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Intro

Switch your alarm on as you leave and off as you arrive, from the same app you use for everything else. If the alarm is triggered, Zendo shows it straight away, whichever floor you’re looking at. In Zendo, your intruder alarm (or burglar alarm) is called a security system. You’ll find it in the Activity & Cameras view.

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Supported hubs

Home Assistant

Any alarm control panel entity (alarm_control_panel) works.Zendo offers the modes your alarm supports: Partially Armed (armed home in Home Assistant), Fully Armed (armed away), Night, Holiday and Custom (custom bypass), plus Off.If the alarm has a code, Zendo asks for it every time you switch the alarm off. It also asks when you switch the alarm on, unless the alarm is set up in Home Assistant so that arming doesn’t need a code. Zendo never stores the code.
If you’ve set a default code for the alarm in Home Assistant, Zendo still asks for a code, and you need to type it in. Leaving the code empty isn’t supported yet.

Homey

Alarms from these Homey apps work with Zendo:Most other alarms of the Home alarm class work too, without the Triggered state.Zendo offers the modes your alarm has, with the app’s own names, such as Armed, Partially armed and Disarmed.Where Zendo can’t show that the alarm is triggered, the “Activity & Cameras” button doesn’t turn red. To know straight away, create a Homey Flow that sends a critical push notification when your alarm app reports it. A critical notification bypasses mute and Do Not Disturb settings, and you can set it to open the alarm in Zendo, ready to switch off.

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Add your security system

Add your alarm to Zendo, and the people you’ve invited, such as your family at home or your staff at a commercial property, can switch it on and off from their own phone or tablet.
  1. Tap
  2. Tap “Settings”
  3. Tap “Add or Change Accessories” (or “Edit Floorplan”)
  4. Tap “Activity & Cameras” at the bottom of your floorplan
  5. Tap “Manage Security Systems” at the bottom of the list
  6. Tap “Add Security System”.
This is also where you change or delete your security system later. If your hub shows your alarm as more than one, such as one for the house and one for the garage, add each of them.

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Switch the alarm on or off

Tap the “Activity & Cameras” button at the bottom of your floorplan, or at the top of the Tiles view. Your alarm is at the top, in the Security System section (Security Systems if you have more than one), with its name and current mode. Tap it to open the alarm’s screen.
  • To switch the alarm on, pick a mode, such as Fully Armed.
  • To switch the alarm off, pick Off.
If the alarm needs a code, type it in and tap “Confirm”.

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See the alarm’s history

Tap the line under the alarm’s name to open its activity history.
  • Home Assistant: it shows each mode the alarm was switched to, such as Fully Armed or Off, and when it was triggered, and for how long.
  • Homey: with Eufy, Hikvision, Ring, Somfy and UniFi Protect, it shows when the alarm was triggered, and for how long. Homey doesn’t keep a record of the alarm’s mode, so mode changes aren’t shown.

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When the alarm is triggered

While the alarm is triggered, the “Activity & Cameras” button at the bottom of your floorplan and at the top of the Tiles view turns red and shows a police light, whichever floor you’re on. Tap it, then tap the alarm to switch it off. About to trigger doesn’t turn the button red. That’s a security alert. If a smoke, carbon monoxide (CO), gas or water leak sensor is alerting at the same time, the button shows that sensor instead. On Homey, this depends on your alarm’s app. See Supported hubs.

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Open the alarm from a notification

Send a push notification from your automation when the alarm is triggered, and set it to open the alarm. Tapping the notification opens the alarm’s screen in Zendo, ready to switch off.
  • Home Assistant: use the zendo.send_notification service, with deep_link_destination set to your alarm’s ID. See Link from notifications to find the ID.
  • Homey: use the Send a push notification and open screen flow card (or Send a push notification with image), and select your alarm as the Open screen destination. It’s listed with Alarm under its name.
Send it as a critical notification. Critical notifications bypass mute and Do Not Disturb settings, so you won’t miss the alarm even if your phone is silenced.

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Use the alarm in shortcuts and the AI assistant

Shortcuts and the AI assistant can switch your alarm on or off, but only to modes that don’t need a code. Zendo never stores your alarm code, so it has none to send. To change to a mode that needs a code, use the alarm’s screen. On Home Assistant, an alarm with a code always needs it to switch off, so a shortcut can’t switch that alarm off. When you have a security system, the suggested shortcuts include it. At home, “I’m Leaving” and “Good Night” switch the alarm on, and “I’m Home” switches it off. At a commercial property, “Close Down” switches it on, and “Open Up” switches it off.

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Restrict access to the security system

With Family Sharing (Access Control), you decide who can see and control your security system. Someone you’ve hidden it from doesn’t see it in the Activity & Cameras view, and can’t open it from a notification. At home, you could hide it from kids and guests. At a commercial property, you could hide it from visitors and non-admin staff.

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Supported brands