AlarmNet Posts

Resideo has reported that they are working to resolve an issue where Legacy IP Cameras (Non-HD) are sending notifications on motion activation, but without the actual video clip attached. The legacy, standard-definition cameras normally send a 10-second clip along with the notification.

Until this issue is corrected, Total Connect 2.0 users who have older, Standard-Definition IP Cameras from Honeywell can log into their TC2 account and view or download the video clips from there, once a notification has been received. Resideo is aware of this issue and plans to push an update in the next couple of weeks to resolve it. The legacy IP cameras include the IPCAM-WI, IPCAM-WI2, IPCAM-WL, IPCAM-PT, IPCAM-PT2, and IPCAM-WO.

When the Standard-Definition cameras are working properly a video clip triggered by motion detection via video analytics sends a notification as a text, email, or push notification. The user will actually receive the video clip within that notification and can view it or download it without ever logging into Total Connect 2.0.

Unlike the standard-definition, legacy IP Cameras from Honeywell, the newer High Definition cameras such as the IPCAM-WIC1, IPCAM-WIC2, IPCAM-WOC1, or IPCAM-WOC2 have never sent a video clip attachment along with new event notification messages. Instead, the user has always been required to log into TC2 once they received the notification and then view or download the supplied clip. HD IPCAM clips are 30-seconds, not 10-seconds in length. This, coupled with the increased data usage required by a higher definition clip, may be why the notifications for these cameras no longer include the actual clip.

According to the information we received, Resideo had a planned update nearly ready to go for Total Connect 2.0 when this issue came to light. The plan was to implement this update in early June. Now that the SD camera notification issue has been discovered, the fix for it will be included in the planned update. We expect this fix, along with the rest of the update within the first couple of weeks of June. Aside from this issue, we don't yet know what other fixes or new features this update may entail.

Are you affected by this issue? Are you still using the Honeywell legacy cameras? Let us know what you think in the comments below. Is this type of issue something that would make you consider upgrading to newer cameras, maybe even a new system? Reach out and start a conversation, we always look forward to hearing from you!

An announcement on the AlarmNet360 page shows that they will send a remote reset command to some LTEM-PA, LTEM-PV, LTEM-PIA, and LTEM-PIV radios. This will occur today, Friday 04/15/22 between 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm ET. This may cause a trouble condition, and queued alarm reports could be sent.

It's unclear why this is being done. After a successful reset occurs, the radio will send an "E339-EXP. Module Power ON / Reset" message to the monitoring station. If the radio was in comm failure prior to the reset and any unsent alarm signals were queued, this reset may cause those alarm messages to be sent. These signals would show up immediately following the E339 signal at the central station. We assume this would also cause the same alarm messages to show up in Total Connect 2.0, and to be sent as notifications.

In addition, depending on how the panel is programmed, this event may cause the panel to display a bF or Check 103 message, and could also cause trouble beeping from the keypad. Disarming the system twice should clear the message and return the system to its normal state.

The Resideo PROINDMV offers a cost-effective alternative to full video monitoring. Up to eight (8) PROINDMV devices can be added to each Total Connect 2.0 account, with no upgrade to full video surveillance required. When activated, the PROINDMV can take a still image or a 10-second clip.

For Alarm Grid customers, any Silver monitoring plan (Self or Full), or higher, can support up to eight (8) of these motion viewers. A Self Bronze plan, can support one (1) PROINDMV. Also, if the panel happens to be set to Local Alarm Mode, then only one (1) motion viewer can be added with clips available locally only. Clips or images captured by the motion viewer can be viewed through the Honeywell Home PROA7PLUS or Resideo PROA7PLUSC panel touchscreen, or through Total Connect 2.0. The PROINDMV is only compatible with the Honeywell Home PROA7PLUS and Resideo PROA7PLUSC panels and is not compatible with the non-plus versions of those panels or with any other panels (as of October 2022).

In order for the PROINDMV to create a clip or image and send it to the panel and TC2, the panel it's used with must have at least a 15-second burglary communication delay enabled, and the panel must stay in alarm long enough for an alarm report to be triggered. At that point, the clip or image will be sent to the panel and to TC2. In the case of the panel being in Local Alarm Mode, the clip will only be sent to the panel. The motion viewer is never recording unless it has detected an alarm. This means that there is no peek-in feature for the motion viewer. A user can't pull up their TC2 account, choose a PROINDMV device and bring up a real-time image. Hopefully, this may change in future firmware updates.

When the system is armed, and a video or image capture occurs during the Entry Delay period, the motion viewer holds any images or clips until after the Entry Delay has expired. If the system is disarmed before the end of Entry Delay, then any clips or images captured during that time are discarded. If it is not disarmed, then those images or clips will be sent once an alarm report is triggered.

