How Do I Turn Off Bluetooth Disarm on the IQ5 NS Panel?

To turn off Bluetooth Disarm on the IQ5 NS, open the IQ Installer app, go to Installation, Devices, Bluetooth Devices, then turn off the Bluetooth Disarm checkbox. This disables touchless disarming globally for every single paired device on your system right away today all at once.

What Bluetooth Disarm Controls

The IQ5 NS (available in AT&T LTE and Verizon LTE) supports touchless disarming through Bluetooth, letting a paired phone disarm the system just by being in range, without entering a code. Bluetooth Disarm is the master toggle for this feature. Turning it off removes touchless disarming for every paired device at once, rather than needing to remove each device individually.

This is separate from the Bluetooth radio itself, which stays on for other Bluetooth functions unless disabled on its own. It's also separate from the Bluetooth Disarm Timeout setting, which controls how long the system waits after arming Away before allowing Bluetooth to disarm it, rather than whether Bluetooth disarming works at all. Turning off Bluetooth Disarm doesn't unpair any devices, it simply removes their ability to disarm the security system while everything else about them stays configured in the app.

How to Turn Off Bluetooth Disarm

1. Open the IQ Installer app. This is the mobile app used to configure the IQ5 NS, since the panel has no display of its own.

2. Connect to the panel. The app communicates with the IQ5 NS over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to load its configuration menus.

3. Enter the Installer Code when prompted. The default Installer Code is 1111, though your account admin may have changed it to something else, like 2222.

4. Touch Installation. This opens the Installation menu, which lists Devices, Installer Settings, System Logs, Sirens and Alarms, Security and Arming, and Camera Settings.

5. Touch Devices. This opens the Devices menu, which separates Bluetooth Devices from Security Sensors, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave Devices, PGM Outputs, and Automation Devices.

6. Touch Bluetooth Devices. This opens the Bluetooth settings page, including the radio toggle, disarm settings, and the list of paired devices.

7. Find the Bluetooth Disarm checkbox and turn it off. Once unchecked, no paired device can disarm the system through Bluetooth until this box is checked again.

Turning Off Disarm for Just One Device Instead

If the goal is to remove touchless disarming for a single phone rather than everyone, that's handled differently. The manual is explicit that to change this on an individual level, you have to edit that specific device rather than use the master Bluetooth Disarm checkbox, since the checkbox is an all-or-nothing setting for the whole system. Open the paired device's entry under Bluetooth Devices in the app and adjust its settings there if you only want to affect one phone, such as a family member who no longer lives at home.

Why You Might Turn This Off

Touchless disarming is convenient, but it also means anyone carrying a paired phone within Bluetooth range can disarm the system without any additional verification. Some households turn this off entirely after a phone is lost or stolen and they aren't sure every paired device is accounted for, preferring to require a code at a keypad or in the Alarm.com app until they've had a chance to review and clean up the paired device list. Others simply find the feature more convenient in theory than in practice, especially if it occasionally disarms the system when someone walks by with their phone but doesn't actually intend to disarm.

If Bluetooth Disarm Won't Turn Off

If a paired phone still disarms the system after unchecking Bluetooth Disarm in the app, confirm the change actually saved before backing out of the Bluetooth Devices menu. If only one specific device continues disarming, that device may have its own setting configured independently of the master toggle, in which case you'll need to open that device's individual settings and adjust it directly rather than relying on the panel-wide checkbox alone.

Bluetooth Disarm vs. Bluetooth Pairing

It's worth being clear on the difference between turning off Bluetooth Disarm and unpairing a phone entirely, since they solve different problems. Turning off Bluetooth Disarm in the app leaves every phone paired and connected, but strips away the disarm capability specifically, meaning those phones can still show up in the Bluetooth Devices list and potentially support other Bluetooth features the system offers. Unpairing a phone removes it from the system entirely, which is the right move if a device is permanently gone rather than just something you want to temporarily restrict. If you're deciding between the two, ask whether you expect to turn touchless disarming back on for everyone eventually, in which case the master toggle is the faster, reversible option, or whether a specific phone should never interact with the system again, which calls for removing it outright in the app.

Turning off Bluetooth Disarm on the IQ5 NS removes touchless disarming for every paired device at once, giving you a quick way to require a code instead on the IQ5 NS. For help with Bluetooth settings or other disarm methods or other configurations on your IQ5 NS, contact the Alarm Grid support team. We are here Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Eastern Time. Email us at support@alarmgrid.com, call us at 888-818-7728, or visit our website and chat with a live support agent.