What is the difference between Arm Stay & Arm Away?

Arm Stay vs. Arm Away

Almost all alarm systems will have at least two different armed settings: Armed Away and Armed Stay. So what's the difference between Armed Stay and Armed Away?

Armed Stay is designed for when you plan on arming the system and staying in the home. We know, it's a clever name for it.

When armed in the Stay Mode, all zones programmed as an Interior type (Interior Follower, or Interior with Delay, usually motion detectors) will automatically be bypassed. Zones programmed as Perimeter, or Entry/Exit, such as door and window sensors and glass break detectors, will be armed. Arming in this mode will provide both an exit and an entry delay, for zones programmed with a delay. This allows the perimeter to be protected, while you can walk freely around the inside of the premises, without tripping the alarm yourself.

Armed Away is for when you plan on arming the system and leaving the home. Again, an even wittier name.

Arming in the Away Mode will not automatically bypass any sensors, and the entire system, including motion sensors will be armed. Arming in this mode also allows both an exit and an entry delay for zones programmed with delay.

On some panels, there are 2 additional Arming Modes, Instant Mode, and Maximum Mode. Arming Instant is exactly the same as Arming Stay, except that it does not allow an entry delay. Once the exit delay expires, all armed zones will provide an instant alarm, but Interior zone types will be bypassed automatically. Arming Maximum is exactly like arming Away, but with no entry delay, so again, once the exit delay expires, all armed zones, including interior zones, will provide an instant alarm.

Of course, all of these modes depend on your alarm's settings and your zone configuration, and may vary, so feel free to call us if you need help.

