Installation
The Sikuro app is available on Apple Store and Play Store.
Initial setup
Once the Sikuro application (hereinafter ‘App’) has been installed, it is necessary to allow notifications and location services. These permissions are required for correct operation.
Remember that it is important to allow the app to always share the location in order to send the correct location even when the app is not enabled.
Next, you will be asked to enter a name to customise the messages and notifications sent. This is optional but strongly recommended. The app is now ready.
Pair with the Sikuro remote control (hereinafter ‘Sikuro device’)
In order to work, the app must be paired with at least one Sikuro device, a procedure available on the page ‘Pair devices / Listen’.
In this section it is necessary to press the central red button that makes the app listen to the Sikuro device. At the same time, slide the door of the Sikuro device and press the button made available (hereinafter ‘SOS button’) to make it visible.
By performing these operations, the pairing row will appear in the ‘Paired devices’ page.
An associated Sikuro device will not yet be enabled for sending SOS messages. To operate it, it must be enabled using the switch shown in the figure (position ON). To deactivate a Sikuro device, just press the switch again (position OFF).
Optionally, you can assign a name to the Sikuro device, a useful feature in the case of associating multiple devices. A pairing can be deleted by pressing the ‘Trash’ button.
Association of contacts to send SOS messages to.
Once the Sikuro device has been paired, it is necessary to select one or more contacts to send notifications to. To proceed with this operation, go to the ‘Contact association’ page.
Acting on the row related to the pair Sikuro device, ‘Contact +’ icon, the app will allow the selection of contacts in the phone book. It is necessary to allow access to the smartphone address book.
One or more contacts can be associated. It is recommended to associate at least 5 contacts to be sufficiently sure that at least one contact promptly reads the message sent.
Once the contacts have been associated, it will be possible to edit/modify the help message that will be sent. The message will be customisable, contact by contact.
The app will be installed with the default message ‘Help’. The contact association operation must be repeated for each paired Sikuro device.
You can decide whether to send only SMS, only push notifications or both by pressing the ‘SMS’ and ‘notification’ icons. To delete the association with the Sikuro device, use the ‘Trash’ icon.
Sending push notifications
Besides sending SMS, the app can also send push notifications, but only to the contacts who have already installed the app on their smartphone. To allow sending push notifications, the push notification key of the contact who has installed the app is required.
The key can be found in the Settings page (gear button). The key serves to uniquely identify the contact’s smartphone. Once the contact’s key has been received, it must be inserted in the respective Contact Setting section to allow receipt of the help notification.
Using the application
Once the app has been configured, and both the Sikuro device and the relative contacts have been associated, each time the SOS button of the Sikuro device is pressed, the app will send SMS/notifications depending on the choices made previously, and obviously only to the selected contacts.
The message sent (both in SMS and notification form) will be composed of the name, inserted during the configuration phase, the body of the message, which may have been modified during the editing phase, and the geographical location (latitude and longitude) detected by the smartphone by means of the GPS functionality.
Warnings
The sending of SMS and notifications is subordinate to the data connection, whether mobile network or wi-fi, that is available on the smartphone at the time of forwarding. In the case of a poor or no connection, the app will not be able to send any SMS or notification.
The exact recording of the position contained in the help message will depend on the GPS reception, in the absence of which it will not be present in the SMS or notification sent.
The app will run mainly in the background.
The background process is an execution process that does not require intervention from the user and is therefore not visible on the smartphone display. To put the app in the background, just press Home once launched and then use the smartphone normally, such as make a phone call, send a message, SMS, WhatsApp or launch any other app.
Even if the smartphone is turned off or restarted, the app will continue to run provided that it has not been deliberately closed.
Make sure that the bluetooth and geolocation features are always on.
To ensure that the app is running in the background, it is sufficient to view the active applications and check that it is on the list shown, simply by scrolling.
The app will only work with the smartphone switched on.
It is highly recommended to test the correct operation of the app and Sikuro device combination, so as to ensure that everything will work according to the manual if it becomes necessary to press the SOS button.
Caution! (for Android version)
If the smartphone has the power saving mode, which is usually proposed when the battery is low, make sure that it is not enabled, as this feature stops apps from running in the background to allow longer duration. It is recommended to always recharge the smartphone before it runs out of power.
