Text messages on your phone
If you purchased your phone from Vodafone, it should be set up for SMS automatically when you insert your Vodafone SIM. If you’re using a phone you purchased elsewhere, the message centre number will need to be set correctly in your phone to use SMS.
How to set up SMS on your phone.
To set up your phone to use SMS the message centre number needs to be set to:
+61415011501
To find out how to set the message centre number in your phone check out our device guides.
If you’re using an iPhone, you can check your message centre number by dialling:
*#5005*7672#
If the ‘Service Centre Address’ isn't +61415011501, then dial:
**5005*7672*+61415011501#
Text message charges.
Your phone plan or prepaid recharge will have an allowance of included text messages.
You can find the costs for sending standard national and international text messages in your plan or prepaid recharge's Critical Information Summary. Standard text messages are free to receive.
A single text message has a limit of 160 standard characters.
If you go over this, most devices will break the message into segments with a maximum length of 153 standard characters. You’re then charged your text message rate for each segment sent.
Some character sets, such as non-English language keyboards as well as emojis and emoticons, don’t have a 70 character limit per text message and 67 characters per segment.
If your message contains special characters, such as emojis, your device may send it as a picture message rather than a text message. If this happens, you’ll be charged for sending an MMS.
Sending international text messages.
We have text messaging connectivity with over 1050 networks in the following countries.
| Country Name | Country Code |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | + 93 |
| Albania | + 355 |
| Algeria | + 213 |
| American Samoa | + 1684 |
| Andorra | + 376 |
| Angola | + 244 |
| Anguilla | + 1264 |
| Antigua | + 1268 |
| Argentina | + 54 |
| Armenia | + 374 |
| Aruba | + 297 |
| Ascension Island | + 247 |
| Austria | + 43 |
| Azerbaijan | + 994 |
| Bahamas | + 1242 |
| Bahrain | + 973 |
| Bangladesh | + 880 |
| Barbados | + 1246 |
| Belarus | + 375 |
| Belgium | + 32 |
| Belize | + 501 |
| Benin | + 229 |
| Bermuda | + 1441 |
| Bhutan | + 975 |
| Bolivia | + 591 |
| Bosnia Herzegovina | + 387 |
| Botswana | + 267 |
| Brazil | + 55 |
| British Virgin Islands | + 1284 |
| Brunei | + 673 |
| Bulgaria | + 359 |
| Burkina Faso | + 226 |
| Burundi | + 257 |
| Cambodia | + 855 |
| Cameroon | + 237 |
| Canada | + 1 |
| Cape Verde | + 238 |
| Cayman Islands | + 1345 |
| Central African Republic | + 236 |
| Chad | + 235 |
| Chile | + 56 |
| China | + 86 |
| Colombia | + 57 |
| Comoros | + 269 |
| Congo | + 242 |
| Costa Rica | + 506 |
| Croatia | + 385 |
| Cuba | + 53 |
| Cyprus | + 357 |
| Czechia | + 420 |
| Democratic Rep. Of Congo | + 243 |
| Denmark | + 45 |
| Diego Garcia (BIOT) | + 246 |
| Djibouti | + 253 |
| Dominica | + 1767 |
| Dominican Republic | + 1 |
| Ecuador | + 593 |
| Egypt | + 20 |
| El Salvador | + 503 |
| Equatorial Guinea | + 240 |
| Estonia | + 372 |
| Ethiopia | + 251 |
| Falkland Islands | + 500 |
| Faroe Islands | + 298 |
| Federated States of Micronesia | + 691 |
| Fiji | + 679 |
| Finland | + 358 |
| France | + 33 |
| French Guiana | + 594 |
| French Polynesia | + 689 |
| French West Indies | + 590 / 596 |
| Gabon | + 241 |
| Gambia | + 220 |
| Georgia | + 995 |
| Germany | + 49 |
| Ghana | + 233 |
| Gibraltar | + 350 |
| Greece | + 30 |
| Georgia | + 995 |
| Greenland | + 299 |
| Grenada | + 1473 |
| Guam | + 1 |
| Guatemala | + 502 |
| Guinea | + 224 |
| Guinea Bissau | + 245 |
| Guyana | + 592 |
| Haiti | + 509 |
| Honduras | + 504 |
| Hong Kong | + 852 |
| Hungary | + 36 |
| Iceland | + 354 |
| India | + 91 |
| Indonesia | + 62 |
| Iraq | + 964 |
| Ireland | + 353 |
| Israel | + 972 |
| Italy | + 39 |
| Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) | + 225 |
| Jamaica | + 1876 |
| Japan | + 81 |
| Jordan | + 962 |
| Kazakhstan | + 7 |
| Kenya | + 254 |
| Kiribati | + 686 |
| Korea, South | + 82 |
| Kosovo | + 381 |
| Kuwait | + 965 |
| Kyrgyzstan | + 996 |
| Laos | + 856 |
| Latvia | + 371 |
| Lebanon | + 961 |
| Lesotho | + 266 |
| Liechtenstein | + 423 |
| Liberia | + 231 |
| Libya | + 218 |
| Lithuania | + 370 |
| Luxemburg | + 352 |
| Macau | + 853 |
| Macedonia | + 389 |
| Madagascar | + 261 |
| Malawi | + 265 |
| Malaysia | + 60 |
| Maldives | + 960 |
| Mali | + 223 |
| Malta | + 356 |
