Technical · Course T6Lesson 3 of 4
WeTalk: messaging and calling at fleet scale
8 min read- Choose the right conversation type for each communication job
- Use templates, scheduling, priority, and labels like a dispatcher
- Troubleshoot delivery, calling, and visibility issues by their real causes
WeTalk is a Slack-grade communication layer built into the console: text, files, video and audio calls to any enrolled device — the product that retires the separate PTT and messaging subscriptions frontline fleets usually carry.
Pick the right conversation type
The New Conversation dialog offers a ladder of targets, each with its own icon in the thread list:
| Target | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Individual device | One-on-one support or instructions |
| Multi devices | A hand-picked set, one thread |
| Group (policy) | Everyone under a policy — "all warehouse scanners" |
| Custom group | A cross-policy set you define and reuse (plan-gated) |
| All Devices | Fleet-wide broadcast (needs the compose-to-all permission) |
Devices can also start threads themselves — to an admin or another device — which appear as device-to-device conversations.
Every new conversation takes a required subject plus optional priority (Low / Medium / High, High pulsing for urgency), color-coded labels for filtering, a read-only toggle that blocks device-side replies (announcement mode), an attachment from your computer or straight from WeBox, and an optional schedule.
Messaging that carries weight
Threads handle text with link previews, inline images, video and audio players, document cards, emoji, and even voice-to-text input in the browser. Attachments run up to 100 MB across the usual document/media formats. Everything shared in a thread collects in the Shared Files panel, filterable by type — and full-text message search jumps you to any message in any thread.
Two workflow tools do the heavy lifting for dispatch-style usage:
- Templates — save subject + body + priority + attachments; reapply in two clicks for routine comms.
- Scheduled messages — deliver at a future time (minimum two minutes out), tracked in the Schedule tab as Pending / Completed / Cancelled, editable until they fire.
Calling
Video and audio calling is built in (Twilio-powered): direct calls from individual threads, a device picker in group threads, and true group calls that ring every device in the thread. Sessions support camera preview, screen sharing, a participants panel, busy detection, and a mini-player so admins can keep working. Calls land in a call history view with duration and status. Requirements to quote: calling enabled in the plan, WeTalk app on the device, device online, browser camera/mic permissions granted.
Keeping order at scale
- Archive finished threads out of the active list (deleting a custom group auto-archives its conversations).
- Device permissions control which devices may initiate communication — account-level, policy-level, per-device, or bulk via CSV.
- RBAC shapes visibility: Super Admins and Admins see everything; Group Admins and Observers see only threads belonging to their assigned policy groups. That's the first check when someone "can't see" a conversation.
The delivery truism to internalize: messages queue, but real-time delivery needs the device online — so "message not delivered" starts at the device's online status, not at WeTalk.