Press Releases Posts

Our monitoring station partner CMS has a proven track record of providing reliable service, even during challenging conditions. With three facilities located in Florida, California, and New Jersey, they are well-equipped to handle the potential impacts of Hurricane Helene, as you'll see here.

Hurricane Helene, now a Category 3 storm with winds reaching 120 MPH, is expected to make landfall tonight on Florida's west coast near the panhandle. This powerful storm will likely impact residents in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee in the coming days. If you live in the affected area, please prepare accordingly and follow the evacuation orders issued by local officials.

If you are an Alarm Grid monitored customer located outside the area affected by Hurricane Helene you should notice no change in the way your alarm signals are treated. Although CMS has a location in Florida, its system routes incoming alarm reports to eliminate any negative impact on customers in unaffected areas.

If you are in the affected area, you can expect that low-priority signals (residential or commercial power failures, low batteries, supervisory and trouble signals) will be disregarded during the storm. Disregarding these signals frees operators up to concentrate on emergencies.

During the storm, the CMS Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system will initially handle all burglary alarms. The IVR uses Natural Language Speech Recognition (NLSR) to handle Burglary Alarms (except dispatch), and notifications on low-priority calls. This will be the case for any accounts in the affected areas while the storm is ongoing.

The IVR system provides immediate response to thousands of signals simultaneously, allowing Alarm Specialists to focus on responding to emergency conditions, i.e., Fire, Panic/Holdup, and Medical. In areas hit by Hurricane Helene, emergency personnel will likely cease responding to non-emergency calls for service, including burglary alarms.

For our customers who are in the path of this storm, please heed the advice of local officials and weather professionals. Do what you need to do to keep yourself and your family safe. When all is said and done, that's all that matters.

We're excited to announce that Alarm Grid is transitioning to a state-of-the-art customer relationship management (CRM) system. This powerful new tool will streamline our operations, enabling us to provide even better support and service to our valued customers. Our customers are like family.

As we implement this new system, there may be temporary delays in responding to phone calls and emails. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience during this transition period.

Once the new CRM is fully integrated, we'll be better equipped to:

• Efficiently track customer information.
• Promptly respond to support requests.
• Offer more personalized assistance

Our goal is to emerge from this transition with a more robust and efficient customer support process. Thank you for your understanding as we work towards a brighter future for all of us at Alarm Grid.

For customers with full central station monitoring, rest assured that our partnership with CMS and Rapid Response remains unchanged. Both monitoring stations will continue to provide the same professional service you've always relied on. Your system's security and response times will not be affected by this update.

If you're an Alarm Grid customer and you need assistance, send us an email at support@alarmgrid.com. We're still here, and still looking out for you and your system, we just may be running a little behind. If you have an issue or request that can't wait, give us a call at 1-888-818-7728. Our support hours are Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM EDT.

Older IPCAM-WIC1, IPCAM-WIC2, IPCAM-WOC1, and IPCAM-WOC2 cameras need an update to keep working with Total Connect 2.0. If you have an affected camera and it hasn't been powered up with a network connection between June 30, 2024 and now, power it on and connect it for at least two (2) days.

You can read the full notice from Resideo here. This notice has been distributed to all Total Connect 2.0 alarm dealers. The gist is this, if you have one of the legacy IPCAM-WI or IPCAM-WO cameras listed, and your camera has been connected to a TC2 system and working for any consecutive two (2) day period between June 30, 2024 and now, you don't need to worry. The update should already be completed.

Any of the above mentioned cameras that don't receive this update will cease to be recognized by the Total Connect 2.0 server beginning on November 1, 2024. Any such camera will no longer receive updates from the server and will cease being supported by Resideo.

You can verify your camera's firmware version by logging into the Total Connect 2.0 app. Go to Cameras. Tap the More icon in the upper right (⋮) of the camera. Tap Settings, then scroll down to Camera Info. The firmware version will be displayed. For IPCAM-WIC1/IPCAM-WIC2 the firmware version should be 2.07. For IPCAM-WOC1/IPCAM-WOC2, the firmware version should be 2.09. Cameras showing these versions have already been updated.

There are three (3) scenarios where one of these legacy cameras may still need to be updated. The first situation won't usually affect DIY users, but the second and third are strong possibilities. We'll discuss each scenario below.

