Get instant, reliable alerts when an emergency message is sent — even on a plane, abroad, or without a cellular signal, with the Pushover app.
Why Pushover
SMS works well under normal conditions, but it fails in many of the situations where you need it most — international travel, in-flight Wi-Fi, or areas with no carrier signal. Pushover delivers over the internet, so it works anywhere there is a Wi-Fi or data connection.
| Scenario | SMS / Text | Pushover |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi in the US | With Wi-Fi Calling enabled | Yes |
| Wi-Fi on a plane | Depends on airline | Yes |
| Wi-Fi outside the US | No | Yes |
| Mobile carrier in US | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile carrier outside US | No | Yes |
| Delivery speed | 10–12 seconds | 1–2 seconds |
Who installs it
The person sending the emergency message uses SayMail. The person who needs to receive the alert installs Pushover. Common setups include:
A parent whose child has SayMail · A caregiver or adult child of an elderly person using SayMail · A spouse or close friend set as the emergency contact · Anyone who needs to be reliably reachable in a crisis
Pushover can be configured to repeat the alert every 5 minutes until the recipient taps Acknowledge — so an emergency is never silently missed.
Setup Guide
This takes about 3 minutes. The emergency contact does this on their own phone.
Search for Pushover Notifications in the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android) and install it. It's free to download with a 30-day trial.
Open Pushover and tap Create Account. Enter any email address and choose a password. When prompted, allow Pushover to send notifications.
Write down your password — you'll need it if you reinstall the app.Pushover will ask you to give your device a short name
(e.g. iphone or moms-phone).
No spaces — letters, numbers, dashes, and underscores
only. Tap Register Device.
Go to Settings inside Pushover. Look
for Pushover e-mail alias — it will be
something like 123xyzzyx@pomail.net. This
is the email address you enter as the Emergency
CC in SayMail's Settings.
Open SayMail on the sender's phone. Go to Settings → Emergency CC and paste the Pushover email address. Set your emergency trigger phrase (e.g. "This is an emergency" or any word only you would say). Save settings.
Test it — say your trigger phrase and confirm the Pushover notification arrives on the emergency contact's phone.After the trial
After the 30-day free trial, Pushover requires a one-time in-app purchase of $4.99 to continue receiving notifications. There is no monthly subscription. Tap Purchase Pushover License in the Settings screen to complete the purchase.
Unlimited push notifications forever · Works on iPhone, Android, and desktop · Repeating alerts until acknowledged · Quiet hours configuration · Multiple devices on one account
What to expect
By default, Pushover notifications make a sound and vibrate the
phone. The message content — including the transcribed voice
note and GPS location link — appears in the notification. Quiet
hours can be configured in Pushover Settings if needed.