Once the PROINDMV has captured a clip or image, it waits either 1.5 minutes (if there is no activity) or 3 minutes (in the event of constant activity) before it will capture another image or clip. A Maximum of ten (10) captures can occur during an armed period (this is assuming Swinger Suppression is set at the Maximum of 6). This is ten (10) captures per PROINDMV, not per account, per armed period. When programming, a PROINDMV can be assigned to any active partition. The response types that are available for the motion viewer are Interior Follower or Interior with Delay. So, the PROINDMV will only be active when its partition is armed Away, or Night (assuming the PROINDMV is enabled for Night Stay Mode).

When the panel camera log gets full, once ten (10) captures have been saved, it will begin to overwrite the oldest captures with new ones. All motion viewer captures are purged from the panel log after 30-days. The panel camera log can not be viewed through AlarmNet360, meaning an alarm dealer can't view any potentially private images. Image or clip captures are sent over WIFI (any time its available) or Cellular (if WIFI is down, or not present). Currently, motion captures cannot be viewed through the Honeywell Home PROWLTOUCH or Resideo PROWLTOUCHC.

Resideo has been investigating an issue with a very small number of communicators. The LTE-CFV, HWF2V-COM, LTE-IV, LTE-L3V, and VISTA-21IPLTE with LTE-21V. In a few cases, starting on March 19, 2022, the Verizon LTE SIM has become locked, causing a comm failure, or secondary path failure.

A device with this issue will show the following symptoms: Locally at the device, the LEDs will flash regularly at a rate of two times per second (see video above). Through AlarmNet360, the affected devices will have checked in normally for the period leading up to March 19, 2022. Then beginning on that date, or on a subsequent date through March 28, 2022, a comm failure will be indicated. Once the comm fail indication appears, it will not clear, so if you've had a comm failure during this time that has restored, then your communication failure is not being caused by this issue.

In addition to the above evidence of an issue, the alarm panel that the communicator is connected to will have a trouble indication displayed. This may come in the form of a Check 103, or a bF on VISTA-20P and similar panels, and also the L3000 panel. For the L3000 panel, the bF will only show on an RF keypad, such as the 5828 or 5828V, the panel itself will show Check or Fault 103. To silence any trouble beeping, enter a disarm command at any panel keypad. These trouble messages can be caused by other things, not just this issue, so if you see one of these error messages and think you may be affected, be sure to contact your alarm dealer for further assistance.

Bear in mind that only the communicators listed above are affected, and that these are all Verizon SIM Cards. If you have an AT&T Communicator, you needn't worry about this issue. Also, for those who have a dual-path communicator with Ethernet connected, you will not necessarily see a Communication Failure message. Instead you will be notified of a Secondary Path Failure. Again, if you are affected by this issue, once the failure occurs, it will not restore. So if you've received a Secondary Path Failure that has since restored, then you experienced a separate issue.

Again, if you feel that you have been affected by this issue, contact your alarm dealer. They can confirm if you are affected and will be able to assist you in receiving a replacement SIM. Alarm Grid customers who are affected have already been contacted and replacement SIMs are on the way. If any further information becomes available, we'll update this post with further details.

ISC West, the security industry's largest trade show, was held this week in Las Vegas. This is the first year since the COVID-19 outbreak that the show is being held in person. We didn't attend the show this year, but based on what we've seen, JCI and Qolsys won the ISC West show in 2022.

Qolsys:

IQ Pro

Qolsys, Inc. which was acquired by Johnson Controls in 2020, premiered two brand new products, and reintroduced one more. The IQ Pro Panel is a hybrid wired and wireless system which targets large homes, and medium to large businesses. It combines the reliability of hardwired components with the range and versatility of the DSC PowerG Sensor lineup. The product is planned for release in Summer, 2022.

There is very little information available about the IQ Pro. The Press Release announcing the product, which was released by Johnson Controls, didn't even say for certain that it would be a Qolsys branded product, though with 'IQ' as a part of the name, we assume it will be. This panel will combine elements of the IQ Panel 4 with the DSC PowerSeries Neo, and a little bit of customer feedback thrown in. A couple of things we do know, the IQ Pro will offer the choice of either Ethernet or WIFI connectivity along with LTE. This panel has been designed with Alarm.com for Business in mind, to take advantage of all the extended features offered there.

IQ WIFI 6

The Qolsys IQ WIFI 6 was actually first introduced to us here at Alarm Grid last year. It is a product we thought was going to released then, but it was introduced at ISC West and should be available in Summer, along with the IQ Pro. The IQ WIFI 6 is is a router that uses 802.11 1/b/g/n/ac/ax WIFI-6 technology. It offers dual-end 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz MIMO mesh architecture on a Qualcomm Networking Pro 400 platform. It will integrate with Qolsys touchscreen panels, to allow a user to administer the network from there.

The IQ WIFI 6 will offer four (4) network partitions, including a Guest Network and a dedicated network for the end-user's WIFI devices. Both of these will switch automatically between 2.4 GHz and 5GHz for seamless optimization of WIFI performance. In addition to these partitions, there are two (2) private network partitions to be used by security and/or networking providers. By separating the security, surveillance, and smart home devices from the rest of the network, professional providers can cut down on disruptions caused by user error.

