Service Announcements Posts

We have received notice about the earthquake that has occurred in Alaska as well as the tsunami warning. During this time, Alaskan customers might experience communication failures, and emergency services might be slow or unresponsive. Police stations near Anchorage are currently unable to dispatch.

It's also possible that customers in the Cook Inlet area and the Southern Kenai Peninsula might experience delayed or unavailable police or other emergency response services at this time.

If you are in the affected area, our thoughts are with you. Please heed the tsunami warning and move inland and/or to higher ground. Tsunamis travel at hundreds of miles per hour. By the time you see one, it's too late to run from it. Report downed power lines to the proper authorities, and watch out for burst water and gas pipes that may have shifted during the earthquake. If you smell gas, leave the area immediately and report the gas leak to the proper authorities.

Alarm Grid will provide an update when more information becomes available.

Update: The tsunami warning for Alaska has been cancelled by the National Weather Service. Please continue to be careful during this time, as dangerous conditions may still be present.

Alarm Grid would like to remind its customers that the sunset of Total Connect 1.0 is quickly falling upon us. The service is set to be terminated by January 2020. By then, all users must upgrade to the Total Connect 2.0 service. Almost all Total Connect users have already made the upgrade.

Total Connect 1.0 was introduced as a way for users of Honeywell Alarm Panels to operate their systems remotely. The service was relatively limited in what it could offer. It was later replaced with the Total Connect 2.0 service that is still very widely used today. The TC2 service is much more reliable and offers vastly superior functionality when compared with the original TC1 platform. As of late November 2018, nearly all TC1 users have upgraded to TC2. But there are still a very small number of users running TC1. You can recognize that you have TC2 by the mobile app icon, which features the white letters "tc" with a red background. The icon is shown above.

If you are still running TC1, you must upgrade to TC2 by January 2020. If you don't, you will lose remote functionality for your system. By upgrading to TC2, you will ensure that your remote system services will work well into the very distant future. You will also gain several different features that are only compatible with TC2. Some of these features include:

• Access to TC2 App and Website
• Support for Amazon Alexa
• Support for MyQ Garage Doors
• Support for SkyBell Video Doorbells
• Support for August Smart Locks
• Support with Total Connect Comfort Thermostats
• Control up to Eight Partitions (if supported by system)
• Push Notifications
• Video Alerts
• Smart Scenes
• Support for Honeywell HD Cameras
• iOS Face ID Recognition
• Android Voice Recognition
• Support with Apple Watch
• Multi-Language Options
• 100+ Locations per Account

Most users who are still running Total Connect 1.0 are doing so because they have an alarm panel or a system communicator that works with TC1, but not TC2. For these users, some type of upgrade is necessary for gaining access to Total Connect 2.0. This could include replacing the communicator or replacing the panel entirely. Any Alarm Grid customer can contact us to receive assistance on the easiest way to upgrade their system. These customers should email us at support@alarmgrid.com, or call us at (888) 818-7728 during normal business hours, which are 9am to 8pm EST M-F to receive further assistance. Our team will work with them to ensure that they obtain the proper equipment to get started with Total Connect 2.0.

Remember, you must upgrade to TC2 by January 2020. This is just slightly more than a year away. Make the upgrade to TC2 now so that you do not lose remote services for your Honeywell Panel!

Hi DIYers! We would like to inform you that the Alarm Grid office will be closed today for the Thanksgiving Holiday. During this time, we will not be answering our phones, and we will not be checking our support emails. We will resume normal hours and operation on Friday November 23rd.

If you require any support during this time, we strongly suggest sending an email to support@alarmgrid.com. Our team will respond as soon as possible after we return on Friday the 23rd. On Friday, you may call us at (888) 818-7728 during our regular business hours of 9am to 8pm EST.

Everyone at Alarm Grid would like to wish you and your family and friends a fun and safe Thanksgiving Holiday. If you are visiting loved ones, remember to arm your system before leaving. You can always check Total Connect or Alarm.com to make sure your system is armed!

Whether you're stuffing your face with a delicious dinner, falling asleep in front of the TV, chasing those Black Friday deals, or just spending time with those who matter most, Alarm Grid will be there to keep your home or business protected. We're very thankful to have you as an Alarm Grid customer.

If you have been following the functionality problems between SkyBell and Total Connect 2.0, we now have an update. Honeywell (now Resideo) has stated they have fixed the issues on their end. SkyBell Smart Doorbells will now work with Total Connect 2.0 without issue. No action is needed.

All connected SkyBell devices will now successfully send any newly saved recordings to an associated Total Connect 2.0 account. Users will not need to take any action on their end to see proper functionality. All saved recordings can be viewed from the TC2 website or the mobile app.

