What is the Lyric Lock Feature for the Honeywell Lyric Controller?

The Lyric Lock feature for the Honeywell Lyric Controller prevents anyone from entering programming without a unique code that can only be obtained through AlarmNet360. The feature is used by some alarm dealers to prevent end-users from entering into programming and making changes.

The Lyric Lock feature can only be enabled or disabled by an alarm monitoring company through AlarmNet360. Once the feature is enabled, you will be prompted to enter a Validation Code whenever you go to enter programming. This validation code can only be generated by your monitoring company. The Validation Code is only valid until midnight of the same day it is created. Once you enter the code, the system will connect with the AlarmNet360 Servers to verify that the code is correct. Once it does, you will be taken to the usual Lyric programming screen.

You will know that your system has Lyric Lock enabled because it will say YES under the Lyric Lock option after you enter your system's Installer Code.

There are a couple of reasons why a monitoring company may enable this feature. For one, they might not want their customers to get into programming. Instead, the customer would need to contact their company and have an installer come out to make system changes. The company can charge a service fee for this and make more money. The Lyric Lock feature also makes system takeovers more difficult. This is because you may need to get into programming to default the system and its alarm monitoring communicator in order to activate the system again. This will depend on what firmware revision the Lyric panel has.

The Lyric Lock feature can also result in issues with properly defaulting Honeywell SiX Series Sensors so that they can be successfully brought over to a new Lyric System if needed. All SiX Series devices require pairing with their Lyric System. This allows the panel and the device to share encryption information, among other things. Once a SiX Series device has been paired with a panel, it cannot be used with another Lyric until it has been deleted from the original one, or until the panel has been set back to factory defaults. In either case, the SiX Series device or devices must be powered on and within range of the Lyric Controller at the time the delete or default command is executed at the panel. This is so that it can receive the signal letting it know that it has been released. Each SiX Sensor can be defaulted for a brief period of time after being paired with a system. Once that time period has elapsed, the SiX Sensor must receive a signal from its Lyric Panel releasing it before it can be used with any other system. This means that if the Lyric Lock has been applied to the panel and a user is not able to enter programming, then not only will the Lyric Panel need to be replaced in order to move to another monitoring company, but any SiX Series devices that have been paired with the panel and are outside the time period for defaulting will also have to be replaced.

At Alarm Grid, we never enable the Lyric Lock feature for our customers. This is because we want to empower our customers and allow them to make their own system changes whenever they would like. We believe that it should be as easy as possible to enter programming, and the Lyric Lock feature only makes it more difficult and time-consuming. Additionally, we want to give our customers the freedom to take their systems to different monitoring companies if they wish to do so. Remember, Alarm Grid is no-contract alarm monitoring, and you can always cancel your monitoring plan before your next billing cycle. Once your system has been released, you are free to take it to a new monitoring company.

Keep in mind that there is no way to "backdoor" a Lyric System to get into programming. You will always need your Installer Code if you want to get into Lyric Programming, regardless of whether the Lyric Lock feature is enabled or not. Therefore, we always recommend keeping the Installer Code for your Lyric System at its default value of 4112. Even if you lose that code, you can always look it up later. Keeping the Installer Code at its default does not present a security risk, as long as you do not arm the system using that code.