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WelcoYour alerts, by text.

Test your SMS alerts before a single text goes out

Test mode lets you try SMS alerts without sending them, so every alarm text reads right before the night crew sees one. Welco receives each email, checks it against your rules and logs it in the feed. No phone buzzes, and no message credit is spent.

Test my alarm setupBook a demo

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  • One switch for the account
  • Phones stay silent
  • No credits spent

Works by email with

  • Ignition
  • GE iFIX
  • Nagios
  • Metasys

Test mode

Try it: turn it off and on.

3

Test mode off: each try wakes the crew

1

Test mode on: phones stay silent and the feed logs each try

On. The phone gets 1 text.

With Test mode off, the phone gets 3 texts: Welco: [Reservoir 2] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 2:31 PM. Reply STOP to opt out. Welco: [Reservoir 2] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 2:34 PM. Reply STOP to opt out. Welco: [Reservoir 2] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 2:36 PM. Reply STOP to opt out. With it on, it gets 1: No texts sent. 3 test alerts in the feed, 0 credits used.
Animation: Test mode switched off and on. Test mode off: each try wakes the crew. Test mode on: phones stay silent and the feed logs each try.

What test mode saves your crew from

A few quiet practice runs now buy a lot of patience from the night crew. Here's what changes when each new setup starts in test mode.

  • No buzz for a practice run

    Practice alarms never reach anyone's phone, so the crew keeps trusting every text that does.

  • The exact text, before it goes live

    Spot a long footer or a missing site name in the feed, not on someone's lock screen.

  • Rules tuned on real alarms

    Check which rule caught each email and which phones it would have reached.

  • Practice costs nothing

    Test alerts use no credits, however many tries a new setup needs.

Test an alarm setup with no texts sent

Getting a text just right usually takes a few tries. Test mode keeps those tries off everyone's phone, and it works with every Welco feature.

  1. Switch on test mode

    It's a single switch on your account. While it's on, nothing is texted to anybody.

  2. Send alarms from your system

    Fire a test alarm or wait for a routine one. Welco takes in the email as usual, provided it comes from one of your approved senders.

  3. Read the feed

    You'll see each email, the rule it matched, the phones it would reach and the text it would become. Check the length and how many credits it would use.

  4. Switch test mode off

    Once the texts look right, turn it off. The next alarm goes out for real.

A real example: tuning a new reservoir alarm

At a water plant in Saskatchewan, an operator added a reservoir to the SCADA alarm list. They wanted to read the text before the crew did.

Alert email from scada-alarms@waterplant.example.org, subject “Alarm: RES2 LIT HIGH HIGH”. Welco trims it to one text of 79 characters: “Welco: [Reservoir 2] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 2:31 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Text received: Welco: [Reservoir 2] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 2:31 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.

Characters185791 credit

Animation: the alert email "Alarm: RES2 LIT HIGH HIGH" is trimmed into one text: "Welco: [Reservoir 2] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 2:31 PM. Reply STOP to opt out."

The first try showed the whole block of alarm text. After one trim rule, the feed showed the single line above. Then the operator turned test mode off.

Check your setup before the crew does

Sign up, switch on test mode and send your first alarm through.

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing

Test my alarm setupBook a demo

Three ways to test, and what each one shows

Test mode is one of three tools. Choose the one that answers the question you have.

Test mode

What it sends
Nothing. Each email, rule match and would-be text is logged.
When to use it
You're connecting a new system to Welco or reworking several rules.

A rule's Test tab

What it sends
Nothing. Paste in an email and see what that one rule would do.
When to use it
You're editing one rule and other alarms have to keep flowing.

Test text button

What it sends
One real text through the full path to your phone.
When to use it
You want proof that a confirmed phone gets texts.

When to turn test mode on

Reach for it whenever a change could wake someone for no reason.

  • A new system comes online

    Push two or three real alarms through, and read each text as if you'd just been woken up.

  • Rules are changing

    Writing or editing alert rules, trim rules or night and weekend windows is safest with phones left out.

  • A wordy alert worries you

    The feed shows how many credits a long alarm email would use, before it costs a thing.

  • A new admin is learning the ropes

    Walk them through how alerts flow without buzzing the on-call phone mid-lesson.

Frequently asked questions

Are credits used while test mode is on?

No. In test mode, emails are logged and checked against your rules, but nothing is texted and no credit is spent.

Do real alarms still go out during test mode?

No. Test mode is one switch for the whole account, so real alarms are logged but not texted. Keep each session short, then turn it off. Use a rule's Test tab when other alarms must keep flowing.

How can I confirm a phone actually receives texts?

Press the test text button on your dashboard. It sends a real text along the full path, from Welco to the phone. That phone has to be confirmed with a YES reply first.

Can I read the exact text a test alert would have become?

Yes. The feed puts each test email beside the text Welco would have sent, along with the phones it would reach. That's where you catch a long footer or a missing site name before anyone else sees it.

What should I look for in the feed while testing?

Read each would-be text the way a groggy operator would at 3 a.m. The site should come first, the footer should be gone and the credit count should match what you expect. Then check which phones each rule reaches, particularly overnight.

Is there a step-by-step guide for testing a plant system?

Yes. The SCADA setup guide runs from the first alarm email to the first real text, with test mode handling the tuning step.

Get your alarm texts right before they go live

Try every rule on real alarms, then turn the texts on.

Test my alarm setupBook a demo

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing