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SMS Notifications

Get SMS notifications for critical incidents and alerts directly to your phone.

Setup

  1. Go to Profile → Contact Information
  2. Add your mobile number with country code (e.g., +1-555-123-4567)
  3. Verify with the code sent to your phone
  4. Configure which alerts you want via SMS in Notification Preferences

Notification Types

Critical Incidents (SEV-1)

Always sent immediately via SMS:

  • New critical incidents
  • Status changes on critical incidents
  • When you’re assigned as incident lead

Example message:

[CRITICAL] Payment API Down
SEV-1 incident #1234
Duration: 5 min
Assigned to you
Reply STOP to unsubscribe

High Priority Alerts

Sent based on your preferences:

  • Monitor failures after threshold
  • SSL certificate expiration warnings
  • On-call shift reminders

On-Call Notifications

When you’re on-call:

  • Shift starting reminders (30 min before)
  • Any incidents during your shift
  • Handoff reminders

Configuring SMS Preferences

Severity Thresholds

  1. Go to Profile → Notification Preferences
  2. Select SMS Notifications
  3. Configure which severities trigger SMS:
    • Critical (SEV-1): Always enabled
    • High (SEV-2): Recommended
    • Medium (SEV-3): Optional
    • Low (SEV-4): Not recommended

Time-Based Rules

Set quiet hours for non-critical SMS:

  1. In Notification Preferences, click Quiet Hours
  2. Set your timezone
  3. Define quiet period (e.g., 10 PM - 7 AM)
  4. Critical alerts always break through

Rate Limiting

Upstat automatically prevents SMS spam:

  • Maximum 10 SMS per hour per user
  • Duplicate alerts suppressed for 15 minutes
  • Similar incidents grouped

SMS Message Formats

Incident Notifications

[SEV-1] Database Connection Failed
Inc #1234 | 10 min ago
Affects: User Service, Order Processing
View: upstat.io/inc/1234

Monitor Alerts

ALERT: Production API Down
Region: US-East
Duration: 5 minutes
3 failed checks
Create incident: upstat.io/m/789

On-Call Reminders

ON-CALL: Your shift starts in 30 min
Team: Backend
Duration: 7 days
Current incidents: 2 active

Best Practices

  • Reserve SMS for critical alerts only (SEV-1)
  • Set quiet hours to avoid overnight messages
  • Keep messages concise due to SMS length limits

Troubleshooting

Not receiving SMS?

  • Verify phone number includes country code
  • Check notification preferences are set correctly
  • Ensure your phone can receive SMS from automated services

Troubleshooting

Invalid phone number error?

  • Include country code with + prefix
  • Remove spaces and special characters
  • Verify number is mobile (not landline)

Too many SMS messages?

  • Review notification preferences
  • Check for alert storms
  • Adjust severity thresholds
  • Consider Slack for non-critical

Not receiving any SMS?

  • Check integration status in Settings
  • Verify phone number format
  • Test with different phone number
  • Review notification preferences