2GIG Go!Control: Review of Wireless Security Systems

Hi, DIYers. Sterling with Alarm Grid, here. Today, we're going to introduce you guys to the 2GIG GoControl system. This CP21-345 model was one of the very first all-in-one touchscreen systems to ever be introduced. Whereas, alarm systems historically have always been housed in a big beige metal alarm cabinet that would be housed in a remote location that would have your brains or circuit board with all of your wires coming in-- wired out to your keypads, wired out to your sirens, wired out to all your sensors throughout your house-- this system incorporates it all into one unit that sits on the wall. This is your siren, your touchscreen keypad, the brains of your system, your wireless receiver to communicate with wireless devices, your backup battery. All of that housed in one unit that you use to arm and disarm, program your system, and use on a daily basis. So this is a really nice design, especially when you don't have any pre-wiring in your house and you want to put a system in your house. Unless you're new construction, it's nearly impossible to get wiring throughout your house to doors, motion, sirens, everything that you would need if you wanted a wired system. So these all-in-one wireless are really, really great systems. And whereas you've seen our Lynx Touch systems from Honeywell, we are now proud to introduce another brand that offers that same functionality. And we're just going to review some of the good features that this system offers so that you can make the decision about the right all-in-one wireless system for your house. So a little company background on 2GIG. It was started by two engineers and the name 2GIG literally stood for Two Guys In a Garage. And they started from that background and, now, just a few short years later, they are one of the premier security brands in the industry. They were since bought by a lifestyle and innovation company called Nortek. And Nortek also owns Linear. Linear is a premier Z-Wave manufacturer for Z-Wave lights, switches, dimmers, and even Z-Wave light bulbs. And Linear-- because of that and being within the one umbrella of Nortek-- makes this system a very powerful home automation system as well. So if you're looking for security and also control of lights, locks, and thermostats all from this one panel, you're getting integration to all of those different technologies in the house. This system supports phone line communication with a separate module because, of course, phone lines are going away. That's kind of the history of how alarms would communicate. It, of course, also does cellular communications. Unlike the Honeywell systems, right now, this has an option for AT&T cellular; Verizon cellular; in Canada, Rogers network; and even in Mexico, the Movistar network. So there are various modules, cellular modules, that this system will support so that you can choose the right cellular provider in your area. So whereas Honeywell, right now, only does AT&T and if you were in an area that didn't have AT&T coverage, you would have to be doing internet-only and have no option for cellular communications. The 2GIG panel will allow you to choose the right provider for your area. Again, unlike Honeywell, this system has integrations with various cellular communication providers. So whereas the network at the backbone of the cellular provider would be the AT&T or the Verizon, the actual cellular communications are passing through a company on the way to your central station. And whereas Honeywell systems go through Honeywell's AlarmNet division, which is a Honeywell company, the 2GIG panel goes through a third-party provider. So it will work with an Alarm.com cellular communicator. It'll work with Telguard cellular communicator. It'll work with an Uplink cellular communicator. So, again, it gives you some flexibility and some option to choose the right cellular provider that you would like. Alarm.com is by far the most popular provider used with this system. And Alarm.com is an interactive and cellular communication provider that offers some really cool interactive service options so that you can control your system, your 2GIG system, from your computer, your mobile device, your tablet, phone to give you really advanced control and remote functionality of your system. This will support 48 wireless zones. It'll work with 2GIG wireless sensors. It'll work with Honeywell wireless sensors. There's even a module that'll make it work with GE wireless sensors. So if you've inherited a system-- or you bought a house that had an existing system-- and you were looking to upgrade to a more feature-rich security system, you don't have to necessarily replace all the sensors in your house if you had the right type of wireless in there now. There's even a takeover module so that if you had an existing wired system and you wanted to upgrade to touchscreen capability or Z-Wave capability, you could tie all your hardwired zones into a device that would turn them into wireless zones that you could then program back into your GoControl. So no matter what system may be in your house, this is a great way-- this is a great system for upgrading. And if you have a brand-- if you're looking for a brand-new system, with the all-in-one wireless nature, it makes it very easy to install a brand new system without having to run wires throughout the house. Some of the feature differences between this and Honeywell is that, at this time, it already supports a touchscreen wireless keypad. So that's one of the main requests from someone that has a Lynx Touch is, "How do I add another touchscreen?" They want to link a L5200 to another L5200 or a 7000 to a 5200, and we always get that question. We always tell people, you actually cannot connect two different Lynx Touch systems. You would have the use a regular wireless touchpad keypad. With the 2GIG system, they already have an available TS1 touchscreen keypad. So now, you can put this up in your bedroom and you're getting the same functionality that you get here from your remote pad to arm and disarm and control your system. So that's a really cool feature that 2GIG offers that, at this time, Honeywell does not. We say this time because Honeywell, you know, in the future, these various companies see what each other are doing and they tend to kind of match each other's feature set as different things come out. So Honeywell comes out with something, 2GIG may incorporate that feature in the future, and vise versa. So we don't know. Maybe Honeywell eventually has some touchscreen options for their wireless systems. But if you're looking for that and that's something that's critical for your system, that might be a reason that you choose a 2GIG system over a Honeywell system. The 2GIG sensor line is not as advanced as the Honeywell sensor line in the sense of what type of sensors will work with the system. So, of course, there are door sensors, motions, glass breaks, kind of the more common typical stuff. But Honeywell-- being around longer and having done wireless sensors longer-- has a lot more wide range of the sensors. But, again, because this will integrate to a Honeywell sensor, you really get that wide range of sensor capability with this system. Whereas Honeywell, you really have to just use Honeywell sensors. So that's another big difference between the 2GIG systems and the Honeywell wireless systems. So historically, Alarm Grid, we've only offered Honeywell equipment. We are very proud to now offer an alternative option. Whether you like the look and the feel of this system or whether you prefer the Alarm.com mobile app over the Total Connect app, everyone has various preferences. I wouldn't say that one system is better than the other or one type of interactive service is better than another. But, you know, based on your personal preference, you can now decide through Alarm Grid-- or working with us you, can now decide to get the right system and the right type of monitoring service that's going to work for you and your family. And we invite you to take a look at our 2GIG sensor programming videos and our Honeywell programming videos because that might be something that's going to sway you to one system or the other. We personally feel that the Honeywell system has a little bit easier intuitive programming interface. Whereas this 2GIG system has a little bit more of a question-based programming where you may have to be a little bit more up to speed on exactly how this system programs. Of course, with our YouTube videos and all of the free tech support that we offer, either way, you're going to be able to program your system. But, again, with the various differences in how you would program the system, that may be another reason why you would choose a 2GIG system over a Honeywell system. So here at Alarm Grid, we always try to be as helpful and transparent and providing all of the different features and services that are available in the industry. And by introducing this 2GIG product line, you the customer now has a lot more options for choosing the right system for you and your property. So we hope you've enjoyed this intro. We invite you to subscribe to our channel. And if you have any questions about 2GIG or the Go Control CP21-345, please email us, support@alarmgrid.com.