How can I talk to him?!? Tablets and Phones at TDCJ

If your loved one just arrived at TDCJ, it is usually a couple of weeks before you can communicate. E-messaging and visitation are the fastest ways to start communicating. Here are the steps.

Wait for him to show up as an inmate at TDCJ

He does NOT get a free phone call when he arrives.
You cannot begin steps to communicate until he shows up in TDCJ “inmate search” website and has a TDCJ number. This takes 1-5 business days. My loved one left county jail a Tuesday morning and he showed up in the system Thursday morning.

Wait for him to show up in the Securus App

On your smartphone, download the Securus App and sign up. Make sure your address matches your id and what he uses on his visitation list.
Once he has a TDCJ number, open the Securus app on your smartphone
In the app, click eMessaging -> Add Contact -> and there you can search for him.

Register at Texas Prison Phone

Go to https://www.texasprisonphone.com/ . Register your phone number. Make sure your address matches what he would use for you on his visiting list. It takes 2-3 days to be approved, sometimes a bit longer. Once you are approved, he still won’t have his phone privileges for another 1-4 months, however, approval on texasprisonphone also gives you an approval to fund his commissary.

Match Match Match

Whatever name, address, and phone you use anywhere for TDCJ should match each other. Be sure the name, address, and phone are the same as what is on your id, same as what he put on his visitor list, same as what you put in the visitor portal, same as what you input on the securus app, same info when you sign up for commissary, and texas prison phones. So many frustrations happen when there are inconsistencies.

Send a one way e-message within 2 days

He will not get a tablet for a couple of weeks, but you CAN send e-messages and e-pictures with your Securus App before he has a tablet.
In Securus E-Messaging, look carefully at his Unit Name when you add him as a contact. If the name of his facility says “PRINT”, you can buy electronic stamps for 24 cents, and send him e-messages that will be printed for him.
WHEN IT SAYS PRINT, YOU CAN SEND A MESSAGE TO BE PRINTED FOR HIM. HE CANNOT RESPOND UNTIL HE HAS A TABLET
“PRINT” means they don’t have a tablet yet, but when you send him e-messages, the mailroom at the prison will print out messages for him. Delivery takes a few hours to a couple days and there is no printing on weekends.
I would go ahead and add a small amount, maybe $5, to the Securus Debit Account because that will enable him to buy stamps for e-messages. (Most inmates will blow Securus Debit on games and movies, but hopefully he will save 50 cents for a stamp to send you a message.)

Wait a couple of weeks for an e-message reply

Once he gets a tablet, he will be able to see your digital messages and pictures that they have been printed for him.
Click the E-Message button in the app and buy “Stamps” so he can reply to the e-messages.

How do I know when he has a tablet?

You might get an e-message from him if you funded his securus debit and he bought a stamp.
PRINT will be dropped from the name of his Facility when you search his name in the Securus App
- Facility: GARZA WEST – PRINT he does not have a tablet
- Facility: GARZA WEST he has a tablet.
At the bottom of a new message where it says “1 of 45 stamps used”, there may or may not be another message. If there is a second message that say “provide reply stamp”, he has a tablet.
- Provide Reply Stamp option is missing means he does not have a tablet.
- Provide Reply Stamp option is present means he has a tablet
If you try to transfer stamps (EMessages -> stamps -> transfer stamps)
- If it says “Blocked. Contacts at this facility are not able to send eMessages” then he doesn’t have a tablet yet.
- If it prompts you to transfer stamps, then he has a tablet.

Register on the Visitor Portal

Using the name and address on your id, and his TDCJ number, register on the visitation portal.
Keep checking back to see when you are approved.
He needs to add you as a visitor using the name and address on your id. If the information you provided when you sign up on the visitation portal, and the information he provided when he filled out his visitor list, you will become an approved visitor within 3 days.

