Mobile app ALARM feature for HSM

📢 Feedback Feature Requests
1

I think it will be pretty useful if the mobile app could be enhanced for HSM.

  1. the app should have some feature to play sound, v like an alarm
  2. HSM trigger event should allow the app to play the alarm sound
  3. there should be optional feature to let the app bring phone out of do not disturb mode, and to turn up volume
  4. optionally, there should be option to gradually turn up volume
  5. Extending the above features, certain general notifications should allow the app to make some sound. I could then use that feature for any high priority notification, such as water leak etc

The above features will allow me to reduce the complexity of having hacks and workarounds to reach similar state.

5 Likes
2

Good idea. As it stands now there is a human factor of more routine notifications causing more serious ones to be overlooked, especially in the middle of the night.

Addendum: This applies beyond HSM. Many folk have a variety of critical triggers in other HE Apps that could benefit from some Urgency Levels in the Notification handling without having to roll their own handling of this. Seems like a prudent and helpful additional construct that you've suggested....WITHOUT every single person coming into the HE environment having to sculpt this.

I urge you to change your thread title to reflect beyond HSM so it will get broader attention.

1 Like
3

Great suggestion! One option might also be to use a secondary notifier like Twilio for more serious alerts rather than relying on the HE app itself.

4

This functionality is easily implemented with existing drivers and apps. Push notifications (if setup correctly) can override silent mode on phones and play at desired volume level. Furthermore, the built-in app for IFTTT integration can call your phone based on an HSM event (IFTTT still allows for 3 free automations). See this thread: Critical Notifications- Call my phone? - #5 by ogiewon

Using existing HE device drivers and apps would definitely not be considered a "hack". It might take a few extra minutes to setup, but it is a one time exercise that introduces multiple levels of redundancy into your critical notifications.

When I have a HE alert, that I consider critical (Arm-Away is Alerting, Smoke detector alerting, Basement flooding), I do not want to be reliant on a single cloud based solution for receiving alerts. I prefer that there is redundancy for these notifications. If any of the above events happen, there are three notifications that get sent to my phone:

  1. HE App Notification
  2. Pushover Emergency Notification (audible alarm that overides my phone's current sound setting)
  3. Phone Call from IFTTT telling me which of the three critical events is taking place.

If HE was to natively implement the above three features within their app, I would not use it, but rather I would still use the above three different cloud implementations. So that if any one (or two) of the cloud services went down, I would still get a notification.

Many users don't use HSM for their home's alarm system. The use a dedicated system that is professionally installed and monitored. There are many threads about the pro's and con's of relying on HSM for your home's alarm system. I would suggest that if you do decide to use HSM for your home's alarm system that you build in some of the redundancy I mention above.