Send SMS

Use the Serial Monitor to type in SMS messages to different phone numbers.

This sketch send a SMS message from an Arduino board equipped with a GSM shield. Using the serial monitor of the Arduino Software (IDE), you'll enter the number to connect with, and the text message to send.

Hardware Required

Circuit

image of the Arduino GSM Shield on top of an Arduino board
image of the Arduino GSM Shield on top of an Arduino board

Code

First, import the GSM library

#include <GSM.h>

SIM cards may have a PIN number that enables their functionality. Define the PIN for your SIM. If your SIM has no PIN, you can leave it blank :

#define PINNUMBER ""

Initialize instances of the classes you're going to use. You're going to need both the GSM and GSM_SMS class.

1GSM gsmAccess;
2
3GSM_SMS sms;

In

setup
, open a serial connection to the computer. After opening the connection, send a message indicating the sketch has started.

1void setup(){
2
3 Serial.begin(9600);
4
5 Serial.println("SMS Messages Sender");

Create a local variable to track the connection status. You'll use this to keep the sketch from starting until the SIM is connected to the network :

1boolean notConnected = true;

Connect to the network by calling

gsmAccess.begin()
. It takes the SIM card's PIN as an argument. By placing this inside a
while()
loop, you can continually check the status of the connection. When the modem does connect,
gsmAccess()
will return
GSM_READY
. Use this as a flag to set the
notConnected
variable to
true
or
false
. Once connected, the remainder of
setup
will run.

1while(notConnected)
2
3 {
4
5 if(gsmAccess.begin(PINNUMBER)==GSM_READY)
6
7 notConnected = false;
8
9 else
10
11 {
12
13 Serial.println("Not connected");
14
15 delay(1000);
16
17 }
18
19 }

Finish

setup
with some information to the serial monitor.

1Serial.println("GSM initialized.");
2}

Create a function named

readSerial
of type
int
. You'll use this to iterate through input from the serial monitor, storing the number you wish to send an SMS to, and the message you'll be sending. It should accept a
char
array as an argument.

1int readSerial(char result[])
2{

Create a variable to count through the items in the serial buffer, and start a

while
loop that will continually execute.

1int i = 0;
2
3 while(1)
4
5 {

As long as there is serial information available, read the data into a variable named

inChar
.

1while (Serial.available() > 0)
2
3 {
4
5 char inChar = Serial.read();

If the character being read is a newline, terminate the array, clear the serial buffer and exit the function.

1if (inChar == '\n')
2
3 {
4
5 result[i] = '\0';
6
7 Serial.flush();
8
9 return 0;
10
11 }

If the incoming character is an ASCII character other than a newline or carriage return, add it to the array and increment the index. Close up the

while
loops and the function.

1if(inChar!='\r')
2
3 {
4
5 result[i] = inChar;
6
7 i++;
8
9 }
10
11 }
12
13 }
14}

In

loop
, create a
char
array named
remoteNumber
to hold the number you wish to send an SMS to. Invoke the
readSerial
function you just created, and pass
remoteNumber
as the argument. When
readSerial
executes, it will populate
remoteNumber
with the number you wish to send the message to.

1Serial.print("Enter a mobile number: ");
2
3 char remoteNumber[20];
4
5 readSerial(remoteNumber);
6
7 Serial.println(remoteNumber);

Create a new

char
array named
txtMsg
. This will hold the content of your SMS. Pass
txtMsg
to
readSerial
to populate the array.

1Serial.print("Now, enter SMS content: ");
2
3 char txtMsg[200];
4
5 readSerial(txtMsg);

Call

sms.beginSMS()
and pass it
remoteNumber
to start sending the message,
sms.print()
to send the message, and
sms.endSMS()
to complete the process. Print out some diagnostic information and close the
loop
. Your message is on its way!

1Serial.println("SENDING");
2
3 Serial.println();
4
5 Serial.println("Message:");
6
7 Serial.println(txtMsg);
8
9 sms.beginSMS(remoteNumber);
10
11 sms.print(txtMsg);
12
13 sms.endSMS();
14
15 Serial.println("\nCOMPLETE!\n");
16}

Once your code is uploaded, open the serial monitor. Make sure the serial monitor is set to only send a newline character on return. When prompted to enter the number you wish to call, enter the digits and press return. You'll then be asked to enter your message. Once you've typed that, press return again to send it.

Complete Sketch

The complete sketch is below.

Last revision 2018/08/23 by SM

Suggest changes

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License

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