UniFi Alarm Manager - Customize Alerts, Integrations, and Automations Across UniFi
Alarm Manager is UniFi’s centralized system for creating custom alerts and automations based on real-time system events. Whether it's a camera detecting a person of interest or a gateway going offline, Alarm Manager lets you respond instantly via push and email notifications, in-app automations, or custom webhook integrations with platforms like Slack or ServiceNow.
Alarm Manager is available in:
- UniFi Network (Network 9.3 or later)
- UniFi Protect
- UniFi Access (UniFi OS 4.3.6 or later and Access 3.4.20 or later)
Each platform offers its own list of supported triggers and actions based on its role—network infrastructure or surveillance—but the configuration flow and logic are consistent.
Key Components of an Alarm
Each alarm consists of three key components:
- Trigger – Defines what system event activates the alarm (e.g., device offline, face detected).
- Scope – Defines which device(s) or clients the trigger applies to.
- Action – Defines what happens in response, such as sending a notification or triggering an automation.
Some triggers support schedules (e.g., business hours only), and you can optionally suppress repeated actions to avoid excessive alerts.
Creating an Alarm
- Click on Alarm Manager on the left-hand sidebar of the corresponding UniFi application.
- Click Create Alarm.
- Select a Trigger and configure any optional parameters.
- If the trigger supports scheduling, choose Always or create a Custom schedule.
- Define the Scope: devices, clients, VLANs, or system-wide (depending on the platform and trigger).
- Configure one or more Actions:
- Notify selected users.
- Send a webhook to a custom URL.
- Trigger hardware-based automations (Protect only).
- (Optional) Enable Ignore Repeated Actions to prevent spam from repeated alerts.
- Click Create to save the alarm.
Notification and Automation Actions
Alarm Manager supports several action types, depending on the platform:
|
Action Type |
Available In | Description |
| Notify | Network & Protect | Sends alerts to selected users via push and/or email. Delivery method is managed per user via My Notifications. |
| Webhook | Network & Protect | Sends a GET or POST request to a custom URL. Common uses include Slack alerts or automated ticket creation in platforms like ServiceNow. |
| Automation | Protect only | A grouping of hardware actions available in Protect, triggered automatically. |
| Light | Protect only | Turns on floodlights or camera-integrated LEDs. |
| Sound | Protect only | Plays a tone through the AI Horn Speaker. |
| PTZ | Protect only | Moves PTZ cameras to a Preset location or starts a Patrolling pattern. |
| Unlock Door | Protect and Access | Unlocks specific doors connected through UniFi Access. |
|
Lock Door |
Access | Lock selected doors. |
| Evacuate | Access | Unlock all doors at the site to allow emergency egress. |
| Lockdown | Access | Lock all doors at the site to secure the premises. |
To avoid alert fatigue, Ignore Repeated Actions can be enabled per alarm.
Managing Notifications
When Notify is selected, Push notifications are enabled by default for each user. Email must be toggled manually afterward.
To configure how users receive notifications:
- After creating the alarm, go to the Alarm Manager table.
- Under My Notifications, click the icons next to each user.
- Enable or disable Push and/or Email delivery.
These settings are per-user and can be changed anytime.
Trigger Categories
UniFi Network
Categories include:
- Monitoring: Client connected/disconnected, high traffic.
- Internet: WAN offline, latency spikes, packet loss, data limit reached.
- Power: PoE issues, power loss.
- Security: Threat detected, honeypot triggered, firewall blocks.
- System: Device adoption, VPN disconnects, port errors, admin config changes.
Scope options:
- Individual clients or UniFi devices.
- Network-wide (e.g., firewall triggers).
UniFi Protect
Categories include:
- AI/Object Detection: Person, vehicle, package, animal.
- ID Recognition: Known/unknown faces, license plates, persons of interest.
- Activity: Motion, sound, line crossing, NFC scan, doorbell ring.
- System: Device issues, setting changes, storage downloads, admin access.
- Sensors: Water leak, smoke, CO, extreme values (Sense devices).
Scope options:
- Individual Protect devices (camera, doorbell, sensor).
- App-wide system triggers (no scope needed).
UniFi Access
Categories include:
- Unlocks: Door unlocked, status changed, unlock schedule changed, or lockdown mode changed.
- Denied: Door access denied due to invalid credentials or insufficient permissions.
- Doorbell: Doorbell triggered, answered, missed, declined, or canceled.
- User: User or visitor added, or their status changed.
- System: Device status changed, emergency mode updated, or an admin changed the system configuration.
Scope options:
- Individual Access devices (hubs, readers, etc.).
- Door locations.
- App-wide system triggers (no scope needed).
Example Use Cases
UniFi Protect
- Person of Interest detected at door
- Person of interest after 11 PM
- Water leak sensor triggers.
UniFi Network
- WAN connection offline.
- Client bandwidth exceeds threshold.
- Switch port loop detected.
Best Practices
- Use specific scopes to reduce noise—avoid applying triggers to “All” unless needed.
- Combine schedules and triggers to reduce false positives (e.g., only notify after hours).
- Test webhooks with basic tools like Slack or request bin before deploying in production.
- Don’t overlap alarms unnecessarily—they operate independently and may send redundant alerts.