Honeywell VISTA-10P Posts

We told you in 2020 how the Total Connect 2.0 app for Android could support Google Assistant voice commands. This feature allowed you to use your voice to control your system, but only through your phone. Now, the ProSeries panels, including the PROA7PLUS, can fully support Google Assistant.

What this meant back then was that there was nothing to download. Once the feature was enabled on your phone, a blue microphone icon would appear at the bottom of the Total Connect 2.0 app screen. When you pressed it, you could use your voice to check system status, and to arm or disarm the system. Now, with the latest Total Connect 2.0 release, you can actually set up TC2 within Google Home, and control your system from any Google Home capable device you have connected to your account.

Another improvement is the fact that this functionality is now available to both Android and iOS users. On either platform, make sure you have the Google Home app and then follow the steps to configure the Total Connect 2.0 skill within it.

Below is the Google Home App as seen in the Apple App Store:

The ProSeries panels include the Honeywell Home PROA7 and Honeywell Home PROA7PLUS and the Resideo PROA7C and Resideo PROA7PLUSC. Currently, these are the only Total Connect 2.0 compatible panels that support the improved Google integration. If you have one of the ProSeries panels, coupled with a Total Connect 2.0 account and you would like to take advantage of voice commands through Google Assistant, follow these steps:

1. Open the Google Home App, then click the [Plus (+)] Icon at the top left of the main screen.
2. Select, [Set up Device].
3. Select [Works with Google].
4. Search for [Total Connect] then select it.
5. Use your Total Connect 2.0 login credentials to log into TC2 from the skill.
6. Read the User Agreement and if you agree, press [Allow].
7. Be sure the Security System icon is selected, then press [Connect].
8. Click the [Pencil Icon] to assign the system to a room, then choose which room you'd like to add it to.
9. Hit the [Back button] repeatedly until you reach the Home screen.
10. You should now be able to query Google for system status, as well as arm the system to Away, Stay, or Night and Disarm the system using Google Assistant.

Important Update: We now have a full FAQ with a walk-through on how to set up the Google Home feature. This FAQ is applicable whether you're setting Google Home up using an Android or an iOS device running the Google Home App.

Voice control of automation devices is not yet available unless the automation is achieved through a scene tied to system arming or disarming. For example, if you have a scene that turns on the porch light when the system is armed to Away, and you use the Google Assistant to arm in this mode, then the porch light will come on once the system is armed.

Total Connect 2.0 also supports integration with Amazon Alexa, and has for a while now. The configuration is very similar between the two services. One difference between them is that Amazon Alexa is compatible with more different panel types. Most of the Honeywell Wireless All-in-One panels support it. This means that in addition to the ProSeries panels, the Lyric, Lynx, and even the VISTA panels all support being used with Amazon Alexa. As long as the panel is tied to a Total Connect 2.0 account.

To integrate Total Connect 2.0 with Amazon Alexa for voice control of any of the above panels, follow these steps:

1. Open the Alexa App and search for the Total Connect 2.0 skill.
2. Click [Enable]
3. You will be prompted to enter your Total Connect 2.0 login credentials. Enter them, then hit [Login]
4. You will see a User Agreement, read through it, and if you agree click [Allow].
5. Make sure the Security System icon is selected, then click [Connect].
6. A screen should appear showing "Total Connect 2.0 has been successfully linked".

Once the above steps have been completed, log into the Total Connect 2.0 app and go to the Profile Page. Under the Access section, be sure that your user code has been saved and synched with the panel. If this isn't done, Amazon Alexa won't function properly. In the past, we've made FAQs for integrating some different panels with Amazon Alexa. You can find links to those FAQs below:

How Do I Connect My Lyric Alarm System to Alexa?

How Do I Connect My VISTA-21iP to Alexa?

Resideo Official Instruction Sheet on Integration

Here at Alarm Grid, we try to help as many people as possible with their alarm system. Sure, we hope it will lead folks to choose us for their alarm monitoring needs. But it's also because we're simply helpful people. An alarm in your home or business should help quell fears, not cause them.

We've begun what I think of as "Silly Season". You may be familiar with this term from Nascar, but for us in the alarm industry, this is the time when a lot of home buying and selling occurs. During this time, we get a lot of calls that go something like this, "I just moved into a home with an existing alarm. We haven't been using it, but somehow it got armed, and now it's going off, and I don't know the code to disarm it. Please help!"

Moving into a new home is exciting, but it's also stressful and can be overwhelming at times. So, I've (Ms. Manners) put together this guide to help you, the person who moved out of the home in this scenario, to leave behind your alarm system in a way that's as stress-free as possible for all parties involved.

