# Alarm triggering off a tag status of "Uncertain\_InitialValue" **URL:** \ **Category:** Ignition\ **Tags:** perspective, ignition81\ **Created:** [November 1, 2022, 2:08pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/alarm-triggering-off-a-tag-status-of-uncertain-initialvalue/65924 "2022-11-01T14:08:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 2
**Author:** ![andrews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@andrews](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/andrews)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/alarm-triggering-off-a-tag-status-of-uncertain-initialvalue/65924/2 "2022-11-01T15:20:49Z")
Here is a good thread to read which recommends not to do this and why. > [@How to locate the number 'value' of a Tag's Data Quality](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/how-to-locate-the-number-value-of-a-tags-data-quality/26840/9): > > You shouldn’t use string comparison or integer comparison. In the vast majority of cases, it’s preferable to use the dedicated methods on [QualityCode](http://files.inductiveautomation.com/sdk/javadoc/ignition80/8.0.14/com/inductiveautomation/ignition/common/model/values/QualityCode.html#isGood()) - isGood(), isBad(), etc directly: system.tag.read("TagPath").quality.isGood() Or, thanks to Jython: system.tag.read("TagPath").quality.good If you actually need to check for a specific quality code, then you should use is against a static member of the QualityCode class: from com.inductiveautomation.ignition.common.model.values import Quality… Long story short just checked if its good or bad. It sounds like you want to know if the device is on or off. In that case I'd recommend a heartbeat in the device. And checking in Ignition if stays stagnant for x amount of time the device is obviously off. --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/alarm-triggering-off-a-tag-status-of-uncertain-initialvalue/65924)._