Keyring emergency help call button that uses text message not internet
March 7, 2023 8:58 AM Subscribe
I keep having asthma attacks in my building's parking garage, which is an internet dead zone.
There is zero mobile internet or wifi coverage in my building's parking garage. Phone service is very spotty as well -- it takes multiple attempts to even get a call to ring -- but text messages seem to get through albeit sometimes on a few seconds lag.
Unfortunately, my husband sleeps through or otherwise ignores a ringing phone or text message notifications because 99% of calls and texts are spam. We normally communicate via Telegram, which works great everywhere except in the parking garage where I keep having asthma attacks.
I need a keyring emergency call button that I can push for help that sends a signal on whatever network regular text messages run on and then makes a loud racket on his end so he will be woken up to come down and help me. Ideally it would be a two-way system so he could also alert me if he needs help bringing up groceries etc.
I don't want a device that calls 911, just my husband. The kind of help I need in the aftermath of an attack is a scarf, hot tea, something to clean up the vomit, help picking up anything I've dropped or spilled, and someone to drive me to work while I recover, not paramedics. I'm not actively dying, I'm just trapped in my car because the air outside is trying to kill me.
Initial Googling only turns up devices that are meant to work on wifi or mobile internet. How do I find a pair of devices that run on the same network as regular texts? We're in the US and Verizon generally seems to have the best coverage in our area.
There is zero mobile internet or wifi coverage in my building's parking garage. Phone service is very spotty as well -- it takes multiple attempts to even get a call to ring -- but text messages seem to get through albeit sometimes on a few seconds lag.
Unfortunately, my husband sleeps through or otherwise ignores a ringing phone or text message notifications because 99% of calls and texts are spam. We normally communicate via Telegram, which works great everywhere except in the parking garage where I keep having asthma attacks.
I need a keyring emergency call button that I can push for help that sends a signal on whatever network regular text messages run on and then makes a loud racket on his end so he will be woken up to come down and help me. Ideally it would be a two-way system so he could also alert me if he needs help bringing up groceries etc.
I don't want a device that calls 911, just my husband. The kind of help I need in the aftermath of an attack is a scarf, hot tea, something to clean up the vomit, help picking up anything I've dropped or spilled, and someone to drive me to work while I recover, not paramedics. I'm not actively dying, I'm just trapped in my car because the air outside is trying to kill me.
Initial Googling only turns up devices that are meant to work on wifi or mobile internet. How do I find a pair of devices that run on the same network as regular texts? We're in the US and Verizon generally seems to have the best coverage in our area.
I can't do a lot of research into this right now, but I think you want to look at paging technology or service. Pager signal penetration is much better than cell service (or, it used to be), and I think it's still in use. I don't know whether there are 1-button press devices to another device, but you might be able to find one.
posted by Gorgik at 9:20 AM on March 7, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Gorgik at 9:20 AM on March 7, 2023 [4 favorites]
Unfortunately, "the same network as regular texts" is how cellphones work, there's not a separate technology or set of radio frequencies for text messages. A radio dead zone is going to be just as dead for text messages as it is for anything else.
posted by mhoye at 9:48 AM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mhoye at 9:48 AM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Could you use some sort of location alarm? Like maybe share your cell phone's location with your husband and configure his phone to sound an alarm when you get within ~500m of you garage and stay still for five minutes?
It would be tricky to filter out the difference location-wise between arriving home and just being home, but there might be some way to do it. Or maybe configure your phone to automatically send his phone a text message when you're on final approach to the garage, and his phone can be configured to produce a loud noise when it get's that particular text.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 10:01 AM on March 7, 2023
It would be tricky to filter out the difference location-wise between arriving home and just being home, but there might be some way to do it. Or maybe configure your phone to automatically send his phone a text message when you're on final approach to the garage, and his phone can be configured to produce a loud noise when it get's that particular text.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 10:01 AM on March 7, 2023
“Caregiver pager” seems to be a class of devices that might help, if the distance is close enough.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 10:06 AM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 10:06 AM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
mhoye said what I was going to say, although I'm intrigued by the pager advice.
Is there any chance you could get building management to install a wifi node in the garage? You're probably not the only person who would benefit.
posted by adamrice at 10:16 AM on March 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
Is there any chance you could get building management to install a wifi node in the garage? You're probably not the only person who would benefit.
posted by adamrice at 10:16 AM on March 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
It *may* be possible to install a cellphone booster near the garage. Maybe you can offer to pay a partial cost and have the building pay the rest and chalk it up as a benefit to all residents.
