The number travels to the network that serves it.
Ankarex asks the mobile network’s register (HLR). No SMS is sent: the recipient receives nothing.
- No message to the recipient
- One query per valid number
HLR Lookup
Know who can receive, before you send.
An HLR lookup asks the mobile network about each number: whether it is connected, which carrier serves it today and whether it was ported. Clean the list before you pay for a single SMS.
Reviewing the quote costs nothing: you only pay when you confirm the lookup.
The network replies with what it knows about the number.
Connection status, current carrier with its MCC/MNC code, line type and portability, exactly as the network reports them.
- Connected, disconnected or no confirmed status
- Original and current carrier when the number was ported
What cannot receive stays out.
Filter out the disconnected numbers and send only to those who can receive. Numbers without a confirmed status stay apart: no data does not mean disconnected.
- Filters by status, country, carrier and portability
- Export as XLSX, CSV or TXT
What each lookup tells you
Four answers per number.
What the network returns, without reading more into it.
- 01
Whether it is connected
Connected means the network reports the number as active. Disconnected groups the negative answers: number does not exist, absent subscriber, service not provisioned or no coverage.
- 02
Which network serves it today
The current carrier and its MCC/MNC code, plus the line type the network reports. It does not depend on the prefix the number starts with.
- 03
Whether it was ported
When the number moved to another carrier, you see the original carrier next to the current one.
- 04
When there is no answer
If the network does not confirm the status, the result has no confirmed status. We do not count it as disconnected: you decide what to do with it.
+34 628 774 310Connected
- Country
- Spain (ESP)
- Current carrier
- Vodafone · 214-01
- Original carrier
- Orange · 214-03
- Ported
- Yes
- Line type
- Mobile
- Network status
- LIVE
Invented data. Your results and exports show the real carriers, the MCC/MNC and the time of each lookup.
Why look up first
An SMS that cannot arrive is still paid for.
Every SMS is charged when it is sent, whether it arrives or not. And lists age: people change numbers, cancel them or take them to another carrier.
Lower spend
Remove disconnected numbers before sending and stop paying for messages that have nobody to reach.
A cared-for sender
Fewer sends to numbers that do not exist means fewer errors tied to your sender and your routes.
Lists kept current
A lookup before each large campaign catches the numbers that were ported and the ones that stopped existing.
An example list
Numbers in the list1,000
Disconnected−142
No confirmed status (your call)46
SMS that can arrive812
Illustrative example. For your list, the figures are whatever the network returns.How it works in Ankarex
From list to result, in four steps.
All from the HLR section of your console, or through the API with the same limits.
- 01
Upload the list
Paste the numbers or upload a CSV or TXT file. Up to 50,000 valid numbers per lookup.
- 02
Review before paying
See how many are valid, duplicated, invalid or excluded, the exact cost and your balance. Discarded numbers are not charged and reviewing is free.
- 03
Filter the results
Each lookup is grouped as a batch and updates by itself when it finishes. Filter by status, country, carrier, line type or portability.
- 04
Export
Download XLSX, CSV or TXT, with every column or just the numbers, up to 100,000 rows per file.
Unsure about a country? Check coverage by country before uploading the list.
Try it
Clean an example list.
It runs in your browser with invented results: it queries no network and charges nothing.
HLR / example listExample data
Commas or semicolons work as separators too.
Review
- Imported
- 11
- Valid
- 9
- Duplicates
- 1
- Invalid
- 1
In your account you would see the exact cost and your balance here before confirming.
Press “Run example lookup” to see invented results.
Results invented from each number. No real network was queried.
API
The same, from your code.
Get a quote with /v2/hlr/quote, create the lookup with /v2/hlr/jobs and an Idempotency-Key, so a retry never charges twice, and read or download the results when they arrive.
Key permissions: hlr:read to quote and read, hlr:write to create lookups.
REST API · v2Example request
- POST
/v2/hlr/quoteQuote, no charge - POST
/v2/hlr/jobsCreates the lookup - GET
/v2/hlr/jobs/{id}Lookup status - GET
/v2/hlr/resultsFilterable results - GET
/v2/hlr/results/downloadXLSX, CSV or TXT - GET
/v2/hlr/coverageCoverage by country
POST
/v2/hlr/quote{
"numbers": [
"+34600111222",
"+34600111309"
]
}Questions
What people usually ask.
01Is anything sent to the phone?
No. The lookup is made to the mobile network; the recipient receives no message.
02Is the quote charged?
No. Reviewing the list and seeing the cost is free. The charge happens once, when you confirm the lookup, and only for valid numbers.
03Does “no status” mean disconnected?
No. Sometimes the network does not confirm a number’s status. Those results stay apart so you do not delete numbers that may still work.
04What happens to duplicates and invalid numbers?
They are detected when the list is reviewed and removed before any charge. The review shows how many there are.
05Can I automate it?
Yes. API v2 offers quotes, lookups, results and downloads with the same limits as the console.
Start with your list
Your next campaign, to numbers that exist.
Create an account, upload a list and review the quote before you pay anything.