Short Message Service (SMS) has been in existence since the early 80′s, so the inevitable use of an SMS temperature alert comes as no surprise. Instant notification of any foreseeable threat is beneficial and critical to the recipients and the company they work for. This blog will present an SMS Gateway workaround to the required SIM card for SMS notifications. It may just save you time and money. Visit Ravica for details on setting up your complete monitoring and notification solution.
A Cost-effective Alternative
In order to utilize SMS notifications with the conventional method you will need a dedicated SIM card by which messages are transmitted. This presents many considerations and potential issues ranging from contract vs. no contract plans, signal strength, dropped calls and general overall cell provider availability and reliability. You can bypass all these concerns by sending an temperature email alert, or any other type of alert for that matter, to an SMS Gateway in the email notification feature. This method is actually quite old, although many, if not most, consumers are unaware of it.
Once you have installed a temperature sensor follow the directions below.
Setting Up Email Temperature Alert to SMS
1. Find your carrier’s email pattern (see list below). Example: TMobile’s is @tmomail.net
2. Add your 10 digit number to the email, for example: 2125151212@tmomail.net
3. Login as Admin to your system. In this case we are using Ravica’s securityProbe 5ES system.
4. Click on the “Notification” tab.
5. Click “Begin Notification Wizard.” Make sure “Action” is selected.
6. Create an action by clicking on the Action Type drop down menu and select “Email.”
Click Next
7. The next step is to create an Action Name and designate sender and recipient(s). In the “Mail To” box enter the SMS Gateway email address.
Click Next
8. Here you can customize the temperature email alert using the optional Macro and Graph features.
Click Next
9. The final stage is identification and authentication. Enter the required data and enable SMTP Authentication if desired.
Click Next
Once you’ve created the Email Notification Action you can link the temperature sensor to your action. Linking your temperature sensor will be covered in another blog.
Verify Your Action
Although unlikely, your carrier’s email pattern may have changed. You may want to verify your SMS Gateway prior to setting up an SMS alert by sending a test email to yourself or a colleague.
List of the Most Common SMS Gateways
For a more comprehensive list of providers, including international, visit the Email Text Messages website.
Alltel
[10-digit phone number]@message.alltel.com
Example: 2125551212@message.alltel.com
AT&T (formerly Cingular)
[10-digit phone number]@txt.att.net
Example: 2125551212@txt.att.net
For multimedia messages, use [10-digit-number]@mms.att.net
Example: 2125551212@mms.att.net
Boost Mobile
[10-digit phone number]@myboostmobile.com
Example: 2125551212@myboostmobile.com
Cricket Wireless
[10-digit phone number]@sms.mycricket.com
Example: 1234567890@sms.mycricket.com
For multimedia messages: [10-digit phone number]@mms.mycricket.com
Example: 1234567890@mms.mycricket.com
Nextel (now part of Sprint Nextel)
[10-digit telephone number]@messaging.nextel.com
Example: 7035551234@messaging.nextel.com
Sprint (now Sprint Nextel)
[10-digit phone number]@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Example: 2125551234@messaging.sprintpcs.com
T-Mobile
[10-digit phone number]@tmomail.net
Example: 4251234567@tmomail.net
Verizon
[10-digit phone number]@vtext.com
Example: 5552223333@vtext.com
Virgin Mobile USA
[10-digit phone number]@vmobl.com
Example: 5551234567@vmobl.com
Now that you’ve learned how to set up and receive an SMS alert from your temperature sensor without paying your cell carrier for additional service you can begin saving money. There are many other ways you can save money through monitoring humidity, fuel and power. Reach out to Ravica for more information.