Envoy Emergency Notifications can take over Screens devices to display alerts during an incident, interrupting whatever playlist or app is currently running.
When an Emergency Notification fires and Screens devices are included as recipients:
Every online Screens device switches to displaying the emergency alert
The device locks to the alert state until the incident is cleared
Once cleared, the device resumes showing the content
Supported Emergency Takeover scenarios
State | Takeover behavior |
Online Screens device, running a playlist or schedule | ✅ Takeover displays |
Online Screens device, running an Envoy app (Maps, Rooms, Clock) | ✅ Takeover displays |
Offline Screens device | ❌ Takeover does not display |
Device currently in an active video conferencing meeting | ❌ Takeover does not display |
Screens devices that are currently in an active Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet call cannot be taken over. This is a limitation of the conferencing platforms, not of Screens or Emergency Notifications.
Targeting specific devices
You can scope an Emergency Notification takeover to a specific subset of screens using device groups. When configuring the alert, select the groups you want to receive the takeover. Devices outside those groups continue running their assigned content. Leaving the group selection empty sends the takeover to every Screens device included as a recipient.