In Person Visits

Prerequisites:

He needs a TDCJ number
He filled out a form and added you as a visitor with the correct spelling of name, address, and your relationship.
You registered at the visitation portal using the same spelling of your name and address that he used. Your definition of relationship agrees with each other. (e.g. you put friend and he put friend. you put mother and he put son, you put common life wife and he put common law husband)
You waited a few days and can see that you are an approved visitor on the Visitation Portal

Time: 2-5 days to be approved as a visitor + 5 weeks to get a visitation appointment (you could get lucky and find a cancellation sooner)

Schedule an in-person visit at his unit or a video visit.
Both in person and video visits are often filled and there is no availability.
New slots open up Sat at midnight and Sun at midnight for the slots that are 5 weeks out.
Some people have reported snagging a free visitation slot the first weekend, so try your luck!
You can check daily to see if anyone cancelled a visit
In person visits for the first 6 months are non-contact, even if you are eligible for contact visits.
Also see https://fyitexasprisons.com/2024/07/29/visitation/

Video Visits

Prerequisites:

He needs a TDCJ number
You are an approved visitor on the Visitation Portal
For Garza West, you need the Securus App and you need to fund the Securus Video Connect. Video Visits are $10
For Holliday you need the Jitsi Meet app. Video Visits are free.

See: https://fyitexasprisons.com/2024/07/29/free-or-low-cost-video-visits/

Fund his Commissary

Prerequisites:

He needs a TDCJ number
You need to be an approved visitor on the Visitation Portal or approved caller

You will be able to fund his commissary within 2-5 days of his arrival if you are an approved visitor or caller, but he won’t get commissary privileges for at least a couple of weeks. At intake, he goes through a series of meetings, and one of them will be to get his id. He will be approved for commissary after he gets his id. Securus is NOT used to fund commissary. More info on commissary: https://fyitexasprisons.com/2024/07/23/commissary/

Send a snail mail letter

Prerequisites: He needs a TDCJ number first

Him sending you a letter is recommended and takes about a week to get to you.
You sending him a letter takes a long time, weeks or even months.
The snail mail letter will be scanned and uploaded to his tablet. If he doesn’t have a tablet, they will print out the scan and give it to him.
Do not send letters to the prison address. See the TDCJ site for the address in Dallas where all personal mail goes.

Send him a book

Once he has a TDCJ number, you can send books to the unit. See https://wordpress.com/post/fyitexasprisons.com/45

What about phone calls?

It will be about 60 days before he can make a phone call either from the wall phone or his tablet. Early on, you should focus on e-messaging, visitation, and US mail. I’ve heard of people getting phone calls as early as 30 days, and as late as 4-6 months.

To be ready for calls when he is:

Register with www.TexasPrisonPhone.com
In the Securus app, Fund Advance Connect for phone calls.

What the heck are all these buttons in the Securus app?

Securus Video Connect – Fund this only if your unit uses Securus for Video Visits, such as Garza West Unit. Most Units don’t use Securus for video visits. If his unit isn’t listed, skip this tab. For Holliday, skip this tab.

AdvanceConnect – This is so he can call you from his tablet or from the wall phones. You can wait on funding this since he can’t make calls for 1-4 months.

Securus Debit Fund for your loved one to play games or get movies on the tablet. He can also buy stamps. After you fund it, this is his money and you can’t see what he does with it or how much he has left.

eMessaging – Definitely fund this one. It is a texting app and probably the first way he will reach out to you.

VideoGram – Not active at TDCJ facilities

Snap n Send – Snap a picture or choose one from your camera roll for the cost of one stamp. (eMessaging can be used to send pictures, but it is 2 stamps because it requires a message and a picture.) You can also attach an image at securustech.net You can use the same stamps that your purchased for eMessaging.

TextConnect – Not active at TDCJ facilities

Where in Securus do I fund commissary?

NO WHERE! You cannot fund his books with Securus. See https://fyitexasprisons.com/2024/07/23/commissary/

What do I need to fund?

Sample funding with a $75 budget:

Securus E-Messaging, buy $10 worth of electronic “stamps” which will fund 20 e-messages.
Securus Debit fund $5 so he can buy e-message stamps to be ready when he has his tablet. You can put a lot more if he is going to be renting movies and playing games on his tablet.
Fund his commissary account $40 – so he can buy food and hygiene items (This is not done through Securus). https://fyitexasprisons.com/2024/07/23/commissary/
Fund Securus AdvanceConnect $10 so he can call when he finally gets phone privileges
Garza West Only – Fund $10 Securus Video Connect to be ready for a video visit. At Holliday, video visits use a different app and are free.

