r/alarmdotcom • u/apieceofcoral • 12h ago
r/alarmdotcom • u/suretyhome • Mar 16 '20
What is Alarm.com?
Alarm.com provides smart security, home automation and remote control for the vast majority of home security companies, who combine it with their own professional monitoring (police/fire dispatch) and deliver it to customers. If you have a smart security system from a security company then you probably have Alarm.com.
Alarm.com offers both home security and smart home automation. Security and privacy are Alarm.com's biggest strengths. The home automation features are easy to use and great for many people but not as flexible as a dedicated home automation system that automation power users might prefer. Alarm.com pioneered connected home security. Today it's comparable to other large connected home security platforms such as Nest, Ring & SimpliSafe, and is the clear leader when it comes to security and privacy.
Alarm.com works with professional grade security alarm systems such as Qolsys, 2GIG, DSC and Interlogix. Honeywell Vista systems can also work using the system enhancement module (SEM). It uses Z-Wave for home automation devices such as lights, locks, thermostats, garage doors, energy management, water valves/meters & sprinkler systems. It uses WIFI for higher bandwidth devices such as cameras. See the Alarm.com ecosystem page for a non-exhaustive list of compatible products.
Alarm.com is a B2B company and does not sell directly to consumers. The only way to get it is from an Alarm.com provider. Alarm.com is white-labeled and branded to appear as if is comes directly from the security company. The larger Alarm.com providers have custom mobile apps, which are restyled versions of the regular Alarm.com app.
There are two kinds of Alarm.com providers, professional-installation and DIY (self-installation). The professional installation companies will come to your house and install the equipment for you. The DIY companies ship you the equipment to install yourself and only provide the online services and professional alarm monitoring. Professional-installation companies usually cost more and require long term contracts but save you from doing installation/maintenance work. DIY companies usually cost less and are often month-to-month but you have to do the installation/maintenance yourself.
Alarm.com has dominated home security for more than a decade and recently has broadened its platform to support commercial security as well, focusing on small and medium sized businesses.
Visit Alarm.com's website to learn more.
This subreddit is a place where you can ask for Help, share News, post How To's, or just Chat about anything related to Alarm.com.
r/alarmdotcom • u/Jprobins3 • 4d ago
How To Separate Login for 2nd Property
I have ADC at 2 separate properties. 2 locations and subscriptions under the same account. I access them both under my master login and can flip back and forth in the app. Now, I want to set up a login account for the app that only sees the second property. I am sure I did this several years ago, but I can't for the life of me remember how. Can anyone explain it to my aging brain?
r/alarmdotcom • u/Ribbit765 • 4d ago
X-Sense thermometer units supposed to be super accurate
r/alarmdotcom • u/Ill_Possession_9464 • 5d ago
Can’t decide. Alarm.com vs Reolink
Hello!
I have a rental property and would like to have some cameras.
Here’s my dilemma, I cannot decide whether I want to do alarm.com versus Reolink.
I already have an alarm.com system with surety. I have a 2Gig Edge system.
I understand how Alarm.com integrates with the alarm.
I’m fascinated by the idea of the reolink app on my computer that I can have while I’m working from home.
If I went with the alarm.com, I would not get an SVR off the bat because they are kind of expensive. I would like to be able to view the cameras on the TV so I would need the SVR eventually.
Walk me through this, why did you choose one versus the other? What would you do differently? What should I do? Help?
r/alarmdotcom • u/Valuable-Emu-989 • 7d ago
Sensor Open/Close Logging
Is there a way for the sensor door/open notification to log in the timeline without using secret alerts? Each time a door is opened or closed in my house EVERY CAMERA takes a video and it drains the ones that run on batteries. I just want to know when a door is opened/closed without having to announce it. I need to know this information when I am away and the kids are home alone or something like that. HELPPPPP!
r/alarmdotcom • u/OverArcherUnder • 8d ago
Qolsys IQ 4 time woes
I attempted to do an upgrade on my old Johnson alarm system and I bought an IQ 4 brain, and a few remotepanels to arm and disarm the system around my house. My house was pre-wired for switches at the doors and motion sensors and I’ve gotten everything hooked up to the panel with new resistors and it seems to function pretty well.
Ie. when I open and close doorsthe panel the remote panels chime and the IQ installer shows the door opening and closing etc.
What I can't figure out is the time/date -- every night it resets back to Eastern standard time (I'm west coast) so all the clocks on each panel is off by four hours.
I open up the IQ Installer reset the time to the correct time and date and all the panels reflect the new time however overnight the panels all reset the time four hours ahead to East Coast time and when I wake up instead of it being my time it’s four hours ahead.
I also can’t integrate it with my Control4 system because I can’t set the six digit code in the IQ Installer because it tells me there’s a partition error -- even though all of the sensors are on one partition.
Any ideas?
r/alarmdotcom • u/Long_Cauliflower_573 • 8d ago
Why do blink codes exist if the same code means 5 different things depending on the model?
r/alarmdotcom • u/ContributionHappy879 • 10d ago
Laser Beam outdoor security with alarm?? Can I DIY?
My 85 year old parents keep having punk boys (teenagers who know better) come up their walkway and then BANG as hard as they can on their front door at 2am. This happens OFTEN and I'm sick of it and want to do something. Is there an outdoor security-type system where I can put two laser beams (one on each side of their walkway) that once it is tripped, it will emit a loud siren OUTSIDE to scare them off? I don't need it to alarm INSIDE because that doesn't help scare these punks off. Any help or websites/companies that you can point me in the right direction? I am not a good DIYer so unless it's easy, I won't be able to McGyver-it myself. :) THANK YOU for any help!!!!
r/alarmdotcom • u/MarcPawl • 11d ago
Alarm.com & Smart plugs - not good
Expensive, CA$65 per smart plug from Telus for z-wave plug; jasco 79244.
