Coming October 9, 2026:
To comply with US wireless carrier requirements, we're retiring the shared Element451 SMS short code. All SMS messaging will be sent from your institution's own registered 10-digit phone number(s) after October 9th.
What's Changing
Element451's short code was established before current carrier regulations prohibited multiple organizations from sharing a single short code, and carriers largely grandfathered existing short codes like ours. That's why we've been able to offer it to our partners.
In response to rising spam and phishing traffic, US carriers (including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon) are reinforcing the requirement that every short code be tied to one verified organization. Our messaging provider and the carriers are now enforcing that requirement for existing short codes as well as new ones.
We know the turnaround on this change is short. Recent increased enforcement of these regulations requires us to take swift action to prevent your messages from being blocked from delivery. After October 9, 2026, the shared short code will no longer be available for sending. Any campaigns or autoresponders still using the short code on that date will be automatically moved to your school's primary (first) Element451 10-digit phone number.
This Silver Lining
This actually gives you more control. On a shared short code, sender reputation, opt-outs, and compliance risks are shared by everyone using it. While our short code has never been blocked or throttled, the actions of a single Element451 partner could have caused carriers to suspend all traffic on it without warning.
Sending from your own registered number keeps your opt-outs, deliverability, and reputation separate from everyone else's, and if a student replies, those messages flow directly into your own Conversations thread.
Who this affects
Any institution that currently has SMS campaigns, event autoresponders, or appointment autoresponders sending from the shared short code. If your institution has only one 10-digit phone number (or don't have a preference for which number), no action is needed. Everything using the short code will move to that number automatically.
What to do
Review your ongoing SMS campaigns. Check the sending number on any active or ready campaigns. Anything using the short code needs to be updated.
Review your event autoresponders. Check the sending number on each active event's SMS autoresponders.
Review your appointment autoresponders. Check the sending number on each SMS autoresponder.
Choose the right 10-digit number. If you have more than one phone number (for example, separate numbers for Admissions and Financial Aid), update each campaign or autoresponder to the number that makes the most sense for that audience.
Complete your updates by EOD October 9. After that date, anything still pointing to the short code will be moved to your primary Element451 phone number.
You of course can make changes to the sender phone number at any time before or after the migration.
💡 Want a separate number for these messages?
If you'd prefer to keep the traffic from the old short code separate, you can add one additional 10-digit phone number between now and October 31, 2026, with no additional line fees for that number.
Go to Conversations Settings to obtain that new number.