Don’t dispute a charge through your credit card

For both Securus and commissary, don’t ask your credit card to reverse a charge. People are getting banned for this, and that will make supporting your loved one more difficult.

How long does it take to get a tablet?

Two weeks, but this can be faster or slower. New inmates are issued a tablet as part of the intake process. You do not need to buy a tablet or buy earphones/microphone. Those are provided for free.

How long does it take before we can talk on the phone?

It will be months before you can talk on the phone, so plan on communicating with visits, e-messages, or snail mail. The phone will be the last form of communication available, probably in 2-4 months. You will have visitation (including video visitation or in person visitation) and e-messaging before his phone is set up.

One of their many meetings at an intake unit is for a voice recognition recording that is used to verify their voice so their phone calls will go through. This is one of the very last things that happens at intake. Some report they didn’t talk to their LO at all at the intake unit, and the first time they talked was at their permanent unit.

What is the fastest way to get in touch?

Most people report that they were able to e-message first. A smaller group of people report they were able to visit first. It is possible to become an approved visitor in 2 days, get lucky, and find a visitation opening that same weekend. In rare cases, snail mail was their first correspondence. In all cases, the phone is the last thing that will work. Units go on lockdown once a year. If you hear that his unit is on an annual lockdown, then all bets are off and this will all take a lot longer.

My LO had commissary money on his books at county. Does it transfer?

Yes, but I would still add $25 on his commissary as soon as you are approved as a visitor. The transfer from county can take 2-4 weeks.

If I send an e-message before he gets a tablet, can he read the message?

Yes. The message or picture you send will be printed and given to him.

Can my loved one respond to my e-message without a tablet?

No. It is a one-sided conversation until he gets a tablet. He can mail you a letter as a response. Note that snail mail out of prison to your home is fast, within a week. Snail mail from your home to prison can be weeks or months.

Do I have to be an approved visitor to visit?

Yes. Both in person and video visits require you be approved as a visitor on the visitor portal.

Do I have to be an approved visitor to add money to commissary?

Yes. To add money to his books or to send him items from ecomm, you have to be an approved visitor, or you can be approved on texasprisonphone. Either approval gets your name on a list of people who can send him commissary money. Also, he has have an id issued in order to go to commissary and that intake task can take 1-3 weeks.

Do I have to be an approved visitor to do e-messaging?

No. As soon as your loved one is issued a tablet, you can do e-messaging.

Do I have to be an approved visitor to add money to his tablet for games and movies?

No. Add funds to Securus debit In the Securus app and he can play games, watch movies, or buy stamps. You don’t have to be an approved visitor to do this.

Do I have to be an approved visitor to get a phone call?

No. You do have to be approved on Texas prison phones, and you need to fund your Securus Advance Connect fund. Keep in mind that the inmate has to do his voice recording before he can make phone calls. The voice recording is one of the last steps at intake and sometimes doesn’t happen until he gets to his permanent unit.

How long does it take to become an approved visitor?

If he spelled your name and address correctly on his side and gave the correct relationship (e.g son, friend, husband) and you went to the visitation portal and registered with the same name and relationship, the approval comes within a few days. If there are discrepancies, it can be a long time. Call the unit if you’re not approved in 72 hours to find out what he spelled wrong, or where the relationship doesn’t match. Also check your own email spam to see if any information is there.

How can he get an envelope and stamp if he has no commissary money?

He can ask for an indigent pack with a stamp/paper/envelope if he doesn’t have commissary funds.

Tablets

How does my LO get a tablet?

During intake, they will be issued a tablet and earphones with microphone for free. You or he do not need to order a tablet or earphones. The normal timeframe is 2-3 weeks. The only time you would have to purchase a tablet would be if it breaks or is stolen.

Inspect the Tablet

Check the new tablet for cracks, breaks, lose port, missing screws, holes drilled into it, or anything that you could get blamed for. The tablets have an industrial strength cover on it.

