Version

All versions of Argent

Date

13 Feb 2013

Summary

Customers may find that they are unable to answer or resolve SMS events by replying

The Argent Console Engine logs also show no signs of any messages being read or parsed

Technical Background

Argent provides full support for customers wishing to answer or resolve events by replying to an outstanding SMS message

When a customer replies, the reply is stored in the SIM Card, which can hold up to 30 incoming messages

Each time Argent finds a valid SMS reply to an outstanding event, Argent reads the reply, parses the reply, takes action, then deletes the message

However, if the SIM Card receives other messages (such as junk SMS or spam) — then the messages will fill up the 30 incoming message limit, and cause newer incoming messages to be discarded

Resolution

To check if your SIM Card’s inbox is full, follow this help article to get connected to the GSM Modem directly through PuTTy:

1. Once connected, you must change the current “mode” to “SMS Text Mode”:

AT+CMGF=1

(A value of 0 is “SMS PDU Mode” (the default), and a value of 1 is “SMS Text Mode”)

2. Change the message storage area to query by typing:

AT+CPMS=”SM”

This ensures you are connected to the SIM Card storage

SIM Cards typically hold up to 30 messages

3. List all messages in the SIM Card by typing:

AT+CMGL=”ALL”

Sample response may look like this:

This is test message 2

The numbers marked in red are the message numbers, which we can use as a reference to delete SMS messages, or view individually

4. If there are 30 messages, the SIM Card may be unable to receive any new messages

Customers can double-check by sending an SMS message directly to the number on the SIM Card, then list all messages again

If you cannot see your new message, then the SIM Card is likely full

5. To clear messages, you can delete SMS messages one-by-one using:

AT+CMGD=message number

Alternatively, you can clear all SMS messages on the current message storage (the SIM Card) using:

AT+CMGD=1,4

Once the SIM Card is cleared, send an SMS message directly into the number on the SIM Card again, and list all messages

If you can see your message, then Argent will also be able to see the message

Re-test Argent’s ability to reply via SMS to verify that it now works

Successful parses should be visible in the Argent Console Engine logs, showing the number of alerts parsed, and the unique IDs of the alerts

Note: Connecting via PuTTy prevents Argent from being able to access the SMS Modem, as the port will be locked