> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ilert.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ilert.com/alerting/configure-alerting/notification-settings.md).
# Notification settings
How ilert reaches you: the contacts it can use, the channels you have activated, and the rules that decide which one fires when.
Everything about alerting so far decides *that* you should be told something. This page decides *how* — and it is per-person, not per-account. Two people on the same escalation policy can be reached completely differently.
Click your avatar in the top right and choose **Notification settings**.
{% hint style="info" %}
An admin can open anyone's notification settings and change them. That is deliberate: a new joiner who has not set up any rules will not be paged, and someone has to be able to notice and fix that.
{% endhint %}
There are two halves, and the first has to come before the second: a rule can only use a channel you have already activated.
## Contacts and channels
Contacts are addresses. Channels are the ways ilert can use them.
A **contact** is an address — an email address or a phone number. A **channel** is a way of reaching that address:
| Contact | Channels it can carry |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Email address | Email |
| Phone number | SMS, Phone call, WhatsApp, Telegram |
| Mobile device | Push |
ilert creates an email contact from your login address automatically, and push devices appear on their own once you sign in to the [iOS or Android app](/mobile-app/getting-started-with-ilert-mobile-app.md) — there is a QR code on this page to make that login quick.
Add the rest with **Add email** or **Add phone number**. Each channel then has to be **activated**, which means entering a code ilert sends to it. Activating a phone number by SMS activates phone calls on it at the same time; WhatsApp and Telegram have their own flows, described as you go.
Use **Send test notification** afterwards. It is the only way to learn that a channel is genuinely working before an incident asks the question for you.
## Notification rules
Each category is independent. An empty category means silence, not a default.
Five categories, each with its own rules:
| Category | Fires when |
| --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **High priority alerts** | A high-priority alert is assigned to you — on creation, or when you are added as a responder |
| **Low priority alerts** | The same, for [low-priority](/alerting/configure-alerting/alert-sources.md#notification-priority) alerts. These never escalate |
| **Alert status updates** | An alert already assigned to you changes status — someone else accepts it, or it is resolved |
| **Incident notifications** | You are added as a subscriber to an [incident](/incidents-and-status-pages/incidents.md) |
| **On-call reminder notification** | A set time before one of your [on-call shifts](/on-call-management-and-escalations/on-call-schedules.md) begins |
To add one, expand a category and click **Add notification rule**, then choose a contact and channel.
### Chaining rules with delays
Alert rules take a delay, which is what turns a list into an escalation of its own:
> **Immediately** notify me via **Push**\
> **1 minute** after assignment, notify me via **Voice**
The second rule only fires if you have not responded within the minute. Push first, then something that wakes you, is the pattern most on-call engineers land on.
{% hint style="warning" %}
**An empty category is not a safe default.**
**Low priority alerts** with no rules means you are never told about low-priority alerts at all. That is often what people want — but it is worth knowing you chose it, particularly if an alert source uses [support-hours-based priority](/alerting/configure-alerting/alert-sources.md#notification-priority) and quietly downgrades everything overnight.
{% endhint %}
## Responding from the notification
Notifications are two-way. You can act on an alert from the channel it reached you on, without opening ilert:
* **Acknowledge** it — escalation stops
* **Resolve** it
* **Escalate** to the next level in the policy
Reply to the SMS, press a key during the phone call, tap the push notification. Which options appear depends on the channel.
## FAQ
### I am not getting notified at all.
Check, in this order: the channel is activated (not merely added), the category has at least one rule, and the alert source's [notification priority](/alerting/configure-alerting/alert-sources.md#notification-priority) matches the category you put rules in. High-priority rules do nothing for an alert sent as low priority.
### Can I be reached differently outside working hours?
Not from this page — rules do not know the time. The time-based decision lives on the alert source, via [support hours](/alerting/configure-alerting/support-hours.md), which flips alerts between high and low priority. Give your low-priority category quieter channels and the effect is the same.
### How do I stop everything temporarily?
[Mute notifications](/alerting/configure-alerting/notification-settings/mute-notifications.md), for a holiday or a night off.
### Does a phone number have to be verified to receive calls?
Yes. Verifying by SMS covers both SMS and phone calls on that number.
### What is the primary phone number for?
It is the number ilert uses where a single number is required, and the one shown on your profile. Set it from the phone number's own menu.
---
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