What is Auto-Stay Arming?

Auto-Stay Arming is a protective feature that prevents false alarms by reverting the system to Arm Stay mode if it believes that someone is still inside the building when the system has been set to Arm Away. The option can be disabled from within system programming on most panels.

When a user sets their system to Arm Away, the assumption is that nobody remains inside the building. If an interior sensor is activated in this arming state, an immediate alarm will occur. To prevent false alarms from someone remaining inside the building, most alarm systems include an Auto-Stay Arming feature that will prevent Arm Away mode from activating if it is likely that someone remains inside the building.

The way that Arm Away mode works is that an entry/exit zone must be activated during the exit delay countdown. If it doesn't, the system will simply revert to Arm Stay mode. The idea here is that a user must activate an entry/exit zone in order to leave the building. If no entry/exit zone is activated, then the system will assume that the user is still inside the building. In that situation, a user could easily activate an interior sensor and cause a false system alarm.

When testing an alarm system, the Auto-Stay Arming feature will sometimes present difficulties for uninformed users. They might have their system on test mode with a central monitoring station, and they are trying to set their system to Arm Away to test interior sensors. However, since they are not activating an entry/exit zone, the system keeps reverting to Arm Stay when they need it in Arm Away. Fortunately, this problem can easily be overcome.

If you want your system to go into Arm Away mode with Auto-Stay Arming enabled, simply fault an entry/exit zone while the exit delay period is counting down. This is usually as simple as opening and closing the main entry/exit door for the property. Alternatively, you can also disable the Auto-Stay Arming feature for the panel from within System Programming. This will usually require knowing the system's Installer Code. The process for disabling Auto-Stay Arming varies between different panels.