Scenario 1: A Brand New Camera That Has Never Been Installed

This scenario will more than likely only be experienced by an alarm dealer who keeps physical inventory on their premises. Any camera that is new in the box and has never been powered on, connected to internet, and registered with a TC2 account will require some intervention before October 31, 2024. Without this intervention, the camera will cease to be compatible with Total Connect 2.0.

If you're a homeowner with a new security camera that hasn't been activated, you should do so at least two (2) days before October 31, 2024. Failure to activate your camera and give it enough time to receive the update may prevent it from working with any Total Connect 2.0 security system.

Scenario 2: A Previously Used Camera That is Offline and Deleted from TC2

If you have a legacy Total Connect 2.0 camera that hasn't been powered on, connected to the internet, and registered to a TC2 account for at least two (2) consecutive days between June 30, 2024 and now, you need to take action.

To complete the update, power on your camera, connect it to the internet, and register it to your TC2 account. The update will happen automatically once the camera registers. Keep your camera powered on and online for at least two (2) days to ensure the update finishes successfully.

Scenario 3: Previously Registered Camera That Is Offline

If your legacy camera hasn't been online for at least two (2) consecutive days since June 30, 2024, you need to power it on, connect it to the internet, and verify the connection by checking its live view in Total Connect 2.0. Keep your camera connected for at least two days. This will allow the update to complete.

If, after November 1, 2024 you decide to purchase a used IPCAM-WIC1/IPCAM-WIC2 or IPCAM-WOC1/IPCAM-WOC2 make sure that the camera has received this update prior to the purchase. Any of these legacy cameras that have not been updated will be useless as anything other than a unique paper weight.

Resideo has identified an issue with some Total Connect 2.0 passwords. Apple iOS users on firmware version 17.6.1 may be unable to log into the Total Connect 2.0 app due to certain special characters. Passwords containing a plus sign (+) or exclamation point (!) will cause a login failure.

This issue can also affect account usernames. However, since we typically use the customer's email address as the username, it's rare for these special characters to be present. After we reported a customer who suddenly couldn't log into their account, Resideo informed us of this issue. Interestingly, we tested a login using an exclamation point (!) in the password on iOS version 17.6.1, and it worked for us, so the information remains somewhat unclear.

If your password worked before but no longer does after updating your iOS device, or if you're a new TC2 user on iOS and can't log in after creating an acceptable password, the only option is to change your password.

1. Go to the Total Connect 2.0 login page.
2. Accept Cookies if prompted. Until you do, you won't be able to successfully perform Step 3 and Step 4 below.
3. Click "Problems Signing In?"
4. Click on either "Forgot Username" or "Forgot Password".
5. Follow the prompts to reset either your username or your password. If you need to reset both, you'll have to first reset one, and then follow these same steps to reset the other credential.
6. Once you've created both a Username and a Password without a plus symbol (+) you should be able to log in.

As you can see from the password reset screen, both a plus symbol (+) and the exclamation point (!), which we have verified will work, should be acceptable special characters:

HTML browser logins are not affected, nor does the issue affect Android devices. This is strictly an issue with Apple iOS devices, and as far as we know, only with firmware version 17.6.1. An iOS user who does not want to change their username or password can elect to use a browser to access their Total Connect 2.0 account instead.

This issue will likely be resolved, but whether the fix will come from Resideo through a TC2 update or from Apple via an iOS update is uncertain. If we receive any updates, we'll post them at the top of this page, so stay tuned!

Update 08/30/24: Resideo posted its final update on this issue today. To summarize, they found an issue with the battery charging scheme in the doorbell's firmware. A firmware update is being applied to future stock and will automatically be rolled out to devices in the field. You can read the full notice here.

Update 08/13/24: Resideo posted an update today regarding this issue. According to the update:

"We have determined that, if the doorbell isn’t installed within 1 year of production, the embedded battery, which is responsible for powering the doorbell while the external chime is activated, will not support a smooth installation."

This is a particularly thorny issue given that the battery in the VX1 Video Doorbell is non-serviceable. After the three (3) to five (5) years of expected battery life, when the battery begins to fail, the entire VX1 must be replaced.

You can read the full updated notice here.

Original Post 08/08/24:Yesterday, Resideo released a Technical Notice about its First Alert VX1 HD Video Doorbell. A small number of units display a red LED for an extended time after installation. If you have a unit displaying this behavior, you can return it to where you purchased it or contact your alarm dealer.

