Honeywell GSMX-TC2
AlarmNet Total Connect 2.0 Upgrade Kit
This product is not sold by Alarm Grid at this time. As an alternative, we recommend:
Description
The Honeywell GSMX-TC2 has been discontinued and is no longer available. The GSMX4G-TC2 is the new replacement AlarmNet Total Connect 2.0 upgrade kit. As AT&T has announced that they will be dropping coverage of their 2G cellular network by the end of 2016, AlarmNet has released 4G compatible cellular alarm communicators to replace all existing 2G communicators. The GSMX4G-TC2 includes a 4G cellular communicator while the older GSMX-TC2 was a 2G cellular communicator. We recommend that anyone with an existing GSMX communicator upgrade to the newer GSMX4G cellular comunicator as certain areas of the country may see the 2G network go away before the end of 2016.
The Honeywell GSMX-TC2 is an AlarmNet Total Connect 2.0 upgrade kit that includes a Honeywell GSMX cellular alarm communicator and a Total Connect 2.0 upgrade chip for a VISTA-15P or Honeywell VISTA-20P security system.
Total Connect 2.0 is the newest version of AlarmNet’s advanced interactive alarm monitoring service. Unlike the original Total Connect service, Total Connect 2.0 is an Adobe® Flash based application. With the original Total Connect you could remotely control your security system, but you could only setup (8) email and/or text message notifications. Also, those Total Connect security system notifications were limited. For instance, you could setup a notification every time the security system went into alarm but you wouldn’t know which zone was activated. Also, you could get a notification every time the system was armed or disarmed, but you wouldn’t know which user code was used to arm or disarm. With Total Connect 2.0 you can still remotely control your Honeywell security system but you can also setup any number of security system events to trigger an automatic email and/or text message notifications. The Total Connect 2.0 notifications include the zone number on alarm messages and the user code number on arming or disarming messages. Total Connect 2.0 also connects much faster and will have even more advanced features coming in the future.
Unfortunately, not all Honeywell security systems are compatible with the newer Total Connect 2.0 service. If you have a Honeywell VISTA-15P security system or a Honeywell VISTA-20P security system, it must have a software revision of 9.12 or higher to be compatible with Total Connect 2.0. Honeywell anticipated that many people would want the upgraded Total Connect 2.0 service, but that they would not want to replace their entire security system. Therefore, the GSMX-TC2 allows you to simply replace your VISTA-15P or VISTA-20P control panel micro-controller chip (PROM) using the included PROM. When you replace the PROM on your alarm control panel, the security system programming settings stay the same but the alarm control panel’s software revision will be updated so that your security system will now be compatible with Total Connect 2.0. With each GSMX-TC2 Total Connect 2.0 upgrade kit, you get (1) GSMX cellular alarm communicator, (1) VISTA-15P PROM chip and (1) VISTA-20P PROM chip. The GSMX cellular alarm communicator is a great option for your Honeywell VISTA-15P or VISTA-20P home security system as it provides AlarmNet cellular alarm communications and allows you to sign up for the advanced Total Connect 2.0 interactive service. You cannot purchase Total Connect 2.0 PROM upgrade chips by themselves. You are only able to purchase them in Total Connect 2.0 upgrade kits like the GSMX-TC2.
Brand: Honeywell
Reviews
Submitted on 11/20/2019 Alarm Grid
The Honeywell GSMX-TC2 is an outdated upgrade kit for a Honeywell VISTA System. The kit included a Honeywell GSMX AT&T 2G Communicator and the PROM Chip upgrades. This communicator can no longer be activated for monitoring service. Additionally, the AT&T 2G Network has since been shut down, so this communicator is completely defunct. It can no longer be used in any fashion. However, the GSMX-TC2 was once a good upgrade kit for users who needed to upgrade the PROM Chips on their VISTA Systems to gain access to Total Connect. But even when this kit was available, it was still a smarter decision to get a 3G communicator instead. With that in mind we give it 4 Stars.
The good things about the Honeywell GSMX-TC2 are fairly obvious. It provided the latest PROM Chip upgrades for the VISTA 15P and VISTA 20P Systems. This is necessary for upgrading the panel to the latest firmware version. Additionally, the module provided reliable cellular connectivity for the panel. Cellular monitoring is more reliable than IP-only monitoring, as an internet outage will take the panel offline. Finally, using this module allowed you to use Total Connect with the system. This platform is good for arming and disarming, checking current system status, controlling Z-Wave devices, and more.
But the downsides to the GSMX-TC2 must also be discussed. The module can no longer be activated. And since the AT&T 2G Network has been shut down, the module can no longer be used in any manner whatsoever. It was once useful, but now it no longer is. But remember, the module was still outclassed by the 3G versions for much of its lifespan. And today, it is even further outclassed by LTE. However, it still served its intended purpose well. We give a 4 Star rating.
Good: Cellular Service, Total Connect, PROM Upgrades
Bad: Defunct Module, Cannot Be Activated, Outclassed by 3G & LTE
Bottom Line: 4 Stars
