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Frequently
Asked Questions
If you have any If you have any questions regarding
Now SMS/MMS that are not answered on this page,
you may also want to visit the following links:
What is NowSMS?,
Are you confused about what exactly NowSMS is? Our web site contains a lot of technical information about features and functionality of the NowSMS product, but we'll be the first to admit, it's all a bit overwhelming to the
first time visitor.
Now
SMS/MMS Discussion Board,
Interact with other users of the Now SMS/MMS Gateway
and our tech support staff. Also view past discussions.
Technical
Bulletins,
This page contains links that describe advanced
technical features of the Now SMS/MMS Gateway,
or that clarify configuration options.
Technical
Support Blog
More informal than the Technical Bulletins,
this page contains information about advanced features of the Now SMS/MMS Gateway,
and provides insight into frequently asked questions.
Contact
Us,
This page contains contact information, so that
you may contact us directly
| Answers and
Solutions |
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| Problem : Downloaded
software reports “Corrupt Install
Detected”. |
|
Solution
: Try downloading the file again.
This error is most frequently received
when there is an incomplete file download.
The correct size of the current available
download from this web site is 5,505,653
bytes. |
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| Problem : The
gateway will not initialise my modem. |
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Solution
: The
best way to solve modem initialisation
errors is to ensure that you are connecting
to the phone or modem using a Windows
modem driver supplied by the phone or
modem manufacturer, instead of going directly
to a COM port. When you configure a GSM
modem connection for the gateway, you
are presented with a list of modem drivers
installed on your system, as well as a
list of COM ports. You will achieve better
results going through the modem driver.
If you have not installed a Windows modem
driver for your device, visit the manufacturer
web site, or use the CD supplied by the
manufacturer, and install the appropriate
modem driver.
Assuming an appropriate
modem driver is installed, go into the
Windows Control Panel, and select the
“Modems” or “Phone and
Modem Options” applet. In the diagnostics
section, ensure that you are able to use
“Query Modem” to interface
with your modem, which will ensure that
Windows is able to properly communicate
with the modem. The Now SMS/MMS gateway
will not be able to access the modem if
it is not accessible to Windows. Follow
the instructions from the device manufacturer
if you encounter problems accessing the
modem in the Windows Control Panel.
If a modem driver
is not available for your device, go into
the Windows Control Panel, and select
the “Modems” or “Phone
and Modem Options” applet. Select
the option to “Add” a modem.
Rather than allowing Windows to automatically
detect a modem, tell Windows to allow
you to pick your modem from a list. Then
pick either the “Standard 9600 bps
Modem” or “Generic 9600 bps
Modem” entry to use with your device.
After adding the modem, use the modem
diagnostics in the Control Panel to “Query
Modem”, to ensure that the device
is configured correctly. You should then
configure the Now SMS/MMS Gateway to use
the modem associated with this driver.
One common
problem is an incorrect cable. Some phone
manufacturers have different cables for
different purposes. You want to the type
of cable that allows your PC to use the
phone as a modem (sometimes referred to
as a “data/fax cable”). For
example, most Nokia phones have DLR-3
and DAU-9 types of cables. The DLR-3 type
is for data/fax applications, and the
DAU-9 is for use with Logo Manager. The
Now SMS/MMS gateway requires the DLR-3
type (data/fax). |
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| Problem : The
gateway says my modem does not support SMS. |
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Solution
: Use a different modem or phone.
This is a strong indication that the device
that you are attempting to use does not
support the extended AT command set for
SMS. (The AT+CSMS=0 command failed.) |
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| Problem : The
gateway reports an error connecting to my
SMSC via SMPP. |
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Solution
: Below
are listed common error messages that
can occur when attempting to connect to
an SMSC via the SMPP protocol:
Unable to connect
to SMPP server at x.x.x.x:yy: The gateway
cannot make a TCP/IP connection to the
host specified. Verify that the name or
IP address that you have entered is correct,
and that the port number is correct for
the SMPP service. Try manually connecting
to that host using a utility such as TELNET.
It is likely that the name, IP address
and/or port are incorrect, or that there
is a firewall or configuration issue on
your network that is preventing access.
Unable to login to
SMPP server with specified parameters:
Invalid Password: The SMPP server is reporting
that your username or password is not
correct.
Unable to login to
SMPP server with specified parameters:
Timeout waiting for response from server
or lost connection: If this error is returned
quickly, it means that the SMPP server
dropped your connection immediately. You
may want to try changing the SMPP version
number parameter. If this does not help,
try contacting the SMPP server administrator
to see if they can determine why their
server is rejecting your connection. Some
SMPP servers restrict access based on
the IP address of your gateway, and this
problem could occur if you are connecting
from an address other than the one that
is authorized. If this error is returned
after some time, it means that the SMPP
server is not acknowledging the login
attempt. This can often occur if you are
connecting to the wrong port on the SMPP
server and are connecting to a service
that is using a protocol other than SMPP.
If you are experiencing
a problem that is not on this list, then
you will need to contact technical support.
For quickest turn-around when contacting
technical support, it is recommended that
you create a debug log that helps us better
understand your problem.
If your problem is
occurring when you are attempting to first
define an SMPP connection to the gateway,
after you attempt the SMPP connection,
a file named SMPPDEBUG.LOG will exist
in the gateway directory. E-mail this
file, and a description of your problem
to nowsms@nowsms.com.
If your problem is
occurring during operation of the gateway,
you will need to enable debug mode in
the gateway. Manually edit the SMSGW.INI
file in the gateway directory, and add
“Debug=Yes” under the [SMSGW]
section header. Restart the gateway, and
repeat the action that is failing. In
the gateway directory, you will find files
named SMSDEBUG.LOG and SMPPDEBUG.LOG.