| Marshall Islands | + 692 |
| Mauritania | + 222 |
| Mauritius | + 230 |
| Mayotte | + 262 |
| Mexico | + 52 |
| Moldova | + 373 |
| Monaco | + 377 |
| Mongolia | + 976 |
| Montenegro | + 382 |
| Montserrat | + 1664 |
| Morocco | + 212 |
| Mozambique | + 258 |
| Myanmar | + 95 |
| Namibia | + 264 |
| Nauru | + 67 |
| Nepal | + 977 |
| Netherlands | + 31 |
| Netherlands Antilles | + 599 |
| New Zealand | + 64 |
| Nicaragua | + 505 |
| Niger | + 227 |
| Nigeria | + 234 |
| Niue | + 683 |
| Norfolk Island | + 672 |
| Norway | + 47 |
| Oman | + 968 |
| Pakistan | + 92 |
| Palau | + 680 |
| Palestinian authority | + 970 |
| Panama | + 507 |
| Papua New Guinea | + 675 |
| Paraguay | + 595 |
| Peru | + 51 |
| Philippines | + 63 |
| Poland | + 48 |
| Portugal | + 351 |
| Puerto Rico | + 1 |
| Qatar | + 974 |
| Reunion | + 262 |
| Romania | + 40 |
| Russia | + 7 |
| Rwanda | + 250 |
| Samoa | + 685 |
| San Marino | + 378 |
| Satellite | + 870, 881, 882, 888 |
| Saudi Arabia | + 966 |
| Sao Tome & Principe | + 239 |
| Senegal | + 221 |
| Serbia | + 381 |
| Seychelles | + 248 |
| Sierra Leone | + 232 |
| Singapore | + 65 |
| Slovak Republic | + 421 |
| Slovenia | + 386 |
| Solomon Islands | + 677 |
| Somalia | + 252 |
| South Africa | + 27 |
| South Sudan | + 211 |
| Spain | + 34 |
| Sri Lanka | + 94 |
| St Kitts & Nevis | + 1869 |
| St Lucia | + 1758 |
| St Vincent | + 1784 |
| Sudan | + 249 |
| Surinam | + 597 |
| Swaziland | + 268 |
| Sweden | + 46 |
| Switzerland | + 41 |
| Taiwan | + 886 |
| Tajikistan | + 992 |
| Tanzania | + 255 |
| Thailand | + 66 |
| Timor | + 670 |
| Togo | + 228 |
| Tonga | + 676 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | + 1868 |
| Tunisia | + 216 |
| Türkiye | + 90 |
| Turks & Caicos Islands | + 1649 |
| Tuvalu | + 688 |
| U.A.E. | + 971 |
| Uganda | + 256 |
| Ukraine | + 380 |
| United Kingdom | + 44 |
| United States | + 1 |
| Uruguay | + 598 |
| Uzbekistan | + 998 |
| Vanuatu | + 678 |
| Venezuela | + 58 |
| Vietnam | + 84 |
| Yemen | + 967 |
| Zambia | + 260 |
| Zimbabwe | + 263 |
Our text message connectivity agreements with overseas carriers enables you to send text messages from Australia, however, this does not guarantee successful delivery.
International number format.
When sending an international text message, you’ll need to enter the number in the correct international format.
To enter a mobile number in international format, you’ll need to:
- Enter exit code ‘+’.
- Enter the country code. Check the text message connectivity list above for the list of country codes.
- Enter the mobile number without the ‘0’ at the start. For example, if you’re sending a text to the UK mobile number ‘07836 191 191’:
- Enter the exit code ‘+’.
- Enter the UK country code ‘44’.
- Enter the mobile number ‘7836 191 191’, dropping the ‘0’ at the start.
Therefore, to send the text message, you’ll dial the number as ‘+44 7836 191 191’..
For someone to send you a text message from overseas, they’ll need to enter your number in international format:
- Enter exit code ‘+’.
- Enter Australian country code ‘61’.
- Enter your mobile number without the ‘0’ at the start.
For example, if your number was ‘0426 320 000’, someone sending you an international text message would need to enter your number as ‘+61 426 320 000’.
Additional information
If you’re sending a standard SMS while international roaming, visit our plan roaming rates or prepaid roaming rates.
Yes. Text messages that aren’t retrieved by the recipient will eventually expire and won't be delivered. This usually occurs when the recipient’s device is switched off or out of coverage for an extended period of time.
Text messages sent from your Vodafone phone will expire after 3 days.
Text messages sent to you from other Vodafone phones will expire after 3 days.
Text messages sent to you from other networks will generally expire after 7 days. This may vary between providers.
If you accidentally change or delete the message centre number, you'll no longer be able to send text messages.
If your device supports SMS delivery notifications and they’re switched on, a report request is automatically sent at the same time you send an SMS. When the recipient’s phone gets your SMS, a report is sent back to your phone to confirm delivery.
iPhones don’t support SMS delivery notifications.
If you have SMS delivery notifications switched on, it may incur additional charges. You can find the cost of SMS delivery notifications in your Critical Information Summary.