If a text message didn't send or wasn't received, work through the steps below to identify the cause. Most issues can be diagnosed in a few seconds. These steps apply whether you're texting from the Beside mobile app or the web app at app.beside.com.

What the error message means

When a text fails, Beside shows the reason underneath the message, so you can tell a carrier block from a wrong number or a temporary glitch. Find your message in the table below, then follow the fix.

📌 Where you see the reason:

The detailed reason is shown in the Beside mobile app on iPhone.
On Android and on Beside on the web, a failed text shows as undelivered without the reason - the causes and fixes below still apply.

What you see	What it means	What to do
Flagged as spam by the recipient's carrier and blocked	The recipient's carrier filtered your message as spam.	Reword it, drop shortened links, and space out how often you text that number. Auto Censor Messages can help if the wording is industry-specific.
Blocked because of its content	Restricted wording, links, or formatting triggered a block.	Check for shortened links, all-caps, and spam-like phrasing, then send again.
Rejected by the recipient's carrier because of its content or formatting	The carrier refused the message outright.	Rewrite it in plainer wording and remove special formatting or symbols.
Rejected by the carrier - double-check the number	The number may be wrong, inactive, or unable to receive texts.	Confirm the number digit by digit, then try again.
The recipient has unsubscribed from text messages	They replied STOP to one of your texts, so their carrier blocks anything else from your Beside number.	Only they can undo it, by texting START, YES, or UNSTOP to your Beside number. You cannot remove an opt-out on their behalf.
You're sending messages too fast	You hit the recipient carrier's rate limit.	Wait a few minutes and send again. Avoid bursts of texts to the same number.
The number doesn't support this type of message, or no route exists	The number is a landline, a VoIP number, or otherwise unreachable by text.	Call the person instead, or ask for a mobile number.
Text messaging isn't supported in the recipient's region	The destination is outside the regions Beside can text.	Beside texting covers the US and Canada. 📖 Supported languages and countries
An account setup issue	Something on your line's messaging registration is blocking sends.	Reach out to our support team via the in-app chat - this one cannot be fixed from your side.
Couldn't be delivered right now	A temporary problem with the delivery route.	Send the message again after a moment.

💡 Texts sent by your Receptionist:

If your Receptionist replies to a text and the send fails, the message now shows a Failed badge in the thread, the same as a text you sent yourself.
The reasons above apply to those messages too.

Texting yourself

If you send a message from your personal phone number to your own Beside number, it will not appear in Beside. Beside doesn't currently display conversations with your own number - the message is delivered in the background, but the thread is hidden.

To test your Beside number, use a different phone number - a colleague's phone, a family member's phone, or a secondary device. If that message arrives, your texting is working normally.

📖 Can I text myself?

Recipient is a Beside user

Beside uses two delivery methods depending on whether your contact has the Beside app:

If your contact...	Your message is delivered...
Does NOT use Beside	As a normal SMS
Has the Beside mobile app installed and logged in	Inside Beside (mobile or web app), not by SMS

📌 If your contact is a Beside user, they will not receive an SMS - they'll only see your message inside Beside, with a push notification on mobile. If they didn't see your message, ask them to check: Are Beside notifications enabled? Have they muted messages for this line (Settings → Notifications → Your Alerts → Mute Messages)? Are they logged into the correct account? Is the app up to date?

Recipient is on a landline

SMS can only be delivered to mobile numbers. If you text a landline, the message cannot be delivered. Ask your contact whether their number can receive SMS - if not, try texting their mobile number instead.

Blocked content

Our phone provider may block outgoing messages that include restricted content, such as:

Profanity - curse words or offensive language
Shortened URLs - links that are flagged as suspicious
Harassment - threatening or abusive language
Illegal activities - references to unlawful acts
Sensitive topics - words related to sex, hate, violence, or drugs

If your message contains any of the above, try rewriting it in a more neutral way.

If the blocked wording is related to your industry (e.g., terms used in healthcare, legal, or adult-adjacent services), enabling Auto Censor Messages can help. This feature automatically replaces sensitive words before sending, reducing the chance of carrier filtering without changing the meaning of your message. Auto Censor Messages can be enabled from either the Beside mobile app or the web app, in your line settings.

