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Setup guideAbout 10 minutes

Connect CrazyTel SMS

Send and receive texts from your CrazyTel numbers inside PRM Ninja. Every conversation is kept in one thread per person and linked to their contact.

What you get

  • Text from any of your CrazyTel numbers without leaving PRM.
  • Replies show up instantly, with a badge for unread messages.
  • One conversation per person — even if they text more than one of your numbers, or you've written their number different ways.
  • Conversations link to the matching contact automatically, by phone number.
  • Your existing SMS history is imported, including texts sent from the CrazyTel app.

Before you start

You'll need:

  • A CrazyTel account with at least one virtual mobile number (only mobiles can receive texts).
  • A login to the CrazyTel portal at portal.crazytel.com.au.
  • Some credit on your CrazyTel account — sending texts is charged by CrazyTel.
Every PRM user connects their own CrazyTel account. If several people share one CrazyTel account, each can connect it with their own key and choose which numbers they use.

1. Get your CrazyTel API key

  1. Sign in to the CrazyTel portal.
  2. Go to SMS Messaging → SMS API.
  3. Generate a new API key.
  4. Copy it straight away — CrazyTel only shows it once. Keep it somewhere safe until you've pasted it into PRM.
To import your full history (including texts sent from the CrazyTel app), the key needs access to CrazyTel's SMS Center. If PRM later says the key “can't read your SMS history”, ask CrazyTel support to enable SMS Center access for your key.

2. Connect in PRM

  1. In PRM, open Integrations from the sidebar and find CrazyTel SMS under Messaging.
  2. Click Connect CrazyTel, paste your API key and click Connect.
  3. PRM checks the key and lists every number on your account with how many texts each has. Tick the numbers you want in PRM and click Sync — only those are imported. You'll see an Importing your full SMS history progress bar; you can leave the page and it carries on in the background.
Large histories take a while because CrazyTel limits how quickly history can be read. New texts come through straight away while the import runs.

3. Choose your numbers

The Numbers list shows every number on your CrazyTel account. For each one you can:

Rename itClick the name (e.g. “Office mobile”) to change how it shows in PRM.
★ DefaultThe star marks the number new conversations are sent from.
SyncOff: PRM reads nothing from this number. You choose whether to keep or remove what was already imported. On again: its whole history is imported.
ReceiveDelivers incoming texts to PRM instantly — see the next step.
RemoveHover the row and click the bin. Conversations are kept.

Don't see a number? Click Add to pick one from your account or type in a verified sender number.

4. Turn on instant receiving

PRM turns this on for your mobile numbers automatically when you connect. Check the status bar on the CrazyTel card — it should say Receiving instantly on N numbers. If it doesn't:

  • Click Receive on all, or switch Receive on for each number you text from.
  • This adds PRM as a destination for the number's texts in CrazyTel. Anything you already had set up (the CrazyTel app, email forwarding, your phone system) keeps working — texts still show in CrazyTel too.

Prefer to set it up in CrazyTel yourself?

  1. In PRM, open Delivery log & setup on the CrazyTel card and copy your private inbound link.
  2. In the CrazyTel portal, open SMS Center → Number Management, pick the mobile number and choose Configure routing.
  3. Add a route of type JSON web request and paste the link exactly — including the ?token=… part at the end.
  4. Save. Repeat for each number.

PRM checks these routes every hour and repairs any that go missing, unless you've switched Receive off for that number.

5. Send a test text

  1. From your own phone, text one of your CrazyTel numbers.
  2. Within a few seconds it should appear in Messages, and the CrazyTel card should show Last text arrived … ago.
  3. Reply from PRM — the reply arrives on your phone from your CrazyTel number.
Nothing arrived? Open Delivery log & setup on the CrazyTel card. It lists every request CrazyTel has sent to PRM and why each one was or wasn't saved. See Troubleshooting.

Using Messages

  • One thread per person. If a contact has two mobiles, both are in the same conversation. Choose which number to reply to (and which of your numbers to send from) above the message box.
  • Unknown numbers show the phone number. Click Save contact to link the conversation to an existing contact or create a new one.
  • New message: click + and enter a mobile number, or use Text on a contact's page.
  • Read status is shared with CrazyTel — reading a conversation in PRM clears it there too.
  • Search by name, number or message text.

How syncing works

What happensWhen it shows in PRM
Someone texts you (Receive on)Instantly
You send from PRMInstantly
You send from the CrazyTel app or your phone systemWithin about 2 minutes while Messages is open, otherwise within 15 minutes
Delivery status (sent / delivered / failed)Within a few minutes
Your older historyImported in the background after you connect

Every text is stored once in PRM, however it arrives — no duplicates. Click Sync now on the CrazyTel card any time to check immediately.

Troubleshooting

You seeWhat to do
“CrazyTel rejected the API key”The key was mistyped or has been replaced. Generate a new SMS API key in the CrazyTel portal and connect again.
“This API key can’t read your SMS history”Sending and instant receiving still work, but older texts and texts sent from other apps can’t be imported. Generate a key with SMS Center access, or ask CrazyTel support to enable it, then reconnect (Integrations → CrazyTel SMS → ⋯ → Disconnect, then connect with the new key). Your conversations are kept.
Texts arrive late or only after a few minutesInstant receiving isn’t on for that number. Turn on Receive for it (or click Receive on all). Until then texts still arrive through the background sync, just not instantly.
A ⚠ next to Receive / “forward to an outdated link”The number forwards to an old or incomplete PRM link (often a route added by hand without the ?token= part). Turn Receive on and PRM replaces it with the correct link.
Delivery log says “nothing received yet”CrazyTel hasn’t sent anything to PRM. Check Receive is on for the number you texted, and that the number isn’t covered by an Inbound Blocking rule in CrazyTel (blocked texts are never forwarded).
Delivery log shows “Unknown number”The text went to a number PRM doesn’t sync. Turn on Sync for that number if you want its texts.
Receive won’t switch onOnly CrazyTel virtual mobile numbers can receive SMS. Landlines, 1300 and 1800 numbers can’t.
Sending failsThe sending number must be a CrazyTel virtual mobile or a verified Caller ID on your account, your CrazyTel balance needs credit, and recipients must be Australian mobiles.
A message says “content not available from CrazyTel”CrazyTel reported that a text was sent or received but not what it said. It fills in automatically if CrazyTel provides the text later.
The same person appears in two conversationsTheir numbers belong to two different contacts. Merge the contacts (Contacts → More → Find duplicates) and the conversations join up.
For IT / firewall admins: CrazyTel delivers texts from 103.137.56.120 and 103.140.134.210. Allow these if anything in front of PRM filters incoming traffic.

Still stuck? CrazyTel support can check your number's routing and API key access on 1800 272 998.

Disconnecting

On the CrazyTel card, open the ⋯ menu and choose Disconnect. PRM removes its routes from your numbers and forgets your API key. Your conversations stay in PRM, and CrazyTel keeps working as before.

Privacy & security

  • Your API key is encrypted before it's stored and is never shown again.
  • Your inbound link is private to your account — don't share it. If it leaks, disconnect and reconnect to get a new one.
  • Only you can see your conversations.