r/alarmdotcom • • Mar 16 '20

What is Alarm.com?

13 Upvotes

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 • • 3h ago

What keypad is this?

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2 Upvotes

For context, I am a new homeowner. The cameras and the doorbell have alarm.com logos. I can’t identify the motion sensors or this keypad. I’m trying to find out if I should sign up for surety. Any ideas?


r/alarmdotcom • • 7h ago

DISPOSITIVOS AJAX: ¿CUÁLES ELEGIR?

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1 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom • • 1d ago

Heavy alarmdotcom user here, question about reporting

1 Upvotes

We have about 300 doors on Alarm.com, and I’m struggling to get the reports and changes I need in a timely manner. What are others doing for historical access reports in an audit situation?

A couple of pain points:

  • On historical reports, it’s hard to quickly tell whether a user was deleted, paused, or had their access expire.
  • My service provider can only pull reports back about 90 days. Audit recently asked for reports from two years ago, and because I couldn’t prove one person’s access had expired, we got a finding.
  • None of the reports that i would use for audits can export automatically.

How are you handling retention and audit evidence? Exporting on a schedule, using a different platform, or something else?

If we had an API for data transfer it might would work, thats where Brivo and Acre win. They just dont have the same Intrusion built in


r/alarmdotcom • • 1d ago

ADC-W110

3 Upvotes

Hello. I bought a ADC-W110 online to connect my POE cameras to the network.

Here’s the problem. I need to be able to stream the camera continuously without dropping out.

When the camera is connected to the W110, the stream will stop after 20-30 minutes. When I use a TP Link WiFi extender with Ethernet, it won’t. (Granted the camera would need to be powered by the external power source.)

I read somewhere that they both must be on the same WiFi network. (Apple TV, and bridge/camera) they are.


r/alarmdotcom • • 2d ago

Help Insurance requires professionally installed/monitored system - what to do

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2 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom • • 2d ago

Sistema d'allarme... bypassato

0 Upvotes

Ciao, chiedo un vs consiglio, abbiamo una casa con un sistema d'allarme piuttosto articolato... nonostante questo ci hanno derubati. La sirena è stata rotta e nessuno ha potuto rispondere alle telefonate; da ultimo, sarebbe dovuta partire la chiamata ai carabinieri, ma così non è stato perché... l'installatore ha detto di averla disattivata e di non ricordarne il motivo!!!
...motivo che ovviamente non può esserci, che certamente non è seguito a una nostra richiesta e di cui, in ogni caso, non siamo mai stati avvertiti.

La casa è nostra da poco, l'installatore è lo stesso degli ultimi 45 anni, dunque ha un'età... sul fronte riparazioni "fisiche" è forte perché ha montato tutto lui, sul fronte software... peggio mi sento! Per fare alcune modifiche, tipo cambio gestore o switch su sim, ci ha messo non ore, ma GIORNI!

Quando siamo arrivati in casa ci ha spiegato le cose in maniera abbastanza frammentaria. Certo era anche un sistema complesso e non era semplice ricordarci tutto, comunque l'app non funzionava in partenza e ha dovuto già sistemare qualcosa.
Il precedente proprietario aveva un abbonamento, che abbiamo disdetto perché era caro e implicava semplicemente uscite gratuite e un po' di sconto sui pezzi. Abbiamo optato per chiamare al bisogno pagando uscita e pezzi a prezzo pieno.

Falsi allarmi ce n'erano, a memoria, da prima che la casa fosse nostra, col tempo credo siano aumentati. In maniera fastidiosa, ma non con frequenza tale da far pensare ad un guasto preciso (anche perché raramente indicavano lo stesso ambiente), quanto a defaillance momentanee, o magari a cambi di tensione elettrica a cui la casa a volte è sottoposta.

Questo è l'unico punto su cui mi domando se potremmo aver sbagliato: a detta dell'installatore, avremmo dovuto chiamarlo ogni volta che c'era un falso allarme e lui l'avrebbe risolto. In realtà le volte che gliel'abbiamo detto, a parte controllare e dire che era tