HelpSMS (text messages)Countries for text messages: open, on request and not supported

Countries for text messages: open, on request and not supported

Text messages are not open in any country yet. Every country is in one of three groups: open, on request, or not supported. When texts start, a visitor will get them only if their phone number is from a country that is open for your business.

Owner Where: Billing → Text messages (step 1) · Billing → Countries on request · Messaging → Settings → Where texts can go 7 min read

Email and the free tracking page work for every visitor in every country, whatever this page says.

What it is

Today, no country is open. turnda opens a country for texts only after a real test text has been delivered there. None has passed yet, so no visitor is sent a text and a business cannot switch texts on. The groups below are how the list is organised, not a promise that texts work today. Email, the tracking page and the lobby TV work in every country.

Texts have to travel over each country’s own phone networks, and every country has its own rules and prices. So turnda keeps a list of every country, with one state for each. The list is checked each January.

	First group Popular 94 countries, none open yet	On request 16 countries	Not supported The rest
Can a visitor get texts?	Not yet. No country has been opened for sending.	Not until the country is ready for you, and opened	—
What you do	Nothing. Pick a zone that covers it.	Press Request this country and agree to the fee.	Nothing. Email and the tracking page still work.
Costs extra?	—	A registration fee, paid by the first business that asks and renewed each year while that business keeps paying for it	—
Examples	Portugal, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden	Singapore, Australia, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Qatar	Indonesia, China, Thailand, United States, India

The three groups, side by side.

First group. 94 countries are named here. None of them is open today: texts are closed in every country until turnda opens one. Once texts start in a country, they arrive from the name TURNDA, in plain letters. They are grouped into four zones by price (see Packs and zones). For example, Zone 1 includes the United Kingdom, Portugal, Poland and Denmark; Zone 2 includes France, Italy, Sweden and Norway; Zone 3 includes Germany and the Netherlands; Zone 4 includes Ukraine, Peru and Fiji.

Japan: on request. Japan texts are on request. Japan needs a turnda phone number before it can open, so ask for it and we will come back to you.

On request. 16 countries are on request: Japan (above) and these 15, which need a registered sender name before any text can go there: Austria, Australia, Belarus, Benin, Eswatini, Finland, Guinea, Ireland, Liberia, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Singapore, South Sudan and Spain. turnda registers once for all businesses. The first business that asks pays the registration fee; every business that asks after that pays nothing. The full story, with amounts, is in The registration fee for a country on request.

Not supported. The screen gives one reason for each country. These are the reasons, word for word.

The reasons shown in turnda

Reason on screen	What it says	Examples
Too expensive	Texts there cost more than we can offer, so texts aren’t available there. Email and the tracking page work.	Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Russia
No reliable route	There is no reliable way to deliver texts there.	China, Brazil, South Korea, South Africa
Networks block links	Our texts carry your tracking link, and networks there block links.	Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mexico, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Iceland, Romania
Each business must register itself	Rules there need every business to register its own texting name, which turnda can’t do for you.	United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands
India	Texts there must be registered by the sending business on India’s national register, and turnda sends for every business under one name.	India
New Zealand	Texts there need a costly central short code and an extra line in every text.	New Zealand

In plain words Most of South-East Asia is not supported for text messages. Those visitors still get the tracking page, the lobby TV and email.

How to check it in turnda

Open Billing, find the Visitor updates card and choose Text messages (SMS). Only the owner can change things here.
In step 1, Where are your visitors?, type a country. turnda shows which zone covers it. A country that is listed as open shows as covered by the zone you pick. Until a country is opened for sending, the switch-on does not go through and the screen says “This add-on isn't available for your business right now.”
Scroll down in Billing to Countries on request (below Billing history) and press Show countries on request to open the ones that need a registration. The list is closed until you press it. Each row shows the country, the price of a pack, the wait, and a button.
Press See every country and why for the full list. Type a name in Look up a country. Every country is there with its reason.

A real example

Mei has a café in Lisbon and a second branch in Madrid. The list shows Portugal as open and Spain as on request. Today neither can send texts, because no country has been opened for sending yet, so her visitors use the tracking page, the lobby TV and email. Once Portugal is opened, her Lisbon visitors can get texts. For Madrid she would press Request this country for Spain, agree to the fee, and about two to four weeks later get an email: Spain is ready. A friend with a café in Jakarta asks about Indonesia and finds it not supported, with the reason Too expensive on screen.

What happens in the system

1Visitor types a number
On their own phone
2turnda reads the country
From the number’s prefix
3Is it open for you?
Open, and inside your zone. Today no country is open
4Yes: texts are sent
Two per visit
5No: a calm message
“Text updates aren’t available for your number at this business”

How a visitor’s phone number decides whether they are offered texts.

A visitor whose country is not open for you sees one calm line, Text updates aren’t available for your number at this business, and a link See which countries that lists the countries you cover. Nothing is sent and nothing is taken from your pack. Their place in the line is untouched.

What you need to do

Today, nothing: texts cannot be switched on until a country is opened. Use the tracking page, the lobby TV, email and, if you want it, WhatsApp.
When texts start, check every country where you have a location, before you pay your first pack.
Open country: choose a zone that covers it, in step 1 of switching on.
Country on request: press Request this country as early as you can, because the wait is usually 2 to 4 weeks.
Not supported: there is nothing to do. Make sure your visitors there know to use the tracking page.
A location in a new country later: come back here and look it up before the doors open.

What turnda does not cover

The country’s registry. Whether a registry says yes, and how long it takes, is decided there. The wait shown is our best guide, not a promise.
The mobile networks. A country can be open and a single network in it can still be slow or block a text.
A visitor’s roaming or foreign SIM. Texts follow the country of the number, not where the visitor stands.
Changes to the list. Rules change. The list is checked each January, and a country can move groups.

Common questions

Question	Answer
Do I pay for a country I never use?	No. You pay for packs of texts. A country costs extra only if it is on request and you ask for it.
Is my country’s state the same for everyone?	Yes. Open, on request and not supported are the same for every business.
A visitor’s number is from a country I did not choose. What happens?	They see one calm line and the list of countries you cover. Nothing is sent or charged.
Can I get a not-supported country?	Not now. The reasons are checked each January.
Why can’t I switch texts on when my country is listed as open?	Listed as open is not the same as opened for sending. A country is opened for sending only after a real test text has been delivered there, and none has passed yet. WhatsApp and email are not affected.
Do my visitors in a not-supported country lose anything?	No. They keep the tracking page, the lobby TV and email.
Where do I see which countries my zone covers?	In step 1 of switching on, under each zone, and in See every country and why.