Messaging Cost

On the securus app, you can buy “stamps” for 24 cents. Each message you send is one stamp. Each reply he sends to you is a stamp. Every picture you send to him costs a stamp. He cannot send pictures to you.

You can create a picture collage and send it as one picture. I know at the county jail, it was against the terms of service to create a collage, but I didn’t read that for Securus. A tablet is a little smaller than an ipad, so a picture you sent from a smartphone is probably going to appear to be twice the size on the tablet. There is an app called picCollage and one called Layout that some people use to make collages. Make a collage with 4 pictures and send it using one stamp. I wouldn’t send 16 pictures in one collage because he can’t zoom in, but the tablets are big enough that 4 pictures would be a good, viewable size.

Tablet Not Returned

A Lo gave his tablet to a guard for charging and he never gave it back. He might have given it back to the wrong inmate. The answer was the inmate has to put in an I 60 form to explain what happened and request a tablet.

How Fast do Messages Arrive?

Short messages get through faster and long messages can take hours or days.

Send just a short sentence if you are trying to convey something urgent because it will be approved faster.

You can add a date on to your messages and ask him to add a date to his.

Pictures also take a long time to be approved.

There is no biometrics (voice recognition) test to send a text message. The voice recognition test has to be passed for phone calls.

Subscriptions on the Tablets

My LO said movies are $10-$12 to watch on the tablet and the rental period is 48 hours. There is not a movie subscriptions so you must pay for each movie.

For music, there is a subscription which is pretty good.

For games, there are a lot of games in the game subscription for $15/month. There is solitaire and low budget version of candy crush for example.

Don’t lose tablet privileges!

Do not send messages for inmates who have been banned from messaging.

Note that phone conversations are monitored. Make it clear up front to your loved one that you aren’t going to cash app or venmo. The only apps to send money are on the TDCJ website. cash app and venmo requests could be signs that your loved one is being extorted or is paying for something he shouldn’t. Right up front, I told my loved one I am never doing a 3-way call so don’t bother asking. I will never cash app anyone so don’t even bother asking. Even mentioning those apps on a recorded line can cause trouble.

Don’t fund anyone else’s securus app except those you have a relationship with.

What apps are on the tablets?

Tablets do NOT have open Internet access. There is no browser such as safari where they can go to any site. There is no facebook, instagram, tiktok, youtube, or any social media.

https://securustech.net/tdcj/index.html#tdcj-unity-jp6s-applications

There is an app to search for jobs in any city.

There is the PandoApp for christian videos and a digital bible

Tablets Travel with your LO

Tablets do travel with your LO. They will take the same tablet with them if they are transferred to a different unit. Encourage them to charge their tablet if they know they are about to catch chain. Also encourage them to make sure their tablet is with them on the bus so they aren’t waiting days or weeks for it be returned to them. When you change units, all belongings are taken away, searched, and given back in 1-30 days, but sometimes what you carried on the bus is not taken away.

Tablet Broken

Your loved one should put in an I-60 form to the Securus Site Administrator if the tablet remains black, or otherwise has issues. It can be weeks for a resolution. There is also a way to submit a ticket through the communication app if the tablet is working.

Who pays for a broken tablet?

The tablet will be replaced for free for normal wear and tear, malfunctions, or if it breaks for a reason that is not the inmate’s responsibility (e.g. one inmate’s tablet was ruined in a fire.). Put in an 1-60 to the Securus Site Administrator.

If you break the table on purpose or if it is stolen, you have to buy a new one for $129.99 which is $140.71 with tax. The “new” tablet doesn’t mean it’s brand new. The $129 is to cover the cost of the lost or damaged tablet so that you can be issued a replacement tablet.

Put $140.71 on your LOs securus debit account. Also, the case is $6, the power cord is $16, screen protector $6, and earbuds with microphone included is $20. It can weeks to get a replacement tablet, weeks to get earbuds I have heard.

Also, if you break a tablet on purpose, it is possible you can be banned from the tablet program. If you trade your tablet willingly, you can be permanently banned from the tablet program. If a tablet is lost or stolen, they have to locate the lost or stolen tablet first, before it can be replaced. This can take a lot of time.

