Baby Cry Alert listens for a baby crying on your AlfredCamera and alerts the Viewers who have access to that camera — and each Viewer decides how (or whether) they’re notified. It’s built so you don’t miss a cry — even when your phone is on silent, you’re wearing headphones, or you’re busy in another app.
In this article, we'll cover:
Feature overview
- How will I be notified?
- What happens when I answer a Phone Call Notification?
- Does it record video of the cry?
- What if no one answers the call?
- Do I need a subscription?
How will I be notified?
Each Viewer picks how they want to be alerted:
- No Notification — detection still runs, but you aren’t alerted.
- Push Notification — the default; a normal notification like our other detections.
- Phone Call Notification — an opt-in alert that rings your phone like a real incoming call, so it’s hard to miss. It’s off by default; you turn it on yourself.
What happens when I answer a Phone Call Notification?
It connects you straight to the camera’s live audio (and video when your phone is unlocked). Audio plays through the earpiece by default — switch to speaker if you like. Your microphone is never turned on; this is one-way listening only.
Does it record video of the cry?
No — Baby Cry Alert does not record event footage. It does mark when the crying started and ended on the Event Timeline in Playback, so you can find those moments later.
What if no one answers the call?
The cry isn’t lost — a missed-call entry appears in the app so you can see it happened and jump to the live view or the recording.
Do I need a subscription?
Yes — Baby Cry Alert requires a Premium Standard (or higher) subscription.
Supported platforms and versions
- Which cameras can detect crying?
- Does it work on AlfredCam hardware cameras?
- Which phones can receive the Phone Call Notification (Viewer side)?
- Does Do Not Disturb (DND) block the call?
- Can shared (Trust Circle) users receive the phone call?
Which cameras can detect crying?
The detection runs on the device acting as the camera:
- iOS cameras: iOS 15 or later.
- Android cameras: all Android versions the AlfredCamera app supports.
- App version: the camera must be on AlfredCamera app 2026.15.0 or later (both iOS and Android).
The camera’s microphone must be enabled — if it’s off, detection is paused until you turn the mic back on, and you can’t enable the feature without it.
Does it work on AlfredCam hardware cameras?
Support for AlfredCam Plus 2 (AC202) is coming soon. For now, Baby Cry Alert runs on phone (software) cameras only.
Which phones can receive the Phone Call Notification (Viewer side)?
- iOS: a full-screen incoming-call screen (like a normal phone call). iOS 15 or later.
- Android: on the lock screen, a full-screen call page; when the phone is unlocked, a system notification. On older devices/manufacturers that don’t support the full-screen call UI, it falls back to a notification.
Does Do Not Disturb (DND) block the call?
- iOS: Do Not Disturb is the one thing that silences the call. The phone’s silent/mute switch does not — it rings through like a regular call. If DND is on, you still get a missed-call entry.
- Android: the main risk is aggressive battery/power management killing the app (see performance tips below).
Can shared (Trust Circle) users receive the phone call?
No — accounts shared via Trust Circle can’t receive the Phone Call Notification, but they still receive push notifications.
How to get the best performance
On the camera:
- Keep the microphone enabled — detection can’t run without it.
- Place the camera reasonably close to the crib. Distance and background noise affect how reliably a cry is detected.
- Keep the camera online with a stable network connection.
On the phone receiving alerts:
- Grant notification permission, and complete the opt-in steps when enabling Phone Call Notification.
- Android — keep the app running: disable battery optimization and enable autostart for the AlfredCamera app. Some manufacturers (Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, and others) aggressively close background apps, which can stop the call from ringing.
- iOS — mind Do Not Disturb: if you want the call to ring, make sure DND/Focus isn’t suppressing it. (Silent mode is fine — it still rings.)
- Keep a stable network so answering connects to the live feed quickly.
- Choose your alert mode deliberately: use Phone Call Notification for the times you truly can’t miss a cry (e.g. overnight), and Push when a quieter heads-up is enough.
Good to know:
- After an alert fires, the camera waits a 3-minute cooldown before it can alert again, so continuous crying won’t flood you with repeated calls.
- Detection accuracy can vary with the environment (echo, other loud sounds, distance) — positioning and a quiet-ish room help.
🙋 Still have questions? Contact us through the More tab in the app.