Holiday Hours Posts

It's that time of year again. We take a break, relax with our loved ones reflect on the year behind us, and look ahead to the year ahead. Sure, that's more of a New Year's thing, but we start the process about now. We hope you have a warm, safe place to do that, and some good food to enjoy.

For Alarm Grid, 2023 has been a year of reestablishing equilibrium after the pandemic, supply chain shortages, and tumult in the world. As my dad might say, we've got things lined out. We hope that you are experiencing a similar "settled" feeling. Whatever traditions you observe and holidays you celebrate, we wish you all the best this year.

Our office will be closed on Friday, December 22, and on Monday, December 25 this year. Of course, our central station partners will remain vigilant during this time, and will handle all of your alarm needs with their usual swift and professional attention. In addition, we will be closed on Friday, December 29, and Monday, January 1, 2024.

If you reside in the US and need to contact the central monitoring station during the times we're out, either to cancel a false alarm or to verify a signal, you can contact Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS) by dialing (888) 818-7728 and choosing Option [9].

Our Canadian customers can contact Rapid Response at (800) 932-3822. Remember, any time you call either monitoring station, you will be asked for your name, address, and your false alarm password or phrase. Providing incorrect information when asked, will result in the dispatch of authorities.

If you have a support question or need to make adjustments to your account, the monitoring station cannot assist you with that type of request. In that case, send an email to support@alarmgrid.com with details of your request and we will begin to address these support issues as soon as we return to the office on each of the respective Tuesdays. Requests can pile up during this time, so please be patient with us while we catch up.

Regardless of how you celebrate at this time of year, the reason for celebrating is about life, love, gratitude, and hope. May your days be merry and bright. May your life be long and happy, and may you have an abundance of things to be grateful for, with the hope of more to come.

The year 2023 is winding down. Halloween is behind us, Thanksgiving is here, and Christmas, Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, Yule/Winter Solstice, and many other holidays are right around the corner. Whatever tradition you may observe at this time of year, we wish you a safe, warm, and relaxing day.

The Alarm Grid offices will be open for half a day, from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm on Wednesday, November 22. We will be closed all day on Thursday, November 23, and we will be open for half a day 9:00 am - 1:00 pm on Friday, November 24, 2023. While we are closed, we won't be here to answer technical support, shipping, or activation questions.

Our central station partners will be available during this time. They operate 24/7/365 and will handle any signals that your alarm system may send in their usual manner. The only exception will be if you have provided alternate instructions, or if you put your system on test.

Alarm Grid central station monitored accounts located inside the United States report to Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS). If you need to contact the monitoring station, either to report a false alarm or to put your system on test, you can call (888) 818-7728 and choose Option [9]. Once an operator answers, you'll need to supply your name, address, and false alarm password.

For our Canadian customers, our monitoring partner in Canada is Rapid Response. They can be reached at (800) 932-3822. Remember, when you call either monitoring station you will be asked for your name and address, and to verify your false alarm password or phrase. Providing the wrong information, or providing the Duress password, will result in a police dispatch.

If you have technical support questions or you need to make adjustments to your account, the monitoring station will not be able to help you with that. For those requests, send an email to support@alarmgrid.com with as much detail as possible. We'll get back to you as soon as possible when we return to the office. During the holidays, there can be a slight backlog, so please be patient while we catch up.

If you plan to travel this holiday season, don't forget to secure all your doors and windows and arm your system as you leave. If you don't have pets or house sitters to worry about, it might be a good idea to arm your system Maximum (VISTA systems) or choose the option to arm Away with no entry delay (offered on most all-in-one systems).

This means that if any armed zone is faulted once the system arms, it will cause an immediate alarm, rather than providing an entry delay. This suggestion assumes you have access via Alarm.com, Total Connect 2.0, or some other means such as a wireless key fob, with which you can disarm prior to opening any doors.

If you happen to be cooking this Thanksgiving, and a kitchen smoke alarm is triggered by a little cooking smoke, or steam, don't panic. If the detector is tied to your alarm system, disarm your system. This should silence the system siren and any keypads. To silence the detector, you need to get the smoke or steam cleared from the sensing chamber. This is easiest to do with a fan. If you have one, keep a small fan handy, just in case.

If a system alarm occurs, contact the monitoring station as soon as possible. It may be that they will call you before you get a chance to call them. Be ready, and be sure to answer. Once you do, provide the correct false alarm password and explain the situation. This is by far the best way to avoid an unnecessary and unwanted dispatch when this type of alarm occurs.

For smoke detectors that are not tied to an alarm system, the best way to stop them from sounding is to clear the smoke from the sensing chamber. In most cases, the detector should have a button you can press to silence the local alarm. Be prepared with something you can use to reach this button. However, even if it is silenced, if smoke remains in the sensing chamber the detector will begin to sound again after a brief period. Again, a small fan will go a long way toward clearing the sensing chamber and silencing the alarm for good.

If a carbon monoxide alarm occurs, or if a fire alarm occurs for no apparent reason, leave the premises and allow the fire department to check and clear the house. It is always better to be safe than sorry. Remember, if a CO alarm is reported, the monitoring station is required to dispatch, even if you do provide the correct false alarm password.

Happy Thanksgiving from Alarm Grid! We look forward to talking with you again once we've had a little break, some festive time with family and friends, and more food than anyone should eat in a single sitting.

In The United States, we have officially celebrated Labor Day as a national holiday since the late 1800s. It is a day to celebrate our country's labor force and to thank our workers for their contributions to the prosperity of our nation. In this spirit, Alarm Grid will be closed on Monday.

From the Alarm Grid family, we'd like to wish everyone a happy, safe, and restful Labor Day. If you will be traveling, don't forget to lock your doors and arm your alarm system. If you have automated lights, set rules or scenes to illuminate the house while you're away to deter potential burglars.