First of all, if you have a First Alert VX1 HD installed and it is working as expected there is nothing you need to do. This issue has been reported in a small number of units and only very recently. If your VX1 HD was affected, you would know almost immediately after installation.

Next, it's important to clarify which LED we're talking about here. The VX1 HD has a Status LED which is located above the doorbell button and microphone. In addition to the Status LED, the doorbell button itself has an LED surrounding it. This notice refers to the small Status LED. According to the Installation Instructions, a solid red Status LED indicates that the battery is not charging.

It's not uncommon, after installation, for the Status LED to show either red or amber. An amber Status LED indicates that the battery is below the normal operating threshold but is charging. However, if, after 90 minutes of charging, the Status LED remains red, and assuming the input power and wiring are confirmed to be good, there is a problem.

Because of this issue, Resideo has chosen to put the First Alert VX1 HD on sales hold. This means that if you attempt to order a new unit from the distributor, it won't be available. Alarm dealers may have stock on their shelves that they can continue to sell, but they run the risk of encountering this issue.

Alarm Grid doesn't keep stock, ensuring that when you order from us, the product you get is the most recently manufactured version possible. Though distributors do keep stock, so there is always a chance that a seldom-ordered product may have been on their shelf for some time.

We will not discontinue the First Alert VX1 HD, as we assume this hold will be brief. You can still order the doorbell on our site. Currently, if you do you'll receive an email that the product is on backorder and that it will be shipped as soon as stock becomes available again.

That's all we know at this point. There is not enough information to determine if this is a problem with the battery, the charging circuit, or if this is just a status indication malfunction. It's unlikely that Resideo manufactures the battery. Is it an issue with the battery vendor? Is it something anomalous that occurred during manufacturing? That's why the product has been put on hold so they can perform testing and diagnostics.

In some cases, the manufacturer may need customers to send them problem units. It's difficult to confirm and fix an issue if you can't reproduce it. If that's the case here, it's possible Resideo may ask your alarm dealer to send returned VX1s directly to them for testing. As an end-user, this won't really affect you. It's just nice to know what goes on behind the scenes sometimes.

Depending on what they find, Resideo may require that any existing distributor stock be returned to manufacturing to be reworked or retrofitted. This is usually accompanied by some type of marking on the box, like a green dot. This will usually be located near the box date code. In this way, everyone will be able to tell that a newly purchased First Alert VX1 HD Video Doorbell does not suffer from this issue.

It was only supposed to be a simple software update! These words are I'm guessing, being echoed by the cybersecurity giant, CrowdStrike. Over night CrowdStrike pushed out a misconfigured/corrupted update to its customers. This has caused major issues to banks, airports, TV stations, health care organizations, hotels, and you guessed it, the alarm industry.

Early this morning, Alarm Grid became aware of multiple issues concerning alarm systems. Resideo reported issues July 19 at 3:57am EST. They reported All Pro Series and LTEM-P devices failing on all services. Also, TC2 Application notifications and event processing were delayed. They have reported that most systems are already back online.

Alarm.com reported issues July 19 at 1am EST. The reported issues were affecting access to the Partner Portal, Mobile Tech, the customer website, and the customer app, and may cause delayed execution of commands and signals sent to and from customer systems.

CrowdStrike has reported that the fix has been implemented, but that it could take time to get things back up and running. Both AlarmNet and Alarm.com services are reporting improvements.

Please continue to check back here for updates.

UPDATE: As of 10am EST, Alarm.com has reported that all of their services are fully restored.

UPDATE: 3:30p EST. Resideo has reported that most of the systems are back online. And that alarm delivery services are not impacted. Although we saw their service return much earlier than this update.

Thanks for your patience. If you continue to have issues with Alarm.com or Resideo's services, you can email us here.

Rogers has set a date of March 31, 2025 for its 2G/3G network sunset. If you are a Canadian customer with a Rogers 2G/3G communicator, your system will cease to communicate via cellular upon shutdown. At best, you will see a trouble condition. At worst, communication will be cease completely.

Rogers is a large cellular provider in Canada. When AT&T and Verizon announced their respective 2G/3G network sunsets a few years back, Rogers made the decision to keep the portion of their network that is used by alarm communicators active. In the intervening years, it has been working to beef up its infrastructure. The time has now come to sunset the remainder of the older network.

