Send Text Alerts Directly from PRTG

Yes, but with friction. PRTG’s SMS Delivery configuration (Setup → System Administration → Notification Delivery) supports a hardcoded list of providers led by BulkSMS, plus a Custom URL fallback for unsupported providers. PRTG also supports GSM modem hardware paths (SMSEagle, Multi-Tech, generic modems). All three paths have known issues: BulkSMS auth and SSL errors, Custom URL format limitations, and per-site modem hardware cost. The cleaner path is to skip SMS Delivery entirely and use a standard email notification addressed at the TextBolt gateway.

Paessler’s Knowledge Base documents recurring BulkSMS issues: passwords must contain only a-z, A-Z, 0-9 characters with no whitespace, HTTPS connections often fail with “Error connecting with SSL,” and authentication errors like “Account Management Item Not Found,” “Password is wrong,” “Authentication Failed,” and “Insufficient SMS Credits” appear frequently. These force network admins and SMB IT managers to debug the integration repeatedly instead of trusting the SMS path.

No. PRTG documents and supports the GSM modem path (SMSEagle, Multi-Tech iSMS, Braintower, Kentix AlarmManager), but each modem costs $500-$2,500+ per site, requires a SIM card, and demands physical access for failure replacement. TextBolt is cloud-based: one shared account covers every PRTG core server, remote probe, and Hosted Monitor instance with no modem hardware in any rack.

Yes. The integration uses PRTG’s standard email notification (Setup → Notification Templates → Send Email). Set the recipient to +1[phone]@sendemailtotext.com. PRTG’s standard SMTP-based email delivery routes the alert to TextBolt, which converts it to SMS. Existing notification triggers, dependencies, sensor assignments, and notification schedules all work unchanged.

PRTG’s Custom URL workaround was designed for SMS providers not in the native dropdown. It can’t handle http://user:pass@server format and forces credentials as query parameters with provider-specific quirks. Placeholder substitution (%smsnumber, %smstext) sometimes fails silently. TextBolt skips Custom URL entirely by using PRTG’s standard email notification path. Email notifications already work in every PRTG installation; no Custom URL configuration is needed.

Yes. TextBolt registers your sender identity with The Campaign Registry during onboarding so SMS routes through carrier-approved 10DLC infrastructure. This satisfies FCC business SMS requirements and produces an exportable audit trail for federal-contractor and regulated PRTG installs.

Yes. When a network admin or NOC operator replies “ack,” “rerouting,” or any text to a TextBolt-sent SMS, the reply lands as an email in the inbox of the alert sender. The whole rotation sees acknowledgments without logging into the PRTG web UI. Two-way SMS that PRTG’s native SMS Delivery never supported.

Yes. The email notification mechanism is consistent across PRTG Network Monitor (on-prem Windows-based core server) and PRTG Hosted Monitor (Paessler’s cloud SaaS). The TextBolt gateway address slots into both. Multi-site deployments with remote probes, distributed core servers, and hybrid on-prem + hosted setups all share one TextBolt account.

Basic $29/month (500 credits, single user), Standard $49/month (1,000 credits, up to 10 team members), Professional $99/month (2,500 credits, up to 10 team members), Enterprise custom (5,000+ credits). $45/year setup fee. Annual plans 20% off. Compares favorably to per-site GSM modem hardware ($500-$2,500+ each) and BulkSMS per-credit billing.

About 30 minutes of hands-on configuration: account creation, toll-free number selection, and configuring a PRTG Notification Template with the TextBolt gateway address. TextBolt handles 10DLC business verification with The Campaign Registry on your behalf, which typically takes 1-2 business days to approve. Once the carriers approve your number, trigger a test alert and the first SMS lands in seconds.