Why Is Frigate Recording But Not Sending Notifications?

Problem Description

Frigate is recording video and detecting objects, but no push notifications are being sent to your phone or other notification services. Frigate relies on MQTT to publish events to Home Assistant, which then triggers an automation that sends the notification — any break in this chain (MQTT disconnect, missing HA integration, misconfigured automation, broken notify service, or detection disabled) stops notifications.

Why This Happens in Real Homes

A key thing to understand: Frigate detects and records, but it doesn't send push notifications on its own — notifications come from an external system acting on Frigate's events, most commonly a Home Assistant automation (often the popular Frigate Notifications blueprint) triggered by the MQTT event feed. So "recording but no notifications" almost always means that notification layer isn't set up.

Set up notifications by connecting Frigate's MQTT events to Home Assistant and using an automation or the Frigate Notifications blueprint to push alerts to your phone (via the Home Assistant mobile app or another service). Make sure MQTT is connected so events actually trigger the automation, and check the automation's conditions aren't too narrow. Newer Frigate versions also add built-in notifications you can enable. The recording is working; the notification pipeline is what needs building.

Symptoms

• Recording works but no notifications
• Detects and records but no alerts
• No push notifications
• Notifications not sent
• Events but no notification
• Missing alerts
• No notify on detection
• Notifications not working

Recognize these? Here's what usually causes it.

Common Causes

• Frigate doesn't send notifications itself (needs HA/automation)
• No notification automation set up
• MQTT not connected (no trigger)
• Notification service/blueprint not configured
• Home Assistant automation error
• Notification app/service not set up
• Trigger conditions too narrow
• Frigate notifications feature not enabled

Tools & Requirements

Step-by-Step Solution

1

Verify MQTT is connected and publishing events

Frigate sends notifications via MQTT — it publishes detection events to the frigate/events topic. If MQTT is disconnected: Frigate records locally but cannot send events to Home Assistant or other notification systems. Check the Frigate UI system page for MQTT status (should show 'connected'). Check Frigate logs for MQTT connection errors. Test with a direct subscription: mosquitto_sub -h BROKER_IP -t 'frigate/events' -v. Walk in front of a camera — if no message appears: MQTT is not working. Verify broker IP, port, and credentials in frigate.yml.

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2

Check Home Assistant Frigate integration event handling

Home Assistant receives Frigate events via MQTT and creates frigate/event entities. If the integration is misconfigured or not installed: events arrive via MQTT but HA does not process them into notifications. In HA: go to Settings > Devices & Services > Frigate. The integration should show as 'connected' with entities for each camera. If missing: install the Frigate integration via HACS. If present but entities are unavailable: restart the integration. Check HA logs for 'frigate' errors.

3

Review your notification automation in Home Assistant

Frigate does not send notifications directly — you need a Home Assistant automation triggered by frigate events. The automation trigger should be: platform: mqtt, topic: frigate/events. Or use the Frigate blueprint: go to Settings > Automations > Blueprints and search for 'Frigate Notification'. The official Frigate notification blueprint by SgtBatten handles camera snapshots, clickable notifications, and per-camera/object filtering. If you have a custom automation: check the trigger, conditions, and action — any misconfiguration silently prevents notifications.

4

Check notification service configuration

The notification action in your automation must point to a working notification service. Common services: notify.mobile_app_YOUR_PHONE (HA Companion app), notify.pushover, notify.telegram. Test the notification service independently: go to Developer Tools > Services in HA, select your notification service, and send a test message. If the test message arrives: the service works and the issue is in the automation trigger or conditions. If the test fails: fix the notification service first (re-authenticate the mobile app, check API keys).

5

Verify object detection is actually running on the camera

Frigate can record without detecting — if detection is disabled for a camera: recordings happen but no events are generated, so no MQTT messages are published, and no notifications fire. In frigate.yml: cameras: your_camera: detect: enabled: true. Also check: objects: track: [person, car] — if the object type you expect is not in the track list: it is not detected. Check the Frigate UI events page filtered by the specific camera — if no events appear: detection is not running or no objects are being detected. Enable detection and verify at least one event appears before testing notifications.

Quick Solutions

Still having issues? This is usually the deeper cause below.

Need More Help? Frigate Support

Note: The contact information below connects you directly to Frigate's official customer support team, not Trunetto. They can help with warranty claims, device replacements, and advanced technical issues.