diff --git a/apps/emqx/src/emqx_alarm.erl b/apps/emqx/src/emqx_alarm.erl
index 9ead43193..ea96f14ff 100644
--- a/apps/emqx/src/emqx_alarm.erl
+++ b/apps/emqx/src/emqx_alarm.erl
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ code_change(_OldVsn, State, _Extra) ->
 %%------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 get_validity_period() ->
-    timer:seconds(emqx_config:get([alarm, validity_period])).
+    emqx_config:get([alarm, validity_period]).
 
 deactivate_alarm(Details, #activated_alarm{activate_at = ActivateAt, name = Name,
         details = Details0, message = Msg0}) ->
diff --git a/apps/emqx/src/emqx_schema.erl b/apps/emqx/src/emqx_schema.erl
index 8b58d227a..7bc3c09e7 100644
--- a/apps/emqx/src/emqx_schema.erl
+++ b/apps/emqx/src/emqx_schema.erl
@@ -518,7 +518,7 @@ fields("sysmon_os") ->
 fields("alarm") ->
     [ {"actions", t(hoconsc:array(atom()), undefined, [log, publish])}
     , {"size_limit", t(integer(), undefined, 1000)}
-    , {"validity_period", t(duration_s(), undefined, "24h")}
+    , {"validity_period", t(duration(), undefined, "24h")}
     ];
 
 fields(ExtraField) ->