If you want a two-way, I recommend the old walkie-talkie type devices from Motorola or Baofeng.
posted by kschang at 10:24 AM on March 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
If you want a two-way, I recommend the old walkie-talkie type devices from Motorola or Baofeng.
posted by kschang at 10:24 AM on March 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
The op reports that they can send and receive text messages from the garage despite the poor quality cellular service.
Op, I agree with those who have suggest old-school pagers or beepers, or a modern pager system like the ones used by restaurants. That still leaves the problem of having it create a loud enough noise to wake your spouse, but at least it would get the message out of the garage.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 10:47 AM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Op, I agree with those who have suggest old-school pagers or beepers, or a modern pager system like the ones used by restaurants. That still leaves the problem of having it create a loud enough noise to wake your spouse, but at least it would get the message out of the garage.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 10:47 AM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Op, to say a little bit more, I've never heard of any communication system other than SMS that uses SMS as a transport layer, which seems to be what you're asking for. But some of these other suggestions might help.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 11:44 AM on March 7, 2023
posted by Winnie the Proust at 11:44 AM on March 7, 2023
Can you set up a google voice account that gives your husband a second number, and have his phone set up to make texts from that number have a much louder ring, or install an app to do something even louder/more prolonged?
posted by inkyz at 1:10 PM on March 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by inkyz at 1:10 PM on March 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
What kind of phone do you and your husband have? On iOS your husband could enable Emergency Bypass mode for text messages from you. This is accessed by editing your Contact entry in his phone. That allows texts from you to make an alert sound even if Do Not Disturb is turned on.
Then, I would suggest assigning a very distinctive text tone to your contact on his phone.
Finally, instead of turning off the ringer or ignoring it your husband could start using Do Not Disturb mode (now called Focus).
I have no idea what the equivalent to this setup would be on Android, perhaps others could chime in?
SMS is very low bandwidth and sometimes works in areas where regular phone calls don't, and is much lower bandwidth than a full-fledged internet messaging app.
posted by dweingart at 1:37 PM on March 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
Then, I would suggest assigning a very distinctive text tone to your contact on his phone.
Finally, instead of turning off the ringer or ignoring it your husband could start using Do Not Disturb mode (now called Focus).
I have no idea what the equivalent to this setup would be on Android, perhaps others could chime in?
SMS is very low bandwidth and sometimes works in areas where regular phone calls don't, and is much lower bandwidth than a full-fledged internet messaging app.
posted by dweingart at 1:37 PM on March 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have a suggestion for a question that you didn't ask - please ignore if not appropriate. Ask your doctor for a 'handicap' car tag so you don't have to walk as far into the garage.
posted by CathyG at 10:32 PM on March 7, 2023
posted by CathyG at 10:32 PM on March 7, 2023
Response by poster: Since people don't seem to get what I was trying to describe:
Text messages work in the parking garage.
Phone calls work in the parking garage, albeit with poor reception.
It's specifically mobile internet and wifi that don't work in the parking garage.
You know how you can go on your phone and turn off wifi and turn off mobile data, but still use your phone to make phone calls and send text messages even though you have zero internet? That is the signal that still works in the parking garage. That is the signal I need this device to run on.
My husband and I both leave our phones in Do Not Disturb mode 24/7 because we don't want to be disturbed. We both have Android phones, and I have checked every setting and cannot find a way to allow only one person's calls to get through while blocking everyone and everything else.
I do not want my phone to ring, ever. I do not want my husband's phone to ring, ever. I want a completely separate device that runs off the phone part of the network (which works in the parking garage) and not the internet data part of the network (which does NOT work in the parking garage). I want it to be small enough to put on a keychain.
I know that such devices exist because I saw ads for them on TV all the time in the 1990s back before everyone had internet on their phones. Like for the elderly. But I don't remember what they're called, and when I try to Google for search terms related to the general idea all I get are ads for smartphone apps.
In response to the other suggestions:
I'm not disabled enough to qualify for a handicap placard, that has a very specific set of criteria related to how many feet you can walk.
It's not car fumes that trigger my asthma attacks so an air filter wouldn't help. My asthma is triggered some specific combination of temperature range and humidity range that I haven't figured out yet, so I can't just check the weather report and plan ahead. The reason my asthma attacks happen in the parking garage is that's my first exposure to outdoor air in the morning. If I were to instead walk out the front door and down the sidewalk then my asthma attacks would happen on the sidewalk.
(Unfortunately, there is zero legal street parking in my neighborhood -- and the cops here do ticket and tow -- so I can't park anywhere except in the internet dead zone of the parking garage.)
