Preparing For The Eventual Lyric End-of-Life - Part 1
Posted By Julia RossWith the introduction of the PRO Series and VISTAH3 panels, and with SiX Sensors discontinued, the official end-of-life of the Lyric panel will likely soon follow, leaving its users to seek viable upgrade paths. Here, we explore your upgrade options once the inevitable announcement is made.
If you have a Honeywell Lyric Alarm System don't worry. Even though production was discontinued in 2021, you can still use your working system. It will also continue to work with Total Connect 2.0. Discontinuation just means that you can no longer purchase a new Lyric panel. Also, it is likely there will be few, if any firmware updates going forward.
Upon discontinuing an alarm system, Resideo provides five (5) years of over-the-phone support to alarm dealers. Then the system enters the 'Limited Support' phase. During limited support, Resideo only offers documentation to dealers; direct, one-on-one support is no longer available. For the Lyric panel, limited support begins on December 31, 2026. After this date, a Lyric that displays anomalous behavior should be replaced.
Continue To Use The Lyric:
While SiX Sensors are still available for purchase from Alarm Grid, that's only because we still have inventory. As these sensors are no longer in production, they will be discontinued upon stock exhaustion. So, if you rely on a Lyric panel to protect your belongings or your loved ones, getting any necessary replacement sensors is recommended while supplies last.
Fortunately, the Lyric Controller also supports most Honeywell 5800 Series wireless sensors and 2GIG uni-directional, unencrypted 345 MHz sensors. So, these devices can be used to replace existing SiX Series devices that malfunction. Unfortunately, none of these devices support encrypted signaling between the sensor and the panel.
The Lyric cannot support the 2GIG eSeries encrypted sensors, nor can it support Honeywell bi-directional devices like the 5800WAVE, 5828, or the 5800RL. Any Honeywell 5800 Series device that requires a House ID to communicate with the system is not supported by the Lyric.
There is also the option of using a wired to wireless converter module. For users accustomed to the ease associated with using wireless sensors, the thought of using wired sensors may seem daunting. But depending on the layout, installing a Honeywell 5800C2W or a 2GIG TAKE-345 wired to wireless converter may be a good solution. Particularly if you need to install several closely grouped sensors.
A wired to wireless converter module functions by converting signals from traditional wired sensors into wireless transmissions. This enables the alarm panel to receive status updates from wired sensors, such as door openings or motion detection. The Honeywell 5800C2W supports up to nine (9) wired inputs, while the 2GIG TAKE-345 accommodates up to eight (8).
Consider a scenario involving a room addition or patio to sun room conversion. In such cases, wiring sensors in the new area to a wired to wireless converter module offers a simple method for integrating these zones into your existing Lyric system. This option simplifies the expansion of your security system without the need for a complete overhaul.
Another major consideration when thinking about replacing a Lyric System is the use of Apple HomeKit. The Lyric was the first, and for a long time the only, professionally installed system to support HomeKit. If you're using HomeKit, or if you plan to begin using it, then sticking with the Lyric may be your best bet.
There are now other panels that support Apple HomeKit, including the PROA7PLUSC from Resideo. The functionality between the Lyric and the PRO Series panels is a little different as outlined in this blog post. You can see how to configure HomeKit on a PROA7PLUS or PROA7PLUSC in this FAQ.
Be sure to check out the rest of our series on Preparing For the Eventual Lyric End-of-Life. In Part 2 of the series, we discuss the considerations when replacing a Lyric with another Resideo all-in-one panel the Resideo PROA7C, Honeywell Home PROA7, or Resideo PROA7PLUSC. In Part 3 we cover replacing the Lyric with a new First Alert VISTAH3 hybrid panel, and in Part 4, we consider moving from Resideo to an Alarm.com capable panel.
