News Posts

One of Alarm Grid's best partners Qolsys has announced that their upcoming IQ Panels with PowerG support have officially received UL certification. It appears as though the company is currently on track to have these new systems ready for a public release later this summer season.

PowerG is a wireless sensor lineup from DSC. These are state-of-the-art security sensors that boast some highly impressive capabilities and features. They operate at a considerably higher frequency (915 MHz) than most other wireless sensors, meaning that they will not interfere with other devices. The range of these sensors is absolutely insane, as they can operate from nearly half a mile away from the panel when used indoors. The sensor also use 128-bit AES encryption to prevent them from being hacked or spoofed. Needless to say, we are very excited that Qolsys Systems will soon be able to support these sensors.

Qolsys previously announced at ISC West 2018 that a PowerG daughtercard would be made available for their IQ Panel 2. By installing this daughtercard, the system will be able to support PowerG sensors. Qolsys will also likely produce IQ Panel 2 Systems with the daughtercard already integrated, and also possibly other PowerG-compatible systems as well. So far the PowerG lineup includes outdoor PIR motion detectors with integrated cameras, outdoor siren/strobe devices and a door contact with a wired input for long-range expansion.

ISC West 2018 was also when Qolsys announced that they would soon be offering legacy daughtercards for the IQ Panel 2. These daughtercards are available in 319.5 MHz (Qolsys and Interlogix/GE Sensors), 345 MHz (legacy Honeywell and 2GIG Sensors) and 433 MHz (legacy DSC Sensors). Please note that the system will only support one PowerG daughtercard and one legacy daughtercard at any given time.

Alarm Grid will make sure to keep you up to date with any of the latest news regarding Qolsys and PowerG support. Keep an eye on our blog for more information.

The Alarm Grid office will be closed on Monday, May 28th in observance of Memorial Day. Our support technicians will be unavailable during this time. We will resume our normal business hours on Tuesday, May 29th.

If you require any assistance over the Memorial Day weekend, please email support@alarmgrid.com. Our team will make sure to send you a response as soon as we receive your email on Tuesday. Once we reopen, you may continue to contact us through our support email. You may also call us at 888-818-7728 during normal business hours, which are 9am-8pm EST M-F.

Alarm Grid would like to thank those who have served and defended our country. We hope that you all have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend, and we look forward to providing you with support in the future.

Hi DIYers! Today we are very excited to announce that Alarm Grid will now begin selling Interlogix Panels and sensors. Interlogix has offered excellent security products for decades, with their equipment previously being sold under the GE brand. By offering these tremendous panels and sensors, we are providing customers with yet another option in terms of security equipment that they can choose for their home or business.

Alarm Grid has always taken great pride in providing monitoring support for as many alarm systems as possible. However, we have been strategically selective in terms of the equipment that we offer for sale. This has allowed us to provide comprehensive and detailed support for all of the equipment that we offer. Shortly after Alarm Grid was founded in 2012, we began offering Honeywell equipment because we believed that it was the most accessible for DIY consumers. We later expanded our offerings to include 2GIG equipment and Qolsys equipment as well. Now today, Interlogix represents the fourth major equipment manufacturer to receive full support from Alarm Grid. We can now officially say that we are an Interlogix Dealer.

Customers can browse our site and check out Interlogix panels, sensors and even entire system kits. We view Interlogix Systems as a viable budget and economical option for consumers. The equipment is relatively less expensive, and the panels arrive with fewer bells and whistles than their Honeywell, 2GIG and Qolsys counterparts. However, these systems can be fully upgraded to perform virtually any action or function that is possible with other modern alarm systems. Additionally, Interlogix sensors and peripherals tend to be more affordable than those from other manufacturers. All of this makes Interlogix a fantastic choice for any customer who is looking for a complete and total security setup at a reduced cost.

Our Interlogix offerings will be based around three major alarm systems. These are the Simon XT, Simon XTi and Simon XTi-5. These are all self-contained wireless all-in-one alarm panels that provide support for up to 40 wireless zones. The Simon XT features an integrated push-button keypad and a dual-line ext-based LCD screen. The panel also features quick-access panic buttons in case of an emergency. The touchpad system is surprisingly easy to program, and it offers the full capabilities as the other Interlogix Simon Alarm Systems.