While Alarm Grid technical support, customer service, and shipping employees rest, our customers can rest assured that their systems are continuously monitored by our partners at CMS (USA) and Rapid Response (Canada).

Alarm Grid monitored customers located within the United States receive their monitoring service from Criticom (CMS). When your Alarm Grid-monitored system reports a signal, a CMS operator receives it, and processes it based on a pre-approved set of instructions. Alarm processing may involve sending authorities immediately, or calling the premises and a list of contacts to determine if an emergency exists before a dispatch occurs. Regardless of the exact process, it takes only moments to complete.

If you need to contact CMS, to put your system on test or to report that an alarm was accidentally triggered, you can get in touch by calling (888) 818-7728 and choosing Option 9. When you contact the monitoring station, be sure to have the proper information ready. The operator will need your name, address, and your false alarm password or passphrase. This is very important! If you call either monitoring station during an alarm, and you provide an incorrect password, they will be required to dispatch authorities.

For our monitored customers in Canada, you receive monitoring service through Rapid Response. If you need to contact them to put your system on test or report an accidental alarm you can call (800) 932-3822 and follow the voice prompts. You should only be contacting them for issues such as putting your system on test or canceling a potential dispatch due to an accidental alarm.

Neither of our monitoring partners can provide you with technical support or make changes to your account, so if you need that type of help, please contact us directly. You can email support@alarmgrid.com with details of what you need and we will respond as quickly as possible when we're back in the office on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. At that time we will resume our normal support hours of 9:00 am - 8:00 pm. When we're back in the office, you can contact us by phone at (888) 818-7728.

The 4th of July, aka, Independence Day is the ultimate summer event. It is a celebration of our country's independence from Britain. On this day, most of us will engage in cookouts, swimming, eating, drinking, and fireworks, or some combination of those things. Just remember to do it safely!

Our hardworking support staff will be off, and our offices will be closed for the holiday. Of course, our central station partners Cricitom (CMS) and Rapid Response will be on the job, monitoring Alarm Grid customer systems. When it comes to alarm response, nothing will change.

If you need to contact the central monitoring station, to cancel a false alarm or verify a signal, customers in the US can contact Criticom (CMS) by dialing (888) 818-7728 and choosing Option [9]. This will get you in touch with an operator who can assist you with canceling a false alarm, putting your system on test, or checking an alarm signal. You can also set up a MyAlarms.com account, so that you can do those things yourself online without having to call.

Canadian customers can contact Rapid Response at (800) 932-3822. Remember when you call either monitoring station, you will be asked for your name, address, and your false alarm password or phrase. Providing incorrect information when asked, will result in the dispatch of authorities.

If you have a support question or if you need to make adjustments to your account, the monitoring station cannot assist you. In that case, send an email to support@alarmgrid.com with details of your request and we will begin to address these support issues as soon as we return to the office on Wednesday, July 5. At that time, we will return to our normal business hours of 9:00 am - 8:00 pm Eastern, Monday - Friday.

We hope you enjoy the holiday. We recommend that you wear sunscreen, and drink plenty of water if you'll be spending time outdoors in the heat, even if you're swimming. Be careful if you'll be handling fireworks and let's all meet back here on Wednesday to share stories about our holiday!

We did it! We made it to the end of another year. Your friends at Alarm Grid would like to express our huge thanks to all of you. As 2022 comes to an end, we appreciate all the relationships we have built. Our hope is that 2023 allows us to build even more.

Unfortunately, during the holidays the bad guys are lurking. So please be sure you are arming your alarm and benefitting from the protection it provides. Also, with the increase in at-home cooking, please make sure that you are regularly testing your smoke detectors. These, along with heat detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, must work when we need them. Regular testing will provide that assurance.

Alarm Grid will be closed all day on Friday, December 30, 2022, for our New Year's observance. This will allow us to spend time with our families as 2022 comes to an end. During this time, we will not be answering phones, responding to emails, or shipping out orders. We will return to our normal schedule on Monday, January 2, 2023 at 9:00 am.

While our support staff will be away, our monitoring station operates 24/7/365, so for those customers who have chosen full central station monitoring, your system will be continuously monitored by trained operators. They are always ready to answer the call and dispatch when needed if your alarm calls.

If you need to contact the monitoring station, either to report a false alarm or to put your system on test, you can call Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS) at (888) 818-7728 and choose Option [9]. This is the process for Alarm Grid customers who reside within the United States. Once an operator answers, you'll need to supply your name, address, and your false alarm password.

For our Canadian customers, our monitoring partner in Canada is Rapid Response. They can be reached at (800) 932-3822. Remember, when you call either monitoring station you will be asked for your name and address, and to verify your false alarm password or false alarm phrase. Providing the wrong information, or providing the Duress password, will result in a police dispatch.

If you have a support question or need to make adjustments to your account, the monitoring station won't be able to assist you with that. In those cases, please send an email to support@alarmgrid.com. Please include a detailed explanation of your request and any supporting details. We will get back to you when we return to the office on Monday. When we return, there will almost certainly be a bit of a backlog, so please be patient while we catch up. We will get back to you at our earliest opportunity.

If you are looking to sign up for new service, buy a new system, or expand your existing system, please visit alarmgrid.com. Our self-service website is always there for you. When looking to add new components, select the drop-down to "Enhance Your System" and search for the type of device you are looking for. One feature many overlook is the "Browse By" option along the right side of the page. On Monday, we will be tackling all the orders placed while we were away.

We hope that everyone stays safe, as we all say goodbye to 2022 and welcome in 2023! We look forward to working with you in 2023!