SUPPORT.TWILIO.COM END OF LIFE NOTICE: This site, support.twilio.com, is scheduled to go End of Life on February 27, 2024. All Twilio Support content has been migrated to help.twilio.com, where you can continue to find helpful Support articles, API docs, and Twilio blog content, and escalate your issues to our Support team. We encourage you to update your bookmarks and begin using the new site today for all your Twilio Support needs.

How to Configure a Twilio Phone Number to Receive and Respond to Messages

Objective

All newly purchased Twilio numbers will automatically respond to incoming SMS and MMS messages with a default sample message, but this routing can be changed easily. This guide covers the following topics to help update the routing for your phone numbers.

Notice: Twilio phone numbers must be compliant with all local regulations in order to update the routing. For help determining your phone numbers' compliance status, see View the Regulatory Compliance Report for your Twilio Phone Numbers.

 

Product

Programmable Messaging

 

Procedure

Create your app ๐Ÿ”—

Incoming communications to Twilio will need to be handled by an application that responds with TwiML - our XML-based markup language. Twilio reaches out to your application on incoming communications, and uses the TwiML response we receive as instructions that tell us how to respond to the message.

Your Twilio response will vary depending on your use case and business needs. For full details on how Twilio Programmable Messaging works, see Receive and Reply to SMS and MMS Messages (Twilio Docs).

Notice: While specific messages can't be blocked, all incoming messages to a Twilio number can be ignored. For more information, see Is there a way to block incoming SMS on my Twilio phone number?
For help configuring your phone number to receive messages without an auto-response, see Receive SMS and MMS Messages without Responding.

 

Configuration options ๐Ÿ”—

Once your app is ready, it will need to be posted online where Twilio can access it. We'll reach out on incoming communications, and then process the TwiML command instructions your app responds with. For hosting your app, we offer users an array of products to meet different requirements. Here are some of the most common options, and our recommendations:

TwiML Bins give users free hosting for static XML-based TwiML response scripts. We recommend this option for users who need a simple setup option for basic use cases like a static automated reply, or forwarding to another phone number.

Studio Flows allow users to create an application with our no-code-required flowchart-style interface. We recommend this options for users who have no coding experience, or those who need to design a scalable hosted communications application.

Functions give users free hosting for Node.js TwiML response applications. We recommend this option for users who need a scalable option to develop more robust use cases like applications that utilize NPM libraries, or make API requests.

Webhooks allow users to receive Twilio incoming messages at their own hosted web application. Once the messages arrive, users are free to store or process the information, and can respond to the message via TwiML in XML format or from one of our helper library SDKs.

Once your application is posted, you'll need to update your phone number's routing via either the Console UI or an API request.

 

Update phone number routing via Console ๐Ÿ”—

  1. Access the Active Numbers page in Console.
  2. Click the desired phone number to modify.
  3. Scroll to the Messaging section, and then modify the phone numberโ€™s routing. When finished, click Save.
    SMS_1_webhook.png

Each routing option has different setup requirements. The following table contains selection details for the most common configurations:

  Configure with A Message comes in Input or Drop-down
TwiML Bin Webhooks, TwiML Bins, Functions, Studio, or Proxy TwiML Select your previously saved TwiML Bin
Studio Flow Webhooks, TwiML Bins, Functions, Studio, or Proxy Studio Flow Select your previously saved Studio Flow
Functions Webhooks, TwiML Bins, Functions, Studio, or Proxy Function Select your previously saved Function
Webhook Webhooks, TwiML Bins, Functions, Studio, or Proxy Webhook Enter your Twilio application's URL
Proxy Webhooks, TwiML Bins, Functions, Studio, or Proxy Proxy Select Proxy Service
TwiML App TwiML App TwiML App Select your previously saved TwiML App


Update phone number routing via an API request ๐Ÿ”—

A Twilio phone number's routing can also be changed by submitting an HTTP POST request to the IncomingPhoneNumber REST API resource of the phone number you want to change. To make this request, you will need the following pieces of information:

  • Phone number SID: The PN SID (long code) or SC SID (short code) for the phone number you wish to update.
  • Twilio messaging app details: The URL for your Twilio app (webhook, TwiML Bin, Function, etc.), or your TwiML App SID
  • Regulatory Requirements (as needed): The Identity (RI...), Address (AD...), or Bundle (BU...) SID as needed for regulatory compliance.
  • Project credentials: The Account SID and Auth Token for your Twilio project.

Here's an example cURL script:

curl -XPOST https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/ACXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX/IncomingPhoneNumbers/PNXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.json \
    --data-urlencode "SmsUrl=http://www.mysite.com/twilio" \
    --data-urlencode "BundleSid=BUXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" \
    -u 'ACXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX:your_auth_token'

This example will update the webhook on phone number PN... to point incoming requests to www.mysite.com/twilio, and use the ID documentation Bundle SID BU... for local regulatory requirements. To make this script work for you, make the following updates, and then paste it into a terminal window:

  • Line 1: update with your Twilio Account SID (ACXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX) and the incoming phone number's SID (PNXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX).
  • Line 2: update with your Twilio webhook app's URL. If using a TwiML App to handle incoming messages, replace this line with "SmsApplicationSid=APXXXXXXXXXXXXXX".
  • Line 3: update with the your regulatory documentation (as required).
  • Line 4: update with your Account SID and Auth Token.

For additional help, see the following resource: IncomingPhoneNumber resource (Twilio Docs)


Additional Information

Have more questions? Submit a request
Powered by Zendesk