How to start an emergency alert from Airtame Cloud?

Overview

Airtame Cloud allows users to trigger emergency alerts on connected Airtame-powered screens — immediately, at a scheduled time, or on a repeating pattern. This feature ensures that critical messages are displayed across an organization when they are needed.

Prerequisites

• An active Airtame Cloud organization with owner, administrator, or content manager role
• Airtame devices enrolled in Airtame Cloud and online
• Each device requires an active Core or Hybrid license  to enable emergency alerts. 

Steps to start an emergency alert

1. Log in to Airtame Cloud.
2. Select Emergency Alerts in the left-hand menu.
3. Click Start emergency alert. The alert wizard opens.
4. Configure the alert:
   • Template: choose the template that fits. Each includes a threat level.
   • Headline: a concise title for the alert.
   • Description (optional): what people should do.
   • Drill: check this box if the alert is a drill.
5. Select the device groups to alert. All licensed devices in those groups will display it.
6. Review the summary. Use Back to change anything.
7. Click Start alert. It goes out immediately.

Setting an alert to repeat

Use this for alerts that happen on a regular pattern, such as a weekly fire drill.

1. Follow steps 1–5 in Steps to start an emergency alert to choose the template, write the message, and select the device groups.
2. In the timing step, select Repeat & Set:
   • Start date and time: when the first alert appears.
   • Timezone: the timezone the whole series follows.
   • Repeat pattern: daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.
   • End: when the series stops.
3. Review the summary, then click Schedule alert.

Two things to know about repeating alerts:

• One timezone for the whole series. Every affected device shows the alert at the same moment. If your devices span several timezones, the alert lands at a different local time for each.
• Edits apply to the whole series. You can’t change a single occurrence. To change one, edit the series, or cancel it and create a new one.

Scheduling an alert for later

Use this when you know an alert needs to go out at a specific time, such as a planned drill or an announced closure.

1. Follow steps 1–5 in Steps to start an emergency alert to choose the template, write the message, and select the device groups.
2. In the timing step, select Schedule instead of Start now.
3. Set:
   • Start date and time: when the alert appears on screens.
   • Timezone: all selected devices show the alert at this time, wherever they are physically located.
   • Duration: how long the alert stays on screen before it ends on its own.
4. Review the summary, then click Schedule alert.

The scheduled alert appears in the Emergency Alerts overview with its planned start time. You can edit or cancel it any time before it starts.

Manually trigger alerts  via Airtame Cloud 

Alerts can also be triggered through automations by integrating with external systems. Please see this guide for how to configure alert integrations. 

Additional notes

• Starting an alert will stop any ongoing screen sharing or conferencing session on the impacted screens.
• Users can start a new screen sharing or conferencing session while an alert is active; the screen returns to the alert when the session ends.
• Multiple alerts can be active simultaneously for the same group of devices. Airtame always displays the most recent alert received for that group.
• If a device is added to a group while an alert is active, the device will get the alert. If a device is removed from a group while an alert is active, it loses the alert and returns to its normal state.
• If your screen is sleeping and has CEC functionality, starting an emergency alert will wake up the screen to display the alert.
• For Virtual Airtame, starting an alert will also stop ongoing sessions and bring the app into fullscreen mode.