***Note: The description below is from our legacy Android app. Here is the updated, most recent HowTo Tutorial on using SMS text message alerts with Tools.Valarm.net.
We recommend you use dedicated Valarm connector devices, like WiFi or GSM sensor hubs for your Industrial IoT applications, remote monitoring, fluids + water measurements, and sensor deployments. Dedicated sensor hubs are more reliable, readily available, cost-effective, and flexible than Android phones or tablets.
You can use Valarm Industrial IoT, telemetry and remote sensor monitoring solutions with any of the following connector devices:
Your sensor measurements
are GPS-tagged, time-stamped, and sent to Valarm Tools Cloud / Tools.Valarm.net via any internet connectivity like WiFi, ethernet, or cell network. With Valarm Tools Cloud you’ll find services for mapping, graphing, and APIs to help you with your real-time, geo-enabled sensor monitoring and Industrial IoT solutions.
Have a look at our Customer Stories page for stories, use cases, remote monitoring, telemetry, + Valarm Industrial IoT applications.
Also see Web Dashboards that our customers use for Remote Monitoring, Telemetry, Sensors & Industrial IoT.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Info@Valarm.net if you have any questions.
Valarm compatible sensors are available at shop.valarm.net.
Valarm allows you to send SMS (Short Message Service) / text message alerts as a response to any sensor being triggered. Valarm compatible sensors are available at shop.valarm.net. On any Valarm device you can send SMS / text message alerts to up to 3 recipients. Use this in any scenario including remote environmental monitoring, air quality monitoring, light sensors, switches, flood alerts, knobs, teen tracking, home monitoring, presence and levels of water, vehicle/fleet tracking, or anything else you can imagine. Additionally, Valarm can be remote-controlled by sending text messages to the device as described in this article. For example, send a Valarm-equipped device a special text message and it will turn on its speakerphone and call you back allowing you to listen in on the location.
1. First launch the Valarm home screen to set up SMS / text alerts and remote control.
2. Use the options menu button to get to the All Settings screen of Valarm.
3. Once you are at Valarm’s All Settings screen click the SMS/Remote Control option.
4. In the SMS / Remote Control screen you can turn on and off alerts, decide whether you want to receive an alert whenever the device is armed or disarmed (can also be linked with arm/disarm on power source Settings option under Basics), and set a throttle for how often you want to receive SMS messages. With the throttle set at 60 seconds you will receive no more than 1 alert message every minute. Note that the Send SMS on Arm and Disarm options ignore this throttle. Customize these settings as you see fit for your custom scenario! Perhaps you are using Valarm for remote environment monitoring, as a house monitor, or a server room monitor and you want to receive a text message when the temperature goes above or below your custom threshold. Or you may want to know when a Valarm-equipped vehicle exceeds a certain speed or the lights go out on your plants!
5. Once you have turned on the SMS Alerts put in any phone number(s) that will receive the Valarm alerts. That’s it for setting up SMS / text message alerts! Simply arm Valarm once the rest of your configurations and sensors are ready to go. Remember that you will pay any fees to your carrier for SMS / text messages. Check out T-Mobile and MetroPCS for pre-paid, no contract plans in the US that have unlimited text and data for $30 or less per month. The next part describes the Remote Control feature of Valarm.
6. You can also remotely control Valarm via text message by clicking “Enable Remote Control” on this settings screen. Type in your password and you’re good to go for the Valarm Remote Control. You can arm, disarm, have the Valarm-equipped phone call you and listen in on the environment, and do other commands and functions described below!
7. Valarm’s Remote Control allows you to arm/disarm, get current status, and other functions, by sending SMS/text messages to this phone from any other phone (or Google Voice, for example!).
Enable this function and set a Remote Control Password, then send a text containing “password help” (no quotes, and replace “password” with your password) to this phone. If your password includes spaces, separate it from the command with a colon (“:”), like this “pass word:help”.
Valarm will respond with a text message describing available Remote Control functions. Do NOT use a colon (“:”) in your password!
Valarm SMS Remote Controls
- arm: arm the system – respects any configured arming-delay.
- armnow: arm immediately, do not respect configured arming delay.
- disarm: disarm the system immediately.
- status: get status, inc. last-known location and battery life.
- locate: run GPS and respond with current location.
- trigger: Arm system (if disarmed) and trigger the alarm immediately. Note that Valarm stays armed after this command until you disarm it.
- enableSmsAlerts: turn on SMS alert msgs.
- disableSmsAlerts: turn off SMS alert msgs.
- callMe: calls you back from the Valarm-equipped phone.
- help: a message with possible commands.
Note that commands are NOT case-sensitive. But your password is.
8. That’s all for Valarm’s SMS / Text Message Alerts and Remote Control. If you have any comments or questions don’t hesitate to ask. Check out Valarm Email Alerts and the rest of Valarm’s device features and web features. Also leave a message and let us know what you’re doing with Valarm!
