Rapid Emergency Alerting

In Alpha — not available to beta agencies yet

Rapid Emergency Alerting is an alpha feature that runs on the RAM mobile app. It is not enabled for beta agencies by default. This guide documents how it works for the teams currently testing it. If you'd like early access, contact RAM support. We'll update this page as the feature moves toward general availability.

Rapid Emergency Alerting enables your agency to send critical emergency alerts directly to team members' mobile devices. Alerts bypass normal notification channels and deliver with maximum urgency — playing alarm sounds, overriding silent mode, and vibrating the device even when the app is in the background or closed.

This module requires device licensing to control which devices can receive emergency alerts and to manage your agency's seat allocation.

important

Rapid Emergency Alerting requires the Alert Dispatch subscription module. Contact your administrator or RAM support if this feature is not available for your agency.

How It Works

1. An administrator sends an emergency alert from the web app or mobile app
2. The alert is delivered directly to APNs (iOS) and FCM (Android) — no intermediary push services
3. Each licensed device plays an alarm sound, vibrates, and displays the alert with full details
4. Team members respond with their availability status (Responding, Unavailable, or Watch)
5. The administrator sees real-time response tracking on the alert dashboard

Accessing Rapid Alert Devices

1. Navigate to Agency Settings in the left sidebar
2. Click Rapid Alert Devices (previously "Managed Devices")
3. You must have Administrator permissions

License Types

RAM uses two types of license keys to control which devices receive emergency alerts:

License Type	Tied To	Use Case	What Happens on Logout
Personal	A specific user on a specific device	Individual team member's personal phone	Key stays assigned to the user but unlinks from the device. Must be re-activated on a new device.
Shared	A physical device	Station tablet, command vehicle iPad, shared team device	Key stays on the device. The next user who logs in automatically inherits it.

Personal Licenses

A personal license is assigned to a specific user and activated on one device. It does not follow the user to other devices — if a user logs into a different phone, they need to activate their key on the new device.

When to use: Most team members who have their own phone or device.

How it works:

1. Admin generates a personal license key for a user
2. Admin shares the key with the user (copy from the web app)
3. User opens the RAM mobile app → Settings → Rapid Emergency Alerting
4. User enters the key and taps Activate
5. The key is now linked to that user on that specific device

Shared Device Licenses

A shared device license is tied to a physical device, not a user. Any user who logs into that device automatically inherits the license and can receive alerts.

When to use: Shared tablets, station devices, command vehicles, or any device used by multiple people.

How it works:

1. Admin generates a shared device key (no user selection needed)
2. Someone logs into the shared device and enters the key in Settings → Rapid Emergency Alerting
3. The key binds to that physical device permanently
4. When User A logs out and User B logs in, User B automatically inherits the key
5. No re-activation needed — the key follows the device

tip

Shared device keys that are generated but not activated within 3 days are automatically deleted to prevent unused keys from accumulating.

Setting Up Licenses

Generating a Personal License Key

1. Go to Rapid Alert Devices → Device Licenses tab
2. Click New License in the top right
3. Select Personal license type
4. Select the user from the dropdown
5. Click Generate Key
6. Copy the key and share it with the user

Generating a Shared Device Key

1. Go to Rapid Alert Devices → Device Licenses tab
2. Click New License in the top right
3. Select Shared Device license type
4. Click Generate Key
5. Copy the key and provide it to whoever is setting up the shared device

Activating a Key on a Mobile Device

1. Open the RAM mobile app
2. Go to Settings → expand Rapid Emergency Alerting
3. Enter the license key in the format XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
4. Tap Activate
5. The license key will appear immediately, showing whether it's a Personal or Shared license

important

The key activates on the device where it's entered. If a user has multiple devices, each device needs its own license key.

