The Security Alarm

How the security alarm works and how to read the motion graph

Ipti Niskala avatar
Written by Ipti Niskala
Updated over a week ago

Disclaimer: The Security Alarm and Motion Graphs are not currently supported on Minut Gen 3 devices installed Outside

The Minut Sensor can detect movement and notify you of unwanted movement in your property when the Security alarm is turned on.

You can choose to use the Security alarm in a few different ways, either separate or together:

  • Silent alarm - Notifies you if motion is detected without sounding the siren. Read more here.

  • Scheduled alarm - Schedule the alarm to turn on or off for specific days and times. (For example, if you have cleaners at the home every Tuesday at 10 AM). Read more here.

How does it work?

  1. Tap on Homes at the bottom of your screen and tap on the Home you want Security Alarm turned ON in

2. Tap Security alarm and turn it ON.


3. Your screen will change, but it can take up to 45 seconds before the Minut device detects movement after turning the Security alarm on.

4. If movement is detected when the alarm is turned on, the Grace Period will start and you'll have time to dismiss the alarm. The device beeps and the countdown shows how many seconds there are left until the siren starts. 

You can customize the time for the Grace Period from your Profile settings.

5. At the end of the countdown, the siren rings, and a notification is sent to all members in the home.

All members can see which device triggered the alarm and at what time. Anyone can turn it off by pressing Dismiss alarm. When the alarm is dismissed, the Minut device stops ringing and the alarm situation is considered to be under control. 

If no action is taken, the siren will sound for 2 minutes.

Please note that there is an approximate 45-second delay between each time movement can be detected.

Instantly turn on Alarm

An update to double the battery life of the sensors, from around 5 months to 10 months, results in a delay when turning on the Security Alarm. You will see this as a countdown when turning on the alarm.

If you rather have the alarm turn on right away, you can toggle this with the feature called "Instantly turn on Alarm".

To toggle this, go to Settings -> Monitoring -> Security Alarm, either from the mobile app or the web app.

The motion graph

The image below shows the motion graph. Here, the horizontal axis shows the time of the day, and the vertical axis, the number of motion events. When Minut detects movement, a motion event is counted. The blue bars put together motion events that have been registered in the same 15 minutes period.

The motion graph monitors movement even when your Minut is disarmed, and it lets you be aware of what is going on at home without the need for cameras.

What to expect from the motion detection

  • Waving to the Minut might not trigger the alarm. Minut is trained to only act on the movement of an entire human body. A waving hand might be too small for the device to register as a motion event.

  • Minut will not detect movement in another room.

  • Minut only covers approximately 25 sqm (269 sqft) in a circle around the unit. This translates to about 2,5m from the device when moving towards it.

  • Preferably, Minut should not be placed higher than 3 m above the floor. The recommended height is 2.4m (7.9ft).

  • Minut needs to be mounted in the suggested way to get the most out of motion detection.

What if my phone runs out of battery?

In case your phone is out of battery and the Security alarm is on and movement is detected, you can turn the sound off by pressing the main button. However, it'll still be sending notifications and alarming to the rest of your family and friends until they take action or turn the Security alarm off. A notification will also be sent that the alarm was muted by the button being pressed on the Minut device.

Other Alarm Features

The Minut Alarm has 2 other features that can be enabled independently. These can help notify you of what is going on in your home.

Glass Break Alarm: By enabling the Glass Break Alarm, the Minut device will be able to detect the sound of glass breaking in your home, and will notify you by push notification.

Alarm Recognition: By enabling Alarm Recognition, you will be notified of any alarms going on inside your home. The Minut device can detect other alarms such as home security systems and fire alarm sounds.

If the Minut device is having difficulties picking up your specific alarm, we always accept sound samples at hello@minut.com to help make the Minut Alarm Recognition Feature better.

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