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< title > EnvayaSMS: Frequently Asked Questions< / title >
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< h1 style = 'padding-top:13px' > < a href = "/" > EnvayaSMS< / a >
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< span class = "small" >
SMS gateway for Android
< / span >
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< a href = '/' > Home< / a >
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·
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< a href = '/install/' > Install< / a >
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·
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< a href = '/how/' > How it Works< / a >
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·
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< a href = '/serverapi/' > API Reference< / a >
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·
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< a class = 'active' href = '/faq/' > FAQ< / a >
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·
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< a href = '/history/' > History< / a >
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·
< a href = '/community/' > Community< / a >
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< / div >
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< h2 > Frequently Asked Questions< / h2 >
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< ul class = 'faq_links' >
< li >
< a href = '#q_alternative' > Instead of implementing a SMS gateway as an Android app, why not use X instead? (where X = Twilio, Tropo, Clickatell, FrontlineSMS, RapidSMS, Kannel, etc.)< / a >
< / li >
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< li >
< a href = '#q_rate' > How fast can EnvayaSMS send SMS messages?< / a >
< / li >
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< li >
< a href = '#q_phones' > What phones are compatible with EnvayaSMS?< / a >
< / li >
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< li >
< a href = '#q_servers' > Does EnvayaSMS use envaya.org's servers?< / a >
< / li >
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< li >
< a href = '#q_envaya_org' > What is the relationship between EnvayaSMS and envaya.org?< / a >
< / li >
< li >
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< a href = '#q_kalsms' > What is the difference between EnvayaSMS and KalSMS?< / a >
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< / li >
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< li >
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< a href = '#q_smssync' > What is the difference between EnvayaSMS and SMSSync?< / a >
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< / li >
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< / ul >
< h4 id = 'q_alternative' >
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Instead of implementing a SMS gateway as an Android app, why not use X instead? (where X = Twilio, Tropo, Clickatell, FrontlineSMS, RapidSMS, Kannel, etc.)
< / h4 >
< p >
The existing alternative methods for creating SMS gateways can generally be categorized as
hosted services (e.g. Twilio, Tropo, Clickatell), connecting GSM phones/modems to a computer (e.g. FrontlineSMS, RapidSMS, Kannel),
and partnering directly with mobile operators.
< / p >
< p >
The table below summarizes the major benefits and drawbacks of each of these methods for creating an SMS gateway:
< / p >
< table class = 'comparison_table' >
< thead >
< tr >
< td > < / td >
< th > Benefits< / th >
< th > Drawbacks< / th >
< / tr >
< / thead >
< tbody >
< tr >
< th > Hosted services< / th >
< td >
< ul > < li > High message throughput
< li > Easy to deploy< / ul >
< / td >
< td >
< ul > < li > No local numbers in many countries
< li > Usually no MMS support< / ul >
< / td >
< / tr >
< tr >
< th > Connecting modem< br / > to computer< / th >
< td >
< ul > < li > Can work with inexpensive phone< / li > < / ul >
< / td >
< td >
< ul > < li > Expensive hardware costs
< li > Lots of moving parts to keep working
< li > Very difficult for non-technical users to deploy
< li > Low message throughput
< li > No MMS support< / ul >
< / td >
< / tr >
< tr >
< th > Partnering with< br / > mobile operators< / th >
< td >
< ul >
< li > High message throughput
< li > Can provide free service to users via shortcode< / ul >
< / td >
< td >
< ul > < li > Usually very expensive
< li > Requires operator approval
< li > Long setup time< / li > < / ul >
< / td >
< / tr >
< / tbody >
< / table >
< p >
EnvayaSMS is ideal for situations where no hosted services with local numbers are available in
a particular country, or when it is necessary to receive MMS messages.
< / p >
< p >
EnvayaSMS likely has lower throughput than hosted services or partnering with mobile operators, but should
be able to forward up to a few thousand messages per phone per day.
< / p >
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< h4 id = 'q_rate' > How fast can EnvayaSMS send SMS messages?< / h4 >
< p >
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The rate at which EnvayaSMS can send messages depends on several factors, including your phone, your network, and the length of the SMS messages you're sending.
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< / p >
< p >
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Using an LG 540 with T-Mobile, we were able to send 50 outgoing SMS messages (each 160 characters long)
in 4 minutes 17 seconds, for an average of 1 message every 5.1 seconds (~12 messages/minute, ~700 messages/hour).
