How Do I Activate Panic Mode on a Honeywell Lyric Alarm System?

You can activate panic mode on a Honeywell Lyric Alarm System by pressing and holding the red panic button on the front of the panel and then choosing the type of panic you want to activate. The Lyric has panic options for fire, medical, police and local alarm that use zones 995 thru 999.

On the front of the Lyric Panel on the left is a circle with an exclamation mark (!) inside. If you press and hold this button for a few seconds, you will be taken to a menu where you can trigger a panic. There are four panic zones available, which are automatically assigned zones 995 thru 999. Each panic option will appear as long as the associated zone is enabled from within programming.

It is actually possible to go into programming and edit these zones. This will allow you to change how the system responds when the zones are activated. The panic zones are found at the very bottom of the zone list. If you set the Response Type for one of these zones to Not Used, then the option will not appear in the panic menu. Please note that you will not be able to access the panic menu while you are in system programming.

The picture below shows the red button that you press and hold to access the panic menu, as well as the panic menu with all four options available:

But the panic menu isn't the only way to trigger a system panic. You can also do this using a panic switch or key fob. A panic switch is a type of sensor that is specifically used to trigger a panic. Some panic switches are kept in a fixed location. For example, a bank or a convenience store might have a fixed panic switch under the desk in case there was a robbery. An example of a fixed panic switch is the Honeywell 5869.

You can also program a key fob input to operate as a panic switch. Simply program the key fob to the panel, and then set one of the inputs to trigger a system panic. You can use a Honeywell 5834-4 Key Fob or a Honeywell SiXFOB for this purpose. A popular option is to program the Star (*) Key as a panic button.

If you just want to trigger a panic from the panic menu without any additional hardware, complete the following steps:

1. Hold the panic button. Press and hold the red panic button on the front left of the panel. After a few seconds, the panic menu will appear.

2. Choose the panic. Choose the panic you want to activate. Depending on what is enabled within programming, there can be options for Fire, Medical, Police and Local Alarm. The alarm will be silent or audible depending upon its settings. An alert will be sent to the central station for automatic dispatch as long as Alarm Report is enabled and the user is actively monitored.

3. Disarm the system. After you have addressed the emergency, you will need to disarm your system. Choose the Security button. Then choose Disarm. Then provide your Master Code or a valid user code to disarm the system and clear the panic.