SMS Commands

Note: this is an archive page

Using SMS Commands (Android phones)

The MMGuardian app on your child’s Android phone can be controlled using SMS commands. Please text the desired command from the admin phone to your child’s phone. Below, we show commands written inside of ” ” marks for easier explanation, but please remember to not actually use quotation marks when you send a command. Also, please note:

SMS Text commands are not case sensitive
Do not use “quotation marks” in SMS Commands messages!
Newly issued SMS commands will override previous commands of the same format
Any SMS commands that you send will receive an SMS (text) confirmation. If you do not receive confirmations, please verify the command format, and make sure that your phone is added as an Admin Phone
All SMS commands and responses are invisible on the child’s phone once an “Admin Phone” is selected. If your commands are visible on the child’s phone, that probably means your phone is not added as an Admin Phone

SMS Commands and Android 4.4+ (KitKat)

Due to changes made in the Android system, if your child’s phone is using a version of Android of 4.4 or higher, the app is currently not able to hide SMS commands and responses to the admin phone on various phone models. Hence these messages may be seen by your child in the phone’s messaging app. As an alternative, we currently suggest to use the Parent Web Portal, or the Parent App, to send commands and receive alerts. On the portal and parent app, commands and alerts are sent via mobile data and not using SMS, so there is nothing to see in the phone’s message app. You may also wish to disable any optional admin SMS alerts (Track location update, Call Block alert, new app install etc) that may be currently enabled.

Locate

Command	Using the Command
locate:	Type “locate” then “:” with no spaces in between the word and the colon in a text message from the Admin Phone to the MMGuardian phone. Note: The ‘:’ following the command name is required, just like any other command. Use this command to get the last known location of the device. The app will wait 30 seconds to get a more accurate location for the phone before sending out a response to the admin phone. The admin phone will then receive 2 text messages in response to the Locate command. One contains a street address along with the accuracy, time of the location and speed of the phone. If street address is not available, a longitude and latitude will be returned. The second SMS contains a link to Google maps where the phone location will be highlighted.

Lock

Command	Using the Command
lock:X	Type “lock” then “:” followed by the number of minutes you want your child’s phone to be locked. For example, texting “Lock:5” from your admin phone to your child’s phone will lock the child’s phone for five minutes.Please Note: Lock:0 will lock phone for the rest of the day till midnight and Lock:9999999 is the best way to protect your child’s phone if they lose it because it locks the phone for 20 years. The admin phone can always unlock the child’s phone if it is found!

Unlock

Command	Using the Command
unlock:X	Type “Unlock” then “:” then the number of minutes you would like the phone to be unlocked in a text message to the MMGuardian phone. For example, type “Unlock:10” to unlock the phone for 10 minutes. This is particularly useful if you know your child will be a vehicle passenger and don’t want their phone locked because the car is in motion!Please Note: Unlock:0 will guarantee that the phone is not locked for the rest of the day till midnight, unless it receives a new command. You can use this on any day you know your child will be driving in the passenger seat of a car.

Alarm Siren

Command	Using the Command
alarm:	Type “alarm” then “:” and send this to your child’s phone, to cause a loud siren tone to be emitted from the phone’s loudspeaker.

Monitor (Texts)

Command	Using the Command
add:anyword del:anyword	The MMGuardian application can alert you if defined words are used in SMS text messages to or from your child’s phone. Use this command to add one or more sensitive words to a list. If a match against any sensitive word is found in an SMS sent or received from/by the phone with the MMGuardian application installed, an Alert SMS will be sent to the Admin phone and the complete SMS will be forwarded.Type “add” then “:” followed by the word of choice in a text message to the MMGuardian phone. For example, Type “add: darn you, suicide” to put those words into the sensitive category. After this command is executed, the following SMS would raise an alert for the following messages: “darn you” and “I am considering suicide.” Type “del” then “:” then the word of choice in a text message to the MMGuardian phone. For example, type “del:suicide” to remove suicide from the sensitive words list.

Daily Report

Command	Using the Command
set:report,on set:report,off	Type “Set” then “:” then “report”, a comma, and “on/off” in a text message to the MMGuardian phone. For example, type “set:report,off” to turn off the daily report feature.

Drive Safely (Legacy Command)

Command	Using the Command (not available from app version 3)
set:dsafe,on set:dsafe,off	Type “Set” then “:” then the command of choice, a comma, and “on/off” in a text message to the MMGuardian phone. For example, type “set:dsafe,off” to turn off the drive safely feature.

Scheduled Lock (Legacy Command)

Command	Using the Command (not available from app version 2)
lock:X,Y,Z	NOTE:You can set Scheduled Lock in advance using the “Time Settings” feature. Simply go into “Time Limits” in the Features tab, then go to “Time Settings” and choose the periods you want the phone to be locked. MMGuardian will handle the rest!If you wish to set them from your own phone using an SMS command, type “lock” then “:” followed by hour numbers the times you would like the phone to be locked in a text message from the Admin Phone to the MMGuardian phone. For example, type “Lock:8,15,0” to lock the phone from 8am to 3pm on the current date (the 0 means today).

Scheduled Unlock (Legacy Command)

Command	Using the Command (not available from app version 2)
unlock:X,Y,Z	Type “Unlock” then “:” followed by hour numbers the times you would like the phone to be unlocked in a text message from the Admin Phone to the MMGuardian phone. Make sure to use 24 hour clock times; eg. 14 for 2pm. For example, type “Unlock:8,15,0” to unlock the phone from 8am to 3pm that day (the 0 means today).

Recurring Locate (Legacy Command)

Command	Using the Command (not available from app version 2)
locate:X,Y	Type “locate” followed by “:” and then followed by how often (in minutes) you want the phone location to be retrieved, a comma, and how many times you want the phone location retrieved in total. So, for example, if you want to track the phone location every 10 minutes for a one hour period, simply type “Locate:10,6″ in a text message from the admin phone to your child’s phone. The admin phone is going to receive 2 text messages in response to the Schedule Locate command. One contains a street address along with the accuracy, time of the location and speed of the phone. If street address is not available, a longitude and latitude will be returned. The second SMS contains a link to the Google map with the phone location highlighted for easy reading.