected, a captcha style verification will be required.
- Message Length and Content:
- GSM-7 Encoding (standard Latin characters, e.g., a-z, 0-9): Up to 160 characters per segment; 9 segments max = 1,377 characters total.
- UCS-2 Encoding (emojis, special characters like accented letters): Up to 70 characters/emojis per segment; 9 segments max = 630 characters or ~603 emojis. Switching encodings mid-message (e.g., mixing emojis) forces UCS-2 for the whole, reducing total length.
- Attachments:
- Segmentation: Not segmented; each is a single unit within MMS.
- Number of Attachments: No fixed cap on the number of images/attachments in a single MMS (multiple media URLs supported), but limited by total size and by the receiving carrier.
- Size Limit: Limited by carrier but generally around 3MB.
- Supported Formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, MP4, PDF (via publicly accessible URLs).
To get started: Add the Embedded App “ContextSMS” in Teams or Webex.
Step 1: Add the Webex App to your application.
This is a one-time process. (Alternatively, you can use the Web App)
- Navigate to the App Hub or App Marketplace
- Search for the “ContextSMS” Embedded Application
- Open or Add the App from the marketplace
Step 2: Start using the app
Login to the app. If you don’t know your password, select “Forgot Password” and you’ll be sent an E-Mail to get logged in.
- Select the blue “Start a Conversation” button to get started with sending an SMS Message.
- The App will prompt you for the telephone number you want to SMS text. Enter in the telephone number with the correct country code and select “Start”
- The App will create a dedicated messaging space for that number. You may rename it to something else if that is useful to you (instructions below).
- Any messages you send in the dedicated space will be converted to SMS and sent directly to the mobile number you entered. All messages received from that number will also show up in this space.
Receiving an SMS message
When the recipient responds from their mobile device you will see their response appear and display on the active message window.
- If you receive an SMS message from a mobile number that you have not exchanged messages with, a new space will be created automatically. The message will be displayed in the space. Spaces are named in the format of “+1phonenumber”.
Renaming an SMS Space
- The default space name is set to to “+1Phone Number” . You can rename the space to something more meaningful, for example, “Ryan’s Mobile Phone:Group 1”.
- To rename a space, select the space
- Select the gear icon at the top right of the space and select “Edit space information”.
- Enter a new name and click Save
Leaving / Deleting an SMS Space
Now you’re ready to send and receive SMS messages with your recipient’s mobile phone.
- You can delete the conversation if required
- To delete the conversation, select the 3 vertical dots, and select “Delete Conversation”