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Hi Linda, When Arming your system, Depending on the system, You would usually enter in your code and press the away button, some systems require just pressing the away button then entering your code. Other systems, require you to just press the Away Key. It is best practice to look into the arming commands from your users guide.
When I want to use the arm away feature on my CPI alarm, do I wait for the place to enter my code to come up?
Thanks for the reply i am currently using the DS-PWA32-HS from Hikvision ... The user configuarbility is prettty limeted. But im always open for suggestions.
You would want to look into setting up night stay, to accomplish that. we do have a couple FAQ's posted on the subject, what panel are you using?
Is it possible to only arme certain indore zones in arm away mode, as my outdore sensors have the "ability" to mistake sunlight and trigger.
Hi Christina, In away your motions would be active if you have any, if those motions are either not pet immune, or you have pets that are bigger than the specified weight limit given by the manufacturer. It can set off your system.
In Arm away mode do pets such as cats or dogs trigger the alarm?
The Glass Breaks are designed to listen to both a low thud and high pitch before setting off the alarm. The low thud is someone hitting the window and the high pitch is the sound of the actual glass breaking.
Why Glass break detectors are armed stay? Don't they have false positives when you are in the houses? I am looking for answers from your experiences.
Yes, as long as you know your installer code you will be able to change the programming locally or your monitoring company can make the changes for you.
ADT, I need to do this. Change a sensor from perimeter to interior.
Can I change a designation for a sensor from perimeter to interior?
It sounds like you are using the wrong code. There are varying authority levels for each user slot. For example, the installer and guest/babysitter codes can only disarm the panel when that same code was used to arm the system. If you arm with a different code then those codes will not work. I am assuming that is what is happening for you. I recommend resetting your master and installer codes using this FAQ: https://www.alarmgrid.com/faq/how-to-change-the-code-on-a-honeywell-alarm-system Any master or regular (aka Sub-user) user will be able to interchangeably use their codes regardless of which code is used to arm it. For this reason we recommend using one of these. You should use the master code and offer sub user codes for any other alarm users. This way you can track who is arming/disarming and when according to the event log.
LMFAO witty names 😂😂😂
I armed it using [#]-away and now I'm not able to disarm it. I have to remove power, battery and reconnect. Is there another way to disarm it?
Yes, you can program each zone separately with most alarm systems. What alarm system do you have?
can a door sensor configure as interior sensor, means inactive in stay mode?
Are you pressing and holding for 2 full seconds? Is the system ready to arm (meaning there are no door/windows open or motions detecting movement)?
When I press the Away or Stay buttons, they just beep once and nothing happens... do I have to program them or something? I got a PC1832
Great, we're glad to hear you have it working as desired now. Did you have a chance to check out our no-contract monitoring plans available online at https://www.alarmgrid.com/monitoring? We can take over most Honeywell systems and would be happy to discuss it with you.
I changed the field 38 to 0 seconds and this worked! I forgot to use #38 and did *38 so I unknowingly erased the previous programming. Your help is much appreciated!
That sounds like the Confirmation of Arming feature but it should only be a short siren blast, not 3-4 seconds. If you want to check field 38 with a #38 while in programming, report back with what value it's set to and feel free to set it to 0 to disable that feature.
I tested it and it only produced a loud sound for 3-4 seconds after the delay countdown. The keypad says armed away all secure. So I guess it works but why the loud sound at the end? It sounded like it was triggered. Anyway, thank so much for the quick response.
After the alarm is triggered, even after you disarm a single time, the keypad should display the two digit zone number for what was triggered. Can you test and report back?
Actually, I don't know which zone is triggering but I'm assuming its the hallway motion detector where I was at last, which is programmed zone type 10. I step out so there is no movement at all.
Is zone 10 the zone that is triggering? Is there any movement in the hallway after the count down is finished?
I have a vista-20P honeywell. When I set it in armed away mode, there is a delay enabled. As soon as it finishes counting down, the alarm sounds. The zone for the hallway is zone 10. I had it at zone 04, thinking this was the cause but it didn't work. The entry door is zone 1. This doesn't happen in armed stay mode. There are no open doors, etc. and the green ready light is on. How can I fix this?
Stay mode will ignore your motion detectors and keep just your door/window sensors and glass breaks active. You can arm to stay and still exit through a delay zone as there is an exit delay when arming to stay mode.
I want to put my home in stay mode because i have cats.. Can i use stay mode and then leave for work? Can i do this or will the alarm go off as soon as i leave? Hope you understand the question... And when i come back home open the door will my alarm go off?
Armed Away is for when you plan on arming the system and leaving the home. Again, an even wittier name.
What system are you using?
I have when Partition is Armed as a trigger which works fine as expected, but it doesn't seem to differential between stay and away. What should I do?
You can email us pictures of your system to support@alarmgrid.com so that we can help you identify which system you have and then provide you the necessary information.
How do I do this on a Slomins brand Alarm System? I don't know what model number it is...
What system do you have?
If i press away on my alarm but didnt beep does it still lock n activate ?
Thanks!
