# Turn a light on when SMS is received

**URL:** <https://community.smartthings.com/t/turn-a-light-on-when-sms-is-received/50781>\
**Category:** Automation Ideas\
**Created:** [June 18, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/turn-a-light-on-when-sms-is-received/50781 "2016-06-18T21:07:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![pavel.sl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@pavel.sl](https://community.smartthings.com/u/pavel.sl)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/turn-a-light-on-when-sms-is-received/50781/1 "2016-06-18T21:07:16Z")

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Ideally I would like my lamp to go on and change the light to blue whenever I receive a notification on my Android phone.

Any suggestions?

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**Author:** ![cdikland](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/cdikland/32/105520_2.png) [@cdikland](https://community.smartthings.com/u/cdikland)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/turn-a-light-on-when-sms-is-received/50781/2 "2016-06-18T21:10:29Z")

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Tasker - Sharptools (Tasker) plugin - Sharptools app.

Alternatively, use IFTTT SMS recipe - turn on light

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**Author:** ![diehllane](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/diehllane/32/22571_2.png) [@diehllane](https://community.smartthings.com/u/diehllane)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/turn-a-light-on-when-sms-is-received/50781/3 "2016-06-18T21:30:42Z")

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I currently do this with a few different notifications using IFTTT and SMS.

I have green for text, blue for voicemail, and yellow for new UPS package ready to be picked up.

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**Author:** ![joshua\_lyon](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/joshua_lyon/32/12655_2.png) [@joshua\_lyon](https://community.smartthings.com/u/joshua_lyon)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/turn-a-light-on-when-sms-is-received/50781/4 "2016-06-18T22:02:09Z")

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For the Tasker + SharpTools approach, it is similar to this post but use `Phone: Received Text` as the event:

> [@How can I make a light flash when the cell phone rings?](https://community.smartthings.com/t/how-can-i-make-a-light-flash-when-the-cell-phone-rings/50671/5):
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> It’s fairly straightforward with Tasker and [SharpTools](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.boshdirect.stwidgets) if you decide to go that route. I’ll post a video when it’s done uploading, but the gist of it is: Create a new Tasker Event profile for Phone → Ringing Create a For loop that loops through the items 1:6 (or however many times you want to toggle the light) In the loop add a Plugin → SharpTools: A Thing configured to toggle your desired light In the loop add a Wait for 1 second (or however quickly you want the light to toggle)

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**Author:** ![pavel.sl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@pavel.sl](https://community.smartthings.com/u/pavel.sl)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 1:12pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/turn-a-light-on-when-sms-is-received/50781/5 "2016-06-24T13:12:28Z")

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For some reason IFTTT works 3 times out of 5 but Tasker works like a charm and much more customisable.