--- title: "Window Open Notification" description: "Get notified when a door or window reed contact stays open longer than a set time; add device actions and limit it to Away or Vacation presence." url: "https://taphome.com/en/docs/smart-rules/window-open-notification/" language: en lastmod: 2026-10-11 generator: hugo ai: topics: ["smart-rules","window-open-notification","reed-contact","presence","notification","security"] questions: ["How do I get notified when a window or door is left open?","How does TapHome detect open windows and doors?","Can I restrict window-open notifications based on presence?","How do I set the time delay before receiving an open-window notification?","Can I trigger device actions when a window stays open?","What happens when multiple sensors are open at the same time?","Can I get an instant notification with no delay when a door opens?","What happens to open-door timers when the system restarts?","How does the smart rule behave when presence changes from Away to Home?","Can I monitor multiple windows and doors in a single smart rule?","Does the timer accumulate across multiple open and close cycles?","How do I customize the notification message with sensor names?"] --- # Window Open Notification Last updated: 2026-10-11 > [!NOTE] > 🚀 **Available** — TapHome Next 2026.1.36599+. The Window Open Notification smart rule monitors your door and window sensors (reed contacts) and alerts you when any of them stays open longer than a specified duration. You can also add device actions — for example, turning on a light or sounding a buzzer — alongside the notification. Optionally, you can add a Presence sensor to restrict the smart rule to specific states — for example, only triggering when the sensor is in **Away** or **Vacation** mode. ## Getting started Setting up a Window Open Notification takes three steps: 1. **Add sensors** — select the reed contact sensors (doors, windows) to monitor. 2. **Set the time threshold** — how long a sensor must stay open before the smart rule triggers. 3. **Configure actions** — set up a notification and optionally add device actions. ### Basic example You want to receive a notification if your front door stays open for more than 10 minutes. 1. Create a new Window Open Notification smart rule. 2. In the Reed Contacts section, your current sensor is pre-selected. If needed, tap the add button and select additional door or window sensors. 3. In the Time threshold section, tap **Duration** and set it to **10 minutes**. This is the default. 4. In the Actions section, a notification is already pre-configured with a default message. You can tap it to customize the title and message. 5. Tap **Save**. Your front door sensor is now monitored. If the door stays open for 10 minutes, you receive a notification. ## Reed contact sensors The Reed Contacts section lists all the door and window sensors the smart rule monitors. Tap the add button to select one or more reed contact sensors from your devices. You can add as many sensors as you need. The smart rule monitors all of them simultaneously — if **any** sensor stays open past the time threshold, the smart rule triggers. To remove a sensor, tap it and select **Remove** from the menu. ## Time threshold The time threshold defines how long a sensor must stay continuously open before the smart rule triggers. Tap **Duration** to open a duration picker where you can set hours, minutes, and seconds. | Parameter | Range | Default | |:----------|:------|:--------| | **Duration** | 0 or more seconds | 10 minutes | Setting the duration to **0 seconds** means the smart rule triggers immediately when a sensor opens — no waiting period. > [!TIP] > A duration of 5 to 15 minutes works well for most situations. It gives you enough time to walk through a door without triggering a false alert, while still catching doors or windows that were accidentally left open. ## Actions The Actions section defines what happens when the smart rule triggers. You can configure both notifications and device actions. ### Notifications A notification is pre-configured when you create a new Window Open Notification smart rule. By default, it is sent to all users in the User group and includes a dynamic message that lists which sensors are open. Tap the notification to edit its title, message, and recipients. You can choose between fixed text and a dynamic script that automatically includes sensor names. The notification bell icon in the section header provides quick access: - **Active bell** (highlighted) — a notification is configured. Tap to edit it. - **Inactive bell** (gray) — no notification exists. Tap to create one. ### Device actions In addition to notifications, you can add device actions that execute when the smart rule triggers. Tap **Add new action** to add an action — for example, turning on a light, activating a buzzer, or adjusting a thermostat. All configured actions — notifications and device actions — execute together when the time threshold is reached. ## Restrict by presence The Restrict by presence section lets you limit when the smart rule is active based on a Presence sensor. This is useful when you only want notifications while the Presence sensor is in **Away** mode. ### Adding a presence device Tap **Add device** and select your Presence sensor. Only devices with multiple presence states (such as **Home**, **Away**, **Vacation**) are available. Once a Presence sensor is selected, the Options section appears with a checkbox for each state. ### Selecting active states Check the states in which the smart rule should be active. For example, if you check "**Away**" and "**Vacation**" but