How Do I Use the Activity Monitor on the IQ5 NS System?

The IQ5 NS does not have an Activity Monitor button. On the IQ Panel 5 and IQ5 Hub, it is a button on the Settings page, and the IQ5 NS has no display or Settings page. Its manual still lists the 24 hour safety sensor groups. Use the IQ Panel 5 or IQ5 Hub to pause those sensors on the panel.

Does the IQ5 NS Have an Activity Monitor

The IQ5 NS (available in AT&T LTE and Verizon LTE) does not have an Activity Monitor button. On the IQ Panel 5 and IQ5 Hub, the Activity Monitor is a button on the Settings page, and the IQ5 NS has no display and no Settings page. Its Configuration menu in the IQ Installer app lists User Management, Installation, About, Dealer Branding, Reboot, Power Down, WIFI, Date and Time, Sound, Upgrade Software, and Partitions, with no Activity Monitor.

The IQ5 NS manual does list the same 24 hour safety sensor groups, so the sensors themselves are supported. The difference is the on-panel control that the other two panels provide.

What the Activity Monitor Does on Other Panels

On the IQ Panel 5 and IQ5 Hub, the Activity Monitor lets someone with a valid Master, User, or Guest code disarm 24 hour sensors, such as sensor groups 8, 9, and 25. It offers Quick Access, which gives 300 seconds of temporary access, and Deactivate, which disarms the sensors until they are re-activated manually.

The Safety Sensor Groups on the IQ5 NS

Group 25, Local Safety Sensor, does not report or trigger an alarm and acts as a chime only sensor while activity monitoring is active. Group 8, Reporting Safety Sensor, reports to the central station and triggers an alarm while activity monitoring is active. Group 9, Delayed Reporting Safety Sensor, works like group 8 with an entry delay. You choose a sensor's group in the IQ Installer app when you enroll or edit it.

If You Need an On-Panel Activity Monitor

If you want the Activity Monitor button for controlling 24 hour sensors, the IQ Panel 5 and IQ5 Hub both include it on the Settings page. All three panels share the same core security features, so the choice comes down to whether you want the built-in display and the controls that come with it.

Planning Safety Sensors Without a Display

Because the system has no screen, plan safety sensors carefully before you install them. Decide which items need protection, such as a medicine cabinet or storage area, and choose the sensor group that matches how you want the sensor to behave. A local safety group that only chimes is gentler than a reporting group that alerts your monitoring center.

How to Check a Sensor's Group on the IQ5 NS

To see which sensor group a safety sensor uses, open the IQ Installer app, go to Config, then Installation, then Devices, then Security Sensors, and edit the sensor. The sensor group is one of the fields you can review there, along with the sensor's name, type, partition, chime type, and voice prompts. Knowing the group tells you whether the sensor only chimes, as group 25 does, or reports to your monitoring center, as groups 8 and 9 do.

Choosing Between Panels

The IQ5 NS is built for installations where a compact panel managed through an app is the priority. It leaves out the display and the on-panel controls that depend on it, while keeping the same core detection, arming, and reporting. For most homes the tradeoff is invisible, but a household that relies on the Activity Monitor day to day will prefer a panel with a display.

The IQ5 NS does not have an Activity Monitor button, but the IQ Panel 5 and IQ5 Hub include it on the Settings page on the IQ5 NS. For help with the Activity Monitor or other safety sensor options 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.