> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.oncanary.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up downtime alerts

> Notify teams when assets stay offline, escalate longer outages, and repeat reminders until equipment returns online.

Administrators configure downtime alerts in the web app under **Settings > Features > Assets**. Choose the assets to monitor, when to notify teams, and whether to escalate or repeat reminders. Alerts start off, with no teams selected.

## Set up an initial alert

1. Open **Settings > Features > Assets** and turn on **Downtime alerts**.
2. Under **Assets**, choose **All assets**, **Critical assets**, or **Selected assets**. For selected assets, search and add the equipment you want to include.
3. Under **Downtime**, choose **Unplanned only** for breakdowns, or **All downtime** to include planned offline periods.
4. In **Initial alert**, enter the number of hours under **After offline for**. Use **0** for an alert due as soon as the asset goes offline.
5. Under **Notify teams**, search for a team and select it. You can select several teams. Select the × on a team's chip to remove it, or **Clear teams** in the open menu to remove all selected teams.
6. Select **Save changes**.

![Downtime alert settings for all assets and unplanned downtime, showing a 2-hour initial alert to Downtime Maintenance, 8-hour escalation to Downtime Managers, and 6-hour reminders.](https://mintcdn.com/canary-0e49485b/RNQbSbdOg6RrUBC_/images/help/assets/downtime-alerts-settings.jpg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=RNQbSbdOg6RrUBC_\&q=85\&s=89c3dd35d4a269737e0e451c9dcdcb37)

Example settings: initial alert after 2 hours, escalation at 8 total hours, and reminders every 6 hours. The screenshot uses demonstration teams.

**Critical assets** includes equipment whose criticality is **Critical**. The clock starts at the asset's recorded offline time. If you enable alerts for an asset that is already overdue, an alert can be due on the next check.

## Choose recipient teams

Type directly in **Notify teams** to search. The menu stays open while you select or deselect teams, and selected teams appear as removable chips in the field. Clearing the search shows the available teams again. Use the arrow keys and Enter to select, Escape to close the menu, and Backspace in an empty search field to remove the last selection.

![The initial-alert field contains Downtime Maintenance and a search for Downtime. The menu shows Downtime Maintenance selected, Downtime Managers available, and Clear teams.](https://mintcdn.com/canary-0e49485b/RNQbSbdOg6RrUBC_/images/help/assets/downtime-alerts-team-picker.jpg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=RNQbSbdOg6RrUBC_\&q=85\&s=1a2aa72c8cdf53a1582b76922bb5c985)

Type in Notify teams to search. A checkmark shows a selected team; the × on its chip removes it.

Alerts go to current members of the selected teams who have access to assets. Requesters do not receive asset downtime alerts. A person in several selected teams receives one alert for each due occurrence.

To create a team or change its members, see [Users and teams](https://docs.oncanary.com/help/admin/users-and-teams.md).

## Escalate a longer outage

1. Turn on **Escalation**.
2. Enter a time later than the initial alert.
3. Choose the teams to notify at that point.
4. Select **Save changes**.

Escalation uses **total time offline**. With an initial alert at 2 hours and escalation at 8 hours, escalation is due at hour 8 of the outage.

## Repeat reminders

Turn on **Repeat reminders while offline**, enter an interval under **Repeat every**, then save. Reminders start one interval after the initial alert. After escalation, reminders go to both the initial and escalation teams.

For the settings shown above:

| Time offline | Due alert | Teams |
| - | - | - |
| 2 hours | Initial alert | Downtime Maintenance |
| 8 hours | Escalation and first reminder, combined | Downtime Maintenance and Downtime Managers |
| 14 hours | Next reminder | Downtime Maintenance and Downtime Managers |

When escalation and a reminder are due together, each person receives one combined alert. Canary checks for due alerts once a minute; delivery can follow the threshold rather than occur at the exact second. If checks are delayed, Canary sends the current alert instead of a backlog of missed reminders.

## Where alerts arrive

Eligible alerts appear in Canary's **Inbox**. Email and mobile push follow each person's notification preferences and pause settings.

* In the web app, review **Settings > Notifications > Assets**.
* In the mobile app, open **My Account > Notification Settings > Assets**. Enable phone permission and the **Push Notifications** preference to receive phone alerts.
* Email uses a five-minute unread delay. Reading or archiving the alert before email delivery stops that email.

See [Mobile notifications](https://docs.oncanary.com/help/mobile/notifications.md) for phone permissions, pauses, and troubleshooting.

## Stop or change alerts

Returning the asset online stops reminders and cancels pending alerts. Notifications already delivered remain in the inbox while you have asset access. A new outage starts a new clock.

To stop alerts for the organization, turn off **Downtime alerts** and select **Save changes**. Changing and saving a policy cancels pending deliveries from the previous settings. Completed alerts for an ongoing outage are not replayed; future reminders use the saved settings.

If an alert is missing, check the asset's status, recorded offline time, criticality or selected-asset scope, downtime type, recipient team membership, and personal notification preferences.

## Related pages

* [Create and manage assets](https://docs.oncanary.com/help/assets/create-and-manage-assets.md)
* [Users and teams](https://docs.oncanary.com/help/admin/users-and-teams.md)
* [Mobile notifications](https://docs.oncanary.com/help/mobile/notifications.md)


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