---
title: Turn On ETA Alerts for Dispatch
description: Turn on ETA Increased and ETA Is Too Long alerts under Settings, Workflow, Approvals & Alerts, and learn when each fires and what to do.
---
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2. [Alerts, Alarms & Notifications](https://support.metafleet.ai/alerts-alarms-notifications?hsLang=en)
# Turn On ETA Alerts for Dispatch
## Turn on two settings so the lead dispatcher is alerted when a technician's arrival time slips or is 2 hours or more away.
**For:** Admins and managers · **Permission:** Manage Account Settings · **Time:** ~2 minutes
### Quick summary
1. Go to **Settings › Workflow** and open **Approvals & Alerts**.
2. On the **Service Order Settings** card, click **Edit**.
3. Turn on **Use ETA Increased Alarms and Alerts** and **Use ETA is Too Long Alarms and Alerts**.
4. Click **Save** and confirm both read **On**.
### Before you start
- You need the **Manage Account Settings** permission to change this card. Users with **Read Account Settings** can see it but not edit it.
- Both alerts may already be on. Check the card first (see **Open the alert options**).
### Open the alert options
Click **Settings**, then **Workflow**. The **Approvals & Alerts** tab opens first. The other tabs are **Sounds** and **Dispatch**.
On the **Service Order Settings** card, find **Alarm/Alert Options**. It shows an **On** or **Off** badge for each alert.
### Turn on both alerts
1. Click **Edit** at the top right of the card.
2. Turn on **Use ETA Increased Alarms and Alerts**.
3. Turn on **Use ETA is Too Long Alarms and Alerts**.
4. Click **Save** at the bottom right of the card.
The card goes back to read-only. Both lines should now say **On**.
> Edit mode also shows **Team Communication** and **Service Order Options**. Leave those as they are.
### What each alert does
| Alert | Fires when | Appears as |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **ETA Is Too Long Alerts** | The start of the technician's arrival window is 2 hours or more from now. | A high-priority **Long ETA** alert, and a red banner on the order: "Technician eta is too high." |
| **ETA Increased Alerts** | A new arrival estimate starts at least 15 minutes later than the previous one. No alert if the new estimate comes from a different technician. | A low-priority **ETA increased** alert, and a yellow banner on the order: "Technician eta has increased." |
The alert goes to the order's lead dispatcher. The banner shows on the order for the assigned dispatcher, with a dismiss button. Neither limit can be changed in settings.
### What to do when an ETA alert appears
- Contact the technician for the real ETA and the reason.
- Update the customer with a new arrival window.
- Reassign or reschedule the job if the delay will break the day.
### Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ETA alerts never show | Both alerts are off, no job has met the conditions yet, or the assigned technician is not clocked in | Check that both lines read **On** in **Alarm/Alert Options**. Turn them on and click **Save**. An assigned order whose technician is not clocked in gets no estimate, so no alert. |
| No alert reached the dispatcher | The order has no lead dispatcher | Assign a lead dispatcher to the order. The banner still shows on the order. |
| ETA alerts show too often | Your jobs often start 2 hours or more out, for example in a rural service area | Each order raises **Long ETA** once. Dismiss the alert on orders you expect to be far out. The 2-hour and 15-minute limits can't be changed. |
| ETA Increased alerts seem random | An assigned order is estimated from its technician's own queue, so the estimate changes with traffic, job stacking and location updates | Open the order and check what changed. Call the technician if the new time is real. |
### FAQs
**Are ETA alerts sounds, pop-ups or just visual?**
They appear as alerts in the platform. Whether they play a sound depends on your sound settings. See [Adjust Notification Sounds in Workflow Settings](https://support.metafleet.ai/adjust-notification-sounds-in-workflow-settings?hsLang=en).
**What is the "too long" limit?**
The alert fires when the start of the arrival window is 2 hours or more away. MetaFleet calculates that window for the job. The limit is fixed.
**Should I turn on both?**
Yes for most dispatch teams. **ETA Is Too Long Alerts** catches jobs that are far out. **ETA Increased Alerts** catches delays early.
### Related articles
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