FAQ

Answers to common questions. Don't see yours? Contact support.

Pricing — what does it cost?

  • Free trial: 50 free alerts or 30 days after your account is confirmed, whichever comes first. No card needed to start.
  • After the trial, choose a plan to keep your alerts going:
  • Monthly plan — $5/month: includes 50 tokens every month. Cancel any time from your account screen.
  • Annual plan — $60 for 13 months (one month free): includes 50 tokens every month for 13 months. Paid once and doesn't renew by itself — we email you when its last month starts.
  • What a token buys: a text message is 1 token; an email is 0.1 token. So 50 tokens = 50 texts, or 500 emails, or any mix. A carrier-restricted alert counts as 1 token, because your phone also gets a short text telling you to check your email.
  • Extra tokens any time: on top of your plan, $5 buys 150 tokens, $10 buys 300, and the bigger bundles add a bonus: $25 buys 850 and $50 buys 1,800 (from your account screen), for months you send more. They never expire. With a card on file you can turn on auto-reload, which buys more when you run out.

Each month's included tokens are used first; unused included tokens don't carry over to the next month. Extra tokens are used after that. Tokens you've bought always keep their value. If you switch from monthly to annual, the annual plan starts when the month you’ve already paid for ends, and the monthly plan stops then — you never pay for both. Charges appear on your card as USERALERTX.COM, and every payment, refund and token used is listed under Billing history on your account screen. See Terms for refunds.

I got a new phone — how do I change my text number?

Once your text number is verified, it can't be changed from the account screen — that protects your alerts from going to the wrong phone. Contact support to have your account cleared, then add the new number on your account screen and reply START to the verification text. If your current number was never verified, you can change it yourself (up to 3 times).

How do I cancel my account?

If you're on the $5/mo plan, you can cancel it any time from your account screen — that stops future charges right away; your alerts keep working until the end of the month you've paid for, and your account and extra tokens stay as-is. If you want your account fully removed instead, email support.

Can I send myself a test text easily?

Yes. Once your email and text number are both verified, your account screen has a Send a text box. Type a message and it's sent to your phone exactly like a real alert (it counts toward your texts).

Do I have to verify my email every time I sign in?

No. When you sign in with the code from your email, check Trust this device for 30 days (or, if you signed in with the email link, tap Trust this device on your account screen). That device then stays signed in for 30 days with no sign-in email. After 30 days, or on a device you didn't trust, you'll get a sign-in email again — check the box again each time you sign in if you want to be remembered. Even on a trusted device, changes to your email, phone number, API key or billing still ask for a code from your email. Don't trust a shared or public computer.

Can I change the "UserAlertX" name on my texts?

The name shown at the top of the conversation is your phone's contact name, so yes. If you saved our contact card (the Download UserAlertX contact card link on your account screen), open that contact on your phone and rename it to anything you like, such as "Server alerts". The UserAlertX: line at the start of each message can't be changed: phone carriers require every text to include the sender's name and how to opt out.

What's a carrier-restricted alert? (Why did I get "sent to your email instead" by text?)

A carrier-restricted alert is one that mentions a topic phone carriers don't allow in text messages at all, even when you're sending an alert to yourself: anything about stocks, trading or crypto, loans or debt, cannabis, tobacco or alcohol, firearms, gambling, and adult content. Before an alert goes out by text, UserAlertX checks it. If it falls into one of those categories, the full alert is emailed to the address on your account, and your phone only gets a short notice telling you to check your email. Nothing is lost, and the check never changes what you receive by email. It errs on the careful side, so an everyday alert can occasionally be sent to email too — if that keeps happening for an alert that isn't about any of these topics, let us know. You can also send any alert straight to email by setting your delivery method to Email on your account screen. The full list and how to get these alerts by email: What can't be sent by text. Examples of what's OK and what isn't: Compliance texting examples.

What's OK to send by text? Are there examples?

Personal, event-driven alerts to yourself are what UserAlertX is for: an AI agent finished a task, a backup or build is done, a server needs attention, a door opened, a price dropped on something you watch, a TeXt Approval question. Alerts that mention a carrier-restricted topic go to your email instead, and marketing, texting anyone else, or abusive or deceptive messages aren't allowed at all. See real examples of each — what goes by text, what goes to email, and what isn't allowed: Compliance texting examples.

Can I send the same alert over and over, like a status every few minutes?

UserAlertX is for ad hoc alerts: something happened that you want to know about. Phone carriers watch for the same text sent again and again (for example "temp OK" every few minutes) and can filter it as spam, even when you asked for it. Constantly repeated messages may be sent to your email instead, or texting may be blocked on the account. What works well: text when something changes (the temperature goes over your limit, and again when it's back to normal), and send any regular "all OK" once a day or by email.

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