SOS and escalation
An SOS is the reason this product exists, so it is worth being precise about what the Hub promises and what it does not.
What always happens
When a device sends an SOS, the Hub stores it, publishes it, shows it on the map and starts the escalation chain you have configured. None of that depends on your plan. Not on a plan that has lapsed, not on being over your device limit, not on anything to do with billing. The device ceiling is checked when you register a device and nowhere else; it is not on the path a message travels. That is enforced by tests that fail the build if anyone moves it.
What does not happen by itself
Nobody is told unless you have said who to tell. The Hub will not guess a phone number. If no escalation chain exists, an SOS is recorded and displayed and nothing leaves the system. Setting a chain up is the part only you can do.
Building a chain
Open Escalation and create a chain. A chain is an ordered list of tiers, and each tier has:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Name | what this tier is, for example sms_oncall or email_team |
| Targets | where to send: phone numbers, email addresses or notification URLs |
| Wait | seconds to wait for an acknowledgement before moving to the next tier |
| Max retries | how many delivery attempts within this tier before giving up on it |
The Hub works down the tiers in order. It stops as soon as somebody acknowledges. If nobody does, it keeps going to the end of the chain and then leaves the alert in an unacknowledged state, visible on the dashboard.
A chain with one tier and one phone number is a valid chain and is much better than none. Start there.
Where the messages actually go
Delivery uses your own accounts. SMS goes through the Twilio credentials you added under Settings, and satellite messages through your own Cloudloop or Rock7 account. See Provider accounts. If you have not added any, the Hub has no way to reach anyone and an escalation has nowhere to go.
Test it
Do not wait for a real emergency to find out whether the chain works.
- Create the chain with your own number or address in the first tier.
- Trigger a test alert from the Escalation page.
- Confirm it arrives, and acknowledge it.
- Then add the second tier and repeat, so you know the wait and the handover work.
A chain that has never been tested is an assumption.
The dead man's switch
Separately from SOS, a device can be required to check in. If it stops, the Hub raises an alert on the same escalation chains. Configure it under Deadman. This catches the case an SOS button cannot: somebody who is unable to press anything.
Geofences
Under Geofences you can draw an area and alert when a device enters or leaves it. Geofence alerts use the same escalation chains, so the contacts and timings you set up once apply to all three: SOS, dead man's switch and geofence.