IQ Hub

The Qolsys IQ Hub has actually already been released, in a limited fashion within the last six (6) months or so. Presumably due to supply chain issues, Qolsys has tightly controlled how many of these panels are shipped, but now, based on a press release this week, it seems like they may be looking to perform a wider release. The IQ Hub differs from the IQ Panel 4 in several ways, one of which is that each panel will only support one RF product line. There is a PowerG version with either an AT&T or Verizon communicator. This is the only version that has been released at this time. Soon however, there will be a version that supports unencrypted, uni-directional Honeywell and 2GIG wireless sensors, one that supports unencrypted, uni-directional Interlogix and all Qolsys wireless sensors, and a version that supports uni-directional DSC 433 MHz wireless sensors.

Resideo:

Cellbounce

Resideo and Honeywell Home brought the Cellbounce to ISC West. This device will bridge communicators that work on the AT&T 3G network over to the AT&T LTE network, without having to replace the device. This is a plug-n-play device. It connects to an outlet within range, which is 25' (7.62m), of the existing AT&T 3G communicator, though be sure not to plug the Cellbounce in until it has been configured by your alarm dealer.

It syncs to the 3G communicator, then with the LTE network and any signals sent by the communicator will be picked up and transported via LTE. It even works with Total Connect 2.0, though it does not work with two-way voice. It also only works in the contiguous United States, so Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico residents, the Cellbounce is not for you. There are some other caveats and limitations, so be sure to read our product description carefully before purchasing.

2GIG, Nortek Control:

2GIG Edge

In October of 2021 Nortek Control, the parent company of 2GIG, was purchased by Nice. Nice originated in Italy, with Nice North America handling the US and Canadian segment of the business. This year at ISC West, Nice put their stamp on this relatively new acquisition. In addition to some commercial camera innovations by Linear, Nice/Nortek Control announced during ISC West that they will offer exclusive integration between the 2GIG Edge security panel and the ELAN Home Control platform. The Edge has been out for about a year now. You can read all about it here.

According to their press release, this integration will be supported by the ELAN SC-100 and ELAN SC-300 system controllers running ELAN 8.7 OS (which won't be available until April, 2022). The 2GIG Edge panel requires firmware version 3.1.1.0 or later. Firmware can be pushed through Alarm.com or downloaded. This panel firmware version is not available from 2GIG just yet, but once it is posted, our page will be updated. One of the more convenient features of this integration is the ELAN Control Auto Zone Detection feature. If the ELAN system is setup first, with zone names, once the 2GIG Edge is installed, it can download all zones and zone names directly from ELAN, without having to re-enter the information.

It's time for ISC West, and all the manufacturers are putting their best foot forward. Resideo now has Release 4 for the ProSeries panels on offer. This update adds Dealer Branding, Customized Voice Descriptors, a WIFI Access Point, 2-Way Voice per Partition, and an Easy Access Help Screen.

Dealer Branding

This can be a hot-button topic for our DIY customers. Many of them don't want dealer branding to mar the look of their touchscreen panel. Release 4 adds the ability to push Dealer Branding to the Honeywell Home PROA7, PROA7PLUS and Resideo PROA7C and PROA7PLUSC. We're not sure how we're going to treat this feature, so stay tuned for more information on this topic.

Customized Voice Descriptors

In the past, Honeywell and now Resideo, and Honeywell Home panels that have supported the voice chime feature were limited to speaking words from a pre-set vocabulary. If a custom voice descriptor was used, then the panel or keypad would just skip that word when speaking the descriptor, as though it didn't exist. With Release 4, this changes for the ProSeries panels. Using either AlarmNet360 or local programming, a custom word descriptor can be entered. It then goes through a text-to-speech process.

If text-to-speech processing occurs on the AlarmNet360 server, then if the custom voice descriptor is typed in by the alarm dealer through AlarmNet360, it will then have to be processed and downloaded to the panel. Then it's ready to be spoken for the zone in question. If the custom voice descriptor is typed in using local panel programming, that means the typed word has to be uploaded, processed, then downloaded again. If processing occurs at the panel, instead of AlarmNet360, then basically the same thing will happen, just in reverse. The point is, some processing and transferring of data must occur, so this kind of change can take a few minutes.

Another very important change comes with this update. In the past, the Device Type has always been spoken as a portion of the zone descriptor (with the exception of Device Type Other). If the Device Type was Window, and you wanted the voice descriptor to be "Front Window" then you only entered "Front" as Zone Descriptor 1 and left Zone Descriptor 2 blank. The panel would automatically say Window as the Device Type. Now, this has changed. The Device Type is no longer being spoken as part of the voice descriptor. So, for my office window, I used Zone Descriptor 1 - Julia, Zone Descriptor 2 - Side, and Device Type Window. However, now, in order to get the panel to actually say "Julia Side Window", I had to make Zone Descriptor 1 - "Julia Side", and Zone Descriptor 2 - "Window". This is a big difference, and may cause some issues, particularly for those with lots of zones. I look for this to possibly change in the near future.

