What are the differences between an Alarm and Sensor Activity?
Alarms
An Alarm occurs any time a sensor is tripped when the system is armed. These events require immediate attention and sometimes action. Alarms usually cause the siren to sound and can be reported to a monitoring station.
Most sensors, such as those attached to doors and windows, are only armed when the system is armed. If one of these sensors opens when the system is armed, there will be an Alarm. Some sensors, such as smoke detectors and panic buttons, are always armed even when the system is not armed.
Motion sensors are usually programmed to activate Alarms only when the system is armed in Away mode. Arm Away mode is the arming mode people use when nobody is going to be at the location where the system is installed. If someone is there, Arm Stay mode is used to arm the system. Motion sensors are not armed in Arm Stay mode, to allow people to move freely without fear of tripping the security system.
Sensor Activity
Sensor Activity includes any sensor-detected activity that occurs when the system is disarmed. When a door opens and the system is disarmed, it is Sensor Activity. When an authorized user arms or disarms the system, it is also Sensor Activity. Low battery and AC power failures are also included in the Sensor Activity group, although they do require attention, as they are not emergency situations.
Alarm.com can send notifications and show system status and history for both Alarms and Sensor Activity. Using Notifications on the Alarm.com customer website or Alarm.com app, it is possible to customize notifications for the various sensors in a system.
For more information about how to create and configure notifications, see Create/configure a notification.