How Do I Use a DSC Impassa to Control a Garage Door?

You can use a DSC Impassa to control a garage door by enrolling a Z-Wave garage door opener with the system. The DSC Impassa will need to have an Alarm.com cellular communicator installed and activated to support the opener. All operation will take place through the Alarm.com service.

The Alarm.com cellular communicator for the DSC Impassa also serves as a Z-Wave controller. This allows the system to send signals to operate Z-Wave smart home devices. This includes Z-Wave garage door openers that are used to open and close garage doors. The Z-Wave garage door opener will send a signal to the user's Z-Wave garage door motor to operate the garage door. Make sure that the Z-Wave garage door opener you use is compatible with the DSC Impassa Alarm System. Please note that the DSC Impassa does not allow for local control of Z-Wave devices, and all Z-Wave operation must take place through Alarm.com.

The steps below assume that an Alarm.com cellular communicator has been installed and activated with the DSC Impassa System. Complete the following steps to set up a DSC Impassa for garage door control:

1. Access Z-Wave setup. All Z-Wave device management for the DSC Impassa will take place through the Z-Wave setup menu. To access this menu, start from the main screen of the panel with the system disarmed. Enter in the command [*] [6] [Master Code]. The default Master Code for the Impassa is 1234. Use the arrow keys (> & <) to find "Interactive Serv". Then press the [*] key to continue. Then find "Z-Wave Setup", and press the [*] key. You will enter the Z-Wave setup menu.

2. Clear the opener. When learning-in a new Z-Wave device, it is recommended that you always clear it from the network first. Even a brand-new Z-Wave device may have been previously enrolled with another Z-Wave network for factory testing purposes.

Use the arrow keys on the DSC Impassa to find "Remove Z-Wave Device", and press the [*] key. Then activate the inclusion function on the Z-Wave garage door opener. The opener will most likely have a button for this purpose. Refer to the device's manual for more information on enrollment. Please note that the opener may need to be brought close to the panel in order for the command to go through. The panel will acknowledge when the device has been successfully cleared from the network.

3. Enroll the opener. Use the arrow keys on the DSC Impassa to find "Add Z-Wave Device", and press the [*] key. Then activate the inclusion function on the Z-Wave opener. This is the same function that was activated in Step 2 when clearing the device. Again, the opener may need to be brought close to the panel when doing this. The system will display a message indicating that the device has been added successfully. Once the device has been installed, the user will then be able to control their garage door through Alarm.com.

4. Return to home screen. Repeatedly press the [#] key on the DSC Impassa until you are taken back to the home screen. Any changes to Z-Wave devices will be saved automatically.