WIFI Access Point

A WIFI Access Point has been added to the ProSeries panels. With this access point the Honeywell Home PROWLTOUCH or Resideo PROWLTOUCHC touchscreen keypad can still be added to a system where no WIFI connection normally exists. This is often an issue seen in second homes, or cabins, where it doesn't make sense to pay for an internet connection when the home is unoccupied. Up to eight (8) secondary keypads can be used per ProSeries panel. Using either the aforementioned touchscreen keypads or the Honeywell Home PROSIXLCDKP push button keypad. As a PROSIX Series Device, the PROSIXLCDKP doesn't require any type of internet connection. It communicates to the panel in the same manner as any PROSIX Series zone does.

Two-Way Voice Per Partition

Two-Way Voice is a feature that allows the central station operator to connect to the location that reported an alarm and either listen in, speak to persons on site, or carry on a two-way conversation. Those, "I've fallen, and I can't get up!" commercials of yesteryear are an early example of two-way voice.

The ProSeries panels have always supported up to four (4) partitions, however, earlier versions did not support two-way voice per partition. When a system with two-way voice enabled reports a burglary or panic signal, the monitoring station receives a special signal. They can then press a command on their end that begins the voice session. Once connected, they can press the 4-Key on their telephone keypad to toggle through up to four (4) touchscreen keypads on the system. Each of those touchscreens can be assigned to any of the partitions that are enabled.

Easy Access Help Screen

In Release 4, a user can go to the hamburger menu icon at the bottom center of the display on either the main panel, or any secondary touchscreen keypad. Once the menu comes up, scroll all the way to the bottom and press Help. A QR Code will be displayed. Scan the QR code with your smartphone or tablet, and then press "Youtube" and you'll be taken to the Resideo and Honeywell Home ProSeries channel on Youtube. You can then browse through the help topics for a video that addresses your issue.

Final Update: Per a restoral announcement, this issue was resolved by 11:45 AM

Update 10:56 AM: According to Resideo, these notifications are the result of "catch-up" notifications from the outage earlier this week. As the queue for these old messages clears out, the erroneous messages should taper off. In the meantime, actual disarm photos may be delayed.

Original Post: We've had multiple reports this morning of Honeywell Lyric users who are receiving disarm photos from their panels every few minutes. Even users who don't have notifications enabled for disarm photos are being bombarded via the activity log. If you are affected, ignore disarm photo notifications for now.

Initially, it was only Lyric users who were reporting this issue, but now we've received reports from users of the Pro Series panels as well. It seems to be Push Notifications that are being affected. To disable Push Notifications for now, do the following:

1. Log into Total Connect 2.0.
2. Go to More > Settings > Notifications.
3. Tap the toggle for Push Notifications so that it is disabled.

We'll provide more details as they become available.

I was able to speak with an industry insider familiar with the events at Resideo's data center on Sunday night into Monday evening. This person related to me that there was an HVAC failure at the primary data center. It was initially thought to be an easy fix, but that turned out to be false.

Things started to go wrong in Resideo's primary data center on Sunday night at around 7:00 PM Eastern Time. An HVAC failure allowed the temperature in the data center to climb to a dangerous level for the servers located there. The normal temperature is around 70℉ (21℃) but on Sunday it rose into the neighborhood of 130℉ (54.4℃). The servers are set to failsafe, so rather than continue running, and risk catastrophic damage, they began to shut down.

An automated system is in place which notifies engineering and other stakeholders when a serious event like this occurs. An HVAC technician responded. Initially, the technician believed this would be a quick and easy fix, so the decision was made not to switch to the secondary data center, which is located in the Chicago area. The switch takes a bit of time, somewhere around 20 minutes, and the thought was that it wouldn't be worthwhile at that point to make the switch.

However, the HVAC tech discovered that in order to implement a fix, he or she was going to require a part, which they didn't have and couldn't get at that time. So, at around 1:00 AM Eastern Time, the decision was made to switch things over to the secondary data center. By about 1:30 AM Eastern Time, the backup data center was in control.

At around daylight Monday morning the HVAC system in the primary data center had been fixed. Once it was fixed, there was a period of time where the temperature was coming down to an acceptable level. By approximately 11:00 AM Eastern Time, Resideo was ready to switch back to the primary data center. At this point, alarm signaling was back up and had been for some time. By around 2:00 PM AlarmNet360 was back up, and by about 6:00 PM Total Connect 2.0 was back online, though customers and our own testing show that it was somewhat sluggish at first.

This outage affected three (3) things. The most serious was alarm signaling. During the early hours of the outage, customer's systems were unable to send signals to the monitoring station, or to send notifications to the customers themselves. Total Connect 2.0, the customer-facing app and website for end-user remote control was also down. Lastly, AlarmNet360, the alarm dealer facing service used to create or cancel accounts and remotely troubleshoot issues was also affected. When things went wrong, the initial focus was on getting alarm signaling backup as quickly as possible. This was the focus when they initially switched to the Chicago area data center.

