2026.6.4
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Dial a phone number

Use this action to make your FRITZ!Box dial a phone number. This is handy when you want the connected phones to ring as a notification, for example to ring the house phones when motion is detected at the front door.

Using this action from the user interface

If you prefer building automations and scripts visually, Home Assistant walks you through this action step by step. You pick what to target, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To dial a phone number from an automation or a script:

  1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
  2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
  3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger. They run when something else calls them.
  4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
  5. From the list of actions, search for and select Dial a phone number.
  6. Select the FRITZ!Box device to dial from, and set the Phone number and Maximum ring duration.
  7. Select Save.

Options in the UI

FRITZ!Box device

The FRITZ!Box to dial from.
Phone number

The phone number to dial.
Maximum ring duration

The maximum number of seconds to ring after dialing. The actual ring time may be shorter, depending on the settings of the phone that is called. Defaults to 15 seconds.

Using this action in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, refer to this action as fritz.dial. A basic example looks like this:

ActionActions are used in several places in Home Assistant. As part of a script or automation, actions define what is going to happen once a trigger is activated. In scripts, an action is called *sequence*. [Learn more] 
action: fritz.dial
data:
  device_id: a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4
  number: "**9"
  max_ring_seconds: 15

Options in YAML

device_id string Required

The FRITZ!Box to dial from.

number string Required

The phone number to dial.

max_ring_seconds integer Required

The maximum number of seconds to ring after dialing. The actual ring time may be shorter, depending on the settings of the phone that is called. Defaults to 15 seconds.

Good to know

  • Dialing **9 rings all internal phones connected to the FRITZ!Box, which is useful as a doorbell or alarm signal.
  • The maximum ring duration can be between 1 and 300 seconds.

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the action you’re calling and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Tip

AI assistants like ChatGPT or Claude can also explain actions or suggest the right one when you describe what you want in plain language.

Related actions

These actions work well alongside this one: