Switch turned off

The Switch turned off trigger is useful when you want to react after a switch is deactivated. Use it to end a related routine, restore another device to its normal state, or send a reminder if a switch shuts down when you did not expect it to.

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 this trigger 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 switch you want to monitor. You can also select an area, a floor, a device, or a label.
5. From the triggers shown for that target, select Switch turned off.
6. Under Trigger when (see Behavior), pick Each, First, or All.
7. Under For at least, set how long the switch must stay off before the trigger fires.
8. 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, refer to this trigger as switch.turned_off. A basic example looks like this:

trigger: switch.turned_off
target:
  entity_id: switch.porch_light

This fires whenever switch.porch_light turns off.

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 switch entity behind that target.

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

• A switch in the unknown or unavailable state does not count as turned off.
• If the switch turns on again before the For at least time finishes, the timer resets.
• To react when a switch starts instead, use Switch turned on.

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: stop the bathroom fan after the shower light turns off

After the shower light has been off for a few minutes, turn the bathroom fan back off to save energy once the moisture has cleared.

• Trigger: Switch turned off
  • Target: Shower light switch
  • Trigger when: Each
  • For at least: 00:05:00
• Action: Turn off fan
  • Target: Bathroom fan

alias: "Bathroom fan off after shower light"
triggers:
  - trigger: switch.turned_off
    target:
      entity_id: switch.shower_light
    options:
      for: "00:05:00"
actions:
  - action: fan.turn_off
    target:
      entity_id: fan.bathroom

Automation: notify if a freezer outlet stops drawing power

If a freezer outlet switches off unexpectedly, you want to know quickly so the food stays frozen.

• Trigger: Switch turned off
  • Target: Freezer outlet
  • For at least: 00:01:00
• Action: Send a notification message
  • Target: My Device (notify.my_device)

alias: "Freezer outlet turned off"
triggers:
  - trigger: switch.turned_off
    target:
      entity_id: switch.freezer_outlet
    options:
      for: "00:01:00"
actions:
  - action: notify.send_message
    target:
      entity_id: notify.my_device
    data:
      message: "The freezer outlet has been off for 1 minute."

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:

• Switch turned on: Triggers after one or more switches turn on.