There is zero chance of building management fulfilling a request to install a wifi node in the parking garage. They are the most reviled property management company in town with multiple class action lawsuits against them for good reason. They can't even manage to keep up with their legally mandated duties much less their contractual obligations much much less doing something extra like installing wifi in the parking garage. They're also deeply technologically incompetent. It took them three months to figure out how to get 100+ tenants' key fobs to finally work properly. The door alarms all beeped for over a week. They can't navigate AppFolio to save their lives even though their entire business runs on it. I could go on but you get the idea -- even if they were struck by the benevolent whim to fulfill such a request, they would just fuck up the installation and it wouldn't be functional.
Back to the sort of device I'm looking for:
The sort of device I'm looking for used to be advertised to the elderly as being small enough to carry everywhere and you could just push a button to call someone for help if you fell or whatever. These devices definitely didn't require a bluetooth connection to a smartphone with a working internet signal because literally none of those things existed yet. Does anyone else remember them too or did I just straight-up hallucinate memories of late night TV ads that never existed for a product that never existed?
posted by Jacqueline at 12:41 AM on March 8, 2023
Text messages work in the parking garage.
Phone calls work in the parking garage, albeit with poor reception.
It's specifically mobile internet and wifi that don't work in the parking garage.
You know how you can go on your phone and turn off wifi and turn off mobile data, but still use your phone to make phone calls and send text messages even though you have zero internet? That is the signal that still works in the parking garage. That is the signal I need this device to run on.
My husband and I both leave our phones in Do Not Disturb mode 24/7 because we don't want to be disturbed. We both have Android phones, and I have checked every setting and cannot find a way to allow only one person's calls to get through while blocking everyone and everything else.
I do not want my phone to ring, ever. I do not want my husband's phone to ring, ever. I want a completely separate device that runs off the phone part of the network (which works in the parking garage) and not the internet data part of the network (which does NOT work in the parking garage). I want it to be small enough to put on a keychain.
I know that such devices exist because I saw ads for them on TV all the time in the 1990s back before everyone had internet on their phones. Like for the elderly. But I don't remember what they're called, and when I try to Google for search terms related to the general idea all I get are ads for smartphone apps.
In response to the other suggestions:
I'm not disabled enough to qualify for a handicap placard, that has a very specific set of criteria related to how many feet you can walk.
It's not car fumes that trigger my asthma attacks so an air filter wouldn't help. My asthma is triggered some specific combination of temperature range and humidity range that I haven't figured out yet, so I can't just check the weather report and plan ahead. The reason my asthma attacks happen in the parking garage is that's my first exposure to outdoor air in the morning. If I were to instead walk out the front door and down the sidewalk then my asthma attacks would happen on the sidewalk.
(Unfortunately, there is zero legal street parking in my neighborhood -- and the cops here do ticket and tow -- so I can't park anywhere except in the internet dead zone of the parking garage.)
There is zero chance of building management fulfilling a request to install a wifi node in the parking garage. They are the most reviled property management company in town with multiple class action lawsuits against them for good reason. They can't even manage to keep up with their legally mandated duties much less their contractual obligations much much less doing something extra like installing wifi in the parking garage. They're also deeply technologically incompetent. It took them three months to figure out how to get 100+ tenants' key fobs to finally work properly. The door alarms all beeped for over a week. They can't navigate AppFolio to save their lives even though their entire business runs on it. I could go on but you get the idea -- even if they were struck by the benevolent whim to fulfill such a request, they would just fuck up the installation and it wouldn't be functional.
Back to the sort of device I'm looking for:
The sort of device I'm looking for used to be advertised to the elderly as being small enough to carry everywhere and you could just push a button to call someone for help if you fell or whatever. These devices definitely didn't require a bluetooth connection to a smartphone with a working internet signal because literally none of those things existed yet. Does anyone else remember them too or did I just straight-up hallucinate memories of late night TV ads that never existed for a product that never existed?
posted by Jacqueline at 12:41 AM on March 8, 2023
The device you are describing is LifeAlert, and it is for home use, as what they actually do is they signal a HOME station, which is connected to a phone line so it calls 911 for you. So it would only work within a few hundred feet of the home station. It doesn't work in your case. Note the description on this page: "emergency pendent" and a "signature main unit". The main unit calls for help, pendent is a normal wireless device. They "claim" 800 ft, but in reality it's going to be blocked by building the same.
They do have a wireless model, but it uses normal cellular signals like a mobile phone. So it won't help you.
So it's back to a walkie-talkie.
posted by kschang at 3:43 AM on March 8, 2023
They do have a wireless model, but it uses normal cellular signals like a mobile phone. So it won't help you.
