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Tips: Texting Limitations

When sending text messages through EnrollNow, it’s important to understand that SMS messages are subject to segment limitations. Messages that exceed these limits may be split into multiple segments or, in some cases, fail to deliver depending on configuration and carrier restrictions.

What Is a Message Segment?

SMS messages are divided into segments based on character count and encoding.

  • Standard SMS (GSM encoding): up to 160 characters per segment
  • Unicode SMS (special characters/emojis): up to 70 characters per segment

If your message exceeds a single segment:

  • It will be split into multiple segments
  • Each segment is sent and billed separately
  • EnrollNow supports messages up to 10 segments total or 1600 characters

NOTE: When sending text messages through EnrollNow, it’s important to understand that messages are subject to a 10-segment limit. If a message exceeds this limit, it may not be delivered successfully.

Factors That Affect Message Length

Here are some common factors that can reduce the number of characters per segment and lead to increased segment usage:

  • Emojis: Emojis consume more data than standard characters and can significantly reduce the character allowance per segment.

    • Emojis require Unicode encoding
    • This reduces segment size from 160 → 70 characters
    • Even a single emoji can increase total segments significantly

  • Special Characters & Formatting: 

    • Smart quotes (“ ”), long dashes (—), bullet points (•), etc.
    • These may trigger Unicode encoding
    • Result: fewer characters per segment and more segments used

  • Copy/Paste from External Sources: 

    • Copying from tools like Microsoft Word, Chatgpt, websites, or AI tools
    • Can introduce hidden formatting or special characters
    • This may unintentionally increase segment count

Test Your Text Limits

Before sending SMS messages, it’s recommended to verify the character length of your message—especially if your text includes special characters or accented letters.

Helpful Tool

You can preview how your message will be segmented using this free tool:
👉 https://www.smszap.com/sms-length-calculator

Best Practices

To ensure successful message delivery:

  • Keep messages concise and aim to stay within a few segments.

  • Avoid emojis unless necessary.

  • Manually type your message directly in EnrollNow or paste it into a plain text editor (like Notepad) first to strip hidden formatting before copying it into EnrollNow.

  • Use standard punctuation and avoid special formatting where possible.

NOTE:  

Text message content can be added by copying and pasting text directly into EnrollNow. However, it’s important to be aware that special characters and non-English characters (such as accented letters used in Spanish) can significantly impact the total character count.

Characters like tildes and accents are interpreted differently by mobile carriers and may count as multiple characters rather than a single letter. 

This can reduce the total number of characters available in a text message and may cause messages to exceed standard length limits or be split into multiple messages.

Best practice:
When sending SMS messages, especially in languages that use accented characters, review character counts carefully and test messages when possible to ensure they stay within the intended length limits.