Qolsys IQ4 NS, Verizon LTE, PowerG Posts

Due to an anomaly with Qolsys IQ panels, this weekend's time change may cause panels to repeat the communicator test excessively. To prevent this, Alarm.com will move the test forward by three (3) hours. This will be a transparent change to customers but offers a unique learning opportunity.

Daylight Savings Time (DST) is one of those things that folks either love or hate. There are those who want to switch to DST permanently. Others think the whole process is a waste of time. Regardless of personal preference, the pervasive nature of DST reminders can serve as a helpful prompt for other important tasks.

For instance, fire departments often encourage people to test their smoke detectors during the time change. This is a convenient opportunity to ensure home safety. Interestingly, not all regions observe DST. Arizona, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not participate in the "Spring Forward/Fall Back" practice. We encourage residents of these locations and all others to test their smoke detectors this weekend!

The anomaly we mentioned above is fairly straightforward. Any Qolsys IQ Panel that is programmed to send a communication test between midnight and 2:00 am that falls on Saturday night/Sunday morning may send excessive reports when the automatic time change occurs this weekend. For this reason, Alarm.com will automatically move the communication test time for these customers forward by three (3) hours to prevent any issues.

That means if your system usually sends its communication test at 1:00 am, it will now send the report at 4:00 am this coming Sunday and each time the report is sent moving forward. This will be a transparent change for customers. When it comes to communication tests, you're only notified if they don't happen.

When we talk about a "communication test" we're talking about the equivalent of a "dialer test" on a panel that supports a phone line. Alarm systems supervise themselves in all sorts of ways. Individual wireless zones are supervised for check in and tamper, the panel itself has a cover tamper, and the cellular communicator has a supervision interval.

When we activate an account through Alarm.com, we set the communicator on the account for a supervision interval. If the Alarm.com server doesn't hear from the account for the specified supervision interval, a message is generated to the monitoring station and from them to us. We then reach out to the customer to see what's going on. Alarm Grid enables Daily cellular communicator supervision on all central station monitored accounts. Self-monitored accounts are inherently unsupervised.

The communication test that's programmed through the panel is a little different. This test is generated by the panel and helps to verify that the system itself is capable of sending a signal successfully, not just the communicator. By default, the communication test interval is set to weekly through panel programming. It can be set to daily, weekly, or monthly by going to Menu > Settings > Advanced Settings > Installation > Enter Installer Code (1111 by default) > Installer Settings > Communication Test and Communication Test Start Time.

This test, the one programmed through and sent by the panel, is the one that is affected by Daylight Savings Time. Chances are, you don't know whether or not your system is set to send this test. However, it's a good idea to configure it. It will help to verify that the panel is able to send signals through the communicator. As mentioned above, the default communicator test setting is Weekly.

If you don't program a time for the first test report, it will be randomized at the time the panel is either initially programmed at the factory, or when a Master Reset (factory default) occurs. Once the first test is sent, the panel will continue to send the test periodically, either daily, weekly, or monthly thereafter.

The takeaways from the time change are to remember to test your smoke detectors and any other life-safety devices you may have. You should test them at least twice a year, but Alarm Grid recommends monthly testing. And also, give some thought to checking your communication test settings in the Qolsys panel. This is a good automated test to ensure your system is working smoothly. Check out our FAQ on testing the IQ Panel 4.

The newest entry in the Qolsys "One Platform" lineup is the Qolsys IQ4 NS. This is basically an IQ4 Hub minus the touchscreen and a microphone. Qolsys is marketing this lineup as a Good, Better, Best offering with the IQ4 NS, IQ4 Hub, and IQ Panel 4 respectively filling each of those roles.

The "NS" in IQ4 NS stands for "No Screen." As a touchless panel, the IQ4 NS does not need to be installed in a visible location. It can be installed tucked away in a closet in the middle of the home or business. By installing in this way, the panel is protected from attack by intruders, and being centrally located it can provide the best range for Z-Wave and other RF devices.

In this world where seemingly everything has a touchscreen, you may be wondering how you control the IQ4 NS. There are a couple of options, actually. First, you can perform any tasks such as arming, disarming, checking status, and controlling automation devices using the Alarm.com mobile app. This app is available in both iOS and Android versions and is available as a free download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

If you're looking for a more traditional security system experience, meaning you'd like to use a keypad, you have options there as well. The IQ Remote is compatible with all panel versions, and the IQ Remote-PG and some of the push-button PowerG keypads are compatible with the IQ4 NS when a PowerG daughter card is installed. Qolsys also plans to roll out a low-cost, battery-powered keypad called the IQ Keypad PowerG at the end of 2023. This is a basic, numerical keypad. It has an estimated three (3) year battery life and up to five (5) keypads can be used per system. It will work with all of the IQ4 panel lineup, as long as the panel supports PowerG.

To program the IQ4 NS locally, the IQ Installer Interface app is used. In addition, dealers can program the panel through the Alarm.com dealer portal. To program at the panel, simply download and install the free IQ Installer Interface app, open it, scan the QR code for the panel, located on the back of the unit, and follow a few onscreen prompts. You'll be programming the panel within minutes. The UI for the installer interface app is very similar to programming the IQ Panel 4 and IQ4 Hub through the panel touchscreen.

Qolsys has made the IQ4 NS a very modular system. Users can purchase a system with only the Z-Wave card installed, for example. This system can then be used as an automation hub only, perhaps in a newly constructed home, for demonstration purposes. When someone buys the home, they may then want to add security sensors. They can purchase a PowerG, 319.5MHz, 345MHz, or 433MHz daughter card to be installed into the panel. Now the same IQ4 NS is a full security system.

Because the IQ4 NS has no screen with which to relay information to the user, it has two (2) LEDs on the front of the panel that provide some information. The left LED indicates power and the right LED indicates security system status.

The table below shows the various LED states and their respective meanings:

Power LED
Solid Green	AC is present.
Flashing Green	System running on battery, AC power is down
LED OFF	System is Powered Down
Status LED
Solid Green	Disarmed, Ready to Arm
Flashing Green	Ready to Arm, with Zones Open
Solid Orange	System Trouble Present
Flashing Orange	RF Jam is Present
Solid Red	System Armed
Flashing Red	An Alarm has Occurred
Flashing Red (Rapidly)	Active Fire Alarm, Bell Silenced
Flashing Blue	Rebooting After an Update
Solid Blue	IQ Installer Pairing Mode

With no touchscreen interface on the panel, the power button also has some additional functionality on the IQ4 NS. See the chart below for details:

Power Button
Press and Hold, 3 Seconds	Panel Powers On, if Currently Off.
Press and Release, While Disarmed	Announces Alarms, Troubles, and any other Status. Alarms and Troubles can be Cleared by Pressing and Releasing again, after Annunciation Ends.
Press Twice within 3-Seconds, While Disarmed	Initiates a Pairing Window for the IQ Installer App. If Enabled in Programming, May Also Initiate a Cell Test.
Press and Hold for 30-Seconds	Initiates a Hard Reboot.

Links for the various versions of the IQ4 NS can be found below:

Not all versions of the IQ4 NS are available just yet, but as they roll out, we'll add links to those panels in the chart above. We've been, frankly, unimpressed with prior manufacturers' all-in-one panels with no touchscreen, but the Qolsys IQ4 NS seems to have been well thought out. We'll see how popular it is with our customers.

What do you think about this type of screenless panel? Would you consider purchasing one? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. It seems that every manufacturer of all-in-one, professional-grade security panels decides to try a screenless panel at some point. It will be interesting to see if Qolsys can succeed where others have failed.