Arm Stay vs Arm Night

Arm Stay and Arm Night modes are two similar arming modes that are used with Honeywell Security Systems. These modes tell the system to ignore any Zones with a Response Type of Interior. But any of these zones enabled for Night Stay will not be ignored when the system is Armed Night.

Arm Stay is the arming mode to use if one or more people plan to remain inside the building. In this arming state, any Interior Zones will be automatically bypassed. This will allow the people in the building to move throughout the building freely. They won't have to worry about activating the Interior motion sensors and causing a false alarm. However, Entry/Exit Zones and Perimeter Zones will still behave as normal. This mode should not be confused with Arm Away, where an Interior Zone can cause a system alarm.

Arm Night is exactly the same as Arm Stay. The only difference is that any Interior Zones with the Arm Night setting enabled will not be bypassed when the system is set to Arm Night mode. Please note that you will only see the Arm Night option if you have at least one sensor with the Arm Night option enabled. The option is found under Arm Stay mode for LYNX Touch and Lyric Panels.

This picture shows the Arm Night option within Zone Programming on a Resideo Lyric Alarm System. Note the option in the bottom-left corner. It will only be shown if the zone has an Interior Response Type.

And this picture shows the Arm Night arming option. You can find this option by choosing Arm Stay from the main screen. You need to highlight the Arm Night selection at the bottom of the screen (shown highlighted). Please note that you will only see this option if you have at least one Arm Night zone programmed.

For VISTA Panels, you can Arm Night even if no sensor is programmed for that feature. To Arm Night on a VISTA, you must enter the following command on the keypad: Valid Code + 3 + 3. You must press the second "3" at the end of the command within two (2) seconds of the first one. Otherwise, the system will just Arm Stay. The valid code can be the Master Code, a regular user code, or the Installer Code. But remember, you should not arm your system using the Installer Code. For example if you wanted to Arm Night using a programmed code of "4444", you would enter "444433".

The Arm Night mode is useful because you might want some Interior Zones to be active while your system is armed. Meanwhile, you want other Interior Zones to be automatically bypassed. For example, if you are asleep upstairs, you will want your upstairs Interior Zones to be bypassed so that you can move around freely in that area of the home. But at the same time, you will want your downstairs Interior Zones to be active in case someone manages to enter your home. You can enable the Arm Night option for the downstairs Interior Zones and disable the Arm Night option for the upstairs Interior Zones. By doing this, the downstairs zones will detect an intruder, and you will be able to move around freely upstairs.