📖 Auto Censor Messages

💡 If the flagged wording is directly related to your business and Auto Censor doesn't resolve it, reach out to our support team via the in-app chat - we may be able to assist or offer a workaround.

Message length limits

Some messages may fail because they exceed carrier or encoding limits:

Standard SMS - 160 characters
SMS with special characters or emojis - 70 characters
The recipient's carrier may have lower limits, which can also cause delivery failures

⚠️ Important:

A very long message (spanning several SMS segments) can currently fail silently - it shows as Sent in Beside but never reaches the recipient, with no error message shown.
If this happens, shorten your message and send it again. We're working on a permanent fix for this.
This silent case is the exception: most failures now show a reason under the message. See What the error message means above.

Connection or app issues

If your message doesn't contain blocked content, the issue may be technical.

On mobile

Check your internet connection - ensure you have stable Wi-Fi or cellular data
Restart the app - close Beside fully and reopen it
Update the app - make sure you're using the latest version from the App Store or Google Play

On the web app

Check your internet connection - ensure your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection is stable
Refresh the tab - a hard refresh (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+R) reloads the latest version of the web app and can clear temporary issues
Try a different browser - if messages fail in one browser, test another to isolate the issue

Trial message limit

Trial accounts can send up to 15 messages total during the trial period. Once you reach that limit, outgoing texts are blocked for the rest of your trial. You can still receive messages normally.

What you'll see in the app

When you've hit the trial limit, sending a text fails with this error:

[permission_denied] failed to send message: permission denied error: user has hit the maximum number of text messages allowed

📌 Good to know:

This error only means you've reached the trial message limit
It does not mean your account is flagged or that identity verification failed
It does not mean your message content was blocked.

What to do

Wait for your trial to end. Full texting is restored as soon as your trial ends - no action needed on your side.

Where to check your trial end date

If you subscribed through the App Store: in your App Store subscriptions.
If you subscribed on the web: in the Beside mobile app or on Beside on the web, go to Settings → Plan & billing.

FAQ

My contact says they received my message but I see it as undelivered in the app. What's happening?

This can happen when your contact is also a Beside user. The message was delivered inside Beside rather than as an SMS - the delivery status displayed in your app may not always reflect in-app delivery accurately. If your contact confirms they received it, the message went through.

My message shows as Sent, but my contact never received it and I didn't see an error. What should I do?

First check whether the message shows a reason underneath it - if it does, look it up in What the error message means above. A "Sent" status means Beside successfully handed your message off for delivery - it doesn't always guarantee it reached your contact's phone. If your message was long (several SMS segments), this is a known cause - see Message length limits above and try shortening it. Otherwise, try sending to a different recipient to check if the issue is specific to one number, confirm the recipient's number can receive SMS (not a landline, active plan, no spam filtering on their end), and try again after a few minutes in case of a temporary delay.

If this keeps happening across multiple contacts, reach out to our support team via the in-app chat with the recipient numbers and approximate send times so we can check delivery on our end.

I'm getting a delivery error on every message I send. What should I do?

First check your internet connection and restart the app (or refresh the browser tab if you're on the web app). If every message fails with an account setup issue, that points to your line's messaging registration rather than anything you sent - reach out to our support team via the in-app chat.

If the failures look content-related instead, try enabling Auto Censor Messages in your line settings and send again.

My contact replied STOP - can I text them again?

Not until they opt back in themselves. Replying STOP tells their carrier to block any further texts from your Beside number, and Beside cannot override that. They can undo it by texting START, YES, or UNSTOP to your Beside number. Calls are not affected - you can still reach them by phone.

Can my recipient check why they didn't receive my message?

Ask them to check: Can they receive SMS from other numbers? Are they blocking unknown numbers or filtering spam? Is their cellular coverage poor? Is their phone plan active? If everything looks normal on their end, the issue is likely on the sending side.

Messages work on mobile but not on the web app. What should I check?

Try a hard refresh of the tab, check that your internet connection is stable, and test in a different browser to isolate the issue. If messages consistently fail only on the web, reach out to our support team via the in-app chat with the browser and OS details

Fix undelivered text messages