Home Watch, Away Watch, and Dark Watch in the Xfinity app

Home Watch, Away Watch, and Dark Watch are modes you can use in the Xfinity App to customize how your home responds when you are home, away, or asleep. These modes are available for customers with Xfinity WiFi Shield that have a compatible gateway and can also work with compatible Shield Select by Xfinity Home devices and features.

• Home Watch is for when people are home and awake.
• Away Watch is for when nobody is expected to be home.
• Dark Watch is for overnight use when household members are asleep.
  • Dark Watch is designed to help surface unusual overnight activity and can work with WiFi Motion, Xfinity CyberSecure, Family Settings, device activity, and Shield Select devices and features.

Note: These modes are not provided as part of a professionally monitored home security service. Whether you are in Home Watch, Away Watch, or Dark Watch, Xfinity is not monitoring motion within your home or the notifications sent to you.

What you’ll need

• Xfinity Internet
• Xfinity WiFi Gateway (Technicolor XB7 or newer)
• Shield Select service if you want to use compatible cameras, door and window sensors, motion sensors, automatic lock actions, lighting automations, or Urgent Response features
• The Xfinity app

Note: To use Dark Watch mode, you must turn on WiFi Motion or have an active Xfinity camera on the account. See Dark Watch mode in the Xfinity app for more information.

Using Home Watch, Away Watch, and Dark Watch

Mode settings are available in the Home tab of the Xfinity app when your account and equipment are eligible. You can switch between Home Watch, Away Watch, and Dark Watch in the app.

You can also automate mode behavior with sleep schedules, location-based mode changes, and reminders when supported.

• Use Home Watch when people are home and awake and normal household activity is expected.
• Use Away Watch when nobody is expected to be home and you want alerts when selected devices detect activity.
• Use Dark Watch when household members are asleep and you want overnight awareness with settings tailored for nighttime activity.

Push notifications and alerts

Depending on your mode and settings, you may receive Alerts or Notifications in the Xfinity app. Dark Watch mode uses WiFi Motion, Xfinity CyberSecure, Family Settings, device activity, and Shield Select devices and features to help detect unusual overnight activity.

What is an alert

Alerts are designed to notify you about unexpected activity. In Away Watch and Dark Watch, alerts are turned on by default for supported devices and features. Alerts are delivered via iOS or Android push notifications. An alert looks like this:

iOS

Android

• For iOS devices, alerts may use Apple Critical Alert capabilities, if turned-on. Critical Alerts appear on the Lock Screen and play a sound even when Do Not Disturb is on or your iPhone is in silent mode.
• For other phones, alerts are delivered as standard push notifications.

What is a notification

Notifications are informational messages you can choose to receive based on the mode and settings you enable. In Home Watch, notifications are off by default unless you turn them on.

If turned on, they are delivered via iOS or Android push notification. You can choose to enable notifications when in Home Mode to be notified when motion is detected.

A notification looks like this:

	Away Watch	Home Watch	Dark Watch
WiFi Motion	Alerts are on by default. Get an alert when motion is found. You can turn alerts off.	Notifications are off by default. Turn them on to get motion updates.	Off by default. Turn it on to get motion alerts at night. Choose which areas to monitor.
Shield Select Door and Window Sensors	Alerts are on by default. Get an alert when a door or window opens. Choose which sensors send alerts.	Notifications are off by default. Turn them on to get updates when a door or window opens.	On by default for overnight perimeter protection. Get alerts when selected doors or windows open. Choose which sensors send alerts.
Shield Select Motion Sensors	Alerts are on by default. Get an alert when motion is found. Choose which sensors send alerts.	Notifications are off by default. Turn them on to get motion updates.	Optional. Best for homes where overnight movement is not expected. Choose which sensors send alerts.
Shield Select Cameras or Doorbells	Optional Camera Person Alerts. Get a Critical Alert if a selected camera sees a person. Best for areas that should be empty when you're away.	Camera and doorbell notifications are off by default. Turn them on for motion, people, delivery, or doorbell updates.	Optional Camera Person Alerts. Get a Critical Alert if a selected camera sees a person overnight. Best for areas that should stay empty at night.

What can trigger Dark Watch notifications

• WiFi Motion activity on selected devices or configured areas.
• Family Settings activity, such as devices using WiFi after hours when limits should apply.
• Xfinity CyberSecure activity, such as suspicious remote access to a device.
• Compatible Shield Select Person Alerts or selected sensor activity, if enabled.

Customize your mode settings

Mode settings depend on your service tier and devices.

Xfinity WiFi Shield and Shield Select both include:

• Home Watch
• Away Watch
• Dark Watch
• Location-based mode changes
• Sleep schedule automation
• Mode reminders
• WiFi Motion
• The ability to pause selected WiFi profiles in Dark Watch

Shield Select can also include (depending on equipment purchased):

• Door and window sensors
• Motion sensors
• Camera person alerts
• Automatic door lock actions
• Lighting automations
• Urgent Response features

By default, WiFi Motion is disabled in Dark Watch for Xfinity WiFi Shield. This means Dark Watch will not generate WiFi Motion alerts unless you enable WiFi Motion for that mode. For Shield Select, Dark Watch can protect your home perimeter using door and window sensors by default, with additional protection available if you enable more devices or features.

Shield Select can also support automatic door lock actions, lighting automations, camera person alerts, and other compatible features based on the equipment in your home.

• Select which devices or features can generate alerts in each mode.
• Set schedules to automatically enter Dark Watch.
• Use location-based automation to switch to Away Watch when everyone leaves and Home Watch when someone returns.
• Pause selected WiFi profiles overnight in Dark Watch if that fits your household needs.
• If enabled, choose camera person alerts only for spaces where people should not be present while the mode is active.

To customize your mode settings:

1. Launch the Xfinity app.
2. Select the Home tab.
3. Choose the gear icon on the right-hand side of your Mode status.

The types of settings you’ll see on the Mode Settings page will depend on what devices you have.

Clearing an alert

If you receive an alert, open the notification in the Xfinity app and review the activity. If you choose to clear an alert, your mode behavior may change depending on the alert and your settings.

1. Tap the push notification to be taken to the Home tab.
2. Select Clear alert.
3. You’ll then be prompted to Clear alerts or Keep alerts on.
4. Selecting Clear alerts will switch you to Home Watch, which turns off alerts.
5. If you want to stay in Away Watch or Dark Watch and continue to receive Alerts, select Keep alerts on.

Additional information

Visit our Online Support Center to find common solutions.

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