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SMS Gateway for Android smart home integration, free and open source

SMS Gateway for Android integration for Gladys Assistant

Send and receive SMS from Gladys with an Android phone and the free SMS Gateway app.

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Send SMS from your Gladys scenes, and start scenes when an SMS arrives, with an Android phone and the free app SMS Gateway for Android. It works with any operator, with no paid third-party service: an old phone with a SIM card is enough.

Developed without the hardware: feedback welcome. This integration was written and tested against a simulation of the app's API, not a real phone. Please report what works and what does not on GitHub.

This integration is not affiliated with the SMS Gateway for Android project.

Requirements​

  • Gladys 5.1.0 or later.
  • An Android phone (5.0 or later) with a SIM card that can send SMS, plugged in permanently.
  • The SMS Gateway for Android app, version 1.59.0 or later to read the SMS received: download it from GitHub.
  • Your operator's prices apply to every SMS sent.

Configuration​

Open the app, then choose how Gladys reaches the phone.

  1. In the app, turn on Local server. It shows the address (for example 192.168.1.50:8080), a username and a password.
  2. Give the phone a fixed address in your router.
  3. In Gladys, choose Local network, then enter the address, the username and the password.

Nothing leaves your home: Gladys talks to the phone over your network.

Cloud server​

  1. In the app, turn on Cloud server. It shows a username and a password.
  2. In Gladys, choose Cloud server, then enter the username and the password.

The SMS go through the project's public server, api.sms-gate.app, run by its author. Turn on the app's Ping setting so the server knows the phone is alive, and choose in Phone unreachable after (cloud) how long a silence is acceptable.

Private server​

If you host the SMS Gateway server yourself, choose Private server and enter its address (for example https://sms.example.com), then the username and password of the app's Cloud server card. The toggle "Prefer the local connection" shown by Gladys has no effect here: the Connection setting decides.

Sending safety​

An SMS can cost money, and a scene can loop (for instance a scene that answers every SMS received, talking to an automatic reply). SMS per hour, at most (20 by default) caps what Gladys sends over any sliding hour: beyond it, the SMS is refused, the scene says why and when the next one fits. A message to three numbers counts as three SMS. The limit survives a restart of the integration.

Received SMS and refresh​

Gladys reads the phone at the Refresh interval (1 minute by default): its state, the SMS it sent, and the SMS received, which start the scenes with the SMS received trigger. Turn off Read the SMS received if you only send. Language of names and messages sets the names of the devices (French by default) and the language of the scene action messages.

The device​

Each phone becomes a device SMS gateway in the Discovery tab, with:

FeatureWhat it shows
Phone reachable1 when the phone answers (local), or contacted the server recently (cloud)
Phone batteryBattery level, in percent (local mode only)
Phone charging1 when the phone is charging (local mode only)
SMS sentSMS sent by Gladys since the integration was installed (one per recipient)
SMS failedSMS that could not be sent or delivered
SMS receivedSMS received while Gladys was reading the phone

A scene can use them like any device: "if Phone battery is below 20" or "if Phone reachable is 0", to be warned through another channel.

Scene action: Send an SMS​

The Send an SMS action sends one message:

  • Numbers (international format): +33639980012, several separated by commas (10 at most). A national number such as 0639980012 is refused: the international format is the only one that means the same thing for every SIM card.
  • Text: up to 1600 characters (a long text is several SMS for your operator). Type {{ to insert scene information: a sensor value, the sender of the SMS received, the answer of the AI…
  • SIM card: the phone's default, or SIM 1, 2 or 3 on a dual-SIM phone.
  • Phone: in cloud mode with several phones, the one to send from.

The following actions of the scene can read the Message identifier, the Number of recipients and the State when queued (pending, sent, delivered, failed). If the SMS cannot be sent (invalid number, hourly limit reached, phone unreachable), the action fails with the reason in the scene logs, and the scene goes on.

To get Gladys messages by SMS, add this action where your scenes use "Send Message", with the same text.

Scene triggers​

SMS received​

Starts the scene when the phone receives an SMS. Filters: the Sender (exactly as the phone shows it: +33639980012, or a name such as a bank's; empty = anyone) and the Phone. Information passed to the actions: the sender, the Text of the SMS, when it was received and the SIM card.

Each SMS starts the scenes once, even after a restart. The SMS already in the phone when the integration starts are not announced. An SMS received is never an order from someone you trust: the sender of an SMS can be faked.

SMS failed​

Starts the scene when an SMS sent by Gladys could not be sent or delivered, with the recipients not reached and the reason given by the phone. Useful to fall back on another channel.

Widget​

The SMS gateway widget shows the battery, the SMS sent this hour against the limit, the SMS received, whether each phone is reachable, and the state of the last five SMS sent. The Refresh button reads the phone now. Choose a phone in its settings, or leave it empty for all.

Configuration screen actions​

  • Test the connection: reads the phone now and says what answers: phone, battery, app version, inbox, SMS sent this hour.
  • Send a test SMS: sends one SMS to the number typed, under the same limit.
  • Recent SMS: the last SMS sent by Gladys and their state: pending, sent, delivered or failed.

Scene examples​

  • Water leak: trigger "a leak sensor detects water" → action Send an SMS to two numbers, "Water leak in the laundry room!".
  • SMS forwarded: trigger SMS received → send a Gladys message "SMS from" followed by the Sender and the Text of the SMS (type {{ to insert them), to read the SMS of a second line in the Gladys app.
  • Acknowledgement: trigger SMS received with sender +33639980012 → Send an SMS to the Sender (inserted with {{): "Received, thanks". Never arm or disarm an alarm, nor open a door, on an SMS: its sender can be faked.
  • Fallback: trigger SMS failed → send a message through Telegram with the recipients not reached.
  • Old phone watch: trigger "Phone battery is below 15" → notify the family on the Gladys app.

Troubleshooting​

  • "no answer": the phone is off, the app stopped, or the address changed. Open the app, check that the server is on and that Android does not put it to sleep (Settings → Battery → no optimization for SMS Gateway).
  • "username or password refused": copy them again from the app; the local and cloud pairs are different.
  • "unknown address on the API": update the app; for a private server, check its address.
  • No SMS received in Gladys: the app must be 1.59.0 or later, and Read the SMS received on. In the app, end-to-end encryption must be off: an encrypted SMS cannot be read.
  • "Limit of 20 SMS per hour reached": a scene sends more than expected. Look for a loop, or raise the limit.
  • The SMS stays "sent": your operator does not return delivery reports.
  • Logs: Integrations → SMS Gateway for Android → Logs. Set LOG_LEVEL=debug to see every reading. Numbers appear masked (last two digits), texts never.

Limits​

  • Developed without a phone: the API was simulated from its documentation and its source code.
  • SMS only: no MMS, no binary data SMS.
  • Received SMS are read every interval (1 minute by default), not instantly: the app's webhooks need an address the phone can reach, which the Gladys sandbox does not offer.
  • The battery is only known in local mode; in cloud mode, "Phone reachable" depends on the app's last contact with the server.
  • The core's "Send Message" and system messages do not go out by SMS: use the Send an SMS action in your scenes.
  • A self-signed certificate on a private server is refused.
  • Android itself limits how many SMS an app may send in a short time: beyond, the phone may ask for a confirmation on its screen.

Configuration settings​

These are the settings SMS Gateway for Android asks for in its configuration screen in Gladys.

SettingTypeRequiredDescription
How it workssectionNoInstall the free SMS Gateway for Android app on a phone with a SIM card (an old phone is fine), and choose how Gladys reaches it: on the local network (the app's Local server), or through the project's cloud server or your own server. The app shows the username and password to enter below. Gladys then sends SMS from scenes and reads the SMS the phone receives. Your operator's prices apply.
ConnectionselectYesLocal: the phone is on the same network as Gladys. Cloud: through api.sms-gate.app. Private server: your own server.
Phone address (local)stringNoThe address shown on the app's Local server card. Port 8080 when none is given. Give the phone a fixed address in your router.
Server address (private)stringNoPrivate server mode only: the address of your SMS Gateway server.
UsernamestringYesShown by the app on its Local server card (local mode) or Cloud server card (cloud and private modes).
PasswordsecretYes
Sending safetysectionNoAn SMS can cost money, and a scene can loop. Beyond the hourly limit, Gladys refuses to send and says why. A message to three numbers counts as three SMS.
SMS per hour, at mostnumberYes
Received SMS and refreshsectionNoGladys reads the phone at the chosen interval: its state, the SMS sent, and the SMS received (app 1.59.0 or later), which start the scenes with the SMS received trigger.
Read the SMS receivedbooleanNo
Refresh intervalselectNo
Phone unreachable after (cloud)selectNoCloud and private modes: how long without contact with the server before the phone counts as unreachable. Turn on the app's Ping setting to keep it in contact.
Language of names and messagesselectNoNames of the devices and features (fixed once added), and messages of the scene actions.

How to install SMS Gateway for Android in Gladys​

  1. In Gladys, open Integrations: SMS Gateway for Android appears in the catalog, next to the native integrations, with a community badge.
  2. Click Install. Gladys pulls the Docker image (ghcr.io/guim31/gladys-sms-gateway:1.0.1), starts it in a sandbox isolated from the core, and generates the integration's interface (devices, discovery and configuration).
  3. Open the Configuration screen of the integration, fill in the settings, and save.
  4. You can also install it directly from its repository URL: https://github.com/guim31/gladys-sms-gateway.

SMS Gateway for Android requires Gladys >=5.1.0. The catalog inside Gladys refreshes every hour, so a new version becomes available at most one hour after its release.

Not running Gladys yet? It is free and open source: follow the installation guide to get started.

About external integrations​

SMS Gateway for Android is an external integration: a community integration packaged as a Docker container and published on GitHub, that Gladys installs in one click and runs in a sandbox isolated from its core. It is published and maintained by guim31, not by the Gladys core team.

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