What is the Secret Duress Button on the 2GIG GC2e?

The secret duress button on the 2GIG GC2e is the 2GIG logo in the bottom-right corner of the main screen that you can press to access a code entry screen where you can enter your duress code. Entering that code at any point will send a silent alert to the central station to request help.

You can enter the duress code at any code entry screen to trigger a silent alert to the central station. The GC2e System will not provide any indication that a duress signal went out. Anyone else looking at the system who doesn't know that the code you entered was a duress will not have any evidence that you secretly requested help. This makes the duress code very useful for hold-up situations, or if you are being held hostage. Since the Alarm.com interactive service platform does not provide any notification when you trigger a duress alert, this feature is only available if your 2GIG GC2e is monitored with central station service. In other words, the duress code feature cannot be used by self-monitored customers who do not have central station connectivity. We encourage you to visit our monitoring page and research our monitoring plans to learn more.

If your monitored 2GIG GC2e is currently in a Disarmed state, then clicking the 2GIG logo in the bottom-right corner and entering your duress code is a quick and easy way to request help from the central station. Doing this may be preferable to pressing one of the primary system panic functions, as no evidence of an alert being sent out will be displayed on the screen. The only thing that the GC2e will do when you enter your duress code at this screen is say that the system has been Disarmed, and it will take you back to the main screen. Any action of the GC2e alerting the central station will be done behind-the-scenes. This differs from activating a panic button, as an alarm will be shown.

You can also use the duress code at a different code entry screen than the one that appears when you click the 2GIG logo in the bottom-right. If your GC2e System is Armed and you go to Disarm it, then entering your duress code will appear to Disarm the system like normal. But secretly, the system has sent an alert to the central station. This is useful if you are ambushed, and an intruder is forcing you to disarm the system. Again, no indication of a silent alert being sent out will be shown on the screen. Just make sure you are always aware of what your duress code is, and never enter it by mistake. When setting up the code, do not make it one you might enter accidentally.

The duress code on a 2GIG GC2e System is hard-coded to user slot number eight (8). This 8th code slot can only be set up for use with a duress code. It can not be programmed for any other type of code, such as a regular user code. You can program the duress code by creating a user code in slot 8, just like you would for any other code. The GC2e will show clear indication within the User Management Menu that you are setting up a duress code, so you shouldn't make the mistake of accidentally creating a code at slot 8 and not knowing that it was for duress. The duress code is completely optional, and you can just leave user slot 8 empty if you do not want to have one. More info on setting up GC2e user codes can be found in this helpful FAQ.