Self Install a Qolsys IQ Panel 2 and Still Get Monitoring

[MUSIC PLAYING] Hi, DIYers, I'm Jorge from Alarm Grid. Today we're going to be discussing if you installed an IQ 2 or an IQ 2 Plus on your own, can you still get monitoring? Simple and quick answer to that is yes. Depending on the company you go with, like, for instance, if you go with us, we're a DIY company, it doesn't matter who installed the system-- whether it was a professional installer or the end user, yourself, that installed the system. As long as the system is not tied up with another company, as long as the system is not locked, you-- we can activate the system and get it set up so that it can send out and it can receive signals from the Alarm.com platform. So if you installed the system on your own, not only is it going to save you a lot of money because usually what happens with these companies out there send out installers and everything like that is they send out-- they have a fee for the installer to go out, then they have a fee per hour. Now, when you do this self installation, you're saving yourself all of those costs of having to have the installer go out. The good thing about the IQ 2 and the IQ 2 Plus is that it's very, very easy to setup. If you guys are in an apartment or somewhere that you're renting and you don't want to make a hole in your wall, the system actually comes with the backstand already that you guys can use so you guys can actually just put it on a countertop-- kitchen counter, your bedroom counter, your nightstand, wherever you guys want to place a system. It doesn't have to go install on the wall. It just has to be plugged in for power. And if you mount it on a counter, it already comes with a desk stand that you need for it. Now, if you guys are installing this in your house and you're looking for a cleaner look, as long as you guys have the right tools, then the install should be very easy. You have to make a small hole in the wall. Fish the wire behind the wall so it's not just a dangling wire on the front of the wall so that everyone can see. So you fish the wire behind, you bring it down to an outlet, and the system already comes with a power supply that you need to plug-in for power. Now, again, these are all self installation solutions. It's-- the system itself is very easy to set up. The sensors are wireless so they pretty much have a little peel back sticker on back that you can-- soon as you take the sticker off, you just mount the sensor where you need it. Same thing for the magnets. If you guys want to secure it, you can always drill it into the frame of the house as well. If you guys want to make sure-- if you guys aren't confident that the adhesive sticker is going to hold the sensor in place-- but, yeah, self-installation is always going to save you guys a lot of costs. You don't have to have the installer go out, you don't have to pay any installation fees, it's all self-installation. And then whenever you're monitored with a company like us-- a DIY, a do it yourself company-- all you have to do is sign up for the Alarm.com service to get the system activated. Now, what is Alarm.com. Alarm.com is a service that the alarm companies, ourselves, deal out to the end users. So you have to go through an alarm company to get the Alarm.com service. Now, alarm is-- it's an interactive platform. It allows you to control your alarm system from your phone. So if you go into your App Store or Play Store, you can go ahead and download the Alarm.com app, but you can't log in if you're not monitored because you don't have an account. You get that account and you receive the welcome emails when you're monitoring company has activated you. Now with the application you can pretty much do everything on your system except programming. So you can arm and disarm the system, you can create and delete user codes with the app, you can control Z-Wave devices. So if you have lights, locks, thermostats, garage door controllers, plug-in modules, switches, light bulbs, anything that's Z-Wave or Z-Wave Plus, as long as you guys have included into your IQ 2 or IQ 2 Plus, it'll go up, it will be pushed up to the Alarm.com platform, and then from there you can access all these devices from the app as long as, again, you're on the correct monitoring plan and service. If you guys have Alarm.com video cameras, you can also view those video cameras through the application as well. You can create email and text message notifications, you can look at the status of your system, the status of your sensors, create email and text messages whenever a door is open or closed, literally you can do a lot of things with this Alarm.com platform. And, again, all you have to do is just sign up for the correct monitoring plan. The company will activate the system. They'll send you your welcome emails and then you're free to use the application. They also have a website. So if you ever find yourself not having cellular reception, but you have a computer or something in front of you, you can go to the Alarm.com website and log in to the platform that way as well. Now, Alarm.com is also what you're going to be using for the system. That's what it's sending out the signals to. And then from there, whether you're doing central station monitoring or self-monitoring, that's where the signals will be sent to. So if you're doing a self-monitoring plan, that means that the Alarm.com application is going to send you email, text message, or push notifications. But since it is a self-monitored plan, it's up to you to contact the authorities because there is no central station involved in self-monitoring. And, again, not every company will have this self-monitoring option, so make sure you guys are looking in that as well whenever you guys are looking to get your IQ 2 or IQ 2 Plus monitored. The other plans are central station monitoring plans. So if you guys have a central station monitoring plants, not only is the application going to be sending you emails, text message, and push notifications, but it's also sending the alarm signal out to the central station so that they can then look at the signal and say, OK, the front door alarm is going off, let me go ahead and start going down the call list that we have for the end user and we'll see if everything's OK. If nobody answers or if you guys say that it is an actual alarm, then they'll go ahead and they'll contact the correct authorities, whether it's the police department, fire department, or the ambulance-- the medical department, all right? So this is just a quick video. If you guys do the self-installation, it is completely OK. Again, it all depends on what company you're going with. But if you're going with a DIY company like us, it does not matter to us who installed it, whether it was a professional installer or yourself who installed it, as long as it's connected to a network, as long as it's powered up, we'll be able to activate the system for you. If you guys have any questions about the monitoring plans or need help getting your IQ 2 or your IQ 2 Plus set up, feel free to send us an email to support@alarmgrid.com. If you guys found this video helpful, make sure you hit Like underneath, subscribe to YouTube channel, and hit the little ball icon that way when we upload your content you guys get notified. I'm Jorge and I'll see you guys next time.