If you change the Device Type to Other, you can then program Interior Follower or Interior w/Delay as the Response Type and the sensor would then be ignored in the stay mode.
How do I program a 5816 window contact so it is armed when away but can open and close during stay mode?
The Response Types of Interior Follower and Interior w/Delay will ensure a motion set with one of those options is ignored when arming to Stay mode.
What is the default Response Type for a motion detector? That will allow for the Motion Detector to be inactive when Stay Arm is selected?
Yes, Instant is Stay without an entry delay and Max is Away without an entry delay.
Thanks Sterling, that makes sense, I thought that I might have really messed something up. I'll test that to verify. So is the difference between Stay and Instant is that Stay has an entrance delay, and Instant does not? If that is the case, then Max is like Away but doesn't have an entrance delay? Thanks- Eric
Hi Eric, When you arm to Instant or Stay, there is still an exit delay, it just doesn't beep to tell you it's in the delay period. Therefore, you are probably opening those doors during that delay (which is what would happen when you are leaving the house). Try again and open the doors after the programmed exit delay and you should see that the panel goes into the entry delay countdown and triggers an alarm if the panel isn't disarmed. This is designed functionality so that you can arm to stay and leave with other people still in the house.
I was looking how my vista 20 was programmed and noticed after exiting programming that when I arm in instant or stay mode that my two entry door zones (Zone 01 & 03, Zone type 01) will not alarm, it's almost like they are automatically bypassed when I arm in stay or arm instant. I don't even get a chime. However, when I arm in away mode, the two entry doors work as expected (entry delay warning beep) and they do chime when disarmed and they are opened. Not sure if this was occurring before or if I somehow messed up something in the programming, any guidance appreciated. Thanks- Eric
You can also just disconnect the battery and unplug the transformer if you want it to stop beeping and you don't intend to use it anymore.
Which alarm system do you have? Please give me a manufacturer and model number so I can assist...
My alarm went off i don't know how to shut it off. I want it off, disarmed, shut. It's giving me more headache than help. I want this thing out of my life.
It depends on how your system is programmed. If your front door is programmed as a delay zone, then there would typically be an entry delay even in stay mode.
Dsc rfk 5501. Will the alarm sound immediately if I open the front door while the alarm is set to stay? Or will it do the countdown?
Hi Maria, if you arm to stay mode, does the panel beep at you during the exit delay? If not, then arming to stay should be perfect for you. Just keep in mind that any motion detectors will be off in stay mode.
I have a DSC . If I want to leave the house but not wake up others, can I do an Arm stay and leave?
Hi Binod, It sounds like your motion detector is programmed to a response type that activates during arm stay. I am not familiar with the Longhorn panel so I do not know how to reprogram the motion detector. Did you program the system yourself?
my motion sensor is still active while I set my "Longhorn LHD-8001" to Arm Stay. How can I fix this? I even want to deactivate my door sensors when I enter home and re-activate when I sleep or away home. is this possible. door sensors are always active and when I enter my home from outside they give alarm. (sorry my name is scripted in Nepali language. In English my name is "Binod")
Program the zone for Device Type - 'Other' and then Response Type - 'Perimeter' or 'Entry/Exit 1'. Then, the motion will be active in both modes.
How can I do it for L5200 ?
If you want to disarm, you just need to enter a valid user code followed by the Off key (#1).
How do I disarm arm stay, so that I can leave out my home? I have a Honeywell alarm key pad, but I don't know which model.
What system do you have?
Can I set my motion sensor to arm under the "arm stay" mode? If so, how? Thanks!
Thank you for the timely response. Sixto Ortiz Jr. sortiz1965@gmail.com
It can be hard to pin point exactly what triggered the false alarm as it could have been something as simple as a flay flying in front of the sensor or a bug crawling across the motion screen. If this was your only false alarm from this motion, or your only false alarm in a long time, I would say that you should chalk it up to an unexplained false alarm and continue to arm to away when you leave. If the motion continues to cause false alarms, it could be a hardware issue and you could try replacing it with a newer device.
What can trigger a false alarm on a motion sensor inside a home in the living room? I was out of town one time and the alarm triggered at 3 AM one night. Turned out to be a false alarm but since we were not home the police were dispatched. Only the inside motion sensor triggered. My camera indicated nothing wrong. All that said, is it better, even when away, to use the Alarm Stay mode to avoid false motion sensor alarms? After all, the main thing to worry about is the triggering of a door or window sensor indicating an attempt to break in, correct?
Great thanks!
Okay, enter programming mode by pressing your installer code + 800 on the keypad. If done properly, it will show '20' on the screen. Press *38 and then 00 to disable the Confirmation of Arming Ding setting. Once done, press *99 to exit programming. I hope this helps but feel free to call us if you need assistance.
I have a Honeywell 6150 keypad and a Honeywell ademco vista 20p
You are experiencing the Arm Confirm option. What system do you? We'd be happy to tell you how to disable that feature.
When I arm and away, my ademco with honeywell keypad sounds the external test alarm for 2 seconds. why is this? can I turn this off? Otherwise I am announcing to the neighbors I am away. however when I enter the stay mode, there is no beeping countdown, and the system arms without the annoying external alarm. I checked with my alarm company and they are blowing me off. anyone have any help would be appreciated.

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