This is a fully redundant system, and it is tested regularly. According to my source, there were hourly notifications being sent to alarm dealers, but the database of email addresses for these notifications seems to be outdated. This is something they will address going forward. A root cause analysis will be completed in the coming days, and any processes or procedures that need to be updated will be dealt with at that time. The site at status.resideo.com doesn't have a section showing either AlarmNet360 or Total Connect 2.0 status. Hopefully, this is something that will change in the very near future as well. Finally, those dealers who did receive notification noted that the emails weren't flagged as containing particularly important information. This is also something that will be addressed in the future.

Update March 16, Post Outage: Alarm Grid has confirmed that the Lyric and Pro Series panels are not uploading Disarm photos to TC2 in the wake of the recent service outage. We can't be sure these two issues are related, but the customers we've spoken to indicate that this feature was working prior to the outage. The issue has been reported to Resideo.

Since the restoral: We have noticed that some panels with WIFI, such as the Lynx Touch panels, are not automatically reconnecting to WIFI. If this happens to you try a panel reboot. If that doesn't fix the problem, then go back through WIFI settings and rejoin the network.

9:18 pm Update: Our testing indicates that Total Connect 2.0 is fully restored. We've confirmed that both iOS and Android devices are now able to connect. Resideo has confirmed that Total Connect 2.0 is restored as well.

Dear Valued Customer,
Subject: The following AlarmNet Services are now Restored

Alarm Delivery/Signaling
AN360
Total Connect

Alarm Delivery/Signaling
Date:3/14/22
Restored Time:2:40 PM ET
AN360
Date: 3/14/22
Time: 2:40 PM ET

Total Connect
Date: 3/14/22
Restored Time: 7:30 PM ET
Thank you for your patience.

7:40 pm Update: It's unofficial, but it appears the TC2 website is now accessible. In addition, when logging in through the iOS App, Activity appears to now be logging correctly again. Now, when I bypass a sensor, then arm, TC2 and the panel status match. When I look in Activity, the proper events are showing up. What I see when I log into the webpage matches what I see in the app.

5:00 pm Update: Total Connect 2.0 Text notifications are beginning to be processed. Earlier in the day, only push notifications were coming through. In these notifications, you are likely to see some older events as the queued events are processed by the server.

The Total Connect 2.0 Website, it appears, is still unavailable. To our knowledge, Android users are still not able to log in via the app. Users on the iOS platform can log in, but TC2 seems to be having trouble knowing whether a command is processed or not. I was able to bypass a zone and arm my system successfully (I can tell because I'm sitting next to it) but TC2 thought the arming command failed, and showed my system disarmed.

Resideo put up an official notice on the AlarmNet360 site. It states:

IMPAIRED
Alarm Delivery and AN360 Restored / Total Connect is still impaired

Start:2022-03-13 07:00 PM
End: N/A

Dear Valued Customer,
Subject: The following AlarmNet Services are now Restored
Alarm Delivery/Signaling
AN360

Alarm Delivery/Signaling
Date: 3/14/22
Restored Time: 2:40 PM ET

AN360
Date: 3/14/22
Restored Time: 2:40 PM ET

2:00 pm Update: AlarmNet360 is now up and functioning. This means our ability to create new accounts and remotely troubleshoot existing accounts is restored. There could still be a few hiccups, so please be patient.

Total Connect 2.0 is still accessible via iOS device, but not via the website. Some activity and notifications have begun to come through via iOS. As far as we know, Android users are still unable to log into TC2 at all.

Please Note: As the service begins to come back up, there may be some events that TC2 has had queued since the service went down. When the connection is restored, you may receive some notifications for events that actually happened at an earlier time.

1:00 pm Update: To our knowledge, AlarmNet customers' alarm signals are being delivered, and have been since about 3:00 am this morning. We've done some signal testing, and currently our signals are coming through.

The AlarmNet360 website and the mobile app are still down. It is not currently possible to log in there.

Total Connect 2.0 appears to be partly up. You can log in through iOS devices and execute some commands, but the Activity Log appears not to be working, at least not with consistency. Android users of the App report they are still unable to log into Total Connect 2.0. If you have news to report on your status, you can do so in the comments below.

UPDATE 12:42 pm: If you have silenced your system after receiving an error message about a comm failure or other outage-related message, such as communication path failure, the system should not sound again unless the condition restores, then occurs again. In that case, it will sound again because the system sees it as a new event that it needs to make you aware of.

The website listed above, status.resideo.com is the site for Resideo Total Connect Comfort (thermostats). Though this isn't a site specifically for Total Connect 2.0, the issues seem to be mirroring one another, so it's a reasonable site to check for progress. Honeywell Home is not the same thing as Total Connect 2.0.

Original Post: Alarm Grid has received information that Total Connect 2.0, a service of AlarmNet, is currently down. During this outage, you will be unable to log into your Total Connect 2.0 account, and you will likely see an error, and hear beeping, from your system.