leave "**Home**" unchecked, the smart rule only monitors your sensors and sends notifications when the Presence sensor is set to **Away** or **Vacation**. By default, the states with values 1 and 2 are pre-selected — on a standard Presence sensor **Away** and **Vacation**. All other states start unchecked. ### Behavior when presence changes When the Presence sensor changes to an unchecked state (e.g., switches to **Home**), the smart rule immediately stops monitoring — all tracked sensors are cleared and any pending timers are cancelled. Even if a door is still physically open, no notification is sent. When the Presence sensor changes back to a checked state (e.g., switches to **Away**), the smart rule starts fresh. If a door is still open at that moment, the timer begins counting from scratch — not from when the door originally opened. ### No presence device configured If you do not add a Presence sensor, the smart rule is always active. > [!TIP] > If the Presence sensor is removed from the system (deleted), the smart rule treats this as "no presence filter" and remains active at all times. A missing device does not silently disable your notifications. ## How it works ### Sensor monitoring The smart rule continuously watches all configured reed contact sensors. When a sensor reports that it is open (reed contact = true), the smart rule starts tracking it and begins counting the time. ### Time threshold check Once a sensor has been open for at least the configured duration, the smart rule fires — executing all configured notifications and device actions. After firing, the sensor is marked as reported and will not trigger again until it closes and reopens. ### Closing and reopening When a sensor closes, its tracking is cleared. If the same sensor opens again later, the timer starts fresh from zero. This means each "open" event is independent — the smart rule does not accumulate time across multiple open/close cycles. ### Multiple sensors When any timer expires, the smart rule reports all currently open sensors that have not been reported yet — in a single notification. Once a sensor has been included in a notification — whether its own timer expired or it was bundled with another sensor's — it must be closed before it can be reported again. ### System restart If the system restarts while a sensor is open and a timer is pending, the smart rule re-evaluates all sensors on startup. If the time threshold has already been reached (based on when the sensor originally opened), the notification fires immediately. If the threshold has not been reached yet, a new timer is scheduled. ## Examples and scenarios ### Front door left open **Goal**: Get notified if the front door stays open for more than 5 minutes. **Configuration**: - **Reed Contacts:** front door sensor - **Duration**: **5 minutes** - **Actions:** notification with default message - **Restrict by presence:** none (always active) **Behavior**: You open the front door to bring in groceries. If the door stays open for 5 minutes, you receive a notification: "(Front Door) is open". When you close the door, the timer resets. Next time the door opens, the 5-minute countdown starts again. ### Multiple windows with presence filtering **Goal**: Monitor all ground-floor windows and only send notifications when the Presence sensor is in **Away** or **Vacation** mode. **Configuration**: - **Reed Contacts:** living room window, kitchen window, bedroom window - **Duration**: **10 minutes** - **Actions:** notification with dynamic message - **Restrict by presence:** Presence sensor with "**Away**" and "**Vacation**" checked, "**Home**" unchecked **Behavior**: While the Presence sensor is in **Home** mode, the smart rule is dormant — no monitoring, no notifications, even if the windows are open. When the Presence sensor changes to **Away**, the smart rule activates. If the kitchen window was left open, the timer starts counting from that moment. After 10 minutes, you receive a notification: "(Kitchen Window) is open". If the living room window is also open at that point, both appear in the same notification: "(Kitchen Window, Living Room Window) are open". ### Garage door with light trigger **Goal**: If the garage door stays open for 3 minutes, send a notification and turn on the garage light as a visual reminder. **Configuration**: - **Reed Contacts:** garage door sensor - **Duration**: **3 minutes** - **Actions:** 1. Notification: "Garage door open" 2. Device action: turn on garage light - **Restrict by presence:** none (always active) **Behavior**: You open the garage door to take out the trash. After 3 minutes, you receive a notification and the garage light turns on automatically. When you close the garage door, the smart rule resets and is ready for the next event. The light stays on (the smart rule does not turn it off — for that, you would configure a separate rule or turn it off manually). ### Instant alert (zero threshold) **Goal**: Get an immediate notification every time the basement door opens, with no delay. **Configuration**: - **Reed Contacts:** basement door sensor - **Duration**: **0 seconds** - **Actions:** notification with fixed text "Basement door opened" - **Restrict by presence:** none (always active) **Behavior**: The moment the basement door sensor detects an open state, the notification fires instantly. There is no waiting period. After the door closes and opens again, another notification is sent immediately. **See also** — [Condition](https://taphome.com/en/docs/smart-rules/condition/), [Push notifications and Doorbell](https://taphome.com/en/docs/applications/android-push-notifications-and-doorbell/).