If you are still experiencing any problems, please contact us for further assistance. You may email us at support@alarmgrid.com. You may also call us (888) 818-7728 during normal business hours, which are 9am to 8pm EST M-F. Please note that we will be closed tomorrow, Thursday November 22nd, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Alarm Grid is experiencing temporary issues sending and receiving phone calls. Our phone system provider, Twilio, is currently having technical difficulties. We expect this problem to be resolved shortly. Alarm Grid apologizes for any inconveniences this may cause for our customers.

If you require support at this time, we recommend using our online chat function. You can use this feature to speak with one of our technicians and receive support in real time. You may also email us at support@alarmgrid.com. If you need to contact the central station, you may call (800) 432-1429. This will put you into direct contact with Criticom Monitoring Services.

Again, we expect the problem to be fixed shortly, and we are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Update: As of 12:49pm EST, our phones are back and working. Please let us know if you are still experiencing any issues.

We have received news from Honeywell that there is a temporary problem with SkyBell Cameras being used with Total Connect 2.0. At this time, users cannot view saved SkyBell recordings through Total Connect 2.0. However, a user can still view the live feed for their SkyBell Camera.

Honeywell doesn't have an ETA on a fix at this time, but they are working on a resolution. Please note that users can still view saved recordings through the SkyBell App. We recommend using that app if you need to view any saved recordings during this time. Alarm Grid will let you know when we receive word from Honeywell that the problem has been fixed. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We have received news that Honeywell's AlarmNet servers are temporarily down. During the outage, Total Connect 2.0 will be down. The outage is also causing some alarm signals to not reach the central station. We apologize for any issues or inconveniences that this may cause for users.

This is unprecedented in our history as an alarm company. We have never seen a partner fail to send signals through to a central station. We're relying on Honeywell to fix the servers quickly to make sure that your family is protected. At the moment, this error is affecting anyone who uses Honeywell's services (which is any company that monitors Honeywell equipment). We will be updating you about the situation as we hear more from the service provider.

We expect service to return shortly. Alarm Grid will update when more info is available.

UPDATE: AS OF 1PM EST, IT APPEARS THAT ALARMNET360 IS UP, ALONG WITH THE TC2 WEBSITE. WE HAVE NOT YET RECEIVED OFFICIAL WORD FROM HONEYWELL THAT SERVICES HAVE BEEN RESTORED.

UPDATE: AT 10:30PM EST, YESTERDAY, WE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING EMAIL FROM HONEYWELL INDICATING THE ISSUES SHOULD BE RESOLVED:

"At 11:42 am Eastern time today, the AlarmNet network experienced a disruption of services that impacted the operations of AlarmNet, AlarmNet 360 & Total Connect services. During this period, all transmitted signals were queued (not lost) and began to be transmitted as the services were restored. This may have caused a spike in AlarmNet signals during the recovery period. In addition, during this period, AlarmNet 360 was not available and consumers were unable to use their Total Connect apps for remote services.

We have been monitoring the services since the recovery began at 12:42 and are comfortable that AlarmNet, AlarmNet 360 and Total Connect are fully operational.

AlarmNet signaling services, AlarmNet 360 and Total Connect are the foundation of our security solutions and we will continue to strive for 100% reliability. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and your customers."

We have heard from Honeywell that some Lyric OC1 Cameras, also known as the IPCAM-WOC1, are experiencing temporary difficulties. Fortunately, no other Total Connect IP Cameras are experiencing any problems or issues at this time. Honeywell says that they expect to fix the problem shortly.

According to Honeywell, the problem is affecting newly activated Lyric OC1 Cameras. These cameras are currently failing to steam live video. However, the cameras are still successfully enrolling with TC2 and notifying users about any motion that is detected. We expect the issue to be resolved in the near future.

Alarm Grid apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause for our customers. If you have any questions about this issue, please reach out to us at support@alarmgrid.com, or call us at 888-818-7728 from 9am to 8pm EST Monday thru Friday.

Update: Honeywell has informed us that the problem has been resolved. If you enrolled a new Honeywell IPCAM-WOC1 yesterday and it's not streaming through Total Connect 2.0, first delete the camera from your TC2 account. Then press and hold the reset button on the camera to restore it to factory defaults. Then re-register the camera with TC2. It should now stream video properly.

Hi DIYers! Did you know that many of our monitored customers come to us with their own existing equipment? There are many cases where a user will inherit an old alarm system or bring sensors from a different monitoring company to use with Alarm Grid. This is often called a "system takeover".

