Honeywell VISTA-GSM4G Posts

Alarm Grid wants all of its customers to be aware that AT&T is now taking steps to formally discontinue their 3G and 4G networks. This is very important for anyone looking to activate an AT&T 3G or 4G communicator, as well as those who currently use either network with their alarm system.

Starting Wednesday June 26th, 2019, it will no longer be possible to activate a new AT&T 3G or 4G Communicator with AlarmNet. If you want to activate an AT&T 3G or 4G Communicator on a Honeywell System for use with Total Connect 2.0, you must do so before this date. Additionally, if you deactivate an AT&T 3G or 4G Communicator for a Honeywell System on or after this date, then you will not be able to reactivate it. Trying to reactivate a deactivated communicator is considered the same as an activation.

Please note that this only applies to AT&T 3G and 4G Communicators on Honeywell Systems that are used with Total Connect 2.0. Alarm.com has not announced any deadline for activating an AT&T 3G or 4G Communicator. Alarm Grid will post any new information as it becomes available. For now, the deadline only affects communicators being used with AlarmNet.

A sole exception applies to any AT&T 3G or 4G Communicator that was manufactured within the past 180 days. These communicators come with SIM cards that are pre-activated by AT&T, and they can continue to be activated for the next 180 days, even after the June 26th, 2019 date has passed. You will not be able to activate the communicator after the 180 day period has elapsed. You will also not be able to deactivate the communicator and then have it reactivated. You can check the manufacture date both on the box and on the radio label sticker on the communicator.

Additionally, the AT&T 3G/4G Network is set to be shutdown in February 2022. After that, all AT&T 3G and 4G Communicators will stop working entirely. This applies to any AT&T 3G or AT&T 4G Communicator, including those used with Total Connect 2.0 or Alarm.com. End users will need to upgrade to a new communicator or alarm system to maintain cellular communication. This does not apply to AT&T 4G LTE Communicators.

In order to maintain an active cellular communication path, it is crucial that you upgrade to an LTE communicator. LTE stands for "Long-Term Evolution", and AT&T is expected to support their LTE network for many years to come. Most alarm systems that we support currently have an LTE communicator available, while others should be releasing one in the coming months. We recommend checking through our selection of cellular communicators to see if an LTE communicator is available for your system.

If you are affected by the AT&T 3G/4G Sunset, now is the time to take action. You still have an opportunity to keep your system monitored or upgrade to a new system if necessary. The best thing you can do is contact Alarm Grid immediately. We can verify which communicator your system is using if you aren't sure. If you do need an upgrade, we can make a recommendation of which communicator to go with.

Some systems may have an LTE communicator readily available, while others may have one set to be released in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, some users may need to upgrade to a new system entirely. The experts at Alarm Grid know exactly what you need to stay monitored, and we can present you with all the possible options. Remember, by upgrading to a newer LTE communicator, you are guaranteeing that you equipment can stay monitored for many years to come. We fully expect that LTE networks will remain active and in-service even as 5G technology begins to emerge.

Alarm Grid is on your side. We want you to stay monitored and protected. That is our absolute top priority as a company. If you are affected by the AT&T 3G/4G Sunset, we urge you to reach out to us. Likewise, we also urge you to reach out to us if you are not sure. We can check your equipment and confirm whether or not an upgrade is needed.

The best way to reach us is to send an email to support@alarmgrid.com. Our team will reply to it as soon as possible so that you receive the support you need. You may also call us at (888) 818-7728 during our normal business hours of 9am to 8pm EST M-F. We look forward to helping you determine the best solution for your home or business.

Note: For information on the Verizon CDMA Sunset that went into effect last year, please click here.

Honeywell's Total Connect 2.0 service is the best upgrade to your Resideo or Honeywell security system that you can make. With Total Connect 2.0 you can arm and disarm your system with the touch of a button from any internet-connected computer or smartphone using an app. You can also have the system send you instant emails and text messages whenever a new security system event occurs. You can get a text message with the actual zone description of the device that went into alarm, the actual name of the user that armed or disarmed, even a message when your teenagers open the liquor cabinet in the middle of the night. Once you try Total Connect 2.0 you will never look at your security system the same way again.