So it's back to a walkie-talkie.
posted by kschang at 3:43 AM on March 8, 2023
They do have a wireless model, but it uses normal cellular signals like a mobile phone. So it won't help you.
OP has said that normal cellular signals do work. It's the internet over the cellular signals that do not work. The "wireless model"s page says:
posted by fabius at 5:12 AM on March 8, 2023
OP has said that normal cellular signals do work. It's the internet over the cellular signals that do not work. The "wireless model"s page says:
simple.Which isn't entirely clear but looks like it might work… Except it calls "Life Alert's Emergency Monitoring Center" and OP wants something that calls her husband.
Push one large, easily-accessible button to reach Life Alert's Emergency Monitoring Center.
anywhere.
Nationwide coverage.
You can be located by GPS anywhere in the United States where GSM cellular phones operate.
posted by fabius at 5:12 AM on March 8, 2023
It is a possible that a radio pager would work and be more robust than digital cellular. That link appears to describe the UK system, but there are more technical details at wikipedia. As the wikipedia article notes, they are still used by some people/organizations despite the ubiquity of cell phones.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:20 AM on March 8, 2023
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:20 AM on March 8, 2023
I do not want my phone to ring, ever. I do not want my husband's phone to ring, ever.
It sounds like you are very concerned with unwanted interruptions, and I get that. I get spam calls every day, and it really bothers me. But, for many of us, our phones are the communication device we're mostly likely to have on our person or nearby for most of the day, and with respect to your objections over phones ringing, still a relatively straightforward way to address your communication needs in this situation.
I know it's not your ideal solution, but in the interim, I'd suggest using your phones. I could walk you through it on iOS, but I'm sure there's a way to do it in Android as well. Set each other as priority contacts so you can get through DND mode. Use Android's equivalent of iOS Shortcuts (is it still Tasker?) to create a one-button automated task, so when you push that icon it sends a text saying "I'm having an asthma attack in the garage" to your husband, who would then receive an alert on his phone because he allowed your contact through DND mode. It's not perfect, and it's not what you've described as what you want, but perhaps it could get you by until you do find your ideal solution.
I recall several variants of a LifeAlert-style caregiver pager, and many such products still exist, but I don't recall anything that was a simple keyfob-sized device with a pushbutton that operated over a cellular network, to alert a receiver. Everything I can find from then and now was/is radio-based, with the range limitations that imples. But it kind of makes sense, in that for a caregiver pager--a simple pushbutton "I need help" device, when you get an alert, the area in which the user could possibly be is likely to be fairly small, probably in one of a few rooms. With a cellular device, the user could potentially be anywhere, and so a simple alert is not all that helpful.
You can still get radio pagers and monthly service from some wireless carriers. You could get a pager for your husband and set its number to a speed dial (or possibly a home-screen shortcut, though I'm not super familiar with Android) for one-touch access. Usually with pagers, you'd call the pager number, and then enter a callback number on the keypad, and hangup. The pager gets an alert and displays the callback number. Back in the day, we used made-up codes in place of the callback number, to convey basic information. Some pagers WOULD NOT alert if nothing was input on the keypad, so you'd want to test this, and maybe in your speed dial have the pager number, several pauses, and then a simple code. Pagers have a long battery life but still need to be maintained, but because of phone number reuse, you could still wind up with false positives, perhaps a lot, depending on the number that gets assigned to your pager.
posted by xedrik at 8:56 AM on March 8, 2023
It sounds like you are very concerned with unwanted interruptions, and I get that. I get spam calls every day, and it really bothers me. But, for many of us, our phones are the communication device we're mostly likely to have on our person or nearby for most of the day, and with respect to your objections over phones ringing, still a relatively straightforward way to address your communication needs in this situation.
I know it's not your ideal solution, but in the interim, I'd suggest using your phones. I could walk you through it on iOS, but I'm sure there's a way to do it in Android as well. Set each other as priority contacts so you can get through DND mode. Use Android's equivalent of iOS Shortcuts (is it still Tasker?) to create a one-button automated task, so when you push that icon it sends a text saying "I'm having an asthma attack in the garage" to your husband, who would then receive an alert on his phone because he allowed your contact through DND mode. It's not perfect, and it's not what you've described as what you want, but perhaps it could get you by until you do find your ideal solution.
I recall several variants of a LifeAlert-style caregiver pager, and many such products still exist, but I don't recall anything that was a simple keyfob-sized device with a pushbutton that operated over a cellular network, to alert a receiver. Everything I can find from then and now was/is radio-based, with the range limitations that imples. But it kind of makes sense, in that for a caregiver pager--a simple pushbutton "I need help" device, when you get an alert, the area in which the user could possibly be is likely to be fairly small, probably in one of a few rooms. With a cellular device, the user could potentially be anywhere, and so a simple alert is not all that helpful.