The Interlogix Simon XTi represents an upgraded version of the Simon XT. The Simon XTi provides the complete functionality of the Simon XT, but it includes an integrated 3.5 inch touchscreen controller. This makes navigating the system menus more user-friendly, and it offers a more engaging experience overall. The integrated touch screen also allows users to control any programmed Z-Wave home automation devices directly from the panel itself. Interlogix also products the Simon XTi-5. This system is exactly the same as the Simon XTi, but the Simon XTi-5 features a larger 5 inch touch screen, as opposed to the 3.5 inch touch screen found on the Simon XTi.

All of the Interlogix Simon Alarm Systems come with an integrated wireless receiver so that they can readily communicate with wireless sensors. The wireless sensors used with the Interlogix Systems communicate at a frequency of 319.5 MHz. This is the same wireless frequency used by Qolsys sensors. This means that any unencrypted Qolsys sensor (non S-Line) can interface with an Interlogix System. It is also possible to use Interlogix sensors with the Qolsys IQ Panel and IQ Panel 2 Systems. Qolsys owners can certainly turn to Interlogix sensors as a cost-effective option for upgrading their systems

Most customers who purchase an Interlogix System will want to obtain a cellular module upgrade as well. Cellular service for alarm systems is known for its lightning fast communication speeds and its exceptional performance and consistency overall. This type of communication almost never experiences any type of service disruption, and it is not affected by power outages. This outstanding performance and reliability makes cellular communication the gold standard for alarm systems. Installing a cellular module in an Interlogix System is a very quick and easy process that can be fully completed by most end users.

Interlogix offers LTE cellular communicators for all of their alarm systems. LTE is currently the fastest and most consistent form of cellular communication available, and cellular service providers have committed to supporting LTE communication for many years to come. For those reasons, we strongly encourage users to choose LTE cellular communicators for their Interlogix Systems. These LTE communicators will provide the best possible performance, and they will ensure that the user's equipment can be fully supported for monitoring well into the very distant future. Customers can choose between LTE service from Verizon, AT&T and Telus (Canada only).

As part of our Interlogix product launch, Alarm Grid will offer full support and guidance for Interlogix Systems and equipment. Users can read dozens of FAQs to help them get started with a new Interlogix System. Our team is also planning on releasing helpful how-to videos for Interlogix Systems in the near future. Additionally, any monitored customer is invited to speak with one of our helpful support technicians online or over the phone for help with using or setting up their Interlogix System. Our team has recently spent time training and learning the intricacies of these systems so that we are fully prepared to help you with any issues that you might experience.

Alarm Grid is very pleased to welcome the Interlogix brand to our growing family. We are sure that Interlogix Systems monitored by Alarm Grid will quickly find their way into homes and businesses everywhere. As always, thank you for choosing Alarm Grid, and we look forward to providing you with industry-leading support in the future.

If you own a Lyric system and have not already done so, please read this important update regarding AlarmNet360 changes that affect your panel. It may be time for an update!

With the recent release of the LTE-L57V for the L5210 and L7000 Systems, there is now a viable LTE cellular communication module available for all of the most popular Honeywell Alarm Control Panels. Whether you own a Lyric, LYNX Touch or VISTA panel, there is an LTE communicator for you!

The current LTE options are as follows:

• Honeywell Lyric Controller: LyricLTE-A supports AT&T LTE
• Honeywell L5210 and L7000 (Firmware 9+): LTE-L57V supports Verizon LTE
• Honeywell VISTA Systems: LTE-XV supports Verizon LTE

Please note that for the Honeywell VISTA 21iP, there is currently no "snap-on" LTE module like that of the AT&T 3G/4G based VISTA-GSM4G. In order to use the Honeywell LTE-XV communicator with the VISTA 21iP, the "internal communications" jumper on the board must be set to the bottom two pins. Make sure to power the system completely down before making this adjustment. The communicator must then be installed as an external radio-like wiring on a VISTA-20P. By adjusting the jumper in this way, the integrated ethernet port for the VISTA 21iP will be disabled. However, this is not a huge concern. LTE cellular connectivity is extremely reliable, and it provides communication speeds that are comparable to that of IP. So even though IP connectivity will no longer be accessible, it is a worthwhile sacrifice to obtain LTE service over older cellular technologies like 3G and CDMA. Remember, LTE service is widely recognized as being the single best communication path available for modern alarm systems.