To silence the beeping, simply disarm your system twice, or if you have a touchscreen, acknowledge the error by entering your normal arm/disarm code when prompted. Once the error is silenced, it should not sound again*, though it will continue to display on the keypad until the issue is resolved. Once the problem is resolved, another disarm (or two) may be required. You can check the status of this outage at status.resideo.com.

This outage has also affected the ability of the system to deliver signals to the central station and to Total Connect 2.0. We apologize for this inconvenience, rest assured that Resideo is working diligently to resolve the issue. We'll follow up with more information as it becomes available.

In addition to Total Connect 2.0 being unavailable, AlarmNet360 is also down. This means that we are unable to activate accounts using this service, and we are unable to remotely troubleshoot systems that communicate through AlarmNet.

Today, February 22, 2022 is the official date for the AT&T 3G Sunset. As we've mentioned before, there isn't a big switch that gets turned off and then, "Poof!" no more 3G. If you still have an AT&T 3G communicator, it may continue to work for a while, but there is no way to know how long.

If you're just becoming aware of the AT&T 3G Sunset because you have a security panel that you haven't been paying much attention to for a while, then you probably are seeing some type of error, and possibly hearing some annoying beeping. Some of the more common error messages are shown further down in this post. The thing to keep in mind is that your alarm panel wants to be sure that you know there's a problem. So, if you just press the touchscreen, or press any button on the keypad, that should stop the beeping, at least temporarily.

If you know the arming/disarming code for the system, enter it if prompted on a touchscreen panel, or if you're on a VISTA panel, just enter your 4-digit code and then press the OFF or 1 Key. This will acknowledge the trouble condition and stop the beeping on a more permanent basis, though in some cases, it may come back after a period of time. If you don't know a valid code for the system, then you will likely need to shut down your system by unplugging the transformer and the battery. If you're interested in putting your system into service keep reading to see how Alarm Grid is helping out in this situation.

If you find yourself in the unenviable position of needing to replace an AT&T 3G communicator, but you haven't done so yet, don't panic. The AT&T 3G network is vast and complex. It's not something that you can simply turn off. The process of sunsetting 3G equipment will take a bit of time. So, if after today your 3G communicator still works, you're one of the lucky ones. You've been given a slight reprieve. However, there is no way for us to know how long that reprieve will last, so decide what you're going to do, and do it now.

One ongoing problem that we've seen recently is supply chain issues. Maybe you've been trying to upgrade for the past six (6) months, but the communicator or system you need hasn't been available. Communicator manufacturers have been rolling out LTE Cat-M1 communicators in the absence of available components for standard LTE.

LTE Cat-M1 is the cellular network that was created for Internet-of-Things (IoT) use. It has lower power consumption, better range, and the modems used for it have a smaller form factor. The trade-off is lower bandwidth. However, the amount of data being transmitted by alarm communicators is very low compared to voice and data used for a traditional phone, so the difference in bandwidth isn't noticeable. Happily, the components to make LTE Cat-M1 communicators appears to be readily available, so those communicators have been coming into stock in the past months and continue to become available.

Some of the available AlarmNet LTE Cat-M1 communicators are listed below. These communicators are all compatible with the VISTA panels. The LTEM-PA and LTEM-PV are also compatible with the DSC PC1616, DSC PC1832, and DSC PC1864 and the Interlogix NX Series panels. For the Interlogix NX Series, the PRODCM is also required:

• LTEM-PA - Dual-path IP and AT&T LTE Cat-M1 communicator with the ability to add a traditional LTE communicator if needed. First communicator to allow non-Honeywell panels to use Total Connect 2.0.
• LTEM-PV - Dual-path IP and Verizon LTE Cat-M1 communicator with the ability to add a traditional LTE communicator if needed. Along with the LTEM-PA can allow non-Honeywell panels to use Total Connect 2.0.
• LTEM-XA - AT&T LTE Cat-M1 Communicator for VISTA Panels.
• LTEMXA-TC2 - AT&T LTE Cat-M1 Communicator for VISTA Panels. Includes upgrade chips for VISTA-15P and VISTA-20P panels, allowing them to support Total Connect 2.0.
• LTEM-XV - Verizon LTE Cat-M1 Communicator for VISTA Panels.
LTEMXV-TC2 - Verizon LTE Cat-M1 Communicator for VISTA Panels. Includes upgrade chips for VISTA-15P and VISTA-20P panels, allowing them to support Total Connect 2.0.
• LTEM-IA -COMING SOON - AT&T LTE Cat-M1 Communicator with RJ45 Port for Ethernet. Currently in Beta.
• LTEM-PIA - AT&T LTE Cat-M1 Communicator with RJ45 Ethernet port. Listed for UL-985 Household Fire.
• LTEM-PIV - Verizon LTE Cat-M1 Communicator with RJ45 Ethernet port. Listed for UL-985 Household Fire.

