Using special characters, Unicode, and GSM-T charsets for sending SMS in different languages
SMS can be sent out using different charsets or character sets. For SMS, we use the charsets GSM-7 and Unicode. Below we will explain a bit about each charset and what this means for your SMS.
GSM-7
SMS are typically sent out with the GSM-7 charset, which covers most characters. When SMS are sent in the GSM-7 charset, each character is seen as just one character in an SMS message.
In the table below, you will find the standard characters under the GSM-7 charset. All characters in the table are considered standard characters but may not show on the receiver’s phone, depending on the handset’s capabilities.
p
£
_
!
Ä
1
A
Q
a
q
$
Φ
"
k
r
b
R
B
R
C
æ
-
=
M
Ñ
m
ñ
2
¥
Γ
#
ä
3
C
S
c
s
è
Λ
¤
ø
4
D
T
d
t
é
Ω
%
Æ
5
E
u
U
e
ù
Π
&
,
6
F
V
f
v
ì
Ψ
'
<
7
G
W
g
w
ò
Σ
(
L
8
H
X
h
x
Ç
Θ
)
Ö
9
I
Y
i
y
L
F
Ξ
l
*
:
J
Z
j
z
Ø
E
ö
S
C
+
;
Å
ß
.
>
N
Ü
n
ü
å
É
/
?
O
§
o
à
The following characters are part of the GSM-7 charset but equate to two characters in a text message:
\ ^ ~ [ ] { } | ~ €
Unicode
When using the Unicode charset, each character is seen as two characters. This decreases the number of characters you can put in your SMS from 160 to 70. Read more here about the length of an SMS: How long can an SMS message be?
Using GSM-7 vs. Unicode
When you send a text message via your MessageBird Dashboard, and you enter a Unicode character, you will have 2 options:
Automatically adjust the Unicode character to a related basic character, or leave the character out. With this option, you will send the SMS in GSM-7, and the maximum amount of characters allowed in 1 SMS remains 160.
Show the Unicode character. With this option, you will send the SMS in Unicode, which will modify the maximum number of characters in 1 SMS from 160 to 70.
Local restrictions
Due to restrictions in some countries, it is not always possible to send messages in a different language other than English or the selected country's primary language. If your content is changed, then make sure that is not related to the country restrictions.
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