By releasing these new communicators, Honeywell has made it very clear that LTE cellular communication is the way of the future. This news is also important for users of the Verizon CDMA Network. AlarmNet (Honeywell's cloud server) has stated that new CDMA activations will no longer be permitted after June 1, 2018. This includes cancelling an existing CDMA account and then trying to reactivate it later. Anyone hoping to use CDMA with their Honeywell System must get the communicator active before it's too late. Verizon has promised that CDMA support for existing equipment will remain active until their CDMA network is shutdown. After that, the communicator will need to be upgraded.

All of the current LTE communicators for Honeywell Systems are available for purchase on the Alarm Grid website. We'll be sure to keep you updated with any news regarding additional Honeywell LTE communicators that are released in the future. We do not have any exact timelines for the release of a Verizon LTE module for the Lyric, nor AT&T LTE for the Lynx Touch and VISTA panels. If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to our support team at support@alarmgrid.com.

Alarm Grid is proud to announce that new "Certificates of Alarm" (COA) are now available. These serve as proof that a monitoring company is protecting a person's home or business. Many insurance companies offer discounts to their customers who maintain alarm monitoring service.

By presenting one of these certificates, you can save money on your insurance bills. In some cases, the savings can even cover the entire cost of your alarm monitoring expenses. Any monitored customer should contact their insurance company to learn about these discounts.

These discounts are available for customers who receive central station monitoring. Self-monitored customers will first need to upgrade to a central station plan. Additionally, customers with a dual-path communication setup tend to receive the best discounts. This means having a monitoring plan that includes both cellular and IP connectivity. Alarm Grid's Gold and Platinum Plans both allow for dual-path communication. You can view every plan offered by Alarm Grid here.

Additionally, many insurance companies will want to know exactly what Alarm Grid is monitoring in your home. There are varying discounts for the following kinds of monitoring.

• Intrusion
• Fire
• Freeze
• Flood
• Carbon Monoxide

Filling out an alarm certificate is very simple. You will only need to provide some very basic information. This includes your name, monitoring address and the type of services you receive. The certificate is then provided to your insurance company. This will allow them to apply any relevant discounts to your premium. You must test your system ever year in order for the certificate of alarm to remain valid.

To download your new COA, watch the video below or follow the instructions below the video...

1. Click on "My Accounts" on the upper right-hand corner of the site. If you do not see "My Accounts" you are probably not logged in. Go to the Alarm Grid login page and sign in. If you don't remember your password, you can reset it there as well.

2. Click "Download Certificate" under the "Insurance Document" heading on the row corresponding with the property you want the discount on. When you select this, it will make sure that you have had a walk test in the last year. If you have not had a walk test, it will generate a ticket to our team to check your signals. If you don't have dispatch on your account, it will ask if you want to upgrade. If you select that you would like to upgrade, it will generate a ticket and take you to a page where you need to fill in the information that we hand to our central station. This will allow the central station to dispatch.

3. Fill out the information, and click "Send Certificate." A box will pop up and ask you to either verify the information that's already filled in or require that you fill in your insurance agent's information. Once you've done this, click the "Send Certificate" button. This will email your insurance agent and cc you a copy.

Update: There is now a new, easier process for creating a MyAlarms.com account. More information can be found here.

Alarm Grid's monitoring partner, Criticom Monitoring Sevices (CMS), has made it easier than ever for customers to interact with their security systems. Now you can put your system on test mode, view your account info and view your signal history without having to call us or the central station.

All of this is possible thanks to the new MyAlarms.com service from Criticom. Once you have set up an account with MyAlarms.com, you can access your Alarm Grid account information and place your system on test mode on your own.

