Free tool
USSD menu simulator
Prototype a *120# menu, step through it on a phone screen and catch the problems (screens over 182 characters, menus too deep, too many options) before you brief a developer. Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for.
What the customer dials. Shared codes look like *120*1234#.
Cosmetic. USSD behaves the same on all four.
Indent with two spaces (Tab works). Every 1. line is an option; what you indent under it is the next screen.
How the format works
- Plain lines are the text of a screen.
1. Labelis an option. Indent lines under it to build the screen the customer sees after choosing it.? Enter your ID numberasks for free-text input. Indent the response screen under it.- A screen with no options and no prompt is an end screen: the session closes after it.
- Keep every screen under 182 characters, including the numbered options.
Welcome to Shop Rewards
1. Check my balance
You have R45 in rewards.
2. Register
? Enter your ID number
Thanks! You are registered.
Checks
Press call to start a session
Why this matters
The phones WhatsApp can’t reach are still phones.
A USSD menu runs on every GSM handset in South Africa, with no app, no download and no data. Competitions, loyalty points, account balances and fault reports all work from a *120# code, provided the menu is short enough to survive a 182-character screen and a three-minute session.
When the prototype is right, we build and run the real thing: short code, aggregator connection across all four networks, backend integration and reporting.