Some of the available Alarm.com LTE Cat-M1 communicators are listed below. Compatibility is listed with each communicator:

• Alarm.com ADC-SEM210-PS-AT-M - COMING SOON - Dual-path AT&T LTE Cat-M1 and ethernet capable communicator for use with legacy DSC Power Series panels (PC1616, PC1832, PC1864).
• Alarm.com ADC-SEM210-PS-VZ-M - COMING SOON. - Dual-path Verizon LTE Cat-M1 and ethernet capable communicator for use with legacy DSC Power Series panels (PC1616, PC1832, PC1864).
• Alarm.com ADC-SEM300-VT-AT-M - COMING SOON. - Dual-path AT&T LTE Cat-M1 and ethernet capable communicator for use with Honeywell VISTA (non-polling loop) panels (VISTA-10P, VISTA-15P, VISTA-20P, VISTA-21iP manufactured in 2005 or later).
• Alarm.com ADC-SEM300-VT-VZ-M - Dual-path Verizon LTE Cat-M1 and ethernet capable communicator for use with Honeywell VISTA (non-polling loop) panels (VISTA-10P, VISTA-15P, VISTA-20P, VISTA-21iP manufactured in 2005 or later).

Panel Cellular Communicator Trouble Condition Messages

If you are affected immediately by the AT&T 3G shutdown, you may see one of these error messages on your system:

• Check 103 ####: - You may see this on a non-polling VISTA panel, such as the VISTA-20P, but only if you have an Alpha Keypad like a 6160. The #### will be a 4-digit number. It may be 4005, which indicates that the communicator has lost connection with AlarmNet. The exact 4-digit code will depend on whether there are any other trouble conditions existing on the communicator at the time the message is displayed.
  *If you have a VISTA panel, choose from any of the communicators listed above for VISTA panels. The VISTA-21IPLTE can use the LTE-21V. The only way to update an original VISTA-21iP is to add an external communicator and disable the internal one. The prior link is an FAQ on how to do just that. The same rule about possibly downgrading to an IP only plan mentioned under the bF message applies here too.
• bF, or it may look like 6F: - This is supposed to be a bF, which stands for Backup Failure, as in backup communicator. This message means the same thing as Check 103, but will be displayed on a non-alpha keypad like a 6150. If this is the only type of keypad you have, then this is all the information the panel and the communicator can give you. If you get this message after 02/22/22 and your AT&T 3G Communicator has been fine until then, you're not one of the lucky ones. You should look to upgrade your communicator ASAP. *Or, if you have a dual-path communicator and an IP connection is available near it, you could downgrade to an IP only plan for now, and upgrade to LTE at a later time. Just bear in mind, if you go IP only, when the internet is out, your panel's ability to communicate is out. This is usually the case during power outages. The above rule about upgrading the communicator under the Check 103 message also applies here.
• Fault 103: - This may also show as a Check 103, then display as a Fault 103 after you silence the panel. This is what you see on the Honeywell L3000 panels when there is a problem with the communicator. Losing connection due to the 3G Sunset would cause this error code. There is not a good IP only option for the L3000 currently available. You can use a 7847-I, but it is a messy installation. You can also use the 7847I-L, if you can find one, they are discontinued.
  • Honeywell LTE-L3V - Verizon LTE Communicator for the Honeywell L3000 panel.
  • Honeywell LTE-L3A - AT&T LTE Communicator for the Honeywell L3000 panel.
• 103 Comm. Trouble: - The Lynx Touch Panels will display something along these lines. The icon and message may differ slightly, but the gist is the same. This is what you'll see on these panels if you're affected by the AT&T 3G shut down.
  • Honeywell LTE-L57A: - AT&T LTE Communicator for Lynx Touch panels. Important! There may be panel firmware revision restrictions with your panel and either of these communicators. Read the product description very carefully to be sure your panel is on the correct version for the communicator you choose. If you need to update the panel, you can do so with the Honeywell LYNXTOUCH-MSD Firmware Update Tool. It is compatible with the L5200, L5210, and L7000.
  • Honeywell LTE-L57V: - Verizon LTE communicator for the Lynx Touch panels. See the Important note above about panel firmware version limitations.
• ⚠ 950 Comm. Trouble: This is the message displayed on a Lyric Controller if it has a cellular communication path, and it loses contact with AlarmNet on that path. This is what you will see if the AT&T 3G shutdown has caused your communicator to go down. There may be other messages in the status bar at the top of the screen as well, having to do with Comm Failure and potentially other conditions, depending on what's happening with your panel at the time.
  • Honeywell LYRICLTE-A - AT&T LTE Communicator for Lyric. Firmware Revision v01.03.06548.482 or higher required!
  • Honeywell LYRICLTE-V - Verizon LTE Communicator for Lyric. Firmware Revision 1.09 (aka MR9) or higher required!
    
