Media player volume crossed threshold

The Media player volume crossed threshold trigger fires when volume crosses a threshold you define. Use it when you care about the crossing itself, like moving above a limit or dropping below one, instead of every volume update.

Use Media player volume crossed threshold to react when listening gets too loud, when background music becomes too quiet, or when volume moves into or out of a range.

Using this trigger from the user interface

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

To use Media player volume crossed threshold in an automation:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. In the When section, select Add trigger.
4. Select what you want to monitor. Under By target (see Targets), pick the media player you want to watch. You can also select an area, a floor, a device, or a label.
5. From the triggers shown for that target, select Media player volume crossed threshold.
6. Under Threshold, set the volume level or range that must be crossed.
7. Under Trigger when (see Behavior), choose how multiple targeted media players should behave. The default is Each.
8. Under For at least, enter how long the crossed state must remain true before the trigger fires. The default is 0.
9. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this trigger 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, this trigger is referred to as media_player.volume_crossed_threshold. A basic example looks like this:

trigger: media_player.volume_crossed_threshold
target:
  entity_id: media_player.living_room_receiver
options:
  threshold:
    type: above
    value:
      number: 65

This fires when the receiver volume crosses above 65%.

To use a helperA helper is a virtual entity you create inside Home Assistant. It is not backed by a physical device. Helpers store values, track state, or do calculations that your automations and dashboards need. [Learn more] you created separately as a dynamic threshold:

trigger: media_player.volume_crossed_threshold
target:
  entity_id: media_player.living_room_receiver
options:
  threshold:
    type: above
    value:
      entity: input_number.media_volume_limit
  for: "00:00:30"

Options in YAML

Targets of the trigger

This trigger requires a target. The target is the object that Home Assistant will watch. You can select a single entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more], a device, an area, a floor, or a label as a target, and Home Assistant will watch every matching media_player entity behind that target.

• Entity: one specific media_player entity, such as media_player.living_room.
• Device: every media_player entity that belongs to a device.
• Area: every media_player entity in a room or area.
• Floor: every media_player entity on a floor.
• Label: every media_player entity that shares a label.

You can also select different target types in one trigger. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same trigger to monitor both of them at once.

Behavior with multiple targets

When you target more than one entity (or select an area, floor, or label that contains several), the Trigger when option controls how the trigger responds:

• Each (any in YAML, default): the trigger fires every time any one of the targeted entities transitions. For example, if you monitor three motion sensors in the living room and someone walks past sensor 1, the automation fires. When they walk past sensor 2 a moment later, it fires again. Every individual event counts.
• First (first in YAML): the trigger fires only on the first transition in the targeted group, then waits until all targeted entities have reset before it fires again. For example, if you monitor the same three motion sensors, the automation fires when the first one picks up movement (someone entered the room). The other two firing afterward are ignored, so you get one notification per “someone walked in” event instead of three.
• All (last in YAML): the trigger fires only after the last targeted entity in the group has fired, meaning all of them are now in the expected state. For example, if you monitor the lights in the living room, bedroom, and hallway, the automation fires only once all three have turned off. This is useful for scenarios like “start the robot vacuum only after every light on the floor is off,” so you know the room is truly empty.

Good to know

• This trigger fires only when the volume crosses the threshold. If volume changes again without crossing it, the trigger does not fire.
• Threshold helper entities must use % as the unit. If you want to adjust the limit from the UI, create a helperA helper is a virtual entity you create inside Home Assistant. It is not backed by a physical device. Helpers store values, track state, or do calculations that your automations and dashboards need. [Learn more] separately first.
• Media players that are unavailable or unknown do not provide usable volume values until they report a supported state again.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Go to Settings > Automations & scenes, create a new automation, and add this trigger. Save the automation, then change the state of the targeted entity to watch the trigger fire on your actual entitiesAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more].

More examples

Real scenarios where this trigger fires in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: lower the lights when volume crosses above 65%

When the receiver volume crosses above 65%, dim the room for a theater-like scene.

• Trigger: Media player volume crossed threshold
  • Target: Living room receiver
  • Threshold: Above 65%
• Action: Turn on light
  • Target: Living room lights

alias: "Dim the lights when receiver volume crosses 65%"
triggers:
  - trigger: media_player.volume_crossed_threshold
    target:
      entity_id: media_player.living_room_receiver
    options:
      threshold:
        type: above
        value:
          number: 65
actions:
  - action: light.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: light.living_room_lights
    data:
      brightness_pct: 15

Automation: send a notification when nursery audio drops below 20%

When the nursery speaker volume crosses below 20%, send a notification so you can turn it back up if needed.

• Trigger: Media player volume crossed threshold
  • Target: Nursery speaker
  • Threshold: Below 20%
• Action: Send a notification message
  • Target: My Device (notify.my_device)

alias: "Notify me when nursery audio drops below 20%"
triggers:
  - trigger: media_player.volume_crossed_threshold
    target:
      entity_id: media_player.nursery_speaker
    options:
      threshold:
        type: below
        value:
          number: 20
actions:
  - action: notify.send_message
    target:
      entity_id: notify.my_device
    data:
      message: >
        Nursery audio dropped below 20% volume.

Still stuck?

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

Related triggers

These triggers work well alongside this one:

• Media player volume changed: Triggers after the volume of one or more media players changes.

• Media player muted: Triggers after one or more media players are muted.