Guide · 5 min read

By default your phone checks WordPress every ~15 seconds for messages to send. With Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) — which is free and unlimited, and included in the Agency plan — WordPress can wake the phone the instant a message is queued, so texts go out in about a second. That matters for login codes, order confirmations and anything time-sensitive.

Why you need two files

• google-services.json tells the phone which Firebase project to use.
• A service-account key lets WordPress send the wake-up push.

You paste both into SwarmSMS once; phones pick up the setup automatically — there’s nothing to rebuild or re-pair.

Steps

1. Go to the Firebase console and add a project (the free Spark plan is fine; Analytics isn’t needed).
2. In Project settings → General → Your apps, add an Android app with the package name com.swarmsms.app, register it and download google-services.json.
3. In Project settings → Service accounts, click Generate new private key to download a JSON file.
4. In WordPress open SwarmSMS → Devices → Instant delivery, paste both files and save.
5. Next to your phone click Test. The phone checks in immediately.

What if it doesn’t work?

• The message from Firebase is shown on screen — read it.
• The package name in Firebase must be exactly com.swarmsms.app.
• Both files must come from the same Firebase project.
• Open the app once after saving so the phone can fetch its push token.

Is it safe?

The push contains no message content — it simply says “check in now”. The service-account key is stored in your WordPress database and never displayed again. Polling stays on as a slower safety net.