    
• Check 8##, ####: - You may see this message on a VISTA-128 or VISTA-250 panel. Devices connected to the keypad bus can be supervised for a connection to the panel, and for a tamper condition where applicable. The AT&T 3G Communicator can also be supervised for communicator troubles, such as a loss of connection to AlarmNet. If supervision is enabled (and it is not enabled by default) then when the 3G Sunset affects the communicator, the panel will display a Check or Trouble (based on programming) 8 + the 2-digit number of the address. So, if the communicator is assigned to address 03, and supervision is enabled, it will display as a Check or Trouble on Zone 803 plus the 4-digit communicator status code associated with the condition when you have the proper keypad to display it. If the only problem is a loss of network connection, then the 4-digit code should be 4005. Supervision is enabled by enabling the associated 800-zone with a trouble zone type, such as 05, Trouble by Day/Alarm by Night.
• 2GIG GC2 and GC2e Displays Trouble Icon and beeps 6 Times per minute until the trouble condition is acknowledged: This is the behavior of the 2GIG GC2e and presumable the 2GIG GC2 as well. The Security Screen will show a Yellow button with an exclamation mark and a number. When you press the button, it will take you to the Trouble Display screen where you can scroll through the trouble conditions, and you may click on the communicator trouble then press OK. This will stop any beeping, but the display will continue to show trouble until the condition is cleared. In the case of the AT&T 3G Sunset, this means upgrading the communicator.
  
  
  
  • 2GIG LTEA-A-GC2: - Alarm.com compatible AT&T LTE Communicator for 2GIG GC2 and 2GIG GC2e. Important! Be sure to check for any panel firmware version requirements associated with either of these LTE communicators for the 2GIG GC2 and GC2e panels.
  • 2GIG LTEV1-A-GC2: - Alarm.com compatible Verizon LTE Communicator for 2GIG GC2 and 2GIG GC2e.
2GIG GC3 and GC3e Message LED is lit and the panel chimes at ten-second intervals until the condition is acknowledged: The behavior for the cellular communicator losing connection to the AT&T 3G network on a 2GIG GC3 or GC3e depends somewhat on panel programming. In Q30, you set the amount of time that is allowed to elapse with no communication to the server before a trouble condition is indicated. The default is 30 minutes. A 0 in this field disables the supervision feature. The maximum entry is 255 minutes. Q31 also determines whether the radio network failure causes a trouble condition on the panel. This is enabled by default, but if disabled, you will have no visible indication if you are affected by the AT&T 3G sunset. Q32 is radio network failure reports. This is enabled by default and determines whether the panel reports the radio failure to the monitoring station (assuming it is able to do so with the radio down, the panel would need to be utilizing the WIFI communication path for this to be possible.)
• 2GIG LTEA-A-GC3: AT&T LTE Communicator for the 2GIG GC3 and GC3e panels. The panel must have Firmware Version 3.2.3 or higher to support this communicator.
• 2GIG LTEV1-A-GC3: Verizon LTE Communicator for the 2GIG GC3 and GC3e panels. The GC3 or GC3e must have Firmware Version 3.1.3 or higher to support this communicator.

Alarm Grid Is Here To Help!

If you're a current Alarm Grid customer and you have purchased an LTE communicator, but haven't switched over to it yet, please send an email to support@alarmgrid.com. In the subject line, be sure to put "I Need an LTE Upgrade". We'll reach out with further instructions and either a link to schedule your upgrade, or information as to what we need to begin your upgrade. Lyric and Lynx Touch users may be able to get upgraded with no appointment, where a VISTA user may require an appointment as those communicator swaps are a little more intricate.

If you purchase an LTE communicator or an upgrade kit from Alarm Grid, we will credit your monitoring account in the amount of the communicator or upgrade kit. If you purchase more than $150 in product, we'll also offer you free ground shipping, so if you've been thinking of adding a doorbell camera, or other products to your system, now may be a good time. The cost of products not associated with the communicator or system and communicator upgrade will not count toward free monitoring though.

If you have the ability to switch to an ethernet or WIFI connection only, you can choose to do that and your monthly monitoring fee will go down. You can purchase an IP or WIFI communicator strictly for that purpose. You may have that option with your existing panel and you just aren't using it, or maybe you were using dual-path monitoring, but now the cellular portion of your 3G communicator has stopped working. Whatever the case, if your communicator or panel supports the option for an IP-only connection, we will be glad to downgrade your service plan permanently, or until you can get the LTE upgrade. But be aware, Alarm.com customers do not have an option for IP-only monitoring.

If you're not a current Alarm Grid customer, never fear, you can get exactly the same deal as existing customers. If you purchase an LTE communicator from us or a kit with a panel and LTE communicator and you then sign up for monitoring with us, we'll give you credit toward free monitoring in the amount of the purchase for the communicator or communicator and panel. Once again, purchases over $150 will have free ground shipping, but any sensors or other devices that you purchase will not count toward free monitoring.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at support@alarmgrid.com. Our support hours are Monday - Friday from 9:00 am - 8:00 pm Eastern. We will help in any way that we can to get you through this transition. Your safety and peace of mind is our top priority.