Ms. Manners Says: Notify Your Alarm Company

If your alarm system is monitored, be sure to notify your alarm company that you are moving out and that the system is staying behind. This may seem obvious, but many people assume that if they stop paying their monitoring fees, the alarm company will know they no longer want service and will cancel it on their own. This is not the case for a number of reasons! There may be contracts involved. There could be liability issues. So for many reasons - not the least of which is it's the polite thing to do - any time you wish to stop monitoring service to a particular address, you should notify the alarm monitoring company as soon as possible.

By notifying the alarm company, you do several things. You give them an opportunity to reach out to the new homeowner and introduce themselves. Hopefully, if you've had a good experience with your monitoring company, you will also put in a good word about them to the new homeowner. Both of these things give the company a leg-up when it comes to courting a potential new customer, and it also gives the new homeowner information based on your real-life experience, not just an advertisement in a new homeowner's mailer.

By notifying the monitoring company, you can also help to prevent any unnecessary dispatching of the authorities to this address. As bad as the scenario above is for the poor, uninformed new homeowner, it's worse for the police, fire, or EMS personnel who may respond to the alarm, which we know is false.

Remember, the person who signed up for the monitoring service at the address in the scenario above no longer lives there. That means the monitoring station is going to be calling people who have no idea what may be going on at this address (which is also an annoyance for the person receiving the call). In this situation, it is likely that the monitoring station MUST dispatch because if they don't (and there is some type of emergency) there may be repercussions for them. A monitoring station is always going to adhere to the adage, "Better safe than sorry." After all, safety is their business.

Ms. Manners Says: Default Users, But Not Zones

When you sell a house and the alarm system with it, you may think it's a good idea to set the alarm system back to factory default to allow the new homeowner a chance to program it as they see fit. Resist this urge! In most cases, what was your Front Door is now going to be their Front Door. What was your Kitchen Window is now going to be their Kitchen Window. John's Bedroom Window may become Jane's Bedroom Window, but this is a pretty simple thing to change and doesn't really call for the entire system to be set back to factory default.

When it comes to user codes, though, it is best to set these back to factory defaults. This will prevent the new homeowner from finding out what codes you used. After all, we are creatures of habit, and there's a good chance you'll use those same codes in your next system. Also, if you set the codes for the Installer and Master users back to their default, the new homeowner should easily be able to find out what they are by doing a quick search online. Then, if they find themselves in the messy scenario discussed above, they'll be able to get themselves out of it. Being able to get yourself out of a jam like this one can do wonders for your self-confidence.

System Manufacturers and their Default Codes

Use the information in the table above to set the codes in your panel back to their default values. If you don't see your panel listed, you can likely find the information you need with a quick online search. Performing this process is the single most helpful thing you can do for the new homeowner when it comes to the alarm system!

Ms. Manners Says: Leave Behind Good Notes

Any information you know about your alarm system, such as the manufacturer and model, the default installer code, and the default master code - each of which hopefully you have programmed into your panel by this time - will be helpful for the new homeowner. A list of zone numbers and their descriptions is also very much appreciated by a new homeowner. Leave them a note, tucked behind the keypad, or on a kitchen counter. Give them the sequence of keys to enter to disarm the system, or better yet, if you have the opportunity, show it to them, and then leave them a note to back up your demonstration.

If you're willing, leave them your contact information so they can contact you in the event that something unforeseen comes up. This is particularly important if your system is somewhat complex and has multiple home automation features integrated with it. I promise the last thing the new homeowner wants to do is bother you if they can avoid it. Everyone at Alarm Grid has talked with a frantic new homeowner who never even considered contacting the prior homeowner. It's usually something we suggest if we're unable to assist.

Fortunately, in most cases, we are able to assist, and we are happy to do so. This is just one of the many ways we make new friends here at Alarm Grid! I hope that anyone who is preparing to move out of a home and leave behind an alarm system will read this and use these suggestions to prepare.

If you happen to be moving into a home that already has an alarm system, and perhaps the previous homeowner didn't read this post, feel free to reach out to us. We're here Monday - Friday from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm Eastern Time. You can reach us via email, or by calling 888-818-7728.

AT&T has been announcing a deprecation of the 2G radios for a number of years. At midnight January 1, 2017, the network was turned off.

If you're one of the many Americans who has a 2G alarm system, and you've been caught flatfooted for one reason or another, Alarm Grid is here to help. For those who upgrade their 2G radio programmed to a different company's service to a new radio, Alarm Grid will provide 2 months of free monitoring.

If you have a bf error showing on your panel or a Check 103 error, we have some great FAQs explaining what you need to do to fix the error. Additionally, below, you will find a guide explaining how to go about fixing the problems. Generally you will need to replace your radio - a move that is dependent on the type of system you have. The following alert is on our FAQs pertaining to this issue, and will walk you through what you need to do to upgrade.