At Alarm Grid, we are firm believers in the principle of "if you have it, then use it". When a customer is interested in our monitoring services, and they already have a system from a different monitoring company, we will do everything possible to use that existing equipment. This can include the panel, their sensors and various system add-ons. We can often take over the system entirely once its communicator been released from their previous monitoring company. Other times, simply replacing the old communicator with a new one, while still keeping the rest of the system, can do the trick. This can save the user hundreds or even thousands of dollars in equipment costs!

When you are monitored with Alarm Grid, you own all of your equipment. Whether you obtained it from us or somewhere else does not matter to us. We are happy to provide you and those around you with top-quality protection regardless of where you bought your equipment. And if you ever do decide to terminate your service with us, we will release your communicator so that you can easily take it somewhere else.

Of course, taking over an old alarm system isn't always possible. Many other alarm monitoring companies use proprietary equipment and communicators that will only work with their monitoring services. Monitoring companies may also lock out users of programming by using a secret Installer Code that prevents us from taking over the system. Yet another possibility is that the security panel is very old, and we may recommend making an upgrade to get additional functions and features. These are some of the problems that our technicians encounter almost everyday. Sometimes we can overcome these issues, but other times we cannot. Our experts can make that determination.

So while we will certainly do everything possible to make your existing panel and sensors work to save you money, please understand that it may still be necessary to replace some or all of your old equipment. However, it never hurts to at least ask us about using your old equipment before going out and buying new stuff, whether that is from us or from somewhere else. It never costs anything to speak to our planning team to start designing a security system. And if you do decide you need new equipment, remember that our website is an outstanding resource for competitively priced and non-proprietary equipment. In the event that you do ever find the same equipment at a less expensive price, by all means, buy it there, and bring it here.

Remember, our security technicians are experts. We are familiar with older alarm systems, and we can generally provide you with a fairly concise answer of whether or not your old equipment is usable. If you have an old system that you want to get monitored, please reach out to us! Often, a simple picture or a description is all we need to determine whether or not we can take it over. You can get started by giving us a call between 9am and 8pm EST M-F or by sending an email to support@alarmgrid.com. Our team is always happy to help, and, quite frankly, we love the challenge of making old equipment viable. So if you have an old security system or sensors that you think could still serve you and your family well, check with us to see if we can get it monitored!

Hi DIYers! We have received news from Honeywell that Total Connect 2.0 has been updated to Version 2.5.2. This version brings a few new features that should make things more convenient for end users. The update includes improvements to user syncing and the ability to add new users in bulk.

Total Connect 2.0 users can now sync users in all locations at once with the press of a single Button. There is now a button on any Users List page that can sync all of the users in a single location or for all locations. Simply press the button next to the choice of location to complete the sync.

Total Connect 2.0 also now offers a pre-configured template for download that allows users to add multiple users to a single account all at once. This ability to bulk-create new users should make things easier when a user is setting up a new Total Connect account for multiple users. Please note that bulk-adding multiple users can only be accomplished from the Total Connect 2.0 website, and it cannot be done from the Mobile App.

To start, click Users on the left hand, followed by Add New User. Then choose the option "Add Multiple Users".

Then download the template file, and open it in Microsoft Excel or another compatible spreadsheet program.

Next, you will enter in the appropriate info for the new users. Each Column (A thru H) will list a different setting that will correspond to each new user. Columns A, B and C will use free-form text, while Columns D, E, F and G will use drop-down options. Column H requires a valid Email Address.

The settings include First Name, Last Name, User Name, User Type, Notification Language, Time Format, Prompt For User Code and Email. Please note that the "Prompt For User Code" option should be set to "True" if you want Total Connect 2.0 to require the entry of the user's four-digit user code before a command will go through. Setting it to "False" will allow the user to control the system through Total Connect 2.0 (both App and Website) without having to provide their four-digit code.

Once finished, save the file. Then either drag the file to the "Drag Template File Here" area or press the "Select File" button.

From there, the user-creation process will proceed for each user listed in the spreadsheet. You will need to set each user's Access and provide a unique four-digit code. Once you have finished, press the "Create User" button in the lower-right corner. The user will receive a welcome email at the email address provided.

Please note that the Version 2.5.2 Update has presented some confusion for TC2 users. Upon logging into Total Connect 2.0, users have been presented with an update screen that outlines the new features explained above. We have heard reports of some users being unable to get past this screen. To avoid this issue, there is a blue "Continue" button at the very bottom that will allow the user to continue to the main TC2 page. The user needs to scroll to the bottom of the window, NOT the bottom of the update section. They can then click the button to move forward.

If you have any questions about these new features or the Version 2.5.2 update, please do not hesitate to email us at support@alarmgrid.com. We look forward to hearing from you!