Setting Two-Way SMS Directly from the Customer Portal in EmailToVoice.Net

Setting Two-Way SMS Directly from the Customer Portal in EmailToVoice.Net

by | Jul 17, 2025 | How To, SMS

We are announcing a powerful new feature that simplifies the setup of Two-Way SMS directly from your Customer Portal / My Details. This significant update addresses a common challenge for many of our valued customers who previously relied solely on embedding specific tags within email content to enable this crucial functionality.

At EmailToVoice.Net, we are constantly enhancing our services to provide more flexibility and efficiency for your critical business communications.

The Challenge with In-Email Tags for Two-Way Communications

Prior to this update, enabling a Two-Way SMS message required inserting the <TwoWay> tag anywhere in the email you sent through EmailToVoice.Net. While effective, this method could sometimes pose a challenge, especially for business applications, monitoring software, CRM, or ERP systems that generate alerts or communications automatically. In scenarios where these applications have rigid templates or limited capabilities for dynamically inserting specific tags into the email body, setting up Two-Way SMS functionality became more complex or even impractical for the user [query]. The goal of Two-Way SMS is to allow recipients to reply to messages, and for these replies to be captured, often to trigger further workflow actions. When a system couldn’t easily add the <TwoWay> tag, this crucial two-way interaction was harder to implement.

Introducing Seamless Two-Way SMS Configuration in Your Customer Portal

We understand that efficiency and ease of integration are paramount for our business users. To make setting up two-way interactions more accessible, you can now configure the Two-Way SMS feature as a default setting directly within your Customer Portal / My Details. This new capability means that you no longer need to include the <TwoWay> tag in every email message if you want all outgoing SMS communications from your account to be two-way [query].

By setting a default email address for SMS replies in your Customer Portal, any recipient replying to your SMS messages will have their reply sent to this designated email address. This eliminates the need for manual tag insertion in individual emails, offering a more streamlined and robust solution for business applications and monitoring software that send critical alerts and require responses.

Unlocking Powerful Workflows with Two-Way SMS Replies

The ability to receive SMS replies is incredibly valuable for a multitude of business processes. When a recipient replies to an SMS, the content of their message is sent back to a designated email address of your choosing and is also available through the Customer Portal. This opens up significant possibilities for automating workflows without requiring complex coding:

  • Automated Reply Handling: Because replies are collected in a designated email mailbox, powerful no-code solutions like Microsoft Power Automate (Flow) can be used to evaluate these replies and act upon them accordingly.
  • Workflow Integration: Microsoft Power Automate or an AI Agent can seamlessly interact with emails sent from EmailToVoice.Net, including two-way SMS replies. When Power Automate or an AI Agent detects an arriving email reply, it can trigger various actions, such as updating a database, sending another email through EmailToVoice.Net, or even generating a phone call or SMS to other recipients. This transforms simple SMS communication into a dynamic component of your enterprise business flows.
  • Enhanced Communication: This ensures that you can confirm message receipt or trigger subsequent actions based on recipient feedback, which is critical for mission-critical business processes, customer support, and process efficiency.

For Two-Way SMS, EmailToVoice.Net assigns a Sender ID from a pool of long-code numbers to track replies. You also have the option to purchase a dedicated LongCode for a nominal monthly fee, ensuring your Sender ID is unique to your organization.

EmailToVoice.Net also supports sending rich communications via SMS by converting email content into a hosted web page link that is automatically inserted into the SMS, allowing large amounts of formatted data to be viewed with a simple tap. This is especially useful for conveying detailed information that exceeds the traditional SMS character limit, requires HTML formatting, or requires advanced security such as password protection.

Clarification on Voice Call Two-Way Functionality

While this new portal feature specifically enhances the setup of Two-Way SMS, it’s important to clarify how it relates to voice calls.

EmailToVoice.Net excels at converting emails into voice phone calls (Text-to-Speech or TTS) and can even send both SMS and voice call alerts from a single email. The primary function resulting from a Two-Way TTS Voice Call is to record a key press such as a 1 or a 2 or a 3. This keypress is recorded in the detailed email report. The keypress can also be used as a trigger to terminate an “Escalation List”. If the message was going through an escalation list, the calls stop when one recipient acknowledges receipt by invoking a keypress. And, just like SMS, a Two-Way keypress from a phone call can now trigger a workflow process through products like Microsoft Power Automate or an AI Agent.

Get Started Today!

This new capability to set Two-Way SMS or TTS directly in your Customer Portal / My Details makes integrating two-way messaging into your business workflows easier than ever before. It allows for a more robust and hassle-free approach to managing critical alerts and communications, ensuring you can collect replies and trigger automated actions without the previous constraints of email content modification.

We are committed to providing tools that help you maximize your reach with minimal complexity. We encourage you to visit your EmailToVoice.Net Customer Portal to explore this new feature and streamline your business communications. If you have any questions or need assistance in developing complex workflow processes, please do not hesitate to contact us. We love to share our experience in industrial communications, workflow, and alerts

Author

 

Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications. LinkedIn
EmailToVoice.Net Solution for the AT&T Discontinued Email-to-Text Service

EmailToVoice.Net Solution for the AT&T Discontinued Email-to-Text Service

by | May 4, 2025 | AT&T, How To, SMS

For system administrators looking to replace AT&T’s discontinued email-to-text gateway, EmailToVoice.Net provides an immediate, compatible replacement with enhanced capabilities for your critical notification infrastructure.

