# HeroSMS not working: what happened to hero-sms.com and where to receive SMS now Источник: https://hush-sms.com/en/blog/herosms-not-working/ Обновлено: 2026-10-29 > hero-sms.com has been down since October 28, 2026: the registrar froze the domain. What it means for your orders and API, and where to receive SMS now. In short Since the evening of October 28, 2026, hero-sms.com does not open: the registrar suspended the domain (client hold status). The website and the API at that address are unavailable, and a VPN will not help. If you need an SMS code right now, get a number from Hush SMS in the bot [@HushNumBot](https://t.me/HushNumBot?start=landing) or [on the website](https://hush-sms.com/account/?lang=en). If the code does not arrive within 15 minutes, the money goes back to your balance by itself. If hero-sms.com will not load and your scripts throw errors like `Name or service not known`, the problem is not your connection or your browser. Below: what is known as of October 29 and how to keep receiving SMS codes while the service is unavailable. ## What happened to hero-sms.com - **October 28, 16:19 UTC:** the domain record in the .com registry changed, and it now has the `client hold` status. You can see it in the public registry data (Verisign RDAP) and in any whois lookup. - **Client hold** is set by the registrar. The domain is not deleted, but it stops working in DNS: browsers and API clients simply cannot find the site address. That is why a VPN, another browser or clearing the cache does not help. - **HeroSMS confirmed the outage** in its Telegram channel: the domain is unavailable. Why the registrar froze the domain and when it will be restored is known only to HeroSMS and the registrar. We do not guess at the reasons and only repeat what the public data shows. ## Check it yourself in 10 seconds Open [lookup.icann.org](https://lookup.icann.org/) and enter hero-sms.com, or run `whois hero-sms.com` in a terminal. The Domain Status line shows `clientHold`. While it is there, the site will not come back, however many times you reload the page. ## What it means for you - **On the website:** you cannot sign in or buy a number on hero-sms.com right now. - **Through the API:** requests to hero-sms.com fail with a DNS error, and automated purchases stop. - **The trap:** on some servers, requests to hero-sms.com still go through. That is the DNS cache: the server remembers the IP it learned before the freeze. Once the record expires, everything fails at once, usually at the worst moment. Connect a backup service now, even if everything still works for you. ## Where to receive SMS right now Hush SMS works as usual, both in the Telegram bot and on hush-sms.com. We get numbers from several suppliers, so an outage at one of them does not stop the whole catalog. | What matters | How it works at Hush SMS | | --- | --- | | Where to buy | The Telegram bot [@HushNumBot](https://t.me/HushNumBot?start=landing) and the [web account](https://hush-sms.com/account/?lang=en); the balance is shared once you link Telegram | | If the code does not arrive | You can cancel the order before the first SMS; after 15 minutes without an SMS, the money goes back to your balance automatically | | Numbers out of stock | We let you know when they are back, or buy a number for you at your maximum price | | Rentals | A number for the period you need, every SMS on the rental card, auto-renewal for the same period | | Notifications | Codes arrive in the bot, and on the website in the bell and in browser notifications, even when the tab is closed | | API | REST, order statuses and webhooks; documentation: [docs.hush-sms.com](https://docs.hush-sms.com/en/) | | Payment | In the bot: SBP bank transfer, cryptocurrency and Telegram Stars; on the website: cryptocurrency | ## If you had a HeroSMS API integration HeroSMS uses the SMS-Activate protocol: one address with an `action` parameter and text responses. Hush SMS has a REST API with JSON, but the logic is the same: buy a number, wait for the code, finish or cancel the order. The step-by-step move is covered in a separate guide, [Moving off the HeroSMS API](https://hush-sms.com/en/blog/migrate-from-herosms-api/): what the DNS errors look like in logs, what replaces `getNumber`, `getStatus` and `setStatus`, and a ready adapter that answers with the familiar strings such as `ACCESS_NUMBER`. You get an API key in the bot [@HushNumBot](https://t.me/HushNumBot?start=landing) or in the [web account](https://hush-sms.com/account/?lang=en). Start with one order, check the statuses and cancellation, then move your traffic. ## The main lesson: one service is one point of failure The HeroSMS story shows a simple thing: even a large service can drop off the internet in a minute, and there is nothing you can do about it. Something similar happened earlier with SMS-Activate, when users also had to look for a replacement in a hurry. If your work depends on SMS codes, set up a backup service in advance, not on the day of the outage: 1. Create an account with a second service and test one order there. 2. Keep at least a day's worth of orders on the backup balance. 3. If you use the API, add a second supplier in your code and switch to it when the first one fails. 4. For important accounts, take a [number rental](https://hush-sms.com/en/rent-virtual-number/): a repeat code then arrives on the same number instead of being lost with a one-time activation. ## What to do right now 1. Need a code urgently: buy a number from Hush SMS in the bot or on the website, it takes a couple of minutes. 2. Need repeat codes on one number: take a rental with auto-renewal. 3. Working through the API: get a key and connect Hush SMS as your main or backup channel. ## Frequently asked questions ### Why does hero-sms.com not open? Since October 28, 2026, the hero-sms.com domain has the client hold status: the registrar suspended it, so the address no longer resolves in DNS. It is not your internet connection or your browser. ### Will a VPN help? No. The domain does not resolve in DNS from any country, so a VPN, another browser or clearing the cache will not help. ### Why does my script still work with hero-sms.com? Most likely your server still remembers the old IP address from its DNS cache. Once that record expires, requests will start failing. Connect a backup service now instead of waiting for the failure. ### When will hero-sms.com work again? Only HeroSMS and its registrar know. The domain is not deleted: its registration is valid until November 2027. ### Where can I receive SMS while HeroSMS is down? With Hush SMS: in the Telegram bot [@HushNumBot](https://t.me/HushNumBot?start=landing) or in the web account at hush-sms.com. Numbers come from several suppliers, and if a code does not arrive within 15 minutes, the money goes back to your balance automatically. ### Can I move my HeroSMS API integration to Hush SMS? Yes. HeroSMS uses the SMS-Activate protocol, and we have a [step-by-step guide](https://hush-sms.com/en/blog/migrate-from-herosms-api/) with a ready adapter: what replaces getNumber, getStatus and setStatus in the Hush SMS REST API. You get an API key in the bot or in the web account. Try Hush SMS with one order: if the code does not arrive within 15 minutes, the money goes back to your balance automatically. [Buy in the bot](https://t.me/HushNumBot?start=landing) [Buy on the website](https://hush-sms.com/account/?lang=en)