Troubleshooting Tellspin Reminders Not Working
Symptoms
A reminder you configured doesn't post in the channel at the expected time. You may have received a direct message from Tellspin saying it couldn't send, or the reminder may simply never appear.
Cause 1: Tellspin Isn't a Member of the Channel
This is the cause in most reports. Tellspin can only post in channels it has been invited to, and it can't join on its own. Slack returns channel_not_found and nothing is posted. Tellspin tries to DM you when this happens, but for private channels that notice may not arrive, so the reminder just looks silent.
Check: click the channel name at the top of Slack to open its details, then open the Integrations tab. Tellspin should be listed under Apps.
Resolution: if it isn't listed, type @Tellspin in the channel and click Invite (or use Add apps on that tab). Tellspin will reply that no rotation schedule is set for this channel; ignore it. Then open the schedule's Reminders and click Test Send to confirm the reminder posts.
Cause 2: You Expected a Daily Reminder From a Weekly Schedule
A reminder with Frequency set to When a shift begins fires only when the shift changes. On a weekly rotation that is once a week, at the rotation hour on the rotation day. It also doesn't fire when you first create the schedule; the first one arrives at the next shift change.
Resolution: if you want a message every day, edit the reminder and set Frequency to Custom, then choose Every 1 week on the weekdays you want and a Time. See setting up daily on-call reminders.
Cause 3: The Reminder Is Disabled or Configured Differently Than You Expect
Open Edit → Edit Reminders and read each entry. They spell out exactly what will happen, for example Send to #general when a shift begins or Send direct message every Monday at 11:00, and a disabled reminder is marked Disabled. Common surprises:
- It's disabled: click Enable.
- It sends a Direct Message to the on-call person rather than posting in a channel.
- It uses Next up on-call rather than Currently on-call, or vice versa.
- Its time is interpreted in the schedule's timezone, shown under the Time picker, not yours. See how timezones work.
- It targets a channel that has since been renamed or archived.
Resolution: click Edit on the reminder, correct the destination, shift, or frequency, and Save. Then Test Send.
Cause 4: The Schedule Is Deactivated Right Now
Reminders follow the schedule. Nothing is sent while the schedule is inactive: on Saturday and Sunday when Deactivate on weekends is on, or on weekdays for a Weekends Only schedule.
Resolution: check the preview under the schedule in the App Home. If the current period shows the schedule as disabled, the reminder is behaving as designed.
Cause 5: Nobody Is On-Call
If the schedule has no participants for the current shift (for example everyone was removed, or a synced schedule has an unmapped user), there's no one to announce. Check the schedule's on-call line in the App Home and fix the participants or user mapping.
Still Stuck?
Email support@tellspin.com with:
- your Slack workspace name or ID,
- the schedule's handle,
- the channel the reminder should post to and whether it is private,
- a screenshot of the schedule's Reminders list.
Support can see the Slack error for each scheduled reminder in the logs.