If you have an alarm system with a Rogers cellular communicator you should begin planning an upgrade. This may require that you upgrade your whole system, or just your cellular communicator. Whichever the case, now is the time to begin planning. If your system uses cellular as its only means of communication, and you have one of these Rogers 2G/3G communicators, your system will be left unable to communicate once the shutdown takes place. In addition, you will see a trouble condition displayed on your system that you will be unable to clear.

If you have a dual-path system with a Rogers 2G/3G cellular communicator, then your system will still be able to communicate after the shutdown, but you will have a trouble condition on the system that won't clear until you either disable cellular communication, or correct the problem. In this case, correcting the problem means replacing the cellular communicator. Depending on your alarm panel, this may or may not be possible without replacing the entire panel.

Alarm.com customers who are affected by this sunset will soon begin seeing prompts telling them to upgrade. Starting in October, Alarm.com customers who still have a 2G/3G Rogers cellular communicator will see a trouble message when they log into the customer app or website. The message will instruct them to upgrade their communicator soon in order to avoid a service interruption.

This news may seem dire, but don't worry, Alarm Grid is here to help you through the transition. In future posts, we'll be providing additional information, including special promotional pricing to help you upgrade in the least painful way possible. We'll also be here with plenty of information on how best to upgrade. In the meantime, if you have questions you can send us an email to support@alarmgrid.com.

Alarm.com now offers a new burglary deterrence feature available from some of its cameras. Alarm Triggered Warning Sounds, once configured, will cause selected cameras to emit a siren when an alarm is triggered. This feature can be activated based on sensors, partitions, or the entire panel.

One crucial note about this feature is that it is only compatible with non-doorbell Alarm.com cameras that support the two-way audio feature. A full list of compatible cameras, with links, is available in our FAQ that walks you through setting up this new deterrence feature.

The requirements for this feature are fairly simple:

• A security service package with Panel/InApp panics enabled by your alarm dealer.
• A video service package with the Audio for Non-doorbell Cameras add-on enabled by your alarm dealer.
• At least one camera compatible with the MTWS feature.
• An IQ4 Panel (IQ Panel 4, IQ4 Hub, or IQ4 NS). You can't do this with a video-only account.

See? Easy peasy! If you have an Alarm.com camera that supports two-way audio, and it's not a doorbell camera, then it likely supports this feature. On general principle, be sure your camera is updated to the latest firmware. For most cameras, the minimum firmware to support this feature is Firmware Version 0.6.7.852+. The exception is the ADC-V515, which requires Firmware Version 0.0.5.476+.

This feature is easy to set up. Just use the Smart Rules Builder through either the customer website or the Alarm.com app available from Google or Apple. Once you log into your account it takes about two minutes to create the rule needed to utilize this feature.

The Alarm Triggered Warning Sounds (ATWS) feature works hand-in-hand with the Manually Triggered Warning Sounds (MTWS) feature. If you have any MTWS capable cameras, then you know you will be able to configure the ATWS feature and vice versa. Manually Triggered Warning Sounds are not automated. Instead, a user must manually trigger the sound while logged into either the app or the website. You can check out how to use MTWS here.

When you manually trigger a warning sound from one or more cameras, the sound duration is 30 seconds, unless you manually turn the warning sound off sooner. When the warning sound is alarm triggered, the duration is five (5) minutes, or until the alarm is canceled by a user disarming the system where the alarm occurred.

Scenario 1: Manual Trigger

You're away from your home or business. You receive an alert that motion has been detected by one of your cameras. You log into the app and, pulling up the live view for your camera see a person or animal in an area of your property where they don't belong. While you're viewing the live video, and assuming this is a compatible camera, you can choose to trigger a warning sound that will hopefully scare the person or animal away. In this scenario the Manually Triggered Warning Sound can be used to great effect.

Scenario 2: Alarm Trigger

You're at home, and your system is armed in the Home mode. While you're asleep an intruder attempts to enter your home by breaking a first floor window. They may have triggered an alert from one of your outdoor cameras, but you slept through it. The window they're attempting to enter through has a glass break detector associated with it and this detector is active when the system is armed in Home mode. The intruder breaks the window, but the alarm goes off. This causes not only the alarm panel, but also your outdoor cameras to begin sounding a siren. The would-be intruder hears the sirens and leaves, preventing an actual break in.

