Service Announcements Posts

Alarm.com users have some new features to enjoy. The platform now lets users easily share and save highlight videos, and you can now perform Alarm.com Smart Scenes directly from the an Apple Watch. We are sure that many users out there will want to take advantage of these great features!

The Alarm.com video highlights feature was first introduced last year, though we never really mentioned it in our blog. Basically, Alarm.com keeps track of different events and arranges them into a "highlight reel" for you to review. Any Alarm.com user with Video Analytics enabled on their account can take advantage of this feature. You will need to have version 4.10.3 or higher of the Alarm.com Mobile App to view highlights on your Android or iOS device. Remember that you can update to the latest version from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

Alarm.com includes the following events into highlight reels:

• Z-Wave Door Locks are Locked/Unlocked
• Door/Window Contacts are Faulted/Restored
• Z-Wave Garage Doors are Opened/Closed
• Alarm.com System is Armed/Disarmed
• Z-Wave Thermostats are adjusted
• Motion Sensor detects movement
• Alarm.com System goes into Alarm
• Video Analytics Camera records a clip
• Sunrise/Sunset

If you have Video Analytics enabled on your Alarm.com account, then you can conveniently view your daily highlight reel from either the Alarm.com Mobile App or website. Each individual "event" in the highlight reel can be selected by tapping its associated thumbnail. And you can tap the double arrow to switch to the highlight reel for a previous day.

The reason why we're just now bringing up Alarm.com Highlights is because the platform now allows users to conveniently download and share highlight reels directly from the Alarm.com Mobile App. You can download your daily highlight reel to save it for permanent use. You can also click the Share button to conveniently send it to a friend via text message or email, or you can upload it to various social media platforms.

The other new Alarm.com feature we briefly wanted to mention is the new ability to perform smart scenes from an Apple Watch. With just a few taps, you can adjust your lights, thermostats, door locks, and more. Now you can have total control right on your wrist! Please note that scenes will need to be set up using the Alarm.com Mobile App or website before you can initiate them from your Apple Watch.

Remember that you need to have an alarm monitoring plan with Alarm.com service to take advantage of these great features. If you don't have Alarm.com service yet, then you should check out our monitoring page to learn more. Keep in mind that you will need a Gold or Platinum Plan (Self or Full) if you intend on using Alarm.com with Alarm Grid. If you have any questions, you can always email us at support@alarmgrid.com or call us at (888) 818-7728. Remember that our support hours run from 9am to 8pm ET M-F. We look forward to hearing from you.

It's now the new year! Alarm Grid welcomes you to 2020. We hope that you and your loved ones experience good fortune in the new year. And you can be sure that Alarm Grid will be there to present you with the latest security news throughout 2020 as well. Make sure to stay tuned to our blog!

Remember, if you need to contact us for help, or if you want to learn more about our monitoring services, then you should email support@alarmgrid.com. Our support hours run from 9am to 8pm ET M-F. We look forward to hearing from you in the new year!

Welcome to the last post of 2019 by Alarm Grid! We would wish you a Happy New Year and good fortune heading into this new decade. It is our hope that you and all your loved ones have a great new year. And if you haven't checked out our recent 2019 Year In Review Post, please do so now!

In order to celebrate the New Year, our office will be closing early tonight, December 31st, at 6pm ET. Additionally, our headquarters will be closed all day tomorrow, January 1st. During this time, we will not be answering phones, responding to emails, or shipping out orders. Also, there will be no new blog for tomorrow. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you need to reach us tonight or tomorrow, then you should email support@alarmgrid.com. We will do our best to send you a proper reply when we return on Thursday, January 2nd, 2020. Until then, we hope that you enjoy New Year's, and we look forward to serving you in 2020.

It's back to work for the Alarm Grid team! We hope that all of you had a nice holiday and spent your time enjoying yourself with your loved ones. But now our office is back open, and we're ready to start taking calls, replying to emails, and shipping out your orders. It's back to the grind!

We have a couple more upcoming holiday hours/closures to be aware of. On Tuesday December 31st, we will be closing early at 6pm ET for New Year's Eve. Then on Wednesday January 1st, we will be closed all day for New Year's Day. We will re-open on Thursday January 2nd.

Remember that you can reach us via email at support@alarmgrid.com or by calling (888) 818-7728. Keep in mind that our support hours run from 9am to 8pm ET M-F. And don't forget about our holiday hours. We look forward to helping you for the rest of 2019 and into 2020 and beyond!

