SMS features
Allo supports SMS text messaging with your business numbers. Receive SMS on both plans, send SMS on Business plan. Perfect for customer communication, confirmations, and quick updates. Key features:- SMS send and receive
- Message history
- Automatic logging to CRM
- Notification options
Plans and availability
- Starter Plan
- Business Plan
Starter plan SMS
Receive only
What you can do:- Receive SMS messages
- View message history
- Get notifications
- Log messages to CRM
- Send SMS messages
- Reply to incoming messages
- Send bulk messages
Why receive-only
Use cases:- Receive verification codes (limited support)
- Get customer inquiries
- Collect inbound messages
- Monitor communication
Upgrade to Business planView Business plan features
Message composition
Character limit:280 characters per SMS. Longer messages split into multiple SMS. Supported content:
- Plain text
- Emojis
- Numbers and symbols
- Line breaks
- Images (MMS not available)
- Videos
- Audio files
- Documents
Receive SMS
Automatic reception
All SMS received automatically:- Display in Messages tab
- Push notification sent
- Logged to CRM if integrated
- Email notification (optional)
View messages
In mobile app:- Open Allo app
- Tap Inbox tab
- Tap conversation to read
- Open Allo desktop
- Click Inbox section
- Browse conversations
- Click to read full thread
Message notifications
Push notifications
Instant alerts on your phone
Badge counter
Unread message count on app icon
Email notifications
Optional email alerts for new SMS
CRM logging
Automatic sync to connected CRM
Limitations
What’s not supported
MMS (Multimedia messages)
MMS (Multimedia messages)
Not available:
Cannot send or receive images, videos, or other media files via SMS.Coming soon:
MMS support is planned for future release.Alternative:
Share links to images or use email for multimedia content.
Cannot send or receive images, videos, or other media files via SMS.Coming soon:
MMS support is planned for future release.Alternative:
Share links to images or use email for multimedia content.
OTP verification codes
OTP verification codes
Limited support:
Allo numbers cannot reliably receive OTP (one-time password) messages used for verification codes.Why:
Many verification services don’t support VoIP numbers.Alternative:
Use personal phone number for account verifications.
Allo numbers cannot reliably receive OTP (one-time password) messages used for verification codes.Why:
Many verification services don’t support VoIP numbers.Alternative:
Use personal phone number for account verifications.
SMS from personal number
SMS from personal number
Not available:
Cannot send SMS from your personal number through Allo app.SMS uses:
Only Allo business numbers can send/receive SMS in the app.Alternative:
Use your phone’s native SMS app for personal number messages.
Cannot send SMS from your personal number through Allo app.SMS uses:
Only Allo business numbers can send/receive SMS in the app.Alternative:
Use your phone’s native SMS app for personal number messages.
Group messaging
Group messaging
Not available:
Cannot send SMS to multiple recipients simultaneously in one conversation.Workaround:
Send individual messages to each recipient.Alternative:
Use Zapier or Make for bulk messaging workflows.
Cannot send SMS to multiple recipients simultaneously in one conversation.Workaround:
Send individual messages to each recipient.Alternative:
Use Zapier or Make for bulk messaging workflows.
Scheduled messages
Scheduled messages
Not available:
Cannot schedule SMS to send at specific future time.Coming soon:
Scheduled messaging feature is planned.Alternative:
Use automation tools (Zapier/Make) for scheduled SMS.
Cannot schedule SMS to send at specific future time.Coming soon:
Scheduled messaging feature is planned.Alternative:
Use automation tools (Zapier/Make) for scheduled SMS.
SMS with integrations
CRM logging
Automatic SMS logging: When connected to a CRM:- All SMS conversations log automatically
- Sent messages recorded
- Received messages recorded
- Timestamps included
- Associated with contact
- HubSpot
- Salesforce
- Attio
- folk
- Zoho CRM
- Odoo
- Streak
Automation
Via Zapier or Make: Build workflows triggered by SMS:- New SMS received → Create task
- SMS contains keyword → Send notification
- Customer replies → Update CRM
- Auto-reply to common questions
Learn about Make
SMS compliance
Know the law:- Obtain consent before SMS marketing
- Follow TCPA rules (US)
- Comply with GDPR (EU)
- Keep records of consent
- Explicit opt-in
- Clear identification
- Opt-out mechanism
- Respect do-not-contact lists
- Transaction confirmations
- Appointment reminders
- Customer service responses
- Existing customer relationships
Troubleshooting
Can't send SMS
Can't send SMS
Check these items:
- You’re on Business plan (not Starter)
- Trial period ended (for French users)
- Brand registration completed (US/Canada)
- SMS limit not exceeded (150/day)
SMS not delivered
SMS not delivered
Common causes:
- Recipient’s phone turned off
- Recipient blocked your number
- Network issue
- Invalid phone number
Not receiving SMS
Not receiving SMS
Verify:
- Number is SMS-capable (not all international numbers support SMS)
- Sender’s number is valid
- No carrier filtering
Cannot receive OTP codes
Cannot receive OTP codes
Expected behavior:
Allo numbers have limited OTP support due to VoIP restrictions.Solution: Use your personal phone number for verification codes and 2FA.
Allo numbers have limited OTP support due to VoIP restrictions.Solution: Use your personal phone number for verification codes and 2FA.
SMS limit reached
SMS limit reached
Daily limits:
- 150 SMS via app
- 25 SMS via API
