Does The Qolsys IQ Panel 4 Support Instant Arming?

The Qolsys IQ Panel 4 does support Instant arming. Touch the lock icon to access the arming options. When arming, the IQ4 has additional options that include removing the entry delay. Select the arrow to reveal these options. Next touch entry delay to disable it and then hit arm Stay.

The Qolsys IQ Panel 4 is a 7" All-In-One touchscreen alarm system. It touts many modern features that seamlessly integrate with Z-Wave smart home devices, and has 128 zones and 242 users. The panel can be purchased in black or white, and comes in different "flavors", so you can continue to use existing RF sensors when replacing an older wireless panel. What we refer to as "flavors" are the various legacy RF receiver options available for the IQ Panel 4. These include the 319.5 Mhz (Qolsys/GE/Interlogix) flavor, 345 Mhz (Honeywell/2gig) flavor, and 433 Mhz (DSC) flavor. All three (3) panel flavors that offer legacy RF receivers also support the 915 MHz PowerG frequency sensors. There is also a PowerG-only IQ Panel 4 version that does not offer legacy receiver support. In addition to panel color and receiver options, each IQ Panel 4 comes with either a Verizon or an AT&T LTE communicator built in.

Traditional system arming includes arming in both Stay and Away modes. Arm Stay, sometimes called Arm Home, is the arming mode usually used when someone will be staying inside the premises. This mode of arming automatically bypasses interior sensors and only arms the perimeter and entry/exit zones. This prevents those who are staying on the premises from causing an interior alarm. Arming in Away Mode means that everyone will be leaving. This mode of arming does not automatically bypass any type of sensor.

Usually, arming in any mode provides an exit delay. This gives the user who arms the system time to leave using an entry/exit door before the system is fully armed. This may seem counterintuitive since when you arm in the Stay mode, you don't intend to leave. But alarm manufacturers are always looking to prevent false alarms, such as those that may occur if the system is armed and no exit delay time is provided.

However, the IQ Panel 4 has a feature called "Arm Stay-No Delay". This feature is enabled by default. When enabled, no exit delay is provided when arming in the Stay mode. Disabling this feature will cause the system to provide an exit delay when arming Stay or Instant. Arming in either Stay or Away will provide an entry delay by default. When someone returns to the premises, the entry delay provides time for that person to enter through an entry/exit door and then disarm before an alarm occurs.

At times there may be a need to remove the entry delay. Say you live alone, you're staying home for the night, and there will not be anyone that will need to enter the premises once the system is armed. In this situation, you may prefer to remove the entry delay so that all zone violations cause an immediate alarm. This is referred to as instant arming. Instant arming will remove the entry delay for all entry/exit zones. It doesn't necessarily mean that the system is instantly armed once you press the arming button, but rather, it means that once the system is armed, any active zone that is faulted will cause an instant alarm.

To arm the IQ Panel 4 in Instant Mode, follow the steps below:

1. Select the lock. To bring up the options to arm in the Stay or Away mode, you must be in a disarmed state. This is noted by the green status LEDs located at the top on both sides of the panel camera. Next, select the green disarmed icon. This will provide options for arming Away or Stay.

2. Select the arrow. If you just want to perform a normal Stay or Away arming, you can select that option from this screen. To show additional arming options, you must select the small arrow on the right side of the pop-out arming window. This will show the advanced arming options.

3. Select Entry Delay On. At the bottom right of the popped-out window, there is an entry delay option. This is defaulted to ENTRY DELAY ON. Touch it to toggle the option to ENTRY DELAY OFF.

4. Select Arm Stay. Select the orange ARM STAY icon on the left side of the screen. This will arm your IQ Panel 4 in Stay Instant mode.

5. Verify the panel status. The IQ Panel 4 will now display SYSTEM ARMED STAY for the current state and will give an indication that it is armed with the red status LEDs at the top.