Android setup

TextLink is a platform that allows you to freely use your phone number to send SMS via our API, tools and No-code integrations, without having to rely on a centralized provider like Twilio, which requires a complex setup process for actually being able to send messages (e.g. A2P), and reserves the right to close your account at any time (even if that disrupts your business activities).

In order to use our tools , you need a spare Android phone with the stable internet connection and power supply, which you are going to set up to send SMS for you.

How it works?

For the setup to work, you first need to install our android app on your phone, and enable us to send SMS through it. Now, our server can send data to your application, about the messages that need to be sent, using Google's notification services.

Prerequisites

The setup usually takes around 10 minutes. Here is the list of required items for the setup to be effective:

  • Android phone - Our app does not support IOS devices. It is recommended to use spare device, since the service stability depends on it.

  • SIM card or an eSIM - We recommend you to buy SMS packages, since they can be much cheaper. We do not support virtual SIM cards.

  • Stable internet connection

Instructions

  1. Create a TextLink account

  2. Download the app on your android phone, install it, and enable all the permissions that it asks for. It is necessary for all of the app's components to work as expected.

  3. For android >13, you may also need to enable access to restricted settings before enabling TextLink the required permissions.

  4. In the downloaded app, log in to the same account that you created in the step 1

  5. You should now be able to send SMS to your SIM card's country. You can test the integration here.

  6. To make sure your Android OS does not restrict app's base functionality, you need to disable battery optimizations for the TextLink app. You can see the example here. Note that this step can be different depending on your device.

  7. If you also need to receive SMS besides just sending them (e.g. for triggering custom workflows on received message), you need to make TextLink your default SMS app. This process also differs based on your device. You can find the example here. To learn more about custom workflows, head over to the API or GHL page.

  8. (Optional) If you require sending messages to another country, go to your Devices overview, click the Configure button next to your device, and select the SIM card that you want to configure. A new page will open, where you can add/remove as many countries as you want for that SIM card.

Best practices

To get the most of your setup, you should keep your phone on charger, always connected to the internet with the app open and the screen on at all times.

Troubleshooting

  • If you can send SMS, but can not receive SMS, you need to make sure that TextLink is your default SMS app (Step 7)

  • If sending SMS does not work on your phone, and your phone is newer (Android 13+), make sure to follow the setup in step 3 thoroughly

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