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Notification Profiles

Notification Profiles control how and when notifications are delivered from GEM. Each profile defines which notification channels are active (SMS, email, web push) and a schedule of days and hours during which notifications are allowed.

Overview​

Notification Profiles allow:

  • Multi-Channel Delivery: Enable or disable SMS, email, and web push independently
  • Day Scheduling: Restrict notifications to specific days of the week
  • Hour Scheduling: Restrict notifications to specific hours of the day
  • Reusable Profiles: Assign the same profile to multiple users or system components

Accessing Notification Profiles​

Navigate to Security > Notification Profiles to manage profiles.

The page displays:

  1. Profile Selector: Dropdown to select an existing profile
  2. Delete Button: Remove the selected profile
  3. New Profile Button: Create a new profile
  4. Profile Editor: Configuration form for the selected profile

Creating a Notification Profile​

  1. Click New Profile
  2. Enter a profile name (auto-formatted to lowercase_with_underscores)
  3. Configure notification channels and schedule
  4. Click Save

Editing a Notification Profile​

  1. Select a profile from the dropdown
  2. Modify settings as needed
  3. Click Save
  4. Changes take effect immediately for all users assigned to this profile

Deleting a Notification Profile​

  1. Select a profile from the dropdown
  2. Click Delete
  3. Confirm deletion

Profile Configuration​

Name​

The internal identifier for the profile. Auto-formatted to lowercase with underscores.

Examples: default, critical_only, business_hours, weekday_daytime

Enabled​

Toggle the profile on or off. When disabled, no notifications are sent through this profile, but the configuration is preserved.

Notification Channels​

Enable or disable each notification method independently:

SMS

  • Send notifications via SMS text message
  • Requires the recipient user to have an SMS number configured
  • Best for urgent alerts

Email

  • Send notifications via email
  • Requires the recipient user to have an email address configured
  • Supports detailed notification content

Web Push

  • Send browser push notifications to GEM UIs
  • Notifications appear in the browser even when the GEM tab is not active
  • Requires the user's browser to have push notifications enabled

Each channel has its own toggle switch. Enable one or more channels depending on how you want notifications delivered.

Active Days​

Select which days of the week the profile allows notifications.

Interface:

  • Seven day buttons: SUN, MON, TUE, WED, THU, FRI, SAT
  • Click a day to toggle it on or off (highlighted = active)
  • Select All / Clear All button to quickly enable or disable all days

Examples:

  • All days enabled: Profile sends notifications any day
  • Mon-Fri only: Profile only sends notifications on weekdays
  • Sat-Sun only: Weekend-only notifications

Active Hours​

Select which hours of the day the profile allows notifications.

Interface:

  • Twenty-four hour buttons: 12AM, 1AM, 2AM through 11PM
  • Click an hour to toggle it on or off (highlighted = active)
  • Select All / Clear All button to quickly enable or disable all hours

Examples:

  • All hours enabled: Notifications can arrive at any time
  • 8AM-6PM only: Business hours notifications
  • 6PM-7AM disabled: No notifications during sleeping hours

Combining Days and Hours​

Days and hours work together. A notification is only delivered when both the current day and the current hour are enabled in the profile.

Example: Business Hours Only

Days: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri (weekdays)
Hours: 8AM through 5PM
Result: Notifications only arrive weekdays 8AM-5PM

Example: Overnight Security Alerts

Days: All days
Hours: 10PM through 6AM
Result: Notifications only during nighttime hours

Common Profile Configurations​

Default (All Notifications)​

Name: default
Channels: Email, Web Push
Days: All days
Hours: All hours

Use Case: Standard profile that delivers all notifications via email and browser push.

Critical Only (24/7 SMS)​

Name: critical_sms
Channels: SMS, Email, Web Push
Days: All days
Hours: All hours

Use Case: All channels active around the clock for critical system alerts.

Business Hours​

Name: business_hours
Channels: Email
Days: Mon-Fri
Hours: 8AM-6PM

Use Case: Facility managers who only want email during work hours.

Night Watch​

Name: night_watch
Channels: SMS, Web Push
Days: All days
Hours: 10PM-6AM

Use Case: Security monitoring focused on overnight hours.

Weekend Only​

Name: weekend
Channels: Web Push
Days: Sat, Sun
Hours: 9AM-9PM

Use Case: Vacation property monitoring on weekends only.

Assigning Profiles to Users​

Notification profiles are assigned in Security > Users:

  1. Edit a user
  2. Select a profile in the Notification Profile field
  3. Save the user

No Profile Assigned: The user receives no scheduled notifications.

Multiple Users, Same Profile: Multiple users can share the same profile. Changes to the profile affect all assigned users.

How Notifications Work​

When GEM generates a notification (from triggers, macros, access control events, or system alerts):

  1. GEM checks the recipient user's assigned notification profile
  2. If the profile is disabled, the notification is not sent
  3. GEM checks the current day against the profile's active days
  4. GEM checks the current hour against the profile's active hours
  5. If both day and hour are active, the notification is sent via all enabled channels (SMS, email, web push)
  6. If the day or hour is not active, the notification is suppressed

Notification Sources​

Notifications can originate from:

  • Triggers: Attribute triggers with notification actions (email, SMS, web push)
  • Macros: Macro steps that send notifications
  • Access Control: Access granted/denied events
  • System Events: Device offline, errors, backup status
  • IP Monitors: Device health alerts from the monitoring system

Troubleshooting​

Not Receiving Notifications​

Check:

  1. Profile Assigned: User has a notification profile assigned (Security > Users)
  2. Profile Enabled: The notification profile's Enabled toggle is on
  3. Channel Enabled: The specific channel (SMS/Email/Web Push) is enabled in the profile
  4. Day Active: The current day of the week is enabled in the profile
  5. Hour Active: The current hour is enabled in the profile
  6. Contact Info: The user has the required contact info (email address, SMS number) configured
  7. Web Push Subscribed: For web push, the user's browser must have push notifications enabled (test via UI > UIs > Test Web Push)

Email Going to Spam​

  1. Add the GEM server's email address to your whitelist
  2. Check your email provider's spam filters
  3. Verify the GEM server's email configuration (SMTP settings)

SMS Not Delivered​

  1. Verify the phone number format includes country code
  2. Confirm the GEM server's SMS gateway is configured and has credits
  3. Check that the phone carrier accepts third-party SMS

Web Push Not Received​

  1. Ensure browser notifications are allowed for the GEM site
  2. Check that the user has subscribed to push notifications
  3. Verify the browser tab or service worker is active
  • Users - Assigning notification profiles to users
  • Macros - Sending notifications from macros
  • Triggers - Event-driven notifications
  • Access Control - Access event notifications
  • Monitoring - IP monitor notification settings