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Why does my Cradle SMS need a separate number?
In Australia and the UK, only mobile-shaped numbers can send SMS. If your existing Cradle business number is a landline or local, you'll get an additional mobile number for SMS, and it can take voice calls too.
When an admin turns on SMS for your org, Cradle may need to provision an additional Cradle number for it. Whether that happens depends on the shape of the Cradle number you already use for voice. This article explains why.
The short version
In Australia and the United Kingdom, only mobile-shaped numbers can send and receive SMS. Local and landline numbers can't legally do messaging in those markets. If your main Cradle business number is a landline or local, Cradle provisions an additional mobile-shaped number alongside it so the messaging side of things is consistent, predictable, and properly registered with the carrier.
The additional number isn't SMS-only. It's a real Cradle number that can also place and receive voice calls.
What this means in practice
- You may end up with two Cradle numbers. Your existing landline / local Cradle number keeps handling voice as before, and the new mobile-shaped Cradle number handles SMS. The mobile number can take voice calls too if a customer rings it, so it isn't a one-way street.
- You don't pick which number sends a text. When you open or start a thread, Cradle picks the right outbound SMS number for you based on the recipient's country.
- Cradle threads inbound SMS by the customer's mobile, not by which Cradle number they texted. Replies always land in the same thread, so the team can pick up a conversation regardless of which Cradle SMS number is in play.
- If your existing Cradle business number is already a mobile-shaped number, you may not need an additional one. We'll confirm when you raise the request.
How to get an SMS number set up
SMS isn't a self-serve toggle in the admin portal. An admin needs to ask Cradle support to switch SMS on for a Cradle number. The full walkthrough lives at Getting SMS switched on for a Cradle number, including what to include in the request and what to expect.
A few things to know
- SMS is country-confined. An AU SMS number sends to AU mobiles. A UK SMS number sends to UK mobiles. See SMS availability today.
- NZ SMS isn't available today. New Zealand Cradle numbers can't be turned into SMS numbers right now.
- We'll talk you through cost and timing when you raise the request. Pricing depends on country and volume, and we'd rather walk you through it than guess on this page.