I have heard 1-12 weeks to get a tablet and some people have put in multiple i-60s. They can be in short supply and if your unit goes on lockdown, expect the tablet to be delayed by the number of weeks your unit is on lockdown.

Why do I get a mail from JPay for Securus e-message?

Securus is the parent company of JPay. When you get an eMessage reply, you get an email from JPay. If you clink the jpay link in the email, after a couple of hops, it will launch your Securus app.
Call Attempts

Why do I see call attempts in Securus history, but my phone didn’t ring?

In the securus app, you can see the call history. Sometimes you will see a call attempt and your phone didn’t ring.

This will happen if he calls, but you didn’t register at Texas prison phone website.

This can happen if his voice recognition fails. He calls, but it is too noisy or too much static and the voice recognition system thinks his voice isn’t a match. The call will drop.

Some people report seeing call attempts and their loved one says they didn’t call, so it could be a glitch.

Securus Pamphlet

TDCJ_Offender_Phone_Information_Brochure_English.pdf (securustech.net)

Securus Support

There is a Securus rep at the unit so call the unit or have your LO try to get in touch with the Securus representative at their unit.

You can email regarding tablets to offenderphones@tdcj.texas.gov. See the contact info here: https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/offender_tele/index.html

Telephone info: https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/offender_tele/index.html

Do I need to be an approved visitor to message him?

No. You can message with a TDCJ inmate and add money to his Securus Debit Account without being an approved visitor.

Phone Biometrics

As part of the stay at an intake unit, your LO will record his voice. This voice recognition pattern will be used whenever he makes a phone call to makes sure his current voice matches his recorded voice. This is the reason that it takes so long before you can talk to your LO on the phone. I think the specialist that does voice recordings is from a 3rd party company and I’m guess they only come one day a month. Sometimes phone biometrics aren’t taken until he is moved to his permanent unit.

Phones Disconnecting

Phone calls use biometrics, namely the voice recording of your LO. If there is a lot of background noise the system won’t recognize his voice and the call fails. Ask your LO to move to a quieter location or to cover the microphone with his hand or his shirt and see if that works. The call will not go through if the voice recognition system doesn’t match his recorded voice.

Double check that the headphones are pushed all the way in.

He can test if his microphone is working by listening to a song. Then activate the microphone and say something. The song will pause if his microphone is working.

If tablet calls aren’t working, he should try to figure out if it is his tablet or it his earphones causing the problem. Bad earphones is easy to fix. he can purchase more earphones on his securus app. A bad tablet, you can put in an i-60, but I hear reports of people going an entire year without being able to make phone calls due to a bad tablet. They can still call from the wall phones.

Phones are supposed to be on 7am – 10pm, but the guards can shut them off anytime (e.g. for security emergencies, lockdowns) and the systems glitch out a lot. The same way we get internet outages in our homes, the same thing happens with the tablets.

I see call attempts in the Securus app

He can attempt calls before his voice recognition is set up but they won’t work. You also might not be approved on Texasprisonphone and that is why the phone never rang. It also glitches and shows phantom phone calls that never happened.

Tablet Fraud

Be careful inputting your passcode as others can watch and memorize. Tablets do occasionally get stolen. Be sure your LO knows it is not permitted to let others use your tablet. Inmates can be restricted to only certain apps depending on their security level, or can be restricted from using a tablet at all. Inmates who trade food items for tablet time on someone else’s tablet can be in trouble. Do not “jail break” the tablet, which unlocks the table for anyone’s use. These violations will cause the inmate to lose their tablet or other disciplinary measures.

Remind your LO to never let someone else use their tablet. They can lose their tablet privileges for this. They cannot use it in someone else’s cell. They are not allowed to do a 3-way call or borrow or lend a tablet. They are not allowed to bring a tablet to the air conditioned respite area. They know the rules, but they may not know how important it is to follow them!

If they have no tablet, can they use the wall phones to make a call?

Inmates can make calls from their tablets or from the phones on the wall. If their tablet is broken or stolen, they can use the wall phones. The “Blue Phones” means the wall phones. If they lost privileges for the tablets for a disciplinary reason, they may or may not have lost their phone privileges also.

