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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.

Setting the message centre number on iPhone

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. 

 

Standard text message charges

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.

Standard and special characters text message limits

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.

Countries you can send international text messages
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:

  1. Enter exit code ‘+’.
  2. Enter the country code. Check the text message connectivity list above for the list of country codes.
  3. 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’:
  4. Enter the exit code ‘+’.
  5. Enter the UK country code ‘44’.
  6. 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:

  1. Enter exit code ‘+’.
  2. Enter Australian country code ‘61’.
  3. 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

How is text messaging charged on international roaming?

If you’re sending a standard SMS while international roaming, visit our plan roaming rates or prepaid roaming rates.

Do text messages expire?

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.

What happens if I accidentally change or delete the message centre number?

If you accidentally change or delete the message centre number, you'll no longer be able to send text messages.

How do I switch off SMS delivery notifications?

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.

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