<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Notification Contacts

In the Notification Contacts settings, you can define and change the notification contacts of the user account.

Notification contacts are unique for each user account. That is, every user can individually define how they want to be notified by PRTG. Recipients of notifications are email addresses, phone numbers, push devices (with PRTG for Android or PRTG for iOS), and users of certain instant messaging services.

The notification methods Send Email, Send SMS/Pager Message, or Send Push Notification let you define a user who receives notifications at all their active notification contacts. If you select a user group, PRTG sends the notifications to all active notification contacts of all users that are in the group. To exclude defined notification contacts from notification delivery, you can use the pause feature to deactivate them.

If you use PRTG on premises and open the system administration page from a different administration page, PRTG asks you to enter your credentials again for security reasons if 15 minutes (900 seconds) have passed since your last credential-based login. A dialog box appears. Enter your Login Name and Password for PRTG in the corresponding fields and confirm to continue.

Note

You have to take the following four steps to set up and use notifications:

  1. Check and set up the Notification Delivery settings if you use PRTG on premises. These settings define how PRTG sends messages.
  2. Check and set up Notification Contacts for the user accounts. These contacts define the recipients to which PRTG sends notifications.
  3. Check and set up several Notification Templates. These templates define the notification methods and their content.
    i_round_blueYou can also check or edit notification templates via the Notification Triggers tab. For more information, see section Notification Triggers Settings.
  4. Check and set up Notification Triggers Settings for objects. These triggers define when PRTG sends notifications.

i_round_blueUsually, there are three successive attempts to deliver a notification. If all of these attempts fail, the notification is lost. To never miss a notification, we recommend that you always set up at least two notifications with different notification methods for a notification trigger, for example, one email notification and one SMS notification. If delivery via email fails (because of an email server outage or for other reasons), PRTG can still notify you via smartphone as a fallback. For example, use the latency setting of a state trigger to choose a notification with a different notification method than in the first trigger condition, or set up a second trigger with a different notification method for the corresponding object.

i_square_cyanSee sections Notifications Based on Sensor Limits Step by Step and Notifications Based on Libraries Step by Step for step-by-step guides that describe potential notification setups.

i_square_cyanCustom notification scripts are also available in the PRTG Sensor Hub.

Notification Contacts Overview

Click the Notification Contacts tab to show a list of all notification contacts of the user account. Using the quick action buttons, you can do the following:

  • Pause (b_template_pause): Pause this notification contact. If a notification contact is paused, PRTG does not send any messages to this contact when a notification for this user is triggered.
  • Resume (b_template_resume): Resume this notification contact. When a notification for this user is triggered, PRTG sends a message to this user.
  • Edit (b_template_edit): Open the settings of this notification contact and change its description and recipient.
    i_round_blueThis is not possible for predefined notification contacts, for example, the primary email address. You can change the primary email address under My Account.
  • Delete (b_template_delete): Delete this notification contact.
    i_round_blueThis is not possible for predefined notification contacts, for example, the primary email address.

Notification Contacts Settings

Hover over b_add and select Add Email Contact or Add SMS Contact to add a new notification contact, or click b_template_edit next to a notification contact to edit it. A dialog box appears where you can enter the contact settings.

i_round_bluePRTG automatically adds push contacts for the corresponding user when you install a PRTG app for iOS or Android on your smartphone or tablet, connect to PRTG, and activate push notifications. You cannot manually add push contacts. If your mobile device actively rejects push notifications for a push contact, for example, because you deactivated push on the target device or reset it, PRTG automatically pauses this contact. The affected user account receives a ToDo ticket in this case.

Add New / Edit Notification Contact

Setting

Description

Description

Enter a meaningful name for the notification contact, for example, SMS to Admin Mobile or similar.

i_round_blueIf the name contains angle brackets (<>), PRTG replaces them with braces ({}) for security reasons. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: What security features does PRTG include?

Recipient

Enter a valid email address for the contact type Email. You can add an SMS contact by entering a valid phone number. The format of the phone number depends on the SMS provider. You can use a plus sign (+) or 00, followed by country code and number. For example, +1555012345 or 001555012345.

i_round_redEnsure that the number format meets the requirements of your SMS provider or the hardware that you use in combination with an application programming interface (API) call. Sometimes a preceded plus sign is not required. A wrong format might result in undelivered messages.

i_square_cyanFor the contact type Push, this field shows a unique token that you cannot change here. This token is needed to send push notifications through the cloud. For details, see the Knowledge Base: How can I use push notifications with PRTG?

Contact Type

Shows the type of contact, either Email, SMS, or Push.

i_round_blueThis setting is for your information only. You cannot change it.

If you want to use a different contact type, create a new contact with Add Email Contact or Add SMS Contact, or activate push notifications in your PRTG for iOS or Android app.

Click OK to save your settings, or click Cancel to close the dialog box without changes to your configuration.

i_round_blueA cloud contact is automatically added when you install the PRTG app on your smartphone, connect to PRTG, and enable push notifications.

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

What security features does PRTG include?

How can I use push notifications with PRTG?

 

i_square_bluePAESSLER WEBSITE

You can find custom notification scripts in the PRTG Sensor Hub

Setup

Others

There are some settings that you must make in the PRTG Administration Tool. For more details, see the sections: