How to Control any Device using Text Messages?

As all of us know very well that technology is progressing with every passing day, our needs are also shaping right according to these advancements. We no longer want to live in that manual world where we were supposed to do everything with our own hands instead everything around us is getting automated in order to provide us with the maximum level of ease and comfort. The way machines have taken over human beings is just so fascinating that none of us can deny this fact. Having said that, we must realize that every single gadget that we use, from a light bulb to a car, has become automated i.e. it only requires a button to operate these gadgets now.

Automatic Car

When people compared this growth and development with the ways in which human beings used to live in the stone age, they wondered that this must be the maximum level of success that today’s human being can ever achieve. However, the reality is that the advancement in technology can never be measured because it is simply beyond any limitations. When people realized this fact, they just did not stop struggling and making their lives better. The result of these efforts was the Smart Technology i.e. the development of such devices which were intelligent enough to mold themselves according to the environment in which they were placed.

Smart Technology

These smart devices eased the burden of human beings even further because they required very little human intervention to operate. In this way, these devices started replacing ordinary gadgets very rapidly. In today’s world, there is hardly any person who is not familiar with the Smart Home terminology which is a home comprising of all the smart devices that a human being needs for his daily routine activities. But we did not even stop here. Now we started making the next effort in which we tried to control these smart devices with the help of our cellphones using text messages. Let us read through the passages below to find out how far we have succeeded in this attempt.

A Smart Home

Why do you Need to Control your Devices with Text Messages?

As we have already stated that man always has an innate quality of being curious. He always wants to explore things and make attempts to make his life even better. Although the smart devices are capable of taking the responsibility of your daily chores very gracefully, however, if you want them to do something according to your choice, or you want to turn them on or off, you still will have to reach the spot where your device is placed and do whatever you want manually.

Now just think for a while that you are away from your home, maybe at your office attending an important meeting and all of a sudden you remember that you have accidentally left your washing machine turned on. Now you have got two options. You can either leave your meeting, go straight to your house and turn off your washing machine. In this way, you will indeed save electricity but you might face a financial loss because of missing your meeting.

Oops! I have left my washing machine turned on!

The other option is to keep sitting right there at your office and regretting what you have done because you just cannot leave your meeting. But this will definitely add a handsome amount to your monthly electricity bill. Moreover, your washing machine might also wear out or start malfunctioning because of staying turned on for such a long time. This scenario and many others like this forced us to find out a solution through which we can control our devices with text messages even if we are physically apart from them.

What is a GSM Smart Switch?

GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications whereas a GSM Smart Switch is such a switch that is capable of turning on or off your electronic appliances remotely with the help of a mobile network. This switch works simply by inserting a sim into it and it allows you to send on or off commands to it with the help of messages or even with the help of phone calls. Specially coded messages from any mobile number can be sent to these switches to turn on or off whichever appliance is connected to them.

PRODUCT INFO
Generic Universal Socket GSM Smart Plug
ManufactureGeneric
Available atView at Amazon

However, if you want to send these instructions with the help of phone calls, then GSM Smart Switches allow you to store up to 5 Master Numbers in them with the help of which you can make calls and give your instructions. In the passage below, we will study the method through which we can control any device using text messages with the help of GSM Smart Switches.

GSM Smart Switch

How can you Control any Device using Text Messages with the Help of GSM Smart Switches?

In order to control your devices using text messages by making use of GSM Smart Switches, you will need to perform the following steps:

  1. First of all, you will need to insert the desired sim into your GSM Smart Switch but make sure that it is not connected to any power supply at the moment. This sim will act as the receiving end for your instructions which you will send with the help of text messages or phone calls.
    Insert your SIM into GSM Smart Switch
  2. Once you have correctly inserted the sim, you are all set to plug this switch into any wall socket. As soon as you will plug it in, your GSM Smart Switch will take some time to get initialized. During that time, you are not supposed to press any other button. As soon as the initialization process completes, the SIG light located at the bottom right of your GSM Smart Switch will start blinking after every 4 seconds. You can consider it as an indication for the completion of initialization.
    Plug your GSM Smart Switch into a Wall Socket
  3. Now you would like to store the master numbers if you wish to control your devices via phone calls. However, if you only want to operate them via text messages, then you can skip this step. In order to set up a master number, press the SET button located at the top right corner of your GSM Smart Switch. As soon as you will press this button, the STA light located at the bottom left of your switch will start flashing. You are provided with 90 seconds to make a call through any number that you wish to store as a master number. You GSM Smart Switch will immediately hang up after receiving your call because it has the capability of storing your number in its memory instantly. Now you will need to repeat the same process for storing the rest of the four master numbers that is if you wish to do so.
  4. The next thing you should do is to set up a secret password which will also form a part of all the instructions that you will send to your GSM Smart Switch. Every GSM Smart Switch comes with a default password which is “0000“. In order to change this password, you will need to send the following message to the sim inserted into your GSM Smart Switch: “SN0000NEW2727“. Here, 0000 represents the old default password of your switch whereas 2727 represents the new password. If the password changing process completes successfully, you will receive the following message on your mobile phone: “NEW SN SETOK NEW SN IS 2727“.
  5. Now you are all set to send on and off commands to your GSM Smart Switch via text messages. In order to turn on any device that is connected to your GSM Smart Switch, you will need to send the following text message to your smart switch: “SN2727ON“. If your message is received successfully, you will get the following reply: “STATE IS ON” indicating that your command has been executed successfully. Similarly, if you want to turn off any of your devices used GSM Smart Switch, you will have to send the following text message: “SN2727OFF“. Upon successful reception of your message, you will get the following reply: “STATE IS OFF” indicating that the GSM Smart Switch has turned off your device. If you simply want to change the state of your device i.e. if it is on, then you want to turn it off and vice verse, then you will need to send the following text message: “SN2727CHANGE“. This command is especially helpful for the people who do not want to memorize two different commands when their task can be accomplished with the help of a single command because the Change command caters for both the On and Off commands.
    Control your Devices with Text Messages using GSM Smart Switches
  6. Last but not least, you can also check the current state of your GSM Smart Switch. Knowing the current state of your switch is important because if it is currently turned off, then you will not be able to control your devices with it. Therefore, it is mandatory to check the current state of your switch before sending any other instructions to it. In order to do so, send the following text message to your GSM Smart Switch: “SN2727CHECK“. Upon the successful execution of this command, your switch will reply you back with the message “STATE IS ON” or “STATE IS OFF” depending upon its current state.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ayesha Sajid


Ayesha is a software developer by profession and is currently working as a lead developer with Code5. Programming Skills: Asp.net, C#, C/C++, Java, Golang, Android, UML, SQL and Html.