One limitation of all-in-one panels is that they aren't high-current siren friendly. That's not to say that you can't add one of these sirens, but it takes some work and it can get expensive. Not to mention, where do you put the equipment for it? By allowing the cameras that offer siren sounds to use those sirens in an alarm situation you're adding extra sirens to the system at no additional cost, assuming you planned to have compatible cameras anyway. In my opinion, this is a great new feature. It's also an example of how Alarm.com continues to add value to their products without requiring additional investment.

This year with the holiday falling on Thursday, Alarm Grid will be closed on both Thursday July 4th and Friday July 5th. This break allows our team members to rest and spend time with their families. We'll be back refreshed on Monday, July 8th ready to help you protect your home or business!

For existing Alarm Grid customers, this means that technical support and account activation will be unavailable during the holiday. However, our central station partners are available around the clock to process any alarm signals. If you need to cancel an alarm or put your system on test, you will do those things as you normally would.

If you reside in the US and need to contact the central monitoring station to cancel an accidental alarm, verify a signal, or put your system on test you can contact Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS) by dialing (888) 818-7728 and choosing Option [9].

Canadian customers with the same central station needs 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. Providing incorrect information when asked will result in the dispatch of authorities.

If you need to make changes to your account or you have technical support questions monitoring station operators can't help you with those inquiries. Instead, email us at support@alarmgrid.com. Provide as many details as possible about the request or issue. Remember, if you're requesting account changes we'll need your false alarm password or the last four (4) digits of the credit card number we have on file for billing before we can make those changes. Providing this in your initial request will make the process go more quickly.

With hot, dry conditions in some areas, be cautious when using fireworks. Ensure you have proper extinguishing methods available in the event of a fire. Most large scale fireworks displays take place over a large body of water so that accidental fires are avoided.

Also remember that fireworks are likely to scare both pets and wild animals. Many young animals get separated from their mothers at this time of year. If you encounter a seemingly abandoned wild animal baby, contact your local wildlife rescue and follow their recommendations. The Humane Society has a listing of wildlife rehabbers by state.

We hope everyone enjoys a chance to relax this holiday weekend. However, we recognize many will be working. A big thank you to central station operators, wait staff, hospital staff, police, fire, EMS personnel, and anyone else working this holiday. We appreciate your dedication!

On the last Monday in May, we here in America celebrate Memorial Day. This tradition started after the Civil War. Known then as Decoration Day, it was meant as a day to decorate the graves of those who had died in battle. The tradition may have changed over the years, but each May, we pause.

For the younger crowd, Memorial Day means school's out, summer is starting, the pool is open, and there's going to be a cook-out or some other type of food-centric get-together. But the older folks among us know that this began as a more solemn holiday.

On May 30, 1868 the first official "Decoration Day" was held at the newly formed Arlington National Cemetery. It was meant as a way to honor those who gave their lives during the Civil Way. James A. Garfield, Ohio senator, former Union Major General and future President of the United States spoke, beginning a yearly tradition. Below is a portion of his speech:

"I am oppressed with a sense of the impropriety of uttering words on this occasion. If silence is ever golden, it must be here beside the graves of fifteen thousand men, whose lives were more significant than speech, and whose death was a poem, the music of which can never be sung."

At this point, Decoration Day was not an official holiday. However, by 1890, every union state had adopted a Decoration Day. As years passed, and other wars were fought, Memorial Day began to be the preferred name and people went forth on Memorial Day to honor those who had fallen in any war or conflict.

In 1968, the United States passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This act put major holidays on particular Mondays so that federal employees could have three-day weekends. Memorial Day, Washington's Birthday, Labor Day and Columbus Day were among these Monday holidays. The same act also officially named the holiday "Memorial Day".

We at Alarm Grid pause to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Our offices will be closed on Monday May 27, 2024 and will reopen the following Tuesday at 9:00 am. 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. Instead, send an email to support@alarmgrid.com with details about what type of assistance you need. Remember that when we return after the holiday, there may be a slight support backlog. Please be patient while we work through any issues as quickly as possible.

Of course, our central station partners, Criticom Monitoring Service (CMS) and Rapid Response, will be available 24/7. All signals sent by your Alarm Grid monitored system will be handled as usual during the holiday, unless you've requested a change beforehand. 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 Monitoring Services (CMS) by dialing (888) 818-7728 and choosing Option [9].

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

We hope the weather is beautiful, the food is delicious, and the pool is cool and inviting. Just remember, there is a reason we have this day of reflection. So spare a moment to think of those who aren't here so that we can be. Say a quiet "Thank you" to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of these United States.