When your account sends a message, it notifies your Android phone. The phone will send the message out from your local number on your behalf. If somebody responds to that message, the phone will then relay that message to your account.

1. Buy an Android phone

We recommend purchasing a single-SIM Android phone, and dedicating it to processing your messages. Android phones are both capable and inexpensive, and becoming more accessible every month.

2. Acquire a local SIM card

If you don’t already have one, you’ll want to acquire a SIM card from your local carrier of choice. We recommend setting the account up to be data enabled. However, if you feel comfortable relying on your Wi-Fi connection, that’s okay too. We also encourage that the account be on a post-paid plan so you don’t have to worry about the phone running out of credit.

3. Install the mobile application

You can download the free Android app here. Once the app is installed, it will give you a 9-digit claim code that you then enter on the website. That’s all there is to it. From then on, that phone will handle sending and receiving messages for your account.

4. Give the phone a good home

Android phones are great because they can be used in even the most challenging environments. You only need to locate one place in the country where you will have the most reliable power and good phone signal. You will need either a Wi-Fi or GSM data connection, but if you can get both, even better. The phone will be smart about which network to use if one connection isn’t working well. Note that you can use the Alarm Events webhook to keep track of the status of your phone and make sure it’s connected to the network, charged and able to send text messages. In order to help you manage it’s state, the platform will send you events when an alarm condition occurs with your phone.

Installing the Android Application, to review, you’ll need:

● An Android phone

● An activated SIM card

● A computer

● An Internet connection

1. Open the .apk file you received (Android Channel – Ilhasoft.apk) and tap the “Install” button to begin the install process.

2. If prompted to install unknown sources, tap Settings:

3. Tap Unknown sources:

4. Tap OK:

5. Once the install process is complete, tap the “open” button to open the application.

6. Take note of your claim code; it will link your Android phone to your account.

7. Now on your computer, sign-in to the platform website to add the phone to your account.

8. Either click the “channels” tab or navigate to your account page, click the “gear” icon, then select the “Add Channel” option.

9. Click the “Android Phone” option.

10. Enter the claim code found in your Android application, then enter the phone number attached to the SIM card present in your Android phone.

And it’s done! You just got an SMS channel connected using your android phone.