Give a User Permission to Send Text Messages from a Phone Number
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Whether a user can send outbound text messages from a phone number — in the Pulse app or the Switchboard web portal — is controlled by per-number access grants. A user with no number grants sees an empty Messages tab in Pulse and cannot pick a From number when composing.
You can grant access from either direction; both edit the same permission:
Option A — from the user
Section titled “Option A — from the user”- Go to Account → Users and open the user.
- Open the Phone access tab. You’ll see one row per phone number in the account.
- Toggle on the number they should text from. The capability chips on the row (Voice, SMS, Fax) show what the toggle grants — SMS requires the number to be SMS-enabled.
Option B — from the phone number
Section titled “Option B — from the phone number”- Go to Account → Phone Numbers and open the number.
- Open the Access tab. You’ll see one row per user with grant chips for outbound voice, SMS, fax send, and fax view.
- Enable the SMS grant for the user.
The change applies immediately — the user’s Pulse Messages tab picks up the number on next refresh.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”- The user’s Messages tab is empty in Pulse — they have no number grants at all. Grant at least one SMS-enabled number using either option above.
- The number doesn’t offer an SMS chip — the number isn’t SMS-enabled; check Managing Phone Numbers or its Messaging tab for 10DLC/campaign status.
- They can send but don’t see inbound replies — inbound routing is separate: on the number’s Messaging tab, confirm Team inbox membership or Direct to a user.