May 2015 Archives

We will be serving you diligently during the next two days (May 28 and 29). But we're admittedly not going to be running at full capacity. We will be running at half capacity all day. So we're asking all of our amazing customers to have some patience. The techs you have come to know and love are doing training during this time so that we can bring you even better, faster service.

Before you call, we would love if you considered first sending an email to support@alarmgrid.com. We can answer emails more quickly than we can get back to phone calls, especially considering that many of the Alarm Grid techs will be able to check mail during training. If you do call, and no one takes your call, please leave us a message. Rest assured that we will get you in the queue and call you back in the order you called us. Also, we're going to do our best to have the on-site chat channels manned all day. Feel free to use that.

We are going to add 2Gig's GoControl security system and peripheral products over the course of the next few weeks. This expansion from Honeywell-only, will give our customers choice with one of the most recognized (though new) brands in the security space. Like Honeywell's Total Connect, 2Gig is generally intended for use with alarm.com. While we absolutely love the incredible features of Total Connect, Alarm.com is another gerat platform that we are proud to begin offering sometime in the next couple months. Again, for you, that means you will have the choice between two of the best security products in the space.

For 2Gig fans out there who have been anticipating our foray into the much loved brand, we promise that we will be giving it the same sort of love we have given all our previous security systems. FAQs, documents, compatibility pages, videos and more are coming! If you have been waiting for Alarm.com + Alarm Grid, you won't have to wait much longer!

For those of you not familiar with Total Connect 2.0, it is an application in the form of an app on a smartphone or tablet and web version on your personal computer. The service is hosted by Alarmnet which is Honeywell's communications division. Alarmnet prides itself on offering a secure (encrypted), simple way for end users to connect to their alarm systems remotely and receive text and/or email alerts for just about anything that occurs on the system. 

Total Connect has seen several upgrades this year including a new SMS gateway for more reliable text alerts from the largest cellular providers: AT&T, Spring, T-Mobile and Verizon. The newest upgrades have come in the form a complete aesthetic overhaul and several updated features including auto-syncing for the LYNX Touch L5100, L5200 and L7000! This means that any newly added zones will be automatically pushed to Total Connect after you exit programming on the panel. There is also a new wizard for creating "smart scenes" for remote automation. If you are an existing Total Connect user you will need to update the app on your smartphone and tablet in order to experience the new features. The web version on your computer has already been updated and will not require any changes on your computer. 

The most popular feature upgrade is the smart scene automation wizard. The wizard is designed to be more user friendly and walk you through the steps creating a scene for any enrolled Z-Wave devices. This feature requires that you have a Z-Wave controller and are enrolled in the remote automation service. Tap the + icon on the top right of the Automation module on Total Connect. First, name your scene. Then select command(s) for any Z-Wave device(s) you would like to be involved in the scene. The wizard will offer three trigger types: scheduling, rule, and manual execution. If you click "On a recurring schedule" you will be given the option to set a schedule to execute the scene. "Based on another device" is known as a rule. A rule allows you to trigger a scene based on a security system action (i.e. arm, disarm or alarm) or a security sensor fault (i.e. motion detector tripping or door/window opening). The last selection (when you tap it) is designed for manually triggering a scene from the Total Connect app. 

After you update the app on your mobile devices you may notice that the new version supports "Touch ID." For example, the iPhone 5S and 6 models support "Touch ID" which is way to log into apps using your fingerprint. You will need to first enroll your fingerprint by going into Settings > Touch ID & Passcode. Here you can scan in your fingertip(s). After you update and launch the new app, you will need to login with your username and password for the first time. When doing so, be sure to enable the "Remember Me" toggle button before logging in. Then you can log out. Going forward, you will be prompted with a pop message with the following when you launch the app: 

Simply press your finger that you already scanned in on the home button. This will launch you directly into the app! 

All in all, we are seeing that Alarmnet is continuing to develop the Total Connect 2.0 platform as they promised. We will continue to see updates that will make the application easier to use with more features that make controlling your alarm system remotely easier than ever. We will be sure to keep you posted as more features develop!