The holidays are now here, and we would like to wish each and every one of you a Happy Holiday season. This is truly one of the best times of the year, and we hope that everyone is in good company and enjoying themselves. Remember to make the most of this great season!

As our team is celebrating the holidays, our office will be closed all day Tuesday December 24th and Wednesday December 25th. During this time, we will not be answering phone calls or checking support emails. Also, there will be no new blog tomorrow, Wednesday December 25th. Our headquarters will resume normal operations Thursday December 26th.

We would also like to give advance notice of our New Year's hours. Our headquarters will be closing early at 6pm ET on Tuesday December 31st in observance of New Year's Eve. Our headquarters will be closed all day Wednesday January 1st in observance of New Year's Day.

If you need to reach us during any of these closures, please email support@alarmgrid.com, and we will respond as soon as we can once we return. Until then, please stay safe, and remember to arm your system if you go out. Have a Happy Holidays, and we'll be back on Thursday!

Preventing false alarms is now even more important in Memphis, TN. The city council has recently approved new rules that mandate increased fines for violations. The new policy goes into effect January 1, 2020, and it is very important for anyone using a security system in Memphis.

Alarm permits are required in Memphis, TN. The cost to obtain an alarm permit for residential users is $30. For commercial use, the cost is $60. Each alarm permit must be renewed annually. The cost for renewal is $10 for residential users, and $25 for business users. The new policy states that end users must renew alarm permits themselves. Alarm monitoring companies are no longer permitted to renew permits on the behalf of end users.

According to the new policy, anyone with a proper alarm permit who causes a false alarm will receive a warning for the first offense. Every second and subsequent false alarm will result in a $140 fine. Anyone who causes a false alarm without a permit will be required to pay the $140 fine, in addition to alarm permit fees and a $20 processing fee. This means that homeowners without a permit can pay up to $190 for an offense, while business owners without a permit can face fines of up to $220.

It is important to note that most security system users are fully compliant in preventing false alarms. The reality is that false alarms are only caused by a small fraction of end users. According to the Memphis Metro Alarm Office, only about 15% of the city's alarm permit holders have been cited for a false alarm. Roughly 83,000 active alarm permits are on file, and fewer than 13,000 of these permit holders have ever been cited.

Alarm Grid covered Tennessee false alarm policies last May when it was announced that monitoring companies are no longer held responsible for permits, renewals, and false alarms. Instead, it is now the responsibility of end users to pay for alarm permits and to cover the costs of any false alarms. These policies went into effect June 19, 2019. Thanks to these changes, it has become easier for us to provide top-quality monitoring service to customers in Tennessee. But it is important for customers to realize that false alarm prevention is still a major concern in this industry.

One of our goals at Alarm Grid is to empower end users and make sure that they understand how their systems work. We want to prevent false alarms and cause as little inconvenience to end users and their local police departments as possible. As an end user, you need to do your part as well. Some good practices to prevent false alarms include setting proper Entry and Exit Delays, enabling Alarm Report Delay (if necessary), and using Arm-Confirm features. We also offer a selection of alarm panels that are compliant with standards presented by the Security Industry Association (SIA) for preventing false alarms.

If you have central station monitoring service from Alarm Grid, then we want to work with you to prevent false alarms. You are always welcome to email us at support@alarmgrid.com if you have any questions or concerns about false alarm prevention. You may also call us at (888) 818-7728 during our regular business hours of 9am to 8pm ET M-F. We also invite you to call or email us if you are interested in starting new monitoring service with Alarm Grid. We look forward to hearing from you.

Alarm Grid would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We hope that you spend the holiday in a happy environment with loved ones. Make sure to stay safe if you plan to travel. Remember to arm your security system, lock your doors, and have your security yard sign nice and visible!

Of course, our team gets to celebrate the holiday too! That is why the Alarm Grid Headquarters will be closed Thursday November 28th, 2019. We will not be answering phones, processing orders, or checking emails during this time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Our technicians and shipping team will be back to work tomorrow, Friday November 29th, 2019. You can reach out to us then if you need anything. However, our content department (including myself) decided to take tomorrow off. With that in mind, don't expect a new blog post until next Monday December 2nd, 2019. We know, it's very difficult to go without an Alarm Grid blog post for the day. We're sorry!

To make up for it, please check out this Thanksgiving video, from us to you:

If you need to reach Alarm Grid for any reason while we're away on holiday, please send an email to support@alarmgrid.com. We will do our very best to reply to your email as soon as possible on Friday once we return. And make sure to check this page on Monday for our next post!

Again, have a Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy the comfort of your family and friends, and we'll be back soon!

