Ready to put on your detective hat and figure out why an SMS notification shows “Failed” in your Communications Log? You’ve landed on the perfect guide! Let’s dive into the most common reasons and how to get those messages flowing again 🕵️
Understanding SMS Statuses
When you check a patient’s Communications Log, you’ll see one of these SMS statuses:
- Sent: Jane successfully sent the message to the patient’s device
- Delivered: The message reached the patient’s device successfully
- Failed: The message couldn’t be sent to the patient’s device
- Undeliverable: The message was sent but couldn’t reach the patient’s device
Why SMS Shows “Failed”
The most common reason you’ll see “Failed” is that your patient has unsubscribed from receiving SMS messages.
When a patient replies “STOP” to a text message from Jane, they become unsubscribed from Twilio (our SMS provider) but remain subscribed within Jane. This creates a mismatch that prevents future messages from being sent.
The patient would need to locate any previous text message from your clinic and reply with “START” to resubscribe and start receiving messages again.
Why SMS Shows “Undeliverable”
If you see “Undeliverable” instead of “Failed,” this means the message was sent but couldn’t reach the patient’s device. Think of it like calling someone who doesn’t answer; you wouldn’t know exactly why they couldn’t receive the call.
Common causes of undeliverable messages:
- Poor signal strength in their area
- The patient’s phone is powered off or in airplane mode
- The device can’t receive SMS messages in general
- The device isn’t connected to their home carrier’s network (roaming can cause delivery issues)
Troubleshooting Undeliverable SMS Notifications
If the message status shows “Undeliverable,” there are a few things your patient can check on their end to help resolve the issue. These device-related factors are often the culprit when messages can’t reach their phone.
- Device Power: Ask the patient to confirm their phone is charged and powered on.
- Signal Strength: If they have a weak signal, suggest they try powering their device completely off, waiting about 30 seconds, and then turning it back on. Alternatively, they can turn their phone on airplane mode.
- Network Connection: Make sure they’re connected to their home carrier’s network rather than roaming, as message delivery cannot be guaranteed when devices are off their primary network.
- SMS Functionality: Ask the patient to test whether they can receive text messages from other sources, like a friend or family member, to confirm their device can receive SMS messages in general.
Additional Troubleshooting Steps
If the patient’s device seems to be working fine, there are a few helpful settings within your Jane account that are worth checking. Let’s walk through the key areas from your clinic-wide reminders down to individual patient profiles that can affect SMS delivery.
1️⃣ Verify SMS Reminders are set up
You can head over to the Settings tab and select Reminders & Notifications to confirm SMS reminders are Enabled.
2️⃣ Subscribed by Default
For reminders that are set up as “Subscribed by Default,” here are some important things to keep in mind:
- Only patient profiles created after this setting was enabled will automatically be opted in
- Existing patients need to be manually opted in or opt themselves in
Patient Profile Settings
If everything looks good on the patient’s end but messages still aren’t going through, the next step is to check their profile settings in Jane. These behind-the-scenes details can directly impact whether or not SMS reminders are successfully sent.
- Opt-in Status: Check if the patient is opted into receiving SMS reminders in their profile.
- Recent Changes: If they recently opted in, Jane won’t retroactively send reminders that were already due.
- Mobile Phone Number: Ensure there’s a valid mobile number in the “Mobile Phone” field (Jane only sends SMS to this specific field).
- Profile Merges: If you recently merged patient profiles, reminder preferences from the secondary profile may apply, which could affect delivery.
For more information on how the opt-in works for notifications in Jane, you can check out our Email & SMS Reminders guide.
Still Having Issues?
If you’ve worked through these troubleshooting steps and your patient is still not receiving SMS notifications, don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team. We’re happy to help investigate further and ensure your communications are flowing smoothly.
Just click the Need Help? button in the top-right of your Jane screen to get in touch with our team. We’re here to help! 💙