Notice: The text messages outlined in each section of this guide will be available in a future update (late June 2026). You may receive less detailed text messages currently before this change is implemented.
The following visual provides a high-level overview of main steps and workflow for Solink’s Professionally Monitored Video Alarms:
Note: All text messages outlined in this guide will display in French if this is the language preference selected for the Alarm Contact. Location must be in Canada.
Alarm Contact Outreach Explained
This section explains each possible scenario that can occur when a Solink alarm is triggered. Please take note of what Alarm Contacts can expect when a Dispatch Agent reaches out via SMS text and / or phone during each of the following scenarios.
1. A Real or Potential Emergency
A real or potential emergency occurs, on average, less than 1% of the time. In this scenario, the Verification Agent has confirmed that there is a threat to person or property:
If the Verification Agent determines there is an active break in, the dispatch agent:
Immediately contacts local emergency services to respond to the threat at the location.
Sends all Alarm Contacts an SMS text message to notify the Alarm Contacts of the dispatch (See Active break-in or burglary in progress SMS below)
Simultaneously, another Dispatch Agent calls the Primary Alarm Contact. If the Primary Alarm Contact does not answer, the Dispatch Agent calls other Alarm Contacts in the order they appear under Solink Alarm Configuration. See how Solink logs the call event details here.
If any Alarm Contacts answer they may cancel the dispatch, otherwise dispatch will continue.
SMS Text Messages
Agent Reason | Message |
Active break-in or burglary in progress | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by an active break-in. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
If the verification agent determines there is a potential emergency, the dispatch agent will:
Send all Alarm Contacts an SMS text message to notify them of a potential emergency (see possible SMS text messages below for unknown person).
Call the Primary Alarm Contact. If the Primary Alarm Contact does not answer, the Dispatch Agent calls other Alarm Contacts in the order they appear under Solink Alarm Configuration. See how Solink logs the call event details here.
If there is no response from any Alarm Contacts, or a contact verifies an active break in, the dispatch agent will contact local emergency services to respond to the threat at the location.
SMS Text Messages
When there is a real or potential emergency, the agent sends an SMS text message to your Alarm Contacts based on the exact reason listed below.
Agent Reason | Message |
Unknown person is inside business but not actively taking or damaging property | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by unknown person inside. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
Unknown person is taking items from outside of business | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by person taking items from outside. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
Unknown person is outside business but not actively taking or damaging property | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by unknown person outside. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
2. Unable to Load Video
On rare occasions, the Verification Agent is unable to load the video stream. This is often due to intermittent network issues or low bandwidth at the location. This issue usually occurs on one camera, so it does not necessarily mean the agent is completely ‘blind’ to motion on other alarm cameras.
Note: Solink requires at least 2 Mbps average upload speeds for Professionally Monitored Video Alarms. Slower speeds result in the monitoring agent reaching out more frequently due to an inability to load video after three attempts.
In the event the Verification Agent cannot load after three tries, a Dispatch Agent will immediately send all Alarm Contacts a SMS text message. At the discretion of the Dispatch Agent, they may also call to ensure people and property are safe, starting with the Primary Alarm Contact.
If you receive this message frequently (e.g., one per night), please contact our Support team as there are likely changes we suggest to improve your connectivity.
The Verification Agent attempts to load the video three consecutive times and often is able to load within these attempts.
The SMS text message your Alarm Contact(s) receives says the following:
"Solink has detected motion at Store 123 but we could not review the video due to a video loading issue. We will not be dispatching police unless you respond "Yes" to this SMS within the next 5 minutes. View alarm here: https://test-alarm.solink.direct/alarm/ky1RcirAxdGudvOvefRnLg"
3. Inconclusive (with visible person on video)
On rare occasions, the Verification Agent is unable to conclusively determine whether someone or something poses a real threat. This footage often occurs on one camera. If there is a subsequent motion event, another agent reviews the footage and may be able to produce a more conclusive result from a different camera angle.
For example, an employee or delivery person who is not in uniform or fully visible within the camera would fall under this scenario.
In the event the Verification Agent cannot conclusively determine a threat, but a person is visible on the video:
The agent will send all Alarm Contacts a SMS text message, outlined in the table below. At the discretion of the Dispatch Agent, they may also call (at agent discretion) to ensure people and property are safe, starting with the Primary Alarm Contact.
SMS Text Messages
When an alarm triggers but the agent is unable to determine if there is a real or potential emergency based on the footage, the agent sends (or does not send) an SMS text message to your Alarm Contacts based on the exact reason listed bellow.
Agent Reason | Message |
Unable to determine person activity | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by an unverifiable person. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
No Contact Scenarios
The agent does not reach out if the video is inconclusive in the following scenarios:
Camera view obstructed or dark
Video technical issue
No person shown
Emergency service personnel on site
Person is outside of business, not acting suspiciously
Person is inside of business, not acting suspiciously
Moving vehicle
Other
Note: Contact your Solink Customer Success representative to discuss options for changing outreach behaviour for no contact reasons.
Note: After the monitoring agent has flagged the video as inconclusive, you can search for the video event (use the search bar on the Alarms tab and search for “Unverifiable (Unable to determine Conclusively)”.
4. Employee Detected Onsite - Auto Disarm
When a monitoring agent reviews footage of an alarm and determines that the people onsite are employees, not suspicious individuals, the alarm is then disarmed until the next scheduled arm period, or for a certain period of time configured by your Customer Success representative.
All Alarm Contacts then receive an SMS text message with the following information:
The number of times employees were detected onsite over a given period of time.
A notice that the site has been disarmed along with the length of time it will remain disarmed.
A link to review the video of the alarm(s).
The options to either re-arm the system or dispatch emergency services via text.
See this guide for more information.