Managing Licenses

Device Licenses Tab

The main table shows all users who have active licenses:

Column	Description
Name	Team member's name
Email	Team member's email
Device Type	iOS or Android with device icon
Device ID	Unique device identifier (e.g., iPhone-B8D7, iPad-8F9E)
License Keys	The license key in monospace format
Key Type	Personal or Shared
Actions	Copy key to clipboard or delete the license

Pending Shared Keys

The Pending Shared Keys card in the summary bar shows how many shared device keys have been generated but not yet activated. Click the card to view details:

• License Key — the key to share
• Created — when the key was generated
• Expires — auto-deletes after 3 days if not activated
• Actions — copy or delete the key

Registered Devices Tab

Shows all physical devices that have registered with your agency's RAM app:

Column	Description
Device	Device identifier (e.g., iPhone-B8D7)
Type	iOS or Android
Current User	Who is currently logged in on that device
Last Active	When the device last communicated with RAM
License	License key if one is linked
Key Type	Personal, Shared, or none

Deleting a License

1. Find the license in the Device Licenses tab or Registered Devices tab
2. Click the delete icon in the Actions column
3. Confirm deletion

warning

Deleting a license immediately removes the user's ability to receive emergency alerts on that device. A new key must be generated if access is needed again.

Seat Limits

Your agency's subscription determines how many active licenses (linked to a device) you can have. Pending/unactivated keys do not count against the limit.

• The Active Licenses card shows your current count
• If you have a seat limit, it displays as X/Y (used/total)
• Unlimited means no cap on licenses

If you reach your limit, you'll need to delete an existing license before generating a new one, or contact RAM support to increase your seat allocation.

Alert Groups

Alert Groups let you organize licensed members into named groups for targeted alerting. When sending an emergency alert, you can select a group instead of individual members.

1. Go to Rapid Alert Devices → Alert Groups tab
2. Click New Group
3. Enter a group name and optional description
4. Select members from the dropdown (only users with active linked devices appear)
5. Click Create

tip

Only team members with an active, linked device appear in the member selection. If someone is missing, verify they have activated their license key on their device.

Mobile App Settings

Team members can manage their alert preferences in the RAM mobile app under Settings → Rapid Emergency Alerting:

• License Key — displays the active key and type (Personal or Shared)
• Alert Sound — choose from emergency alarm sounds
• Vibration — enable/disable vibration on alert
• Override Silent Mode — play alarm even when the phone is on silent (recommended)

The Device ID is displayed in Settings → About so users can identify which device is which when multiple devices are registered.

Sending an Emergency Alert

1. From the web app: Navigate to an incident workspace and click Send Alert, or use the Emergency Alerts section
2. From the mobile app: Go to the Call-Out tab and tap Send Call-Out
3. Select recipients — individual members or an alert group
4. Enter the alert message and details
5. Send — alerts are delivered immediately to all selected devices

Best Practices

• License every active member — ensure all on-call team members have an activated license before relying on the system
• Use shared keys for station devices — don't waste personal licenses on shared equipment
• Test before you need it — send a test alert to verify all devices receive it
• Monitor the Registered Devices tab — check that all expected devices are active and licensed
• Clean up departed members — delete licenses for members who leave the organization to free up seats
• Keep alert groups current — review group membership when the roster changes

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
User doesn't receive alerts	Verify they have an activated license (check Device Licenses tab). Check their device has push notification permissions enabled.
License key won't activate	Confirm the key is correct (case-insensitive). Personal keys must match the logged-in user. Check the key hasn't expired (shared keys expire after 3 days).
Wrong device showing for a license	The license links to the device where it was entered. Delete the license and re-generate if it's on the wrong device.
User not appearing in Alert Groups	They need an active, linked license. Check the Device Licenses tab to confirm their key is activated.
Shared device not inheriting key	Ensure the previous user logged out properly. The shared key should auto-assign to the next user who logs in.

Related Pages

• Agency Notification Settings — General notification configuration
• Agency Settings — Agency-wide settings
• Team Management — Managing team members and roles