Of course, don't just take our word for it, try it out yourself. You can now take Total Connect 2.0 for a Test Drive. Follow this link and then click the Test Drive button located beneath the login screen.

Don't forget that none of our alarm monitoring plans require a contract, so if you are still on the fence about whether or not Total Connect 2.0 would work for you, try it risk-free today! We even have a standalone Total Connect plan for people that don't want central station monitoring but would like the interactive features that Total Connect provides. If you decide it's not worth the cost, simply let us know and we would be happy to cancel your plan.

Call us today to find out how easy it is to get fully connected to your security system with Total Connect 2.0!

UPDATE: The information from this post is now outdated. For information on how you can test drive Total Connect 2.0 now, please check this more recent post.

We have already talked about the phase out of AT&T's 2G cellular network, but if you haven't read our previous article about the new GSMX4G and GSMV4G cellular alarm communicators, then you may not know that all existing AlarmNet cellular alarm communicators will become obsolete by the end of 2016.

Here at Alarm Grid, we urge everyone looking for a new cellular alarm communicator to only invest in 4G capable communicators. AT&T has formally announced that they will have completely dropped support of the 2G cellular network by the end of 2016. As cellular data use increases, AT&T has to find ways to add new throughput to their most advanced networks. One easy way to expand that throughput is to cannibalize their older and slower 2G network. As it is extremely rare to find a cellular phone in use today that still uses the 2G network, AT&T has no problems sacrificing the older 2G network to make the newer 4G network bigger and faster. Unfortunately, the alarm industry will be affected by the discontinuation of the 2G network as nearly all cellular alarm communicators in existence today use the 2G network. Since the difference in speed between the 2G and the 3G or 4G network wasn't needed when transmitting alarm signals, cellular alarm manufacturers never bothered to upgrade their communicators to support the faster networks. Now however, all alarm companies must act and act quickly. While the end of 2016 is the formal end of the 2G cellular network, certain areas of the country will lost 2G support well before 2016.

For most people, upgrading to the newer cellular network will be as simple as swapping their existing communicator to a newer communicator that has 3G and 4G support. Unfortunately, for everyone that invested in Honeywell's VISTA-21iP alarm control panel, the change to 4G cellular alarm communications won't be so easy. The VISTA-21iP is a great security system because it has a built-in internet alarm communicator.

While internet alarm monitoring is fast and inexpensive, it is not as reliable or secure as cellular alarm communications. Therefore, the VISTA-GSM was available as a snap-on module to the VISTA-21iP to provide an integrated back up cellular communication path. For some reason, Honeywell's engineers did not design the new VISTA-GSM4G to be backwards compatible with existing VISTA-21iP security systems. Therefore, all people that have dual path alarm monitoring using a VISTA-21iP and the VISTA-GSM cellular communicator will have to replace both their VISTA-GSM communicator AND their VISTA-21iP alarm control panel if they want a system that is supported by the 3G/4G cellular network.

We are fully aware of the burden this will place on people looking to upgrade to the future of cellular communications and we will do everything we can to help those people that are left having to replace their system and their communicator. If you have a VISTA-21iP and you are wondering if it is compatible with the VISTA-GSM4G cellular add on, you will have to look at your VISTA-21iP circuit board. If there is a sticker that says "SUPPORTS VISTA-GSM/4G" then it is compatible. Without that sticker, your system will not accept a new VISTA-GSM4G. We are not sure of the exact date that Honeywell began manufacturing the new VISTA-21iP panels, and the model and revision number are the same, but we do know that it was sometime in November. Chances are, unless you got your VISTA-21iP from a reputable source in the past month or so, your system will not support the 4G cellular communicator.

Of course, here at Alarm Grid, we only ship brand new VISTA-21iP panels that have the sticker and do support the VISTA-GSM4G. If you have questions about upgrading your VISTA-21iP, please call us today.