What happens with long messages
SaRA doesn't limit how long your message can be. But text messaging itself works in segments: when a message runs long, the carrier network splits it into multiple SMS segments and reassembles them on the patient's phone. Emoji and unusual symbols make this worse — they switch the message to an encoding that fits far fewer characters per segment. The more segments a message needs, the more chances there are for part of it to be delayed, arrive out of order, or be filtered by the carrier — which can surface as "could not be delivered."
How to get your message through
Keep custom messages short and concise — a sentence or two works best over text.
Avoid emoji and special characters in longer messages; they multiply the segment count.
Re-send the shortened message.
If a short message still won't deliver
Double-check the patient's phone number and confirm it's a mobile number.
Ask the patient to check their SMS spam/junk folder — Android phones in particular can filter unfamiliar senders.
Ask the patient to text START to the number that messaged them, in case they previously opted out.
When to contact us
If delivery keeps failing, message support with the patient and the approximate send time — we can check the delivery logs for the exact message.