Configure Portal SMS Plug-In

Applies To: Wi-Fi Cloud-managed Access Points (AP120, AP125, AP225W, AP320, AP322, AP325, AP327X, AP420)

The SMS plug-in enables a guest user to get a Wi-Fi access code through SMS on a mobile device number. If the SMS plug-in is configured on the portal, guests can enter the mobile number they want to use to receive an Internet access code through SMS. The SMS is sent through an account created on Twilio (http://www.twilio.com/), MSG91 (https://msg91.com/), or a custom service provider and configured in the plug-in.

You must select the SMS plug-in when you create the portal or edit the portal later to add it. You must also create an account in MSG91 and buy SMS or create an account in Twilio and buy numbers or short codes. If you use any other service provider, make sure that you meet the basic requirements to use the service, for example obtain an account subscription, purchase SMS packs, or procure numbers or short codes.

You can also define a third-party endpoint for additional pre-validation for guest users that log in to a Wi-Fi network. For example, in the configuration, you can configure an external HTTPS endpoint for use with the SMS plug-in and define any number of custom fields to validate during guest login.

To configure the SMS plug-in on the portal:

Select Portals.
Click the portal name for which you want to configure the SMS plug-in.
Select the Settings tab.
Click the SMS icon to enable the SMS plug-in for the portal.
Click the Plug-in Configuration tab.
Click the SMS icon.
If the SMS icon is not displayed, you must first edit the portal to include the SMS plug-in.
Click SMS/MMS Settings to define and select a service provider.
From the Validation Endpoint drop-down list, select an endpoint (defined in Admin > Third Party Integration) to pre-validate a user guest login based on the parameters you define.
Based on the service provider selected, provide the appropriate account information.

For Twilio, provide these details:

Field	Description
Validation Endpoint	Select the validation endpoint to pre-validate guest Wi-Fi access. This validates the guest Wi-Fi user before the one-time password (OTP) is sent through SMS.
Device Limit	The maximum number of devices through which a guest user can simultaneously log in with a single user account. The default value is N/A, which means that there is no such device limit.
Account SID	The account SID associated with your Twilio account.
Auth Token	The auth token for your Twilio account.
Twilio Number	A number or short code that you have purchased for your Twilio account.

For MSG91, provide these details:

Field	Description
Username	The user name for your MSG91 user account.
Password	Password for the MSG91 user account.
Sender ID	A user-defined ID used to send SMS messages to the guest. This ID is used as the sender ID for the SMS. The ID must be of 6 characters in length and can only contain letters from A to Z. For example, "ATNSMS."
SMS Route	Send the SMS message through the Transactional route or the Promotional route. If the SMS contains any promotional content, then it cannot be sent through the Transactional route or message delivery fails. To understand how to send promotional messages, see the MSG91 website.

For a custom service provider, provide these details:

Field	Description
Service URL	The URL of the SMS endpoint and the GET parameters as name value pairs. It is mandatory that the URL has <sms_content> and <to_number> tags as placeholders for the fields that represent message content and destination number. For example: https://custom.service.com/sms/?username=johnsmith& password=P@ssw0rd&to=<to_number>&body=<sms_content> Any invalid characters entered in the API Endpoint URL, for example (\n), are replaced with "_". "#" in the API Endpoint URL will result in the URL after the ‘’#’’ to be treated as a fragment. Any variables in the fragment are not replaced.

Field

Description

Service URL

The URL of the SMS endpoint and the GET parameters as name value pairs. It is mandatory that the URL has <sms_content> and <to_number> tags as placeholders for the fields that represent message content and destination number.

For example: https://custom.service.com/sms/?username=johnsmith&
password=P@ssw0rd&to=<to_number>&body=<sms_content>

Any invalid characters entered in the API Endpoint URL, for example (\n), are replaced with "_".

"#" in the API Endpoint URL will result in the URL after the ‘’#’’ to be treated as a fragment. Any variables in the fragment are not replaced.

Provide the SMS settings information:

Field	Description
SMS content	The message content for the SMS. Make sure that you include the text "<code>" in the message, as displayed in the sample message. This is replaced with the code generated for Internet access.
Login Code Length	The number of characters in the code.
Login Code validity Period	The time duration in minutes for which the code is valid.
Max attempts to resend SMS	The maximum number of times the code can be resent to the guest.
Minimum interval to resend SMS	The time interval in seconds after which the portal checks with the guest, if the guest has not logged in to the Wi-Fi, whether they would like the SMS with the same code to be resent.

Click Save.

Download SMS Logs

You can download log messages to obtain detailed information about which code was sent to which SMS number and how many times, the last login status, and other information, such as the client and AP MAC address.

To download the SMS log messages:

Select Admin.
Click Logs.
In SMS Logs, select Last or Custom and specify the time frame for the Wi-Fi access log messages to download.
Click Download to download log messages for the specified time duration.

Field	Description
Service Provider	The service provider used to send the SMS. This can be Twilio, MSG91, or a custom service provider.
From	The Twilio number or short code configured or the MSG91 sender ID configured on the plug-in.
Mobile No	The mobile number provided by the guest for receiving the SMS with Internet access code.
Login Code	The generated Internet access code sent through SMS to the mobile number.
Send Count	The number of times the SMS was sent to the mobile number.
Authentication Count	The number of times the mobile number and the Internet access code were used to log in to Wi-Fi. If the mobile number-access code combination was used from multiple clients to access the Internet, then each login is counted separately. Also, if the Login Timeout is less than the Code Validity Time, then the mobile number-access code combination can be used to log in again after the session times out. In this case, each login is accounted for separately.
Last Login Status	The value can be 0 or 1. The value 0 indicates the code was not used for authentication. The value 1 indicates the code was used for authentication.
Last Send Error State	The error in SMS delivery to the mobile number, if any. If the last sent SMS was delivered successfully to the mobile number, then this field is blank.
Last Send Time	The time when the last SMS with the Internet access code was sent to the mobile number.
Client MAC List	A list that shows the MAC addresses of clients who got access to the Internet with an access code received in an SMS text message.
AP MAC	The MAC address of the AP that clients connected to.
AP SSID Profile	The name of the SSID profile applied on the AP.

Account Health

The health of your MSG91 or Twilio account is displayed in Test Account Settings in the Plugin Configuration tab.

You must click the SMS icon to see the SMS configuration details. To check the account health, click Test Account Health. You must provide your mobile number and click Send SMS to test the account health. Any configuration issues with the account and issues with delivery of the SMS are indicated in the Account Health.

You can check the health of a custom service provider’s account based on the response displayed in the Service Response text box.

© 2024 WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. WatchGuard and the WatchGuard logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of WatchGuard Technologies in the United States and other countries. Various other trademarks are held by their respective owners.