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< / p >
< p >
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In a different test, EnvayaSMS sent 176 outgoing SMS messages (with an average length of 7 characters)
in 9 minutes 50 seconds (using the same phone), for an average of 1 message every 3.4 seconds (~18 messages/minute, ~1100 messages/hour).
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< / p >
< p >
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To increase the rate at which you can send SMS messages, you can install EnvayaSMS on multiple phones and
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balance outgoing SMS messages between them. EnvayaSMS also allows you to set priority levels on outgoing SMS messages,
so important transactional messages can be delivered before low-priority notifications.
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< / p >
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< p >
In order to send more than 100 messages per hour with a single phone, it is necessary to install < a href = '/install/#expansion' > EnvayaSMS Expansion Packs< / a > .
< / p >
< h4 id = 'q_phones' > What phones are compatible with EnvayaSMS?< / h4 >
< p >
EnvayaSMS should work on any phone with Android 1.6 (Donut) or higher. As of 9/23/2011, over 579 different phone models are compatible with EnvayaSMS.
< / p >
< p >
EnvayaSMS has been tested and is known to work with the following phones:
< ul >
< li > LG GT540 Optimus< / li >
< li > Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570< / li >
< / ul >
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< h4 id = 'q_servers' > Does EnvayaSMS use envaya.org's servers?< / h4 >
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< p >
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No. When using EnvayaSMS, your phone connects to your own web server.
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The EnvayaSMS Android app does not connect to < a href = 'http://envaya.org' > envaya.org< / a > or any third-party servers.
In particular, you do not need to register for < a href = 'http://envaya.org' > envaya.org< / a > .
< / p >
< p >
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For information about configuring a web server to connect to EnvayaSMS, see the < a href = '/serverapi/' > API Reference< / a > page.
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< / p >
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< h4 id = 'q_envaya_org' > What is the relationship between EnvayaSMS and envaya.org?< / h4 >
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< p >
We originally developed EnvayaSMS to enable civil society organizations in East Africa to interact with
< a href = 'http://envaya.org' > envaya.org< / a > via SMS and MMS, such as by posting news updates and photos
to their website.
< / p >
< p >
We realized that EnvayaSMS would be useful for any web service that needs to send and receive SMS/MMS,
and decided to make EnvayaSMS available for anyone building their own applications.
< / p >
< p >
Development of EnvayaSMS is currently led by the < a href = 'http://envaya.org' > envaya.org< / a > team,
but anyone is welcome to contribute to improve it.
< / p >
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< h4 id = 'q_kalsms' > What is the difference between EnvayaSMS and KalSMS?< / h4 >
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< p >
The source code for EnvayaSMS was originally based on < a href = 'https://github.com/niryariv/kalsms/' > KalSMS< / a > , an open-source project
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started by Nir Yariv in 2010. KalSMS first introduced the idea of a simple SMS gateway implemented entirely as an Android app.
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< / p >
< p >
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EnvayaSMS builds upon the idea of KalSMS by adding many new features that are necessary when deploying an SMS gateway in the field,
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such as sending more than 100 messages per hour, authenticating the phone to the server, and retrying forwarding messages after transient errors.
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For a complete list of changes, see the < a href = '/history/' > History< / a > page.
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< / p >
< p >
EnvayaSMS's server API is incompatible with that of KalSMS. Anyone switching from KalSMS to EnvayaSMS must
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update their server to use the new API described on the < a href = '/serverapi/' > API Reference< / a > page.
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< / p >
< p >
As of 2011, KalSMS is no longer actively developed, and new development will occur on the EnvayaSMS project.
< / p >
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< h4 id = 'q_smssync' > What is the difference between EnvayaSMS and SMSSync?< / h4 >
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< p >
< a href = 'http://smssync.ushahidi.com/' > SMSSync SMS Gateway< / a > is an alternative Android SMS gateway app developed by Ushahidi.
< / p >
< p >
EnvayaSMS contains several features not present in the current version of SMSSync, such as receiving MMS messages,
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sending more than 100 outgoing SMS messages per hour, notifying the server of the status of outgoing messages,
and showing log messages to facilitate troubleshooting.
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< / p >
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get the source code on GitHub : < a href = "http://github.com/youngj/EnvayaSMS" > youngj/EnvayaSMS< / a >
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