SMS

An SMS Channel sends alerts by text message to one phone number. Each text costs credits, so before the first alert we send the number a code, to make sure it is yours.

Our page on SMS downtime alerts says what they are for and which Plans have them.

What it costs

A text costs from 1 credit to 4 credits, by the country of the number: Supported destinations and prices gives the price in each. The code that verifies the number costs the same as a text to it. Your Organization pays from its credits: see Credits.

Each alert is one text, whatever the Monitor is called, so it never costs more than its price. Letters such as ç, ş or ü are sent as c, s and u, and a long Monitor name is shortened to fit.

When your Organization has no credits left, texts are not sent, and are not sent later either. Your email Channels keep sending, and their alert says which phones missed it.

Where texts reach

A text reaches a mobile number in every Supported destination but Australia, Canada, Czechia, Ireland, New Zealand, Romania, Spain, Türkiye and the United States. A WhatsApp Channel reaches them. When you type a number there, the dialog says so and offers WhatsApp instead.

Adding an SMS Channel

1. In Project settings, open the Channels tab and press Add a Channel.
2. Choose SMS, then Continue with SMS.
3. Give the Channel a Name, such as “On-call phone”.
4. Under Phone number, choose the country and type the number, or type it with its country code. The dialog then says what each text to it costs.
5. Confirm you are a person, then press Send code.
6. A text brings you the code. Type it under Code and press Verify.

The text says: Your You Up? code is 123456. It expires in 10 minutes., with a code of its own.

A number your Organization has verified already, in any Project, needs no code: the dialog says This number is already verified, and Add Channel adds it at once.

The code

A code works for 10 minutes, and allows 5 wrong tries. A code typed wrong is not given back.

If it does not arrive, or has expired, press Send a new code. The earlier code then stops working. To keep codes from piling up, we send at most 3 codes to one number, and 10 codes for your whole Organization, in 1 day, with at least 1 minute between two codes to one number. Past that, the dialog says when you can ask for another.

If you close the dialog before you verify, the Channel waits on the Channels tab. Open its menu and choose Enter the code.

Rules that send texts

A text is never the only alert. A Notification rule that sends to an SMS Channel must also send to an email Channel. Otherwise the rule editor says: “A rule that texts a phone must also email someone, so a missed text is never the only alert.”

Warnings never reach a phone, so they never cost credits. A rule that sends a phone only warnings is refused too: “Warnings are never texted, so this rule would send nothing to its phones.”

A down alert carries the link that acknowledges the outage. Each reminder about an outage is a text, and costs credits too. The rule editor says what one outage that stays open can cost each phone. See Notification rules.

Sending limits

So that an outage of many Monitors at once cannot spend all your credits in minutes, we send at most 20 messages for your whole Organization, by SMS and WhatsApp together and codes included, and at most 10 to one number, in the space of 1 hour.

A text past a limit is never thrown away. It waits, and is sent as soon as the limit allows. A code past a limit is refused instead, since a code that arrives late is no use.

Stopping the texts

To stop the texts, delete the Channel, or take it out of your rules. Whoever owns the number can write to support@uup.dev, and we stop them.

When a number stops working

If the number can no longer receive texts, the texts to it fail, and the Channel is turned off after a while. See When a Channel is turned off.