Check iMessage Availability

Overview

Verify whether a lead’s phone number or email supports iMessage before sending messages. The system automatically checks all new leads and provides manual re-check options.

iMessage availability checking helps you send messages through the optimal channel and avoid delivery failures.

Automatic Checking

When you upload leads, the system automatically checks availability:

Upload Detection

System detects new leads from upload

Address Check

Automatically checks all phone and email addresses

Status Update

Updates lead record with availability status

Status Indicators

Icon	Status	Description
🔵	Available	Supports iMessage (blue bubble)
⚪	Unavailable	Does not support iMessage (SMS/email only)
🔄	Checking	Currently verifying
⚠️	Error	Check failed - retry available
⭕	No Active Line	Configure a line first

Manual Checking

Single Lead Check

Check availability for individual leads:

Navigate to Leads page
Find the lead in the table
Click Check Availability button
Status updates in real-time

Re-check leads periodically as contacts may enable or disable iMessage on their devices.

Bulk Checking

Check multiple leads at once:

Select multiple leads using checkboxes
Click Check Availability (bulk action in toolbar)
System checks all selected leads
Progress indicator shows completion

Bulk checking is processed sequentially. Large batches may take a few minutes. Each line can perform up to 70 availability checks per day. If you have multiple lines, checks are distributed across them automatically. High-volume checks may experience slight delays.

Quick Send Preview

Get instant availability feedback when composing quick messages:

Open Quick Send

Navigate to Leads → Import and click Quick Send

Enter Recipient

Type phone number or email address

Auto-Check

System automatically checks availability (500ms debounce)

View Status

See availability icon next to recipient field

Status Icons

🔵 Blue circle - iMessage available
⚪ Gray circle - Not available (will send as SMS/email)
⏳ Spinner - Checking…

How It Works

Understanding the availability check process:

Check Priority

The system checks addresses in this order and stops at the first available one:

Primary phone
Primary email
Alternate phone 1
Alternate phone 2
Alternate phone 3
Alternate email 1
Alternate email 2
Alternate email 3

Checking stops at the first available address to optimize performance.

Requirements

Before checking availability, you must have an active line configured:

Important: Without an active line, all checks will show “No Active Line” status.

Setup Required

Navigate to Lines page
Purchase or configure a line
Ensure line status is Active
Line must have a valid Server URL

Configure Lines

Learn how to set up and manage your messaging lines

API Reference

Check Single Lead

Check availability for a specific lead by ID.

GET /api/leads/check-availability?id={leadId}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "leadId": "507f1f77bcf86cd799439011",
  "available": true,
  "status": "available"
}

Check Multiple Leads

Batch check multiple leads at once.

POST /api/leads/check-availability

Request:

{
  "leadIds": [
    "507f1f77bcf86cd799439011",
    "507f1f77bcf86cd799439012",
    "507f1f77bcf86cd799439013"
  ]
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "checked": 3,
  "successful": 3,
  "errors": 0,
  "results": [
    {
      "leadId": "507f1f77bcf86cd799439011",
      "available": true,
      "status": "available"
    },
    {
      "leadId": "507f1f77bcf86cd799439012",
      "available": false,
      "status": "unavailable"
    },
    {
      "leadId": "507f1f77bcf86cd799439013",
      "available": true,
      "status": "available"
    }
  ]
}

Check Individual Address

Check availability for a phone or email address (Quick Send).

POST /api/leads/check-availability

Request:

{
  "address": "+12025551234"
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "available": true,
  "address": "+12025551234"
}

Error Codes

Code	Description
`400`	No active line configured
`401`	Unauthorized - invalid or missing token
`404`	Lead not found
`500`	Server error - check failed

API Integrators: Skip Checking, Use Fallback Webhooks

If you’re integrating via API (not using the Tuco UI), the recommended pattern is to skip availability checking entirely:

Call POST /api/messages directly
Listen for the message.fallback webhook
When you receive message.fallback, trigger your SMS/WhatsApp fallback

This avoids burning your 70/day/line availability quota and is faster (one API call instead of two). See the check-availability-rr endpoint for code examples.

Availability Checks vs Send Limits

Availability checks and message sends use separate daily counters. Checking a number does not reduce your daily send quota, and sending a message does not reduce your availability check quota.

Counter	Scope	Limit
Send quota	Per line, per day	Configured per line (see Lines page)
Availability quota	Per line, per day	70 checks/day (hard cap)

Best Practices

🔄 Regular Re-checks

Re-check leads periodically (weekly/monthly) as people change devices and enable/disable iMessage

⚡ Bulk for Efficiency

Use bulk checking for large lists to save time and ensure all leads are current

✅ Check Before Campaigns

Always verify availability before launching messaging campaigns to maximize deliverability

📊 Monitor Error Rates

If you see high error rates, verify your line configuration and server URL

Troubleshooting

❌ 'No Active Line' Status

Solution: Configure an active line in Settings → Lines before checking availability.

⚠️ Check Failed Errors

Solution: Verify your server URL is correct and accessible. Check network connectivity.

🔄 Stuck on 'Checking'

Solution: Refresh the page. If issue persists, check your line’s server status.

Getting Started

Core Features

Campaigns & Messaging Engine

Architecture & Operations

AI & Automation

Messaging & Compliance

Operations

Analytics & Reporting

AI & Automation

Lead Management

Integrations

FAQ

Check iMessage Availability

Overview

Automatic Checking

Status Indicators

Manual Checking

Single Lead Check

Bulk Checking

Quick Send Preview

Status Icons

How It Works

Check Priority

Requirements

Setup Required

Configure Lines

API Reference

Check Single Lead

Check Multiple Leads

Check Individual Address

Error Codes

API Integrators: Skip Checking, Use Fallback Webhooks

Availability Checks vs Send Limits

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

​Overview

​Automatic Checking

​Status Indicators

​Manual Checking

​Single Lead Check

​Bulk Checking

​Quick Send Preview

​Status Icons

​How It Works

​Check Priority

​Requirements

​Setup Required

Configure Lines

​API Reference

​Check Single Lead

​Check Multiple Leads

​Check Individual Address

​Error Codes

​API Integrators: Skip Checking, Use Fallback Webhooks

​Availability Checks vs Send Limits

​Best Practices

​Troubleshooting

Overview

Automatic Checking

Status Indicators

Manual Checking

Single Lead Check

Bulk Checking

Quick Send Preview

Status Icons

How It Works

Check Priority

Requirements

Setup Required

API Reference

Check Single Lead

Check Multiple Leads

Check Individual Address

Error Codes

API Integrators: Skip Checking, Use Fallback Webhooks

Availability Checks vs Send Limits

Best Practices

Troubleshooting