Getting started with MyAlarms.com is very easy. Simply provide us with the following information:

1. Username for MyAlarms.com (cannot be an email)
2. The email address associated with your Alarm Grid account
3. Your monitoring address

You can provide us with this information using our online chat or over the phone (888-818-7728) during our business hours. Alternatively, you can simply send an email to support@alarmgrid.com. From there, we will contact CMS and let them know that you would like to create a MyAlarms.com account.

Once CMS has set everything up on their end, you will receive an email from noreply@myalarms.com to finish setting up your account. This includes creating a password for your MyAlarms.com account. We recommend adding this email address to your address book to prevent it from going into your junk folder. Make sure to check your spam folder if you have not added this email before requesting access!

If you have any questions about this new service, please reach out to us and let us know. We look forward to helping you get started with this outstanding new service!

Today is the final day of our super low Qolsys pricing. We want to get the Qolsys panel into the hands of as many of our new customers as we can. For that reason, we have lowered the price of the panels as low as we possibly can. Today is the last day. Tomorrow, Qolsys panels are going to go to their normal price.

If you're looking to get a great, cellular panel, with some amazing Z-Wave features, this is the panel for you. The Qolsys IQ Panel 2 is the latest in security technology. The big screen looks great on the walls, and the profile of the panel is thinner than any on the market. The sensors are encrypted like they are on the Lyric, and the panel has an easy-to-use Android interface. We LOVE this panel!

If you need an extra keypad, make sure to get the IQ Remote. This keypad will blow your mind. It looks great, it has a thin profile, and it does pretty much everything the bigger, main panel can do. It will be a welcome edition to anyone's home.

Adding peripherals is easy too. Need more door and window sensors than the number that are included int eh IQ Kit 2 Classic? Add some more door/window s-line sensors. These encrypted sensors will protect your system from being spoofed by clever thieves and their thin profile means that they will protect you discretely.

Unlike the other kits, the Qolsys doesn't come with a key fob. If you love the key fob, you can easily add one. Consider that with this system, you will be able to arm and disarm from your phone. Key fobs aren't absolutely necessary. But if you love it we have it.

No system is complete without a motion sensor. These encrypted motions will make give your home a redundant layer of protection. You can't go wrong with motions. And the encrypted motion by Qolsys will round out your security system for incredible peace of mind.

Finally, to complete your system, consider a glass break detector. Like the motion, this adds a redundant layer of protection in homes. If an intruder breaks glass to get in, they will be stopped short as your system blares and warns them that the police are on their way.

We're proud to say that Puerto Rico is one of our biggest areas of service. That said, in recent weeks, as most of you know, Puerto Rico has been devastated by a hurricane. Our sympathies and empathy go out to those affected. As a South Florida company, Alarm Grid understands full well the gravity of hurricane force winds and the damage they can do.

We know that for those affected, their alarm monitoring bill isn't at the top of mind. And, honestly, we would rather that you devote your time, energy, and finances to re-building the island and your homes. To that end, we are going to give every one of our current Puerto Rico accounts free monitoring for the next 6 months.

We have seen a higher number of failing signals from our accounts in Puerto Rico than usual. If you are one of those accounts, and you are worried about the status of your account, don't worry. We will apply your free 6 months automatically starting today. If you happen to be one of the lucky individuals with a generator, your system should continue to function as normal and you will not see us on your bill for at least 6 months.

Alarm Grid is an American company. We are proud of the opportunity that we have been given here, and we want to make sure that we look out for our brothers and sisters to the south. We simply do not feel good about charging a group of people for service that they are almost certainly not using. And this way, once power is restored, all that you will have to do to be monitored again is plug the unit in. Once it powers up, you will be back online.

We wish you all well in Puerto Rico, and our prayers continue to be with you!

We would like to also thank Honeywell's AlarmNet who has given Alarm Grid a deep discount during this time.

Alarm Grid has just launched its store on Amazon.com. While a majority of our customers buy on Alarm Grid, we know that a lot of you have a strong desire to use your Amazon.com advantages to purchase from us. Since we can't offer the free shipping of Prime on Alarm Grid, or the vast selection available to you from other retailers, we are excited to be able to give you the ability to buy here or there.

There are significant advantages to purchasing from Alarm Grid's site. If you order on Alarmgrid.com, our system lets us marry all your orders together, and lets us process returns in a lot more orderly way should you need to return. Moreover, we will be charging the same amount on all products here as at Amazon.

