The INA226-Q1 is designed to respond to the SMBus Alert Response address. The SMBus Alert Response provides a quick fault identification for simple slave devices. When an Alert occurs, the master can broadcast the Alert Response slave address (0001 100) with the Read/Write bit set high. Following this Alert Response, any slave device that generates an alert identifies the slave device by acknowledging the Alert Response and sending the address on the bus.

The Alert Response can activate several different slave devices simultaneously, similar to the I²C General Call. If more than one slave attempts to respond, bus arbitration rules apply. The losing device does not generate an Acknowledge and continues to hold the Alert line low until the interrupt is cleared.