E-mail those files, and a description
of your problem to nowsms@nowsms.com. |
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| Problem : The
gateway reports an error connecting to my
SMSC via UCP. |
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Solution
: Below
are listed common error messages that
can occur when attempting to connect to
an SMSC via the UCP protocol:
Unable to connect
to UCP server at x.x.x.x:yy: The gateway
cannot make a TCP/IP connection to the
host specified. Verify that the name or
IP address that you have entered is correct,
and that the port number is correct for
the UCP service. Try manually connecting
to that host using a utility such as TELNET.
It is likely that the name, IP address
and/or port are incorrect, or that there
is a firewall or configuration issue on
your network that is preventing access.
Unable to login to
UCP server with specified parameters:
Authentication Failure: The UCP server
is reporting that your username or password
is not correct.
Unable to login to
UCP server with specified parameters:
Timeout waiting for response from server
or lost connection: If this error is returned
quickly, it means that the UCP server
dropped your connection immediately. Try
contacting the UCP server administrator
to see if they can determine why their
server is rejecting your connection. Some
UCP servers restrict access based on the
IP address of your gateway, and this problem
could occur if you are connecting from
an address other than the one that is
authorized. If this error is returned
after some time, it means that the UCP
server is not acknowledging the login
attempt. This can often occur if you are
connecting to the wrong port on the UCP
server and are connecting to a service
that is using a protocol other than UCP.
If you are experiencing
a problem that is not on this list, then
you will need to contact technical support.
For quickest turn-around when contacting
technical support, it is recommended that
you create a debug log that helps us better
understand your problem.
If your problem is
occurring when you are attempting to first
define an UCP connection to the gateway,
after you attempt the UCP connection,
a file named UCPDEBUG.LOG will exist in
the gateway directory. E-mail this file,
and a description of your problem to nowsms@nowsms.com.
If your problem
is occurring during operation of the gateway,
you will need to enable debug mode in
the gateway. Manually edit the SMSGW.INI
file in the gateway directory, and add
“Debug=Yes” under the [SMSGW]
section header. Restart the gateway, and
repeat the action that is failing. In
the gateway directory, you will find files
named SMSDEBUG.LOG and UCPDEBUG.LOG. E-mail
those files, and a description of your
problem to nowsms@nowsms.com.
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| Problem : I
am unable to access an MMS notification
message. |
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Solution
: Follow
these steps to attempt to resolve your
problem:
1.) Re-configure
your MMSC to use HTTP port 80. Some operator
WAP gateways have firewalls that prevent
access to any content that is on a port
other than port 80. If you are sending
an MMS notification message where the
content server resides on a port other
than 80, change the content server to
use HTTP port 80. Repeat your attempt
to send an MMS message. Note that changing
these settings will only affect messages
that are sent after the change is made,
they will not change attributes of messages
that were already sent.
2.) Check the WAP
profile that is associated with the MMS
setup in your phone, and verify that this
is the same WAP profile that you use for
regular WAP browsing activities. It has
been noticed that some operators are setting
up restrictive MMS profiles, where the
MMS profile connects to a separate GPRS
APN, and a separate WAP gateway, which
only allow access to the operator MMSC.
After changing the MMS setup to use the
WAP profile that you use for regular WAP
browsing activities, repeat your test.
You should not need to resend any messages,
but can retry accessing messages for which
notification was already received.
3.) It is possible
that your operator has constructed a “walled
garden” in attempts to lock users
to their content services. To leave the
walled garden, check with your operator
to determine what GPRS APN (access point
name) should be used for PDA/PC type connections,
and if a username or password is required,
what those values should be. Create a
WAP profile on your phone that connects
to that GPRS APN. Specify an IP address
for the WAP gateway of 213.48.20.10 (this
is a gateway at the Now Wireless offices,
if you have your own WAP gateway, substitute
that gateway IP address). Try using that
WAP profile to browse to a site, such
as http://mms.now.co.uk/index.wml.
Switch back to your normal WAP settings
for browsing, but configure the MMS services
on your phone to use the WAP profile that
you just created.
4.) Are you using
your own WAP gateway instead of the operator
WAP gateway, or does your operator not
yet support MMS? MMS requires that WAP
gateways support “SAR” (segmentation
and re-assembly). Some early WAP gateways
did not provide this support. If you are
unsure about your WAP gateway, you may
want to try using the public WAP gateway
referenced in the previous item.
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| Question :
What
do I need to install your software?. |
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Answer
: A PC running
Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 or Windows
XP. Workstation, server and home editions
are supported.
The Now SMS/MMS Gateway
requires a connection to an SMSC (Short
Messaging Service Centre) to interface
with SMS and MMS networks. An SMSC connection
can consist of one or more of the following:
- GSM
Modem
A GSM modem
or phone connected to a PC serial port
(or to a USB port with an appropriate
modem driver).
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| Question :
How
do I send a Nokia logo or ring tone? |
|
Answer
: You need to create a ring tone or logo
file using the format details provided
by the Nokia Smart Messaging Specification.
Once you have created such a file, you
need to convert the contents of the file
so that they are expressed in a hexadecimal
string format. For example, a ring tone
might look like this (an example from
the Nokia Smart Messaging Specification):
024A3A51D195CDD004001B20550590610560558550548540820849900000
Follow the gateway
directions for sending a binary message,
and include the hexadecimal string as
the data of the message. For the User
Data Header to send a Nokia ring tone,
use 06050415811581. To send an operator
logo, change the UDH to 06050415821582.
To send a CLI logo, change the UDH to
06050415831583. Set the UDH (User Data
Header) to F5. |
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| Question :
Where
can I find your price list? |
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Answer
: You need to send an email to nowsms@nowsms.com
, requesting the latest pricing information. |
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