How to use the siren on your Roku Smart Home camera
When you need to discourage an intruder or startle a pesky critter, turn on the siren on your Roku® Smart Home camera and have peace of mind knowing that your home is protected. The loud 80 decibel siren is sure to scare away any unwanted visitors while letting them know they are being watched. You can turn the siren on manually for a one-time event, create a shortcut to turn it on for multiple cameras, or set up a device trigger and have the siren engage automatically when an action happens, like motion being detected on a backyard camera after sunset.
This article provides more information and teaches you how to use the siren.
How to turn on the siren
To manually turn on the siren for your smart home camera, launch the Roku Smart Home mobile app for iOS® and Android™ and complete the following steps.
For a single camera
- Tap Home
from the navigation bar - Select your camera
- Tap More
- Tap Siren
Once the siren is engaged, it remains on for 30 seconds, or you can turn it off manually.
How to use rules with the siren
You can use rules to simplify how you turn on the siren or completely automate when it turns on. The most common rules to use with the siren are a shortcut and device trigger.
- Shortcut: Create a shortcut button on the Home screen that gives you quick access to turning on the siren for one or more cameras with a single tap.
- Device trigger: Add a device trigger that engages the siren automatically when an action occurs on one of your Roku Smart Home devices. For example, you can have the siren turn on automatically when your outdoor camera detects motion in your garden in the middle of the night, or when your garage camera detects sound after sunset.
Use the steps below to create a rule.
- Open the Home screen
- Tap the plus sign
from the navigation bar - Select Add rule
Choose the rule type and complete the appropriate steps:
Shortcut- Tap the default icon if you wish to change it
- Enter a name or description (e.g., "turn on siren for cameras")
- Tap Add action under Actions
- Select a camera under Individual devices
- Tap Turn on the siren and save
- Repeat steps 4 through 6 for each camera to add to the shortcut
- Save the rule
Device trigger
- Enter a name or description (e.g., "turn on siren if motion detected") and save
- Tap Add under Trigger and select a device to trigger the siren
- Select the action to trigger the siren and save
- Tap Add action under Actions
- Select a camera to engage the siren
- Select Turn on the siren and save
- Repeat steps d through f for additional cameras
- Tap Time and define the window when the action triggers the siren
- Choose the days when the rule is active
- Save the rule
Shortcut
- Tap the default icon if you wish to change it
- Enter a name or description (e.g., "turn on siren for cameras")
- Tap Add action under Actions
- Select a camera under Individual devices
- Tap Turn on the siren and save
- Repeat steps 4 through 6 for each camera to add to the shortcut
- Save the rule
Device trigger
- Enter a name or description (e.g., "turn on siren if motion detected") and save
- Tap Add under Trigger and select a device to trigger the siren
- Select the action to trigger the siren and save
- Tap Add action under Actions
- Select a camera to engage the siren
- Select Turn on the siren and save
- Repeat steps d through f for additional cameras
- Tap Time and define the window when the action triggers the siren
- Choose the days when the rule is active
- Save the rule
When the siren is engaged, it will stop after 30 seconds, or you can turn it off manually.
For more help setting up the automation, learn how to use rules with all your Roku Smart Home devices.
Last updated at 2/25/2026 10:00:40 PM
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