Sending SMS — Connect Your Own Twilio or SignalWire Number
SMS is bring-your-own-account per organization: connect Twilio or SignalWire once in Settings → Communications → SMS & WhatsApp, and every text sends from your own number. Replies, SMS Keywords, campaigns, workflows and reminders all use it, and incoming texts land in Conversations.
Steps
- Twilio: copy your Account SID, Auth Token and a phone number you own from console.twilio.com. In CRMown click Connect Twilio, paste them and click Connect & Verify.
- SignalWire: in your SignalWire Space open API and copy the Space name (from yourspace.signalwire.com), Project ID, an API token with Messaging and Numbers scopes, and the Signing Key. In CRMown click Connect SignalWire, paste them with your number(s) and click Connect & Verify. Leave "Send these numbers' incoming texts to CRMown" ticked and CRMown points each number's messaging webhook at your workspace for you.
- No number yet? After connecting, click Buy a Number, search by area code (or tick Toll-free) and click Buy. It is charged to your own Twilio or SignalWire account and set up for incoming texts automatically.
- Click Send Test SMS to confirm delivery.
Good to know
- You can connect both Twilio and SignalWire. Replies go out from the number the conversation is on; new texts use the account marked "Default sender" (change it with Make default).
- Delivery status: texts show Delivered or Failed once the carrier reports back, with the reason in plain words (for example "Filtered by the carrier as spam" or "Number not registered for A2P 10DLC").
- On a Twilio TRIAL account you can only text numbers you have verified, and messages are prefixed "Sent from your Twilio trial account" — upgrade (add billing) to text anyone.
- For US business texting you must register A2P 10DLC for local numbers, or complete toll-free verification for toll-free numbers, with your provider (see the SMS compliance article). This is a carrier rule, not a CRMown one.
- SMS is per-organization, not per-user — one admin connects it for the whole team. There is no shared CRMown number; each org brings its own so reputation and opt-outs stay isolated.
- Your Auth Token / API token is stored encrypted and is never shown again after you connect.
- WhatsApp is available through Twilio only.
Troubleshooting
I connected Twilio but SMS still will not reach a customer
Trial accounts can only reach verified numbers, or A2P 10DLC is not registered yet.
Fix: Upgrade the Twilio account and register A2P 10DLC. Test against your own verified number first.
Texts send but replies from customers never appear in Conversations
The number's incoming-message webhook in Twilio or SignalWire does not point at CRMown.
Fix: Settings → Communications → SMS & WhatsApp shows the "Incoming texts URL" under each account. Set it as the number's messaging webhook (POST) in your provider. For SignalWire, reconnecting with "Send these numbers' incoming texts to CRMown" ticked does it for you.
SignalWire says connected but incoming texts are ignored
CRMown checks every incoming text is really from SignalWire. If the Signing Key is missing or wrong, the check fails.
Fix: Reconnect SignalWire and paste the Signing Key from your Space → API page.
A text shows Failed with "Number not registered for A2P 10DLC"
US carriers block texts from local numbers that are not registered to a 10DLC campaign.
Fix: Finish brand and campaign registration in Twilio or SignalWire and attach the number to the campaign, or use a verified toll-free number.