Switching from Visicom
Visicom signaled your team with lights outside each operatory. AltoSignal replaces those lights with an app on the devices you already own — clear who · what · where messages, history, and read receipts, so nobody has to decode a color again.
Visicom's visual paging used color-coded lights to signal patient status and page staff to operatories — one of a family of wired systems (alongside Porter, The Communicator, and Comlite) that defined dental-office signaling for decades. The idea was sound; the hardware is the problem. Lights have to be wired and mounted, they only convey a color, and changing what a signal means often means a service call.
AltoSignal keeps the speed of a one-tap signal and adds the one thing a light can't: the actual message.
| AltoSignal | Visicom | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A software app (works in any browser) | Wired light-based visual paging |
| Runs on | Devices you already own — iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux | Mounted lights and control units |
| Installation | Minutes, no wiring | Wiring and mounting per operatory |
| What the team sees | Full text — "Dr. Smith · Needed · Exam 1" | A color / light pattern to interpret |
| History & acknowledgment | Every message logged, with read receipts | None |
| Change buttons or rooms | Edit it yourself, anytime | Service call / rewire |
| Channels | Unlimited, plus a built-in Emergency channel | Fixed by the wiring |
| Cost | $3 / device / month · 30-day free trial | Hardware + installation |
| Updates | Automatic, over the air | Hardware swaps |
Comparison reflects the typical characteristics of legacy wired light-paging systems as of July 2026. Visicom is a trademark of its respective owner; AltoSignal is not affiliated with or endorsed by it. Check the vendor for current product details.
Use the iPads, tablets, and computers already in your operatories and at the front desk. Nothing to mount, nothing to run through the walls.
New staff don't have to memorize what green-blink means. Every signal is spelled out: who's needed, what for, and where.
See what was sent, when, and whether it was acknowledged — useful for busy days and for training.
Yes. It replaces light-based visual paging with an app that signals your team who is needed, what is happening, and where — with message history and read receipts, on the devices you already own.
No. AltoSignal runs in the browser on iPads, iPhones, Android tablets, Windows, Mac, and Linux. There are no lights to mount and no wiring to run.
$3 per device per month, or $24 per device per year, with a 30-day free trial and no credit card.
Set it up in under ten minutes on the devices you already have. Cancel anytime, no phone call.
Start 30-day free trial