Don't Let Other Alarm Companies Lock You Out of Programming!

Hi DIYers! We recently had a customer with an all too common story that is worth sharing. This customer obtained a Honeywell VISTA 20P System and was getting it activated with Alarm Grid. We had started the activation process, and began programming. But then the customer got cold feet.

The customer then decided to explore their options and possibly have their system monitored by a different company. That's fine; we hadn't activated their system yet, and we always give our customers the option to cancel their service. We wished that customer the best and then moved on as if nothing had happened.

But a few days later, this customer decided to come back to us. They weren't happy with the service the other monitoring company offered, and they realized that Alarm Grid was the best option all along. We laughed it off, and decided to get started with the activation. The only problem was that the other company had actually locked the customer out of *29 communicator programming!

Because of that, we had no way of properly setting up their communicator for monitoring. The only options for that communicator were to activate it with the other company or to convince the other company to release it. There was nothing that we could do with that communicator, even though it was perfectly capable of being monitored just a few days prior. We couldn't even backdoor into programming, since only local communication programming was locked out. In the end, the customer had to buy a whole new communicator!

Admittedly, our technical support team found this pretty funny. The customer should have just stayed with Alarm Grid all along! But joking aside, there is a serious concern about users being locked out of programming. Companies often do this to prevent customers from taking their equipment elsewhere. They will essentially be locked in with that company. A company may also force a customer to rely on them for programming their system so that they are forced to pay extra service fees.

In this case, the customer was lucky. They were only locked out of communicator programming, and they only needed to buy a new communicator. There are deep-level programming options that could have permanently locked them out of system programming entirely. If that were the case, the customer would have needed to purchase a whole new system. It really could have been a lot worse!

Alarm Grid never locks its customers out of programming. We want our customers to be able to access every programming field so that they are empowered and can make their own system changes. We will also never brick equipment and make it proprietary for our use only. If you want to take your system elsewhere, that is your choice. We will cut all ties, and you can take your panel to a new monitoring company. That is the freedom you receive whenever you sign-up as an Alarm Grid customer.

We are not saying that every other alarm monitoring company will lock you out of system programming. There are certainly other honest companies out there. But what we can say is that we will never use such tactics. Your alarm system and communicator both belong to do, and what you do with them should be your business. With Alarm Grid, you can be absolutely certain that we will never keep you out of programming or brick your equipment. What the other guys do is none of our business.

If you would like to learn more about Alarm Grid monitoring services, we would love to talk to you! The best way to reach us is to email support@alarmgrid.com. If you prefer to speak with a live person, we have phone hours available from 9am to 8pm EST M-F. The number to call is (888) 818-7728. We also invite you to check out our alarm monitoring page for quick information online. You can even sign-up for monitoring right from the page!

We look forward to working with you and providing you with all your home and business security needs.