Honeywell 7847i

The Honeywell 7847i is an AlarmNet internet alarm monitoring communicator compatible with Honeywell VISTA Series security systems. The 7847i is backed by Honeywell’s AlarmNet division which has been providing advanced alternative alarm communication paths since 1986. AlarmNet is the most advanced and dependable alarm communication provider in the industry. All AlarmNet communicators are supervised by AlarmNet’s Network Control Center which is essentially a set of servers that periodically check connectivity to each AlarmNet alarm communicator and also forward on any alarm signals to Alarm Grid’s central station for monitoring.

Before cellular phones or the internet, just as every family relied on a traditional landline telephone for their communications, security systems also relied on a telephone connection. In today’s advanced technological age, telephones are becoming extinct as they are being rapidly replaced by cellular phones and internet based telephony. Unfortunately during the transition from landline telephones to wireless cellular phones, many security system owners were forced to continue paying for telephone service they did not want or need. Now however, through Honeywell’s AlarmNet division, Alarm Grid offers those very same security system owners an option for finally cutting ties with their home telephone. With an internet alarm communicator like the 7847i, you can save money by eliminating your telephone bill but still enjoy the safety that comes along with central station alarm monitoring service.

The Honeywell 7847i connects to your Honeywell VISTA Series security system with a simple 4-wire connection and replaces the need for an active telephone connection. Once the 7847i is installed, you simply connect an Ethernet wire from an open port on your home network’s router or switch to the RJ45 Ethernet connector on the 7847i. The 7847i internet alarm monitoring communicator will then transmit all of your Honeywell security system’s alarm signals to Alarm Grid’s central station using your broadband internet connection. The internet alarm communicator uses minimal bandwidth so you never have to worry about it affecting your normal internet service. The 7847i will send 300 bytes of data every (20) seconds for the MAC ping to AlarmNet, 1 kb of data for every alarm signal and 600 bytes of data for every supervision signal sent to AlarmNet. AlarmNet also designed the 7847i to be network friendly so that it will connect easily to most home networks without any advanced network setup. If you do have a more advanced network setup, the 7847i is programmable to match your network. However, we recommend that you consult with your network administrator during installations with advanced networks.

As the Honeywell 7847i relies on your home network, the internet alarm communicator is only as reliable as your internet service. We recommend installing an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or battery backup for your modem and router so that your internet service will not go down during a normal power outage. Without a UPS installed, your security system will still work during a power outage, as it has its own battery backup, but when the 7847i sends the alarm signal out it will fail as there is no internet available. Also, if you ever experience outages from your internet service provider (ISP), your alarm communications will not work during these outages. As the Honeywell 7847i is supervised by AlarmNet, Alarm Grid’s central station will be able to alert you whenever your internet communication path is down. However, you may want to consider the AlarmNet iGSMV instead as it has a backup cellular alarm communicator for those times when the internet path fails.

The 7847i internet alarm communicator is also compatible with AlarmNet’s Total Connect 2.0 service. If you sign up for the optional Total Connect 2.0 service, you will be able to remotely control your Honeywell security system from any web browser or iPhone®, iPad®, Blackberry® or Android™ device. If your Honeywell security system is older and not compatible with the newer Total Connect 2.0 service, you can also sign up for the original Total Connect service.