Sending SMS/Text Alerts to a Cell Phone

InterMapper can send SMS or text message alerts to a cell phone, mobile phone, or wireless phone. These notifications will be sent using an analogue modem to dial a TAP paging terminal at your wireless provider.

Note: The methods described below depend on an analogue modem dialing a TAP service or a cell phone. You can also use a cell modem to send SMS message directly to another cell phone. For more information, see Configuring an SMS Notifier(Pg 1). This may be preferable at this point.

There are several methods for sending alerts to a mobile phone.

TAP - the Telelocator Alphanumeric Protocol

InterMapper can send SMS or Text Messages using TAP, the Telelocator Alphanumeric Protocol, with an internal or external analogue modem. It will connect to a paging service and deliver a notification or alert to your cell phone

Using TAP to Send a Message

If your paging service provides a TAP paging terminal that forwards pages as SMS or text messages to your wireless phone, you can follow the instructions below to configure InterMapper to send alerts to your phone.

  1. Add a new Notifier. To do this, click Add in the Server Settings>Notifiers List window. The Configure Notifier window appears.
  2. From the Notifier Type drop-down list, choose Alpha-numeric Pager (Dialup).
  3. Click Edit Subscriber List.
  4. Add a new paging service. To do this, click Add button in the Paging Services tab. Enter the name of the service, the phone number to dial (including any numbers you may need to access an outside line), and a password, if required. Use the default values for data bits, stop bits, parity and speed unless your paging service has provided you with different values.
  5. Add a new subscriber. To do this, click Add button in the Paging Subscribers tab. Enter the subscriber name, then select the paging service you created in step 4 from the drop-down list. Enter the subscriber's cell phone number in the Pager ID field.
  6. When you have finished adding the new paging service and subscriber, click OK to return to the Configure Notifier window.
  7. Click Edit Message if you want to change the data included with the text message. Edit the message, then click OK when finished.
  8. Edit the notifier schedule, if required.
  9. Click Test Notifier to confirm that the message can be sent and received.
  10. When finished, click OK.

Note: This procedure has been tested using Verizon's TAP access to their SMS/Text Message system. The access number is 866-823-0501. Other cell providers may offer a gateway to their text/SMS message service.

Sending a Message if TAP is Not Available

If your cell phone provider does not provide a TAP interface for text messages, you can use an e-mail-based service to deliver the message. You should contact your cell phone provider for details on sending alerts and notifications via e-mail. Note: Remember that sending an alert through e-mail fails if your connection to the Internet is down. See below for a low-tech workaround.

Workaround for When Your Internet Connection Is Down

If your Internet connection is down, but your cell phone provider doesn't offer access to their text/SMS message system via an analogue modem, you can still get notified about problems. Simply create a new Alpha-numeric Pager (Dialup) notifier and enter the cell phone number as the paging service number. It dials the phone directly. There won't be any voice or text/SMS message, but the CallerID will let the recipient know that it's InterMapper calling.

Troubleshooting SMS/Text Alerts

If you encounter any problems, InterMapper can create a log file that shows the details of the paging mechanism. This is useful to review or send to tech support. To do this: