How do sensors report Sensor Activity Monitoring statuses?

Product Docs
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Sensor Activity Monitoring (SAM) for motion sensors and Image Sensors enables the sensor to report if it has recently detected motion (status shows as Activated ) or if it has not detected motion recently (status shows as Idle ).

Each time a motion sensor or image sensor detects motion, Alarm.com updates that sensor’s status to Activated. To avoid excessive Activated and Idle status updates in the event history, Alarm.com waits until the motion sensor or Image Sensor has been idle for 1 hour before displaying the Idle status in the event history. The time that the sensor went Idle is backdated to 3 minutes after the last time it was activated.

Activated motion delay

Every subsequent activation of the motion sensor or image sensor while the status is showing Activated extends the amount of time that status is displayed for another 30 minutes before reverting to Idle. A motion sensor reporting as Activated does not prevent the panel from arming successfully. It only means that the sensor was activated within the last 30 minutes.

Note : Accounts created prior to July 13, 2020, will have a motion delay of 60 minutes instead of 30 minutes. It is not possible to reduce the motion delay for accounts created before July 13, 2020.

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Description of sensor statuses

Status Description Sensor Types That Show This Status
OK No alarm, error, or problem has been reported. If it is a door or window, it is closed. If it is a motion sensor, it has not been activated within the last 60 minutes. All Sensors
Open The door or window is currently open. Door/Window contact sensors will only display one open/close event every 3 minutes in Alarm.com history for activity monitoring. Repeatedly opening the door will not repeatedly display open status in the app or website. This does not apply to alarms from those sensors. Door/Window Contacts
Activated The motion sensor has detected activity within the last 60 minutes. Motion Sensors
Idle A motion sensor becomes idle when motion has not been detected for 60 minutes. The time shown is the time the motion last reported activity. Motion Sensors
Alarm! The sensor has been tripped and has set off an alarm.
Bypassed A door/window sensor will be bypassed if it was open while the system was being armed (indirect bypass; usually occurs 4 minutes after the system arms). A user can directly bypass a sensor after the system is armed through the control panel. Refer to control panel operating instructions for information about bypassing sensors. When a sensor is bypassed either directly or indirectly, it is not active and therefore will not trigger an alarm even though the system is armed. To remove the Bypassed status, close the sensor and re-arm the system. All sensors except Fire and CO
Low Battery The sensor is reporting a low battery. Carefully open the sensor cover, check the type of battery it uses, and replace the battery. All Sensors
Tamper This means that the sensor’s tamper switch is not closed. The sensor may have been tampered with, or the cover is loose. All Sensors
Malfunction The panel has not received recent supervision heartbeat signals from that sensor. There are many possible causes. See this page. All Sensors
N/A The current state of the sensor is unknown. This is normal to see for a while after adding a new device. All Sensors