Text Messaging provides you with the ability to send and receive text messages with your Talkroute phone number(s). Text messaging is not automatically enabled on phone numbers by default.
About Text Registration
Text registration is not required to activate texting, but it is highly recommended. Cell carriers may filter or block messages from unregistered business numbers. Registration helps verify your business and improves message delivery.
See Toll-Free Text Verification (toll-free numbers) or 10DLC Campaign Registration (local numbers) for more information.
In this article:
Enable Text Messaging
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Open the Talkroute desktop application or visit my.talkroute.com.
If you do not have the desktop application installed, download it here: talkroute.com/downloads
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Click the gear icon in the lower left corner to access Settings & Preferences.
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Select Text Messaging from the left menu.
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To enable text messaging for a virtual phone number, click the On button next to the number under the Enable column.
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After choosing to activate text messaging, you'll have two options:
- Send & Receive Messages — Requires registration (recommended)
- Receive Only — Does not require registration; you can enable outgoing messaging later
If you selected Send & Receive, proceed to step 6.
Trial Accounts: If you are on a trial, you will be prompted to end your trial early to continue texting activation. If you do not wish to end your trial early, select "No, Do Not End My Free Trial Early" and you will be provided with a temporary phone number with text messaging enabled.Note: It will take 1-3 hours for text messaging to be ready for use. It may take up to 3 days for text messaging to become active across all phone networks. If text messaging is not working after 3 days, please contact support@talkroute.com.Trial Prompts
Paid Account Prompts
Incoming Only:
Send and Receive:
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If you chose to only receive text messages or to receive a temporary phone number, no further action is needed.
If you selected to send & receive text messages, follow the on-screen prompts to start the registration process. You can also reference our guides:
- Toll-Free Text Verification (toll-free numbers)
- 10DLC Campaign Registration (local numbers)
After you agree to the terms and select confirm, incoming messaging will be enabled for your number in the meantime. Once you submit your application, one of our agents will work with you and provide updates on your registration status.
Local Phone Number Prompts
Toll-Free Number Prompts
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You can also manage text-to-email notifications for each virtual phone number in this area. Click the envelope icon next to a number to add or remove email addresses for notifications.
Texting FAQs
Talkroute can accept SMS and MMS sent from 10-digit US or Canada phone numbers. Supported MMS attachments include:
- JPEG
- PNG
- GIF (up to 1.5MB)
- Bitmap (BMP)
The maximum image file size is 15MB. The image resolution is 1280x960 when sent through Talkroute (we preserve the resolution and aspect ratio as much as possible before scaling down).
Yes, Talkroute supports receiving messages from 5-6 digit short code numbers. However, some services do not support sending verification text messages to non-wireless numbers (like VoIP or landline numbers), and we have no control over which services choose to allow or block these messages.
If you are having trouble receiving a verification text, we recommend checking with the sender to see if they support sending to VoIP or landline numbers.
The maximum individual message length is 1000 characters. Depending on the carrier receiving the message, it may be broken down into multiple segments.
If you wish to only receive incoming text messages with your virtual phone number, you do not need to go through the registration/verification process. Registration is highly recommended to improve outgoing message delivery and reduce filtering.
Talkroute does not support group messages at this time. Any messages sent or received are 1 to 1.
Yes, you can block 10-digit phone numbers under your account to prevent incoming calls and texts.
- Desktop/Web: Select the text conversation in the messages area, then select the block number icon.
- Mobile: Select the text conversation, tap the info icon, select the 3-dot menu at the top right, then select block caller.
Yes, see our article: How to Disable Text Messaging
If you wish to fully disable texting for a specific phone number, please contact support@talkroute.com.
Some of the numbers we provide are voice-only. Numbers with texting availability show a texting bubble icon when you select the virtual phone number to add to your account.
If you have selected a voice-only number and wish to use texting, please contact support@talkroute.com for available options.
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