Alarm Grid uses Amazon's fulfillment already, and has been for about 6 months. So if you have ordered from the site in recent days, you've already experienced Amazon's shipping process. There are also a lot of products that we have not made available on Amazon yet. Our wired door/window sensors, for example, are only able to be purchased on Alarm Grid - and that will be the case for at least the foreseeable future.

We hope that you are as excited about this development as we are!

Honeywell has recently announced a change in the way that their Total Connect 2.0 video surveillance feature will work and the change will be implemented on or about April 19th (next Wednesday).

Currently, if you have Honeywell AlarmNet IPCAMs, you have the ability to view them remotely and have them record 10-second video clips based on a change in pixelation if you have the right Total Connect 2.0 service plan. We offer the TC2 video features without a contract required through our Self Platinum and Platinum plans at https://www.alarmgrid.com/monitoring and we even have a standalone TC2 video plan available at https://www.alarmgrid.com/video-monitoring for those that don't have a security system but want the TC2 video services.

Using a mobile device running the Total Connect 2.0 app, you can log-in and view up to 6 IPCAMs per TC2 location from wherever you are as long as the cameras are powered on and connected properly to the internet and you can watch any recorded videos.

Using the totalconnect2.com website, you can use the Video module to view the cameras remotely and you can also set up more advanced settings such as 10-second video clip recordings and alerts when video clips are captured. These clips are customized by the user and you can use the wrench icon on each camera to set up the areas of detection for each field of view and the sensitivity selections for how much movement is needed to trigger a clip. You can also setup schedules to determine when you want the cameras to record clips and when you only want live viewing capability with no recording happening.

Once you have the camera recording settings configured properly so that the cameras are recording clips of movement that you feel is important while ignoring other movements that aren't important, a new video clip will be stored to your TC2 account and will be available as a event in the Events & Notifications module. Currently, each TC2 location allows storage of up to 500MB of clips and auto-deletes the oldest available clip once the limit is reached. You do also currently have the option to "lock" certain clips that you don't want to be auto-deleted.

Here's where things change (on or about) April 19th, 2017...

While only Honeywell/AlarmNet IPCAMs currently work with Total Connect 2.0, Honeywell is (with great anticipation!) working on a new line of next generation cameras that will integrate with Total Connect 2.0 (we will have more details on the cameras at a later date) and they should be available sometime towards the end of this year.

New Seven Day Storage for Recorded Clips

In anticipation of the next generation cameras, Honeywell is transitioning all existing Total Connect 2.0 video accounts to a new 7 day plan where clips will only be available through the TC2 website/app for 7 days. The 500MB storage will go away and any clip that is older than seven days will be automatically deleted. Once the change is implemented, any currently recorded clip will be set to expire seven days later with the oldest clips being deleted first.

Regular non-TC2 video events will continue to be stored for 90 days,which is how the service works now, and first-in, first-out logic is employed when deleting the older clips.

No More Locking of TC2 Events

In addition to the changes to the video storage feature, Honeywell is removing the ability to "lock" a TC2 event (all events inclsuding security and video) so that you won't be able to save any event beyond the normal expiration (90 days for security and 7 days for video once the change is implemented).

The existing lock feature that allows you to permanently store a TC2 event/video clip:

They are providing a year grace period so that any currently locked events will stay locked up until April 15th, 2018 when all locked events will be deleted. We encourage all Total Connect 2.0 users to start saving all locked video clips outside of TC2 if you want them to still be available after April 15th of next year.

Also, we encourage all TC2 video users to start setting up email alerts with video clip attachments through their TC2 account so that each recorded clip can be saved/archived through email so that the clips are available beyond the new seven day limit.

While we are excited about the new cameras that are coming and the upgrades to Total Connect 2.0 and the video service, some of these changes may have an adverse affect if you don't update your account now to adjust for these changes. As always, let us know if you have any questions by emailing support@alarmgrid.com or calling M-F 9-9 EST.

4/19/17 - Updated: Honeywell has now scheduled the change to the video storage feature for sometime in May and the removal of the lock feature on the TC2 events is now scheduled for the week of the 24th.