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How to Import and Manage Phone Numbers in Alta (SMS, WhatsApp, and Calls)

Import Twilio phone numbers into Alta, give them friendly names, set their capabilities (SMS, MMS, Voice, WhatsApp), and assign an inbound assistant — all from Settings → Phone Numbers.

Written by Katie Supporté

Summary: The Phone Numbers page (Settings → Phone Numbers) is where you import phone numbers from Twilio and manage how each one is used across Alta — SMS, WhatsApp, calls, and inbound routing.

Who this is for: Admins setting up phone-based outreach (SMS, WhatsApp, or calls) or managing which numbers Alta can send and receive from.

Before you start

  • Connect your Twilio account under Settings → Integrations. If Twilio isn't connected yet, the import dialog will show "Connect Twilio in Integrations to import a phone number" with a Go to Integrations button.

  • To import a WhatsApp number, the number must be a registered WhatsApp sender in your Twilio account.

Import a phone number

  1. Go to Settings → Phone Numbers. The sidebar lists all numbers already imported — use the search bar to find one by name or number.

  2. Click Import a phone number. The Import Phone Number dialog opens.

  3. Optionally give the number a Name — a friendly label like "US Outbound" that appears instead of the raw number across Alta.

  4. Pick the number. On the Phone Number tab, choose from the numbers in your connected Twilio account (each option shows its capabilities). If WhatsApp is enabled on your account, a WhatsApp tab lets you pick from your registered WhatsApp senders instead — senders show their status, with online numbers listed first.

  5. The Provider field is set to Twilio automatically.

  6. Click Import. You'll see "The phone number was successfully created" and land on the number's settings page.

Manage a number's settings

Click any number in the sidebar to open its settings. There are three sections:

  1. Phone Number Details — the number itself (read-only) and its Phone number friendly name, which you can change at any time.

  2. Inbound Settings — assign an Assistant to the number. When someone calls this number, the assistant is automatically assigned to answer the call. Leave it empty if you don't want AI answering inbound calls on this number.

  3. Capabilities — check which channels this number supports: SMS, MMS, Voice, and WhatsApp. Capabilities control where the number can be used across Alta.

Click Save configuration to apply your changes.

Where your numbers are used

  • Campaigns — when a campaign's sequence includes SMS, WhatsApp, or call steps, a Select phone numbers field appears in the campaign's Setup. You can also import a new number right from there with the Or import a phone number link.

  • Built-in dialer — when you call a prospect manually, you choose one of your imported numbers as the caller ID.

  • Inbox — SMS and WhatsApp replies to your numbers arrive in the Alta Inbox.

Tips and common pitfalls

  • A number only appears as an option for a channel if the matching capability is checked. If a number is missing from a campaign's phone number picker, check its Capabilities section first.

  • WhatsApp senders must be online in Twilio to send reliably. If a WhatsApp sender shows an offline status in the import dialog, finish its registration in Twilio first.

  • The Assistant dropdown in Inbound Settings is only available once the number is fully provisioned for calls.

  • If the import fails with "An issue occurred while creating the phone number", confirm your Twilio connection is still valid under Settings → Integrations and that the number still exists in your Twilio account.


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