Troubleshooting Android Relay App Issues
Experiencing problems with your engagement campaign that is set up with the Android relay app? Use the below troubleshooting solutions to get the engageSPARK app working properly.
Quick refresh of the app
App requirements
Internet or WiFi connection
Airtime or network problems
Not enough engageSPARK funds
Able to send regular SMS but not via the relay app
SIM card issues
Phone signal problems
Sending high volume of SMS simultaneously
Pending messages
Using a dual SIM phone
Full reset of the app
Refresh the app
System upgrades are frequently done to improve our app’s performance and features, including fixes for reported bugs. If at some point you encounter bugs or the Android app runs into problems, chances are—the app has an outdated version or is simply disconnected.
Please start by giving the app a quick refresh: Tap the switch button to disconnect and turn red; tap again to reconnect and make sure it’s back to green status, which means the app is turned on.
After the quick refresh, go ahead and check if the app meets all the requirements to connect to our system. Next, follow the troubleshooting steps on how to diagnose and fix the problem. See if any of the following scenarios applies to you.
Android SMS relay app requirements
For troubleshooting engagements using the Android relay app, check following requirements to make sure it is up and running:
✓ Internet or mobile data connection is always available – not on flight or airplane mode
✓ SIM card network must have sufficient airtime credits
✓ You have enough funds in engageSPARK
✓ SIM card is active and inserted properly (use the primary SIM slot if using a dual SIM phone)
✓ Phone has good phone signal
✓ Android relay app is activated (green status)
Internet connection issues
To check if your Android phone has an Internet connection, open a browser and visit any website. If you are unable to load any pages, then troubleshoot your Internet or data connection, or check if the phone is on flight/airplane mode. If the Android phone is using mobile data, try connecting to a reliable WiFi network instead.
Airtime (phone credits) or network problems
When using the Android relay app for two-way SMS (Auto-Reply, Poll, and Webhook) and other SMS engagements using the Android relay as the ‘send’ network on Step 3, it is important that the primary SIM card’s network has enough airtime to send messages.
To verify whether your phone has airtime or phone credits to send out SMS, use the regular messaging app (not the engageSPARK relay app) and send an SMS to any other phone number.
If you are not able to send a regular message, then the problem could be the Android phone and not related to engageSPARK. You may check your balance or contact your service provider, or check the phone settings if it is in flight/airplane mode which disables the messaging and data network features. Often, you will receive a notification on your regular messaging app (e.g. message sending failed or network busy).
Not enough funds in engageSPARK to cover the cost of sending messages
To check if you have enough funds in engageSPARK, you can log into the platform and check the balance on the top right corner of the website. Add funds in the Billing section if you ran out of credits. Then check out the engagement reports for pending messages or failed messages. You can copy and re-launch the engagement if all messages failed. If there are only a couple of failed messages, you may contact support to get the list of contacts who didn’t receive the SMS engagement. See below troubleshooting details on pending messages ↓
Able to send regular SMS but not via the relay app
If you are able to successfully send a regular SMS, but not when using our Android relay app, please check your messaging application settings.
Changing the settings depends on the Android version and/or handset, so please explore your Settings menu to figure out how to allow the phone to send premium SMS using the installed Android app.
Here are the steps for Android V.6 (Marshmallow): Go to Settings > Applications > Applications Manager > More (top right) > Show System Apps > Message Service (rather than Messages) > Tap ‘Send Premium SMS’ > Select Ask, Never Allow or Always Allow.
SIM card issues
To confirm if the SIM card is properly set up, go to your Android phones’ SIM card manager on Settings and see if the SIM card networks are active. You can test by (1) sending a regular SMS to another phone and (2) see if you can receive an SMS sent from another phone. Note: You may also physically check if primary SIM card is properly inserted.
If the handset is a dual SIM phone: 1) Check whether the primary SIM is out of credits or airtime and 2) Check if the primary slot is empty, although the secondary SIM card has credits and is working fine—please try to transfer the SIM to the primary slot. See below troubleshooting details on using a dual SIM phone ↓
Signal is weak or not available
When maintaining an Android SMS relay app, it is important to make sure that the phone is placed in a location with good phone signal. Check the signal bars and if you notice the signal is weak or not available, try to restart the phone or transfer the phone to another location where you can get a strong signal.
Issues with sending high volume of SMS
Installing expansion apps will increase the sending capacity of an Android phone which has hard limits on how many SMS’ can be sent per hour by an app. Depending on your campaign’s contact size, there are up to 35 expansion packs you can install.
An Android phone can send out 1000+ SMS per hour depending on the signal and telco infrastructure on your location. If you have a higher volume, link multiple Android phones so that each one sends out 1000+ SMS per hour.
For SMS engagements that use the Android relay app as the “send route” with a contact size of more than 30 phone numbers, install expansion apps to increase the Android’s sending capacity. Here’s how:
1. On the Android app, either click on the SMS Rate Limit on the main screen, or go to the more section (⋮) at the top right, or access the menu by pressing the menu button of the phone.
2. Select Settings
3. Scroll down and click SMS rate limit
4. Install SMS Capacity Pack 1 or so on (you can install up to 35 packs).
Pending messages
In case you have more than 30 contacts and you haven’t installed any expansion apps yet when you launched SMS engagements that used the Android relay, you might notice on the engagement reports that there are pending messages. This means these contacts have not received the message(s) yet or they are stuck on the SMS queue. After installing expansion apps to the Android relay (so it can send 60+ contacts within an hour), view the pending messages to retry sending the SMS:
1. Open the Android relay app.
2. Go to the More section (⋮) at the top right corner or go to the Menu by pressing the menu button of the phone.
3. Click Help
4. Select View Pending Messages
5. Press Retry All or click on individual pending messages to retry sending the SMS immediately
When using a dual SIM phone
The Android relay app can be installed in a dual SIM mobile phone which can hold two SIM cards at the same time. It can send and receive SMS and missed calls from both lines. It is recommended that the SIM you’d like to use for the Android relay app is placed in the primary SIM slot.
Take note of the following when using a Dual SIM phone:
• If both SIM slots are occupied, SMS will only be sent from the SIM 1. Make sure SIM 1 has airtime to send SMS text messages.
• SMS received on either SIM will arrive in our system, so the SMSs sent to SIM 2 should be on the reports page of the engagement.
• If only one slot is occupied, then SMS will be sent from that SIM. For example, SIM 2 slot is the only one occupied (SIM card is removed from SIM 1 slot) – then SIM 2 will be used to send SMS.
Full reset and steps to further troubleshoot your Android relay app
On your engageSPARK account:
• Access the Phone Numbers page: Phone numbers
• Then click Re-link on the Android relay app that you are using.
On your Android relay app:
1. Go to Menu section (⋮) on the top right corner of the screen or press the menu button of your phone.
2. Click Reset Settings > Reset All Settings
3. Then tap the circle button to disconnect (red status) and tap again to re-connect (green status). This refreshes your relay app.
Back to your engageSPARK account:
• Make sure the status of the engagement is “RUNNING”. You can check the status on your dashboard or engagement list.
• If the engagement status is “STOPPED”, you can copy it by clicking on the paper icon on the dashboard. And make sure to select the correct relay on step 3 then launch it—the status should be “RUNNING” once directed back to the dashboard. Note: You cannot top edit a running engagement.
After all above troubleshooting steps are exhausted and the issue is not fixed yet, please contact support and provide as many details as you can e.g. report link of the affected engagement and the phone number of the Android’s SIM.
Related articles:
What causes failed delivery of SMS or IVR calls and how to fix it?