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masonfoley's profile

Wednesday, December 8th, 2021 2:32 AM

Entry Sensor Notification Questions

Just received my installation package today and I'm installing the entry sensors. I've installed three so far but I've got a couple of questions.

  1. With the alarm mode "Off" for the entry sensor and the "alarm mode" disabled, I get a nice chime from the base when the sensor is "open" however no push notification to the phone or a timeline record. With the alarm mode "Off" and the "secret alert" set, I get a push notification that the sensor indicates "open". Is it not possible to have the base chime AND get a push notification?

  2. I get a push notification (and timeline record) reliably when the sensor is open. Is it not designed to tell you when it is "closed"?

Community Admin

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4.8K Messages

2 years ago

Hi there,

The feature you're talking about is called Secret Alerts - because they're intended for generating a notification without letting anyone on the premises know that it had been triggered. It could be useful, for example, if you want to keep track of kids going into a certain room, but without triggering an alarm.

Right now no, there's no way to have the Smart Alert AND the Door Chime at the same time.

And no, the only trigger for events is when a sensor is going from Closed to Open, not the other way around. But on the SimpliSafe app, you can head over to the Devices section and hit the refresh button. That will poll all of the sensors and show you which ones are open right now.

8 Messages

@davey_d  - I appreciate the feedback.  I would suggest this be an option (chime + notification).  It would be even nicer if the sensor name was announced.  This is not an uncommon feature in security systems (i.e. 2GIG) so I was surprised to learn this was not supported.  

With regards to the closed status, this is another feature present in other security systems.  Burying this information in a menu three levels deep and requiring a manual refresh of the list is not an ideal user experience (not to mention, the refresh can take an inordinate amount of time. I've seen up to 10 seconds).

A generic/flexible approach would to make all of this configurable.  Perhaps default to a behavior that's not so chatty and works fine right out of the box but at least give the user more options.  For example, If I'm sitting in a room watching the game and I hear an announcement that a particular door has been opened (because my phone is muted)...and I'm not expecting that the door should be opened, that's a benefit...a safety benefit, arguably which is kinda the point. No, I don't want an instant trigger in that case, I would just like to be made aware.  I hear you saying what the "intent" of secret alerts...but it's a bit of a shoehorn from a usability standpoint in my opinion.  Why not leave it up to the user?  Defaults would make it simple; flexibility could be available for users looking to customize their experience.

Again, thanks for your reply.

4 Messages

@masonfoley​ I agree with you 100%. I was disappointed that this system does not allow this feature and is almost a deal breaker. The alarm system I had prior had this feature and that system is 11 years old. I want to be notified on my phone if my 7-year-old goes into the backyard or opens their windows. At this point, you need to double sensor your entry points, one for the alarm function and the other for secret alerts.

2 Messages

11 months ago

I would also like to get notified on my phone when a door entry sensor opens and closes. I don’t want it to trigger the alarm, but rather get the push notification so I’m aware the door has been opened. Is this a feature that can be added to the system? Thanks!  

Community Admin

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236 Messages

Hi @sbcottleb​ 

While the system doesn't alert you to the entry sensor being closed at this time, we do have a feature that is similar to what you're asking for. It's called Secret Alerts. If you configure your sensors to be a secret alert, you'll receive a notification on your phone that the sensor has been tripped, rather than triggering an alarm or chime on the Base Station. 

1 Message

@alexandria_c

I would like for it to chime on the base station and send a notification when my toddler attempts to leave the house.

Community Admin

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4.8K Messages

@RyanTheMan​ unfortunately right now, it's either you get the chime, or you get the notification, but not both. But thank you for the feedback.

1 Message

@davey_d @masonfoley I’ve spent at least 2 hours today with customer service trying to figure this out with no solution. Even with all these “specialists”, I did all of the troubleshooting myself with little to no help and its frustrating. Every one of their response appeared to be canned and from a reply bank.

I know this thread was from 2 years ago, but has there been a system update in regards to a chime/push notification when in Home mode?

Quite frankly, I don’t get this secret alert option at all. That completely defeats the purpose of what a security system is  intended for because by the time I would get this secret alert, my toddler could end up nowhere

to be found. Waiting for your reply. 

(edited)

Community Admin

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1.3K Messages

@Bseriouss​ If an Entry Sensor is triggered while in Home Mode, the Base Station will chime but a push notification will not be sent. The only time you would receive a push notification when an Entry Sensor is opened is if Secret Alerts have been enabled for that sensor.

Secret Alerts are helpful if you want to be notified when a specific door has been opened, but you don't want others to know. Common use cases for Secret Alerts are for liquor cabinets and safes. You can learn more about Secret Alerts in this Help Center article.

1 Message

3 months ago

Seems flawed and limiting to not allow people to get as much security as they can out of a security system. I'll probably have to use Yo link for my entry system notifications sms and announcements with Alexa.

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