You can still get radio pagers and monthly service from some wireless carriers. You could get a pager for your husband and set its number to a speed dial (or possibly a home-screen shortcut, though I'm not super familiar with Android) for one-touch access. Usually with pagers, you'd call the pager number, and then enter a callback number on the keypad, and hangup. The pager gets an alert and displays the callback number. Back in the day, we used made-up codes in place of the callback number, to convey basic information. Some pagers WOULD NOT alert if nothing was input on the keypad, so you'd want to test this, and maybe in your speed dial have the pager number, several pauses, and then a simple code. Pagers have a long battery life but still need to be maintained, but because of phone number reuse, you could still wind up with false positives, perhaps a lot, depending on the number that gets assigned to your pager.
posted by xedrik at 8:56 AM on March 8, 2023
Hypothetically a "restaurant pager" would work, but I don't think they sell those in singles.
(You know those hockey pucks at you get at a restaurant when there's a long line, they will vibe you when your number is called)
posted by kschang at 9:19 AM on March 8, 2023
(You know those hockey pucks at you get at a restaurant when there's a long line, they will vibe you when your number is called)
posted by kschang at 9:19 AM on March 8, 2023
I searched for "personal pager" and this came up. It's only $30, so I guess you can give it a try, and return it if it doesn't work for you.
posted by kschang at 9:21 AM on March 8, 2023
posted by kschang at 9:21 AM on March 8, 2023
Most restuarant pagers and those un monitored call buttons are using portable phone/baby monitor frequencies and wont work if the garage can get a wifi signal from the residence.
I can get a landline for $5 a month with my internet package.
When you send a text message to a landline it rings the phone and then text to voice system reads out the message when answered.
You could combine those two things with an external ringer to allow you to send a 95+db alert via text message.
Add a white list caller id blocker and robo calls and wrong numbers wont trigger the alert.
posted by Mitheral at 11:04 AM on March 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
I can get a landline for $5 a month with my internet package.
When you send a text message to a landline it rings the phone and then text to voice system reads out the message when answered.
You could combine those two things with an external ringer to allow you to send a 95+db alert via text message.
Add a white list caller id blocker and robo calls and wrong numbers wont trigger the alert.
posted by Mitheral at 11:04 AM on March 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Given that texts work, I'd look at automating something on your husbands phone to alert him when he gets a specific text from you.
I don't have an Android, but it looks like you could set up a shortcut using Tasker so that if he gets a text from you with certain wording, it flashes a smart globe or some other obvious home automation option.
You can probably automate sending the text from your phone as well, so that it's a button or voice activated.
posted by kjs4 at 8:30 PM on March 8, 2023
I don't have an Android, but it looks like you could set up a shortcut using Tasker so that if he gets a text from you with certain wording, it flashes a smart globe or some other obvious home automation option.
You can probably automate sending the text from your phone as well, so that it's a button or voice activated.
posted by kjs4 at 8:30 PM on March 8, 2023
wont work if the garage can get a wifi signal from the residence.
They wont work if the garage can't get a wifi signal from the residence.
Geez I hate sense inverting typos.
posted by Mitheral at 6:10 AM on March 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
They wont work if the garage can't get a wifi signal from the residence.
Geez I hate sense inverting typos.
posted by Mitheral at 6:10 AM on March 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
My Android phone is set to allow starred contacts to interrupt do not disturb. Maybe your version of Android doesn't do this or it still isn't what you want but if you can't find another option it might be good enough while you search for alternative. I can even set it separately for calls and messages so if you just wanted him to get text messages from you you could set that up without allowing any calls to go through.
posted by ch1x0r at 7:01 AM on March 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by ch1x0r at 7:01 AM on March 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think the best search keywords these days would be "Alzheimer's cellular tracker with SOS". There a handful of devices that are designed not to activate emergency services, but notify a caretaker for retrieval.
One example from an internet search is:
https://www.seculife.us/pages/personal-sos-tracker
posted by QuixoticGambit at 2:25 PM on March 9, 2023
One example from an internet search is:
https://www.seculife.us/pages/personal-sos-tracker
posted by QuixoticGambit at 2:25 PM on March 9, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
Or - to possibly put the problem on it's head and think of things and entirely different way - what about an active ventilation/mask + air purifier that you wear while in the parking garage?
posted by rozcakj at 9:10 AM on March 7, 2023 [6 favorites]