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SMS & Voice Alerts

Get critical alerts delivered directly to your phone via SMS text message or automated voice call. Never miss a critical outage, even when you're away from your desk.

Overview

PixoMonitor uses Twilio to deliver SMS and voice alerts for urgent monitoring notifications. These channels are designed for:

  • Critical production monitors — When immediate response is essential
  • On-call rotations — Reach the right person, wherever they are
  • After-hours alerts — Wake-up calls for overnight incidents
  • Redundant notifications — Backup when other channels might fail

SMS and Voice alerts are premium features that may incur additional charges based on your plan and usage. They're best reserved for critical monitors where immediate notification is essential.

SMS Alerts

How SMS Alerts Work

When a monitor triggers an alert:

  1. PixoMonitor sends an SMS to your configured phone number
  2. The message includes monitor name, status, and timestamp
  3. Messages are kept concise (under 160 characters when possible)
  4. Rate limiting prevents alert fatigue during ongoing incidents

SMS Message Format

PixoMonitor Alert: MyWebsite is DOWN. 
Connection timeout. 10:30 AM

Or for recovery:

PixoMonitor: MyWebsite is UP. 10:35 AM

SMS messages are intentionally brief to fit within standard message limits and ensure quick delivery. For full details, check your PixoMonitor dashboard or use another alert channel.

Setting Up SMS Alerts

1

Add SMS Alert Channel

In PixoMonitor, go to Settings → Alert Channels and click Add Alert Channel:

  • Name: A descriptive name (e.g., "On-Call Phone")
  • Type: Select SMS
  • Phone Number: Enter your phone number in international format
2

Format Your Phone Number

Enter your phone number in E.164 international format:

  • US/Canada: +14155551234
  • UK: +447911123456
  • Germany: +4915112345678
  • Australia: +61412345678

Always include the + and country code.

3

Assign to Critical Monitors

Add the SMS alert channel to your most critical monitors. Consider reserving SMS for production systems where immediate response is required.

Voice Alerts

How Voice Alerts Work

Voice alerts call your phone and deliver a spoken message:

  1. Your phone rings from the PixoMonitor alert number
  2. When you answer, an automated voice reads the alert
  3. The message is repeated twice for clarity
  4. Call includes monitor name, status, and error information

Voice Alert Script

When you answer, you'll hear:

"PixoMonitor monitoring alert. Your monitor MyWebsite is currently DOWN. Error: Connection timeout. Please check your dashboard for details. Repeating: MyWebsite is DOWN."

Voice alerts are particularly effective for critical overnight alerts when other notification methods might be missed.

Setting Up Voice Alerts

1

Add Voice Alert Channel

In PixoMonitor, go to Settings → Alert Channels and click Add Alert Channel:

  • Name: A descriptive name (e.g., "Emergency Voice Call")
  • Type: Select Voice
  • Phone Number: Enter your phone number in international format
2

Verify Phone Number Format

Use E.164 international format (same as SMS):

  • Include the + sign
  • Include your country code
  • No spaces, dashes, or parentheses

Example: +14155551234

3

Test the Channel

Use the Test button to receive a test call and verify your phone number is correctly configured.

Rate Limiting & Alert Fatigue

SMS Rate Limiting

To prevent alert fatigue during prolonged incidents, PixoMonitor implements smart rate limiting for SMS:

  • 5-minute cooldown between SMS alerts for the same monitor
  • Repeated alerts for ongoing issues are suppressed
  • Status change alerts (DOWN → UP) are always sent
  • You won't receive dozens of messages for a single incident

Voice Alert Behavior

Voice calls are typically sent for:

  • Initial DOWN alerts
  • Status changes
  • Not repeated during ongoing incidents

Rate limiting protects you from alert fatigue while ensuring you're notified of new incidents and status changes.

Best Practices

Reserve for Critical Monitors

SMS and voice alerts should be used strategically:

Good use cases:

  • Production website/API endpoints
  • Payment processing systems
  • Authentication services
  • Database connectivity
  • Critical infrastructure

Better handled by other channels:

  • Staging environments
  • Development servers
  • Non-critical services
  • High-frequency monitoring (use email/Slack instead)

Combine with Other Channels

For comprehensive coverage, layer your alert channels:

  1. Slack/Teams — All alerts for team visibility
  2. Email — Detailed records and documentation
  3. SMS — Critical alerts only for immediate awareness
  4. Voice — Emergency-level incidents requiring immediate response

On-Call Considerations

For on-call rotations:

  • Use SMS/voice for the on-call engineer
  • Update phone numbers when rotations change
  • Consider separate alert channels for primary and backup on-call

Phone Number Management

Updating Your Phone Number

To change the phone number for an alert channel:

  1. Go to Settings → Alert Channels
  2. Find the SMS or Voice channel
  3. Click Edit
  4. Update the phone number
  5. Use Test to verify the new number

International Numbers

PixoMonitor supports phone numbers worldwide. Ensure you:

  • Use the correct country code
  • Format in E.164 format
  • Verify the number can receive SMS (for SMS alerts)
  • Verify the number can receive calls (for voice alerts)

Troubleshooting

SMS Not Received

  1. Check phone number format: Must be E.164 format with + and country code
  2. Verify SMS capability: Some VoIP numbers can't receive SMS
  3. Check carrier blocks: Some carriers block automated SMS
  4. Test the channel: Use PixoMonitor's Test button

Voice Call Not Received

  1. Verify phone number: Ensure correct format and number
  2. Check call blocking: The call might be flagged as spam
  3. Verify the phone accepts calls: Some numbers are SMS-only
  4. Check voicemail: The alert may have been left as a voicemail

Calls Marked as Spam

If your phone marks PixoMonitor calls as spam:

  1. Answer and mark as "Not Spam"
  2. Add the calling number to your contacts
  3. Check your phone's spam filter settings

Delayed Alerts

SMS and voice alerts are typically delivered within seconds, but delays can occur due to:

  • Carrier congestion
  • International routing
  • Phone network issues

For time-critical alerting, combine with instant channels like Slack or push notifications.

Security & Privacy

  • Phone numbers: Stored securely and only used for alerts
  • Message content: Kept minimal to protect sensitive information
  • No data storage: Twilio doesn't store message content long-term
  • Secure transmission: All communications are encrypted

SMS alerts contain basic monitor information. Avoid putting sensitive data in monitor names, as these appear in SMS messages.