Some units have video visitation where the inmates goes to the video visitation kiosk and talks to you from there. You have to be on the approved visitor list in order to have a video visit. The video visits are not on the tablets so as long as they have visitation privileges, they can do a video visit.

No Tablets at Garza East

Garza West has tablets, but Garza East was closed during the year when all the other prisons were installing WiFi for the tablets, and now that Garza East has re-opened, they do not have WiFi and therefore do not give the inmates tablets. (This was true as of Aug 2024 and might change in the future.)

Movie Night

You can have your LO rent a movie on his tablet and you need to get access to the same movie at your home (using Netflix or whatever). You get on the phone together and start the movie at the same time. When your call is ending, you can both pause and resume when the call continues, or you can both leave the movie running so it stay in sync. He will have to call you back 3-4 times since calls are 30 minutes. He will have to adjust the volume so he can hear you and the movie at the same time, but with the tablets they can watch something and talk at the same time.

You can also ask your loved one what is on his tv in his pod and you can watch the same thing while on the phone.

Get Familiar with the TDCJ website

https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/ This site has all the information about visitation, commissary, tablet communication, phone communication etc.

I haven’t received an eMessage or call in 5 days. What is wrong?!?

certain trigger words prompt a review

I haven’t heard from my LO in 3 days!

Talk about the possibility ahead of time because if you are worried, he is probably worried he hasn’t heard from youi.

If your loved one is new to TDJC, it can be weeks. The earliest way to communicate is for you to send him securus e-messages as “PRINT” (see below) and for him to write you an US Postal Service letter to reply.

When he communicates every day and you suddenly don’t hear from him for days:

This can be stressful, but there are often explanations
Hop on the facebook group for your unit and ask if other people are hearing from their LO
Securus may be down
the unit or his pod may be on lockdown
the warden can cut phones and tablets as a punishment, for example, when the pod is a mess.
Your LO may have lost tablet privileges
His tablet may be broken
He may not have access to a charger. At Holliday, they can’t charge their tablets on their own. They give them to a guard who charges it and gives them back.
When wifi goes down, it can take days to fix, especially on the weekend.
It’s hard when you have been in touch 3 times per day and all of a sudden there is no contact for 3 days, but some of the reasons above can explain it, especially when there is a backlog of messages to approve. Someone has to manually read and approved them.
the Facebook groups are filled with panicked wives and mothers, and we have all been there, but if he was not in danger and doesn’t have a medical issue, it could be par for the course
if power is out at the unit, they will not power tablets or wifi with a generator.
if he was transferred to another unit, they may take his tablet for some days
messages don’t get approved on weekends, so check again on a weekday
I have had a message I sent on Friday arrive in his inbox on Tuesday.
certain words in a message can trigger a review that takes longer to approve
pictures take the longest for approval
phones can be on in the unit, while tablets have been cut off by the warden
phones can be cut off by the warden when tablets are on. The guards can shutdown one or both.
send a very short message as that is more likely to be approved sooner
longer messages take longer to approve
sometimes there is a delay of days or a couple weeks for messages to be approved
sometimes if your LO reboots the tablet, it will reconnect and sync whereas it hasn’t been syncing for days
sometimes the Securus app disappears from the tablet and comes back in a day
sometimes tablets are collected for updates
I have heard people sending 5 messages and only 2 arrive
Prisons are not high dollar office buildings. The WiFi breaks all the time and someone from the outside has to come fix it.
The guards are required to cut communications mid conversation if there is any kind of security event.
You can call the unit and ask for a wellness check, or sometimes the chaplain for the unit can help
We have all been there, in tears, depressed, angry, frustrated… stay strong. Go to the Facebook group for your unit and you will see you’re not alone!

Disclaimer

I am just a person with a loved one at TDCJ and I am trying to share what I have learned. This information is my personal understanding and may not be accurate. Please look at the publication date to see how old the information is, and refer to the TDCJ website and call the unit for the most up to date and accurate information. Feel free to leave a comment if you have something helpful or if something needs updating.