Differences between "armed_home" and "armed_away" using Alexa Guard mode

Configuration
1

Does anyone know what the differences are between “armed_home” and “armed_away” using Alexa Guard mode?

I just (re-)noticed my Alexa Guard alarm control panel entity and I would like to possibly start using it but I don’t have any info on what the real differences are between the two modes.

Or is there any reason to ever use the “armed_home” mode"?

2

Typically, “armed_home” will only trigger when an opening is tripped (or whatever zone you setup). Internal senors are ignored. “armed_away”, is tripped by all sensors and openings.

3

I can see it being like that for standard alarm systems but I’m not sure what that would mean for Alexa Guard.

4

I don’t think “armed_home” is supported at all. Here are the modes from the custom_component:

from homeassistant.const import (
    STATE_ALARM_ARMED_AWAY,
    STATE_ALARM_DISARMED,
    STATE_UNAVAILABLE,
)

And there’s no mention in the rest of the file of an armed_home mode, or anything on the Amazon Alexa site.

1 Like
5

that’s kind of the impression I got from researching. Thanks for reinforcing that conclusion.

I’m surprised tho that the “arm home” option exists in the Alexa Guard control panel controls in HA if it’s not supported. It just seems it would cause confusion and also cause more threads about the differences between the two modes or if it’s even supported… :wink: :smile: