Send one message to several phones

Beginner Home Assistant 2026.5+

When a leak is detected, both your phone and your partner’s may need an alert. Older setups often ended up with a long list of phone-specific actions. From Home Assistant 2026.5, the Mobile App integration also creates a notification entity for each device.

These new notify entities can be combined in a group helper directly in the user interface. Automations send to one stable target, while the phones and tablets in that group can be changed in one place.

Two different meanings of group

This guide groups receiving devices inside Home Assistant. It is not the same as bundling several visible alerts under one heading on a phone’s lock screen.

Before creating the group

Check every phone or tablet:

• The Home Assistant Companion app is current and connected to the right server.
• Notification permission is enabled in the device settings.
• The device appears under the Mobile App integration.
• Its notify entity is enabled and not unavailable.
• An ordinary test notification arrives.

If a phone cannot receive its own test, adding it to a group will not fix it. Repair the device first.

Create a notification group

1. Open Helpers

   Go to Settings → Devices & services → Helpers.

2. Create a helper

   Select Create helper → Group, then choose the notification group type.

3. Choose members

   Add the relevant notify entities for phones and tablets. Include only devices that should receive the same kind of message.

4. Name the purpose

   Use something such as Adults – house alerts or All family phones. Avoid just Phones if you may create more groups later.

5. Save

   Home Assistant creates one new notify entity for the group.

Notification entities can only be grouped through the UI. Older, phone-specific notify actions can still exist, but their legacy group form is YAML-based and is not what we are building here.

Test the group before using it

1. Go to Settings → Developer tools → Actions.
2. Select Send a notification message (notify.send_message).
3. Target the group’s notification entity.
4. Enter a harmless message such as Test from Home Assistant.
5. Perform the action.
6. Physically check which devices received it.

Test with screens locked and the app in the background. That is the normal use case, and phone power-saving settings can affect delivery.

A completed action is not a read receipt

Home Assistant can record that it sent a notification. That does not prove the phone displayed it immediately or that someone read it.

Use the group in an automation

A simple example is a water leak:

When the kitchen sensor detects water, send “Water detected below the kitchen sink” to the Adults – house alerts group.

In the automation editor:

1. Choose the leak event

   Use the purpose-specific moisture-detected trigger or the stable leak sensor entity.

2. Add the notification action

   Select Send a notification message.

3. Target the group

   Choose the group’s notify entity, not the generic notify.notify action.

4. Write a specific message

   Say what happened and where: Water detected below the kitchen sink.

5. Test the action

   Run the notification action alone with clearly marked test text.

6. Test a natural event

   Trigger the sensor safely and inspect the automation trace afterwards.

Home Assistant’s general notify.notify shorthand selects the first notify action the system finds. That can reach the wrong recipient. Use Send a notification message with a specific entity target.

Separate groups by purpose

One group for every message quickly becomes noisy. Two or three clear groups are often better:

Group	Good examples	Avoid
Adults – critical house status	Leak, smoke status, freezer too warm	Daily status messages
Whole family	Doorbell, shared reminder	Private cameras or access details
My devices	Phone, tablet, and watch	Alerts other people must act on

Critical notifications can behave differently on iOS and Android and may bypass silent mode. Reserve them for genuine emergencies and test each platform separately.

Make messages useful

A good notification contains:

• the event: water detected;
• the place: below the kitchen sink;
• a time or duration, when relevant;
• the next action: close the valve or check the freezer.

Avoid generic text such as Alarm! or Sensor activated. The household should understand it without opening Home Assistant.

Use a stable tag if the platform should replace an earlier alert with an update. Do not reuse one tag for unrelated events, or one message may overwrite another.

When a phone is replaced

After replacing a phone, both the old and new devices may remain in Home Assistant.

1. Test the new notification entity on its own.
2. Add it to the group.
3. Test the group.
4. Remove the old entity from the group.
5. Remove the old Mobile App device only after confirming that no automation depends on its other sensors.

The automations do not need to change. They still point to the same group.

Common problems

The notification group type is missing

Update Home Assistant to 2026.5 or later and check that the Mobile App integration has created notify entities.

One phone does not receive the message

Test its entity alone. Check notification permission, server connection, background restrictions, and entity availability.

An old phone still receives messages

Open the group helper options and remove the old notification entity from the member list.

The message arrives more than once

Open the automation trace and Activity. The automation may have triggered several times, or the phone may be both a direct target and a group member.

Laundry alert

Use the group in a washing-machine notification.

Find duplicates

Investigate repeated alerts with Activity and Traces.

Official sources

• Home Assistant 2026.5: Mobile app notifications are entities
• Notifications and Send a notification message
• Group helper and notify entity groups
• Companion App notifications