Does this device exist?

November 2, 2024 7:52 PM

I am looking for a device (maybe a light?) that would connect to my work mobile (it's an iPhone SE, I think from about 2020) and be a visible indicator that I've missed a call. Does such a thing exist? Of course I have use case snowflakes...

As part of a new role, I've taken custody of the phone that other staff may call with urgent (sometimes life-threatening) issues. I can commit to taking it with me each day but I'm not going to be able to carry it every minute. I have a fear that someone may call while I'm in the bathroom or making a cup of tea, and I won't
know and won't think to check when I get back to my desk.

I feel like there must be a device I could put on my desk that would indictate a missed call and would stand out when I get back to the desk, but I'm open to other solutions.

A couple of possibly relevant things:
- I work on a Dell laptop and my personal phone is an Android. I would rather not get any further into the Apple ecosystem if I can help it.
- I already have a smart watch that is connected to my personal phone.
- Because this is arguably just a neurotic fear, I don't want to spend a stack of money on it, but I wouldn't rule out anything on those grou ds without looking I to it further.
- I'm in Australia so would need a solution that's available here or purchasable online.
- Please don't suggest "just check the phone when you come back to the desk". If I was able to do that reliably I wouldn't be asking this question.

posted by Cheese Monster to Technology (16 answers total)

I don't have a device, but I do have a iphone setting that may do what you want. There may be an Android equivalent.

On the iphone it's:

Settings > Accessibility > Audio and Visual > LED Flash for Alerts
posted by zippy at 8:49 PM on November 2

LED Flash for Alerts only flashes once when a notification arrives. It’s basically a visual bell.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:52 PM on November 2

I believe this can be done with a Phillips Hue bulb and IFTTT.

I found this on a website

14. Get social media notifications via your lights
Philips Hue is a fully paid up member of the IFTTT (If This Then That) club, a service that connects different apps and platforms together (from Facebook to Dropbox to Fitbit). It means you can expand Hue’s capabilities with a host of extra triggers and actions that IFTTT refers to as applets.

Sign up for a free account, connect your Hue account, and you can then click Create to build new applets. For example, pick Twitter and New mention of you as a trigger, and Philips Hue and Blink lights as the action, and your chosen bulbs will flash every time someone mentions you on the social network.

I guess you would have to bave a small lamp or standing socket that the bulb rests in and have internet access.

Here is another website that may be (more) helpful. Item 3 describes how to do it.

Edit: It just occurred to me that I have some of these bulbs so I will try it.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:20 PM on November 2 [5 favorites]

I tried it. Full disclosure, I am a novice with IFTTT. My advice is to have a light bulb that changes color if you get a notification of a missed call, not flashing. I could not get it to flash continuously, but I could get the bulb to turn red (from yellow). The issue with the flashing could very well be between the key board and the chair (me).

So try to get a bulb that works with IFTTT and a light socket like this.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 1:11 AM on November 3 [1 favorite]

Here is a link to the applet that can do it in IFTTT with Android phone.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 2:33 AM on November 3 [1 favorite]

I wouldn't trust IFTTT with life-threatening events. Sometimes it misses things.

If this phone is a work-related personal security hotline for staff, work's HR, legal and IT need to come together on how it is managed. It should not fall to an end-of-life mobile phone that may or may not be carried by a staff member.

When I was working in medium-voltage substations, the company had subscribed to a service that required me to text "IN (Location Name) +30" as I entered a site. If they didn't receive an "OUT" text from me within 30 minutes, they'd call me. If there was no answer, the call would escalate to safety management. If there was no resolution within five minutes of my out time, there was a full emergency services call-out. And we had to test that annually.

You personally don't want to be on the hook for any of this.
posted by scruss at 6:33 AM on November 3 [10 favorites]

There is a StandBy mode on iPhones where you can have a specific screen show up when the phone is charging and set on it's side. If you have the phone positioned like this on your desk, you should notice that the screen is different. I'd test it out to see how it looks and maybe fiddle with the settings for StandBy mode. There aren't many settings. I hope this is not too close to "check the phone when you get back to your desk".
posted by soelo at 6:49 AM on November 3

If you always go to your PC while barely touching your phone, *maybe* Microsoft Phone Link can help. Pair the phone to the PC with phone link, and you'll see ALL the notifications on the phone at the PC.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/sync-across-your-devices?r=1
posted by kschang at 8:37 AM on November 3 [2 favorites]

I remember this type of device being advertised on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but they're likely out of your price range as they are usually priced in the HUNDRED-FIFTY (USD) range because they are basically used as mini displays.
posted by kschang at 8:44 AM on November 3

Seconding scruss - while I do hope things like IFTTT help you with this, they absolutely should not be relied on for anything so urgent that lives depend on it. There are systems out there specifically around managing high-priority paging that require affirmative responses, otherwise they will start escalating the issue to other phones, or continue to call repeatedly or what ever other backup response one might construe. If your organization doesn't use one of these types of systems, they are frankly horribly negligent.
posted by Aleyn at 10:25 AM on November 3 [5 favorites]

I must agree with Aleyn on this. Your organization needs a solution that doesn't rely on a single person to always be available to respond to potentially life-threatening situations. They need a solution that escalates. What happens if the phone's battery runs out? If you have no cell service? If the phone is lost or broken?

I don't know how Android watches connect to phones, but could one escalation solution be to forward to your Android phone, which then alerts on your watch? If it's anything like my Apple Watch, it rings when it's in Bluetooth range of my phone.

In addition, unless I misunderstand the third snowflake, you should not be on the financial hook for any part of this solution.
posted by lhauser at 11:57 AM on November 3 [1 favorite]

I would not trust Phone Link with this at all. The implementation for iOS is pretty horrible, and while it does theoretically work in most situations, it’s not reliable for anything like an emergency.
posted by Alensin at 12:54 PM on November 3

KDE Connect can put cellphone notification details on your desktop.
posted by k3ninho at 1:16 PM on November 3

As part of my job, I'm occasionally on-call, though not for anything of life-or-death importance. My company uses PagerDuty, which can be configured to try to reach you through multiple channels (app, text, voice, multiple phones, etc.), and can escalate if you don't respond within a time limit. As everyone else is saying, for something of life and death importance, it should be your workplace's IT department figuring it out and covering the cost, and there should be an escalation path.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 3:03 PM on November 3 [1 favorite]

It seems to me like if you are entrusted with answering calls this urgent, you could take the phone to the bathroom or while making tea. The phone doesn't need to be on your desk at all times, does it?
posted by rikschell at 6:15 AM on November 4

I use and love KDEConnect, but it's rather flaky on my Pixel 5 and I would not trust it for something like this. I am inclined to blame either my desktop's Bluetooth or Android for this, rather than KDEConnect itself, but it's still not trustworthy.
posted by novalis_dt at 4:30 AM on November 6