Hi DIYers! We are happy to announce that Qolsys has released Firmware Version 2.4.2 for the IQ Panel 2 and IQ Panel 2 Plus. The update is available for any IQ Panel 2 or IQ Panel 2 Plus that is connected to WIFI and running software version 2.0.1 or higher. It can be applied via Patch Tag.

We never covered IQ Panel 2 Firmware Version 2.4.1, as there were supposedly major issues with that version. However, Qolsys quickly rallied, and they revamped the 2.4.1 upgrade into Firmware Version 2.4.2 instead. This update should improve system stability and general performance. It offers some key upgrades and improvements over Firmware Version 2.4.0. We recommended that anyone with a Qolsys IQ Panel 2 or IQ Panel 2 Plus upgrades to 2.4.2 as soon as possible.

The following updates are included in Firmware Version 2.4.2:

• An issue where the new IQ Remote (QW9104-840) would continue to produce Entry Delay beeps for a short period after disarming from the main panel has been fixed.
• The PG9309, PG9312, and PG9945 now have Reed Switch as the default selection for the Sensor Input field when enrolled remotely from Alarm.com.
• Disarm Photos can now be disabled for the IQ Remote Keypad.
• Camera Page can be disabled from panel UI. Doing this will automatically turn-off Disarm Photos, Alarm Photos, Alarm Videos, and Settings Photos
• The built-in panel glass break sensor can no longer be defined as a motion sensor when programmed remotely from Alarm.com.
• An issue where the panel time might display an hour earlier than the actual time has been fixed.
• Corrected a WIFI issue that occurred when using Alarm.com to request the system to scan for WIFI networks remotely.
• Can now receive consecutive doorbell chime tones when a SkyBell device is pressed multiple times during a single notification event.
• The randomized delay of 0 to 30 minutes when sending a panel software update from Alarm.com has been reduced to 0 to 5 minutes. This will speed up the process when updating from 2.4.2 to a higher firmware version that has yet to be released.
• Fixed an issue where the Thermostat Page could appear as blank.

There is no cost to update to Firmware Version 2.4.2 using a Patch Tag. This process can be complete on any IQ Panel 2 or IQ Panel 2 Plus running Firmware Version 2.0.1 or higher. The system should be connected to a WIFI network and be plugged-in and not have a low battery. The system will need to be actively monitored and have service with Alarm.com.

To apply the update, start by clicking on the small grey bar at the top of the main screen. Then choose Settings > Advanced Settings > enter Installer Code (default 1111) > Upgrade Software > Patch Tage > enter iqpanel2.4.2 > OK > Upgrade Using Network. The update should then begin to go through. It will usually take a few minutes for the update to finish. Do not power down the system during this time! Just be patient until the update completes. The system will power cycle as part of the update process.

If you have any questions about the new Firmware Version 2.4.2 for the IQ Panel 2, please reach out to us! The best way to contact us is to email your questions to support@alarmgrid.com. Remember that our support hours run from 9am to 8pm ET M-F. We look forward to hearing from you!

We have received word from Resideo that some SkyBell Cameras may temporarily experience delays when being used with Total Connect 2.0 or through the SkyBell App. The issue is most likely the result of SkyBell servers being overloaded. Resideo is working with SkyBell to address this issue.

Earlier today, we mentioned a proactive warning issued from Alarm.com stating that doorbell cameras may experience delays when being used with their platform. We believe that this is due to the increased usage of these devices for the Halloween holiday. It is likely that a similar issue is affecting the general SkyBell servers. This is not something you should be overly concerned about, and the issue should be addressed soon.

If you are experiencing any major issues, or if you would like to learn more about these potential delays, please email us at support@alarmgrid.com. Remember that we're here to help!

Update: This issue has since been resolved.

Alarm.com has put out a proactive warning ahead of Halloween night (October 31st) stating that customers may notice minor delays between the hours of 5pm and 11pm ET. These delays should only affect non-critical, non-emergency signals and notifications, as well as doorbell cameras.

Alarm.com did not release an official reasoning for these likely delays, but we suspect that it will be the result of increased activity from the excellent Alarm.com SkyBell Video Doorbells due to Trick-Or-Treaters. And as we all know, SkyBell Cameras are the best video doorbells out there!

We think it's good for Alarm.com to give out this proactive warning just in case there are any delays. In the mean time, you can rest assured that any critical signals, including alarms, will still go through for Alarm.com. If you are an Alarm Grid customer seeking more information about the issue, then please email us at support@alarmgrid.com. We look forward to hearing from you!