Key Takeaways
- Android SMS gateway contact import CSV is how you load people and consent metadata — distinct from firing a bulk campaign file.
- Store E.164, source of opt-in, and a suppression flag on the row. You will need them on the next export.
- Excel scientific notation on MSISDNs is the most common silent corruption.
- Free includes 300 contacts and 300 SMS lifetime. Larger lists belong on paid device/volume plans.
- Treat the CSV as personal data: encrypt at rest in tickets, delete after import, restrict who can download.
- Service pricing is based on device count and total SMS sent through the gateway. You need a working Android phone with a SIM and SMS credit from your mobile operator. Operator message costs are yours—we do not sell carrier SMS balance.
Teams searching android sms gateway contact import csv want a file that becomes a usable list: reachable numbers, tags, and enough consent metadata that the next campaign is not a guess. This is Hub A long-tail, not the /android-sms-gateway pillar, and not the bulk-send spoke. The product surface is contacts, lists, and segments.
Service pricing is based on device count and total SMS sent through the gateway. Importing contacts does not include operator SMS credit. Sending from those lists later will.
If you cannot explain how a number got on the list, you cannot defend sending to it. Put that explanation on the row.
A list is not a send
Contact import is reference data. Bulk CSV send is a job against a radio. Keep templates, schedule, and pacing on the campaign side. Lists should still be clean enough to export tomorrow — UTF-8, E.164, consent columns — because someone will download them for a vendor migration.
CSV schema that survives a year
| Field | Why it exists | Import failure if missing |
|---|---|---|
| msisdn | The destination, E.164 | Row is noise |
| name / locale | Personalization and language | Generic copy, wrong script, extra SMS parts |
| consent_source | Form, checkout, paper, import date | You cannot answer a complaint |
| consent_at | Timestamp | Stale opt-ins look like purchased lists |
| suppressed | STOP / bounce / manual | You re-text people who left |
| segment | OTP vs promo vs clinic reminders | Wrong lane, wrong SIM |
Normalise numbers once
Prefix +, strip spaces, drop leading zeros after country code, reject extensions. Excel will eat a leading 0 or turn the field into 8.80E+12. Force the column to text before export. Validate a sample against a library or a known-good staff number. Multi-country formats belong in their own how-to; here you only need “one canonical string per human.”
ITU-T E.164 is the numbering plan you are aiming at — overview: ITU-T E.164.
Consent travels with the row
A naked phone column is how purchased lists sneak in. Require consent_source on promotional segments. Empty is a reject, not a default opt-in. Map STOP inbound onto suppressed before the next import overwrites it with an old CRM dump.
Duplicates and merges
Same person, two rows, two country-code guesses: merge on normalised MSISDN. Prefer the newest consent_at. Keep an audit of the losing row. Sending twice is an operator cost and a block risk on your real MSISDN.
Files are PII
Do not paste CSVs into Slack. Do not leave them on a laptop Downloads folder. Import, confirm counts, delete. Redact numbers in support tickets; keep list ids. API automation should use server-side keys — never a browser dump of the file. Docs: SMS API documentation.
Plan limits
Free: 300 contacts, 300 SMS lifetime, one device. Paid plans meter devices and send volume; contact capacity is listed on pricing. Hitting a contact cap is not a reason to invent a second account and fork consent.
Checklist
- UTF-8, header row, phones as text.
- E.164 validated on a sample.
- consent_source + consent_at on promo segments.
- suppressed not overwritten by old dumps.
- Duplicates merged.
- File deleted after successful import.
- Counts match: source vs panel.
Next steps
After the list is clean, campaign pacing lives on bulk CSV and scheduled SMS.
Related product pages
Jump to the live product docs for this topic—not another long-form article.
- bulk SMS from Excel and CSVSpreadsheet campaigns
- bulk SMS with consent best practicesHigh-volume outreach
- device and SMS volume pricingPlans and allowances
- Android SMS gateway product guideDefinition, product, and how to buy
