How paging delivery works

When an incident is assigned, Oppex contacts the on-call engineer through every contact method on the escalation policy at once, and keeps a record of each attempt. This page explains how delivery is checked, what happens when a call or message fails, and where to see it.

Every call and message is recorded

The incident timeline has one entry for each contact attempt, per person and per contact method: email, SMS, phone call and WhatsApp. Each entry shows:

• when Oppex tried to contact the person, and whether it was the first contact or a reminder,
• whether the call or message was sent, and the reason when it was not,
• the number or address it went to.

For phone calls, Oppex also records how the call ended: answered, not answered, busy, failed or cancelled. When the incident is acknowledged, the timeline shows who acknowledged it and from where: the phone keypad, the email link, the WhatsApp link, the web app or the mobile app.

The mobile push notification goes to every device the person is signed in on, alongside the policy's contact methods. Push notifications are not listed on the timeline.

Text messages and WhatsApp have a second provider

Oppex sends SMS and WhatsApp messages through two delivery providers. If the first provider fails to send a message, Oppex sends it through the second one straight away, and the timeline records each attempt. The order of the providers depends on the country of the number, so each message goes first through the route that delivers best there.

Phone calls go through a single voice provider. Oppex does not place a second call at once when a call fails, because a call that reported an error may already be ringing. The next reminder or the next escalation level contacts the person again.

Escalation does not wait for delivery

The escalation timer keeps running whether or not a call or message got through. If the on-call engineer is not reached for any reason, the incident moves to the next level when the level's Escalate After time runs out, as it does when someone simply does not answer. That includes:

• a call or message that failed,
• a person who has temporarily disabled contact or has not given consent to be contacted on their number,
• a person with no contact number on their profile.

Only acknowledging, snoozing or resolving the incident stops the sequence. See How paging works for reminders, levels and looping.

Use more than one contact method on important policies

Every contact method on the policy is sent at the same time, so a policy with phone call, SMS and WhatsApp still reaches the engineer if one of them fails. Set the methods on each escalation policy; see Set up how you are paged.

Oppex platform status

Live uptime and past incidents for the Oppex platform are published at status.oppex.ai.

Related articles

• Receiving an incident
• Phone call alerts
• SMS alerts
• Set up how you are paged
• Troubleshoot notifications

FAQ

What happens if an SMS or WhatsApp message fails to send?

Oppex sends it again at once through its second delivery provider. Both attempts are recorded on the incident timeline, with the reason if a send failed.

What happens if the on-call engineer's phone call fails or is not answered?

Oppex records how the call ended on the incident timeline. It contacts the engineer again at the next reminder, and moves the incident to the next escalation level when the level's time runs out, unless someone acknowledges it first.

Does escalation stop if the on-call engineer cannot be reached?

No. The escalation timer keeps running whether or not a call or message was delivered, so an engineer who cannot be reached never holds an incident. It moves to the next level on time.

Where can I see whether Oppex itself is up?

Live uptime and past incidents for the Oppex platform are published at status.oppex.ai.