The connection to alarm system was flaky until I got support to do it.
The alarm.com software does not support delays, when you arm the system the rules enact right away turning on it off the smart plug immediately, without waiting for the count down to be complete
On loss of power the smart plug turns on, versus polling to see what the state should be, or last state if off.
r/alarmdotcom • u/benibilme • 13d ago
Please share Paradox m25 alarm ecosystem experience
I am posting here since I have received zero feedback in homesecurity sub. I appreciate any insight.
r/alarmdotcom • u/Ill_Possession_9464 • 17d ago
Weighing Alarm.com camera lvs. switching to Reolink — renter, no permanent wiring
I've got a 2GIG EDGE panel monitored through Surety (Alarm.com dealer) and I'm trying to decide whether to stay in the Alarm.com ecosystem for cameras or jump to Reolink.
**My situation:** I rent, so I can't run permanent Ethernet or do any hardwiring that isn't reversible. That's steered me toward PoE cameras paired with PoE-to-WiFi bridges instead of pulling cable — specifically:
ADC-SG130 (Alarm.com Smart Gateway) as a dedicated Wi-Fi access point for the camera devices
ADC-W110 PoE-to-WiFi bridges so I can use PoE cameras without running Ethernet
Camera lineup: an ADC-VC728PF above the garage, an ADC-VC838PF in the backyard, and a second ADC-VC728PF on the east eave covering the front yard/street side (corner lot near a stop sign, so a fair amount of foot/car traffic)
Doorbell (ADC-VDB780B) is on hold — found two existing low-voltage wires at the door and need to multimeter test them for 8-30VAC before committing to a wired unit
Eventually want an SVR (local recorder) for 24/7 recording + HDMI output to a TV, but that's a future purchase, not part of this round
**Why I'm second-guessing it:** the Alarm.com camera hardware + gateway + bridges adds up fast, and I keep seeing people recommend Reolink for better image quality and lower cost per camera, especially with their NVR options for local storage.
So — for anyone who's used both: is it worth staying all-in on Alarm.com for the integration with my existing panel/monitoring, or would you go Reolink for the cameras and just keep Alarm.com for the alarm side? Also open to hearing if there's a smarter way to handle the "renter, no permanent wiring" constraint than PoE bridges.
I love the Vivint hardware but am scared out of my mind about the horror stories - and I don’t care for the price of their equipment.
r/alarmdotcom • u/NikolaiAlexei • 17d ago
How are you programming a Vista 20P fire zone w/Alarm.com?
Zone 1 is the 2 wire smoke zone, and we use the RRS-MOD and 4120 trigger cable. If we program it as a Type 9, it sends a “fire alarm” every time the smoke detector sounds. Example - a smoke detector falses, the end user silences it within a minute, but the panel might sends 60 alarms. So Honeywell says to create a fire alarm under Type 90. That’s fine, it works……but it does note show up as a sensor in Alarm.com because they don’t have a zone type 90. And that means that there is no controllability from the partner portal/mobile tech. Which then means you have to roll a truck immediately if there is a runaway, there’s no way to shut it off remotely.
Sorry for the long post….just wondering if anyone has dealt with this.
r/alarmdotcom • u/Arnix1 • 19d ago
Help Iq4 Internet Issues
Has anyone else noticed that the IQ4 has been having issues staying connected to known internet routers within the last couple of months? I've gotten a few calls recently with that, having figured out how to fix it.
r/alarmdotcom • u/wookiemilitia • 22d ago
Zwave key fob to open a zwave lock
I’m curious if anyone has ever tried this.
My daughter(7 years old) overhears me talking about my job and she’s getting pretty interested in it. I wanna foster that interest. She has a playroom with a hollow core door on it and I’m wondering if I couldn’t put a zwave lock on it, paired with a zwave key fob that she could use to “allow us access” to her playroom provided we give her the right “password”. I’m not sure if I’m in the right sub but the rule would have to be built into the ADC environment working with a IQ4.
My thoughts are we’d still have control through the app /panel to open it but give her the illusion of access.
r/alarmdotcom • u/fraaron • 23d ago
Alarm.com - Video Uploads Quota Exceeded
For some reason, the entire first year of having them i never received this warning. But from the 2nd year onwards, this comes up every month.
There has not been an increase in activity, actually maybe a decrease.
Did something change about the upload capacity this year?
r/alarmdotcom • u/Mental-Blueberry-295 • 25d ago
iOS 27
Has anyone upgraded to iOS 27 yet? Does the app and all features still work? I am nervous because I remember how long it took to get widgets back last time we lost them from an update.
r/alarmdotcom • u/Accurate_Elevator368 • 26d ago
What to do with the Bell Smart home equipment? (7 yrs old)
r/alarmdotcom • u/ConsiderationIll9497 • 27d ago
Help Battery Issues
I have a tl880le with an hs2064 I’ve been having issues with my communicator connecting to alarm.com oddly enough when I disconnect the battery it seems to connect. Does anyone see any reason why that would happen or is it maybe coincidence
r/alarmdotcom • u/GusherJuice • 27d ago
Anyone feel like the app is a little slow?
I use both Ring and Alarm.com’s app and it’s pretty noticeable how much faster the Ring app is. For example, when you get a video notification and click it, the video feed pops up super quick on Ring. With Alarm.com’s app, it takes like 2-3 seconds to load every time I do the exact same thing. First world problem but wish the app was snappy like Ring.