How Do I View Alerts and Alarms in the IQ5 Hub Message Center?

To view alerts and alarms on the IQ5 Hub, touch the envelope icon in the upper right corner of the home screen, then touch the Alerts/Alarms section. Each entry shows a timestamp and a detailed description of exactly what event occurred and precisely when it happened right there.

What the Alerts/Alarms Section Shows

The IQ5 Hub (available in AT&T LTE and Verizon LTE) Message Center includes a dedicated Alerts/Alarms section that logs important system events as they happen. This is different from the Messages section, which shows communications sent from your monitoring provider, since Alerts/Alarms is generated automatically by the panel itself based on real system activity.

Entries here include low battery warnings for sensors or the panel's backup battery, alarm activations, sensor tamper alerts, power failures, and supervision failures where a sensor has stopped communicating. Each entry includes a timestamp and a detailed description, so you can see exactly what happened and when, rather than just a vague notification that something occurred somewhere on your security system.

How to View Alerts and Alarms

1. Touch the envelope icon in the upper right corner of the home screen. This opens the Message Center, showing four sections: Contact, Video Tutorials, Alerts/Alarms, and Messages.

IQ5 Hub home screen showing the message icon location

2. Touch the Alerts/Alarms section. This opens the list of system-generated notifications, separate from Messages, Contact, and Video Tutorials.

Alerts and Alarms section in the IQ5 Hub Message Center

3. Review each entry's timestamp and description. Scroll through the list to see the full history of alerts and alarms logged by your system.

Common Entry Types You'll See

Low battery alerts indicate when a sensor or the panel's own backup battery needs replacement soon. Power failure alerts appear if the panel loses AC power and switches over to battery backup, and a follow-up entry typically appears once power is restored. Sensor trouble or supervision alerts indicate a wireless sensor has stopped communicating with the panel, which can point to a dead battery, the sensor being out of range, or interference. Alarm history entries show past alarm events with their exact timestamp, useful for reconstructing what happened during or after an actual alarm.

Viewing vs. Clearing These Entries

Simply opening the Alerts/Alarms section to review entries doesn't remove them, so you can check back on this list as often as you like without losing any history. If you want to clear entries once you've reviewed them, that's a separate action, touching the circle next to an entry and confirming with OK, or using Acknowledge All to clear every entry in the section at once. Reviewing regularly, even without clearing anything, is a good habit for staying aware of your monitoring system's health.

Why Checking This Section Regularly Helps

Most people only open the Message Center after something obviously goes wrong, like a siren going off or a sensor visibly malfunctioning. But the Alerts/Alarms section often flags smaller issues well before they become bigger problems, a sensor with a battery that's been slowly weakening for weeks, or a brief power blip that switched the panel to battery backup without anyone noticing. Making a habit of glancing through this section every so often, even without any obvious trigger, helps you catch these smaller issues while they're still easy to fix, rather than discovering a dead sensor battery only when that sensor fails to trigger during an actual event.

How This Differs From the Contact and Video Tutorials Sections

The Message Center's other two sections serve completely different purposes. Contact displays your monitoring provider's phone number, email, and website, programmed in during setup, useful when you need to reach support directly rather than review system activity. Video Tutorials offers built-in instructional videos covering common tasks like arming, disarming, using panic features, and running system tests, playable directly on the panel screen. Neither of these sections logs system events the way Alerts/Alarms does, so if you're specifically looking for a record of what your system has detected or flagged, Alerts/Alarms is the one section built for that purpose.

Viewing the Alerts and Alarms section on the IQ5 Hub gives you a clear, timestamped record of everything your system has flagged on the IQ5 Hub. For help with Message Center alerts or other system notifications or other configurations on your IQ5 Hub, 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.