How To Resolve not receiving mobile push notifications with Alarm.com

How To
1

Not receiving push notifications on a smartphone or tablet, try the following troubleshooting steps:

If a Resolve button prompt is present next to a notification on the Alarm.com website, this means the notification is currently enabled but does not have any recipients. Click Resolve and follow the prompts to add notification recipients.

Power cycle the push device

Perform a power cycle for the mobile device. If the issue is not resolved, proceed with the troubleshooting steps below.

Verify the push device can receive notifications

  1. Log into the Alarm.com website.
  2. Click Notifications.
  3. Click Push Devices.
  4. Click the desired device to manage notifications for.
  5. Verify Enable Notifications is toggled on.
  6. Click Save.

Verify push notifications are toggled on in the customer app

  1. Log into the Alarm.com mobile app.
  2. Tap Menu
  3. Tap Notifications.
  4. Verify Push Notifications is toggled on.
  • If it is toggled off:
    1. Tap the toggle switch to toggle it on.
    2. Verify that it is added as a recipient to the notifications customers want push notifications for.
    3. Allow a few minutes for it to save, and then test the notification.

Verify each notification is enabled

To verify individual notifications are enabled using the Alarm.com website:

  1. Log into the Alarm.com website.
  2. Click Notifications.
  3. Verify the desired notification is toggled on.
  • If the notification is toggled off, click the toggle switch to enable the notification. Allow a few minutes for it to save, and then test the notification.
  1. Click Edit for the desired notification to verify.
  2. In Recipients, verify desired push devices are shown.
  • If desired push devices are not showing:
    1. Click Add.
    2. Click to select the desired push devices.
    3. Click Close.
    4. Click Save. Allow a few minutes for it to save, and then test the notification.

To verify individual notifications are enabled using the customer app:

  1. Log into the Alarm.com app.
  2. Tap Menu
  3. Tap Notifications.
  4. Tap Settings.
  5. Tap the desired notification to verify.
  6. Verify the notification toggle switch is toggled ON.
  • If the notification is toggled off, click the toggle switch to enable the notification. Allow a few minutes for it to save, and then test the notification.
  1. Flick to scroll to verify desired push devices are shown under Recipients.
  • If desired push devices are not showing:
    1. Tap Add.
    2. Tap to select the desired push devices.
    3. Tap Close.
  1. Tap Save to save any changes made. Allow a few minutes for it to save, and then test the notification.

Verify events are reporting

If the trigger events for the desired notifications are not reporting in the account’s Event History, the cause for the push notification not sending may be that the security panel is not signaling properly or is not communicating the triggering action properly.

To verify events are reporting using the Alarm.com website:

  1. Log into the Alarm.com website.
  2. Click Activity.
  3. Verify the events that customers want push notifications for (e.g., Arming reminder, system armed away, sensor opened/closed, etc.) are appearing on the Activity page.

To verify events reporting using the Alarm.com mobile app:

  1. Log into the Alarm.com Mobile app.
  2. Tap Date Check Icon
  3. Verify the events that customers want push notifications for (e.g., Arming reminder, system armed away, sensor opened/closed, etc.) are appearing in the History.
  • Flick down to refresh the history.

Power cycle the push device again

If all preceding steps have been taken, the cellular connection of the push device may be unstable. Power cycle the push device to help ensure there is a good cellular connection. If the push device cannot secure a stable cellular connection, it may be necessary to contact the cellular provider for additional troubleshooting.

Refresh the push device

If all preceding steps have been taken, refresh the push device by removing the push device from the account and then adding it back onto the account.

To refresh push devices:

Note: Both the Alarm.com website and app are used in this process.

  1. Disable push notifications on the mobile device:
    a. Log into the customer app.
    b. Tap Menu
    c. Tap Notifications.
    d. Tap the Push Notifications toggle switch so it is toggled off.
  2. Verify that push devices are disabled from the customer website:
    a Log into the customer website.
    b. Click Notifications.
    c. Click Push Devices.
    d. Click the desired push notifications device.
    e. Click Delete.
    f. In the popup window, click Delete.
  3. Once push devices are verified to be disabled on the Alarm.com website, reenable push notifications on the mobile device:
    a. Log back into the Alarm.com mobile app.
    b. Tap Menu
    c. Tap Notifications.
    d. Tap the Push Notifications toggle switch so it is toggled back on.
  4. Verify the push devices are showing on the Push Devices user again from the Alarm.com website:
    a Log back into the Alarm.com website.
    b Click Notifications.
    c. Click Push Devices.
    d. Click the desired push notifications device.
    e. Verify Enable Notifications is toggled on.
    f. Rename the device, if desired, then click Save.
  5. Add the push device as a recipient to desired notifications…
  6. Test push notifications by triggering the action that generates the notification.

Device-specific troubleshooting

General steps

There are various device settings that can prevent push notifications from being received. Depending on the device in use, the instructions to verify the below settings may vary. For device-specific instructions about how to verify these settings, refer to Apple Support or Android Help.

  1. Verify there are not any settings enabled on the device that would prevent push notifications from being received (e.g., An iOS device with the Focus feature enabled prevents notifications from selected apps from being sent).
  2. Verify there are not any security applications installed on the device that may block push notifications.
  3. Verify the Alarm.com app has not been uninstalled.

If notifications are only sent when the customer app is open:

If notifications are only received once the customer app is opened, the reason for this behavior could be that the customer app is not allowed to run in the background or that the customer app is not allowed to transmit data in the background.

Note: If unable to find the respective settings, use the settings search feature in the Android or iPhone settings.

  1. Restart the mobile device.
  2. Verify the push device is connected to the internet.
  3. Verify the push device can receive notifications. For device-specific instructions about how to verify these settings, refer to Apple Support or Android Help.
  4. Verify that the customer app can receive background data.
  • For iPhone, locate the Background App Refresh setting and verify that it is enabled for the customer app.
  • For Android, locate the Restrict Background Data setting and verify that it is disabled for the customer app.
  1. Verify battery saver mode is disabled.
  • For iPhone, locate the Low Power Mode setting and verify that it is disabled.
  • For Android, locate the Battery Saver Mode setting and add the customer app to the exclusion list.