Replacing AT&T’s Email-to-Text with EmailToVoice.Net

If you’re managing systems that depend on AT&T’s email-to-text service for alerts or notifications, you need a migration plan now. AT&T is terminating its email-to-text and text-to-email services on June 17, 2025, requiring immediate action for any operational systems utilizing the @txt.att.net or @mms.att.net gateways.

Technical Impact of AT&T’s Discontinuation

After June 17, 2025, these endpoints will stop functioning:

  • phonenumber@txt.att.net (SMS gateway)
  • phonenumber@mms.att.net (MMS gateway)
  • Any inbound text-to-email functionality

If your monitoring systems, alert infrastructure, or automated workflows depend on these gateways, they will fail without appropriate reconfiguration.

EmailToVoice.Net: Drop-in Replacement with Enhanced Functionality

EmailToVoice.Net provides a technically superior alternative with minimal reconfiguration required. The service maintains the email-based interface your systems already use, while adding capabilities that address common technical limitations.

Technical Advantages:

  1. Protocol Flexibility – EmailToVoice.Net handles:
    • Standard SMS messages
    • Text-to-speech voice calls (TTS)
    • HTML content delivery via secure SMS links
    • Two-way messaging provides the possibility of Agentic responses
  2. Security Implementation – Full TLS encryption between your systems and our messaging platform, with optional challenge-response authentication for message recipients.
  3. Administrative Controls – Account Settings control message delivery windows, opt-out management, distribution lists, and detailed real-time delivery logging.
  4. Integration Compatibility – Works with:
    • Nagios, viewLinc by Vaisala, and other monitoring platforms
    • Legacy and modern ERP/CRM systems
    • Industrial control systems and SCADA
    • IoT/M2M hardware
    • Any system capable of SMTP output
  5. Logging & Troubleshooting – Real-time message tracking and detailed delivery status for system administrators.
  6. Customer Portal – create escalation lists for voice calls, delivery windows, message parsing, and much more

Implementation Guide

Converting your systems from AT&T’s email-to-text gateway to EmailToVoice.Net requires minimal changes to existing configurations:

Basic Configuration:

  • Initial Setup:
    • Register for EmailToVoice.Net (free trial available)
    • Provide your sending email domain or specific email addresses. (Recipient phone numbers do not need to be preregistered)
  • SMS Configuration:
    • Replace: phonenumber@txt.att.net
    • With: phonenumber@sms.message-service.org
    • Example: 5555555555@sms.message-service.org
    • Maintain your existing email body format
  • Voice Call Configuration (New Capability):
    • Use: phonenumber@tts.message-service.org
    • Example: 5555555555@tts.message-service.org
    • Email body becomes spoken message content
  • Rich Communication SMS 
    • Use: phonenumber@linknsms.message-service.org
    • Example: 5555555555@linknsms.message-service.org
    • Email body becomes a hosted web page with the URL embedded in the SMS

Advanced Implementations:

  • Lists – Use predefined distribution lists
  • Managed Delivery – Set time windows for message transmission
  • Custom Response Handling – Configure message reply destinations to Agentic workflow processing
  • Parsing Content – Specify message start/end points for translating only relevant alert data

Technical Use Cases

EmailToVoice.Net has been implemented in critical infrastructure environments, including:

  • Server/network monitoring alert escalation
  • Industrial control system notifications
  • API failure notifications for DevOps teams
  • On-call rotation management
  • Critical infrastructure status alerting
  • AI Agentic workflow communications

Migration Timeline Recommendation

Given the June 17, 2025 cutoff, a phased implementation approach is advised:

  1. Immediate: Register and test the EmailToVoice.Net platform with sample alerts
  2. 30-60 days pre-cutoff: Switch primary alert routing to EmailToVoice.Net
  3. Post-migration: Utilize enhanced capabilities like voice calls and Rich Content password-protected SMS messages for critical alerts

Transitioning to EmailToVoice.Net now ensures system continuity while providing significant technical improvements over the legacy AT&T gateway service.

Visit EmailToVoice.net for documentation, integration examples, and implementation support.

Author

 

Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications. LinkedIn
Sending Two-Way SMS Alerts From Monitoring Software

Sending Two-Way SMS Alerts From Monitoring Software

by | Aug 10, 2024 | Enterprise SMS, How To, SMS

EmailToVoice.Net can send Two-Way SMS messages in either simple text or rich content by just using Email.

Business applications and monitoring software may need to send critical alerts and rich communications through SMS. Often, a response from the recipient of the SMS is required to ensure the recipient received the message. A particular response can even trigger a workflow process. This process of sending an SMS from an application and then receiving a response is referred to as “Two-Way SMS”. EmailToVoice.Net supports Two-Way SMS.

When the recipient replies to the SMS, the replied message is sent back to the Customer Portal and, also, to a designated email address. The replies can then be viewed on the Customer Portal or in the designated email mailbox, which is collecting the replies. 

SMS Reply Handling

Because the replies are collected in a designated email mailbox, no code solutions such as Microsoft Power Automate (Flow) or Zapier can be used to evaluate the replies and act upon them accordingly.

Microsoft Power Automate and EmailToVoice.Net work well together. Microsoft Automate has email connectors that enhance business flows. These email connectors can easily act upon emails being sent from EmailToVoice.Net, such as the replies from two-way SMS messages. EmailToVoice.Net and products such as Power Automate integrate SMS communications with enterprise business flows. When Microsoft Power Automate detects an email message arriving in the designated email address, it will trigger an action such as a database update and/or an email to be sent back through to EmailToVoice.Net which will then generate a phone call or SMS to other recipients.

Upon request, SMS Delivery Reports and SMS Replies received can also be sent to a URL via a webhook for deeper integration. This callback system does not require any coding and can send a standard html POST request with the content type application/x-www-form-urlencoded. If you do not want a POST request, we can modify the callback to a standard GET request.

Setup Two-Way SMS

The SMS can be set to 2-Way by adding the tag “<TwoWay>” anywhere in the email. If this is set, then the user can reply to the SMS, and an email with the reply contents will be sent to the email address set in the customer’s account profile. The email address to receive the replies can be set in the Customer Portal / My Details.

Alternatively, the tag “<TwoWayReplyAddress>” can be put in the email message when the SMS is sent through EmailToVoice.Net to set a designated email address to receive the replies for this specific event. To use this function, ensure that the email address is contained within a closing tag, for example: <TwoWayReplyAddress>smtp@example.com</TwoWayReplyAddress>

Setup the Sender ID

For One-way SMS, you will see the predictable Sender IDs each time an SMS is received through EmailToVoice.Net. In the case of a Two-Way SMS, the Sender ID number will be chosen from a pool of long-code numbers so that we can track the replies. However, you have the option to purchase a LongCode for a nominal monthly fee that is added to your monthly charges. Then the Sender ID number will be unique to your organization.

Text or Rich Communications

EmailToVoice.Net can send either a simple SMS text message from any email interface or a Rich Communications SMS message as a link to a hosted web page automatically inserted into the SMS by EmailToVoice.Net.

Sending formatted text messages for industrial communications can be done easily with just a simple email interface using EmailToVoice.Net. SMS Messaging is a reliable means to get important information to employees or business partners immediately. However, the limitations of SMS text messaging often keep it from being used in mission-critical business processes. Text messaging is limited by the lack of formatting and low text character limit, which is necessary to convey detailed information. MMS and RCS attempt to address this issue. However, they too have limitations that cause barriers to wide adoption for mission-critical applications.

EmailToVoice.Net allows sending formatted data to a cell phone using SMS from monitoring software or business applications. Messages with the formatting requirements of an HTML Web Page can be automatically sent to just about any cell phone in the world as easily as sending an email. EmailToVoice.Net uses the LinkInSMS service to provide Enterprise SMS to its customers. Enterprise SMS is a feature of EmailToVoice.Net, which creates a custom HTML Web page from your business email alert and then delivers it as a simple SMS message. For each SMS recipient, a custom web page is created and inserted in their SMS text message, allowing viewing of the page of HTML with a simple tap. This allows a single text message to communicate large amounts of formatted data.

To send an Enterprise Text message,

  1. the TO field merely needs to have the recipient’s phone number and specific email domain provided by EmailToVoice.Net.
  2. Our cloud-based messaging service will convert the email content into a custom web page and insert the automatically created Web page link into the text message.
  3. The recipient can then tap the link in the text message and see the entire email content formatted as a Web Page on their smartphone.

The Email Fields would look like this:

TO: 5551231234@linkinsms.message-service.org       (The recipient’s cell phone – no preregistration required)
FROM: emailaddress@yourcompanydomain.com   

SUBJECT: Anything (Used as a job name for reporting purposes)

The content of the email is converted to an HTML Web page. The Web page of data is hosted by our service and a link to the Web page is substituted into the outgoing SMS text message so that the recipient can easily view the data with a tap.

Features of Enterprise SMS

Enterprise SMS provided by EmailToVoice.Net is rich in features to meet any business requirement. Below are some examples of these features that can be set up in the Customer Details in the Customer Portal.

  • You can add a Header and a Footer that will be used in all text messages from your account. For example, you can add a logo, an introductory message, disclaimers, and links using HTML
  • You can specify a specific SMS Sender ID so the recipient can recognize the sender of the text message.
  • You can enter a default email address for SMS replies. So, if the recipient replies to the text message, the reply will go to this email address. You can then alternatively use Microsoft Power Automate to continue a complex business workflow process without any coding. (Contact us for assistance in developing workflow processes)

The CTIA Principles and Best Practices can help entities operating in wireless messaging, as well as inform consumers about wireless messaging services.

There are many more features of the Enterprise SMS Messaging feature in EmailToVoice.Net. Let us know if you would like to learn more. Contact us. We love to share our experience in industrial communications, workflow, and alerts.