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WelcoYour alerts, by text.

Test SMS alerts without sending a single text

Test mode lets you test SMS alerts without sending them, so every alarm text is right before the night crew ever sees one. Emails are received, checked against your rules and logged in the feed. No phone buzzes and no message credit is used.

Test my alarm setupBook a demo

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

  • One switch on your account
  • Phones stay quiet
  • No credits used

Works by email with

  • Ignition
  • GE iFIX
  • Nagios
  • Metasys

Test mode

Try it: turn it off and on.

3

Test mode off: every try buzzes the crew

1

Test mode on: phones stay quiet while the feed logs each try

On. The phone gets 1 text.

With Test mode off, the phone gets 3 texts: Welco: [Well 7] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 3:05 PM. Reply STOP to opt out. Welco: [Well 7] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 3:07 PM. Reply STOP to opt out. Welco: [Well 7] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 3:09 PM. Reply STOP to opt out. With it on, it gets 1: No texts sent. 3 test alerts logged in the feed, 0 credits used.
Animation: Test mode switched off and on. Test mode off: every try buzzes the crew. Test mode on: phones stay quiet while the feed logs each try.

What test mode spares your crew

A few quiet tries now save a lot of goodwill with the night crew. Here is what changes when every new setup starts in test mode.

  • No buzz for a practice alarm

    Tries stay off people's phones, so the on-call crew keeps trusting every text they get.

  • The exact text, before it ships

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

  • Rules tuned on real alarms

    See which rule each email matched and which phones it would reach.

  • Nothing spent on practice

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

How to test an alarm setup without sending texts

Most setups take a few tries to get the text just right. Test mode keeps those tries off people's phones. You can try any Welco feature this way.

  1. Turn on test mode

    It's one switch on your account. While it's on, nothing is texted to anyone.

  2. Send alarms from your system

    Trigger a test alarm, or wait for a routine one. Welco receives the email as normal, as long as it comes from one of your approved senders.

  3. Check the feed

    See each email, which rule matched, the phones it would reach and the text it would become. Check the length and the credits it would use.

  4. Turn test mode off

    When the texts look right, switch it off. The next alarm goes out for real.

A real example: tuning a new well alarm

An operator added a new well to the SCADA alarm list. They wanted to see the text before the crew did.

Alert email from scada-alerts@water.example.gov, subject “Alarm: WELL7 LIT HIGH HIGH”. Welco trims it to one text of 74 characters: “Welco: [Well 7] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 3:05 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Text received: Welco: [Well 7] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 3:05 PM. Reply STOP to opt out.

Characters185741 credit

Animation: the alert email "Alarm: WELL7 LIT HIGH HIGH" is trimmed into one text: "Welco: [Well 7] Level HIGH HIGH alarm at 3:05 PM. Reply STOP to opt out."

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

Try your setup before the crew sees it

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 proves

Test mode is one of three tools. Pick the one that matches the question you're asking.

Test mode

What it sends
Nothing. Each email, rule match and would-be text is logged.
Use it when
You're pointing a new system at Welco or reworking several rules.

A rule's Test tab

What it sends
Nothing. Paste an email and see what that one rule would do.
Use it when
You're changing one rule and other alarms must keep flowing.

Test text button

What it sends
One real text through the whole path to your phone.
Use it when
You need proof a confirmed phone receives texts.

When to switch test mode on

Use it any time a change could wake someone up for nothing.

  • A new system goes live

    Send two or three real alarms through and read each text as if you were half asleep.

  • Rules change

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

  • A long alert worries you

    The feed shows how many credits a wordy alarm email would use before it costs anything.

  • A new admin is learning

    Show how alerts flow without buzzing the on-call phone during the lesson.

Frequently asked questions

Do test alerts use credits?

No. While test mode is on, emails are logged and checked against your rules, but no text is sent and no credit is used.

Will real alarms get through while test mode is on?

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

How do I check that a phone really receives texts?

Use the test text button on your dashboard. It sends a real text through the whole path, from Welco to the phone. The phone must already be confirmed with a YES reply.

Can I see the exact text a test alert would have sent?

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

What should I check in the feed during a test?

Read each would-be text the way a half-asleep tech would. The site should come first, the footer should be gone and the credit count should be what you expect. Then check which phones each rule would reach, especially at night.

Is there a walk-through for testing a plant system?

Yes. The SCADA setup guide goes from the first alarm email to the first real text. It uses test mode for the tuning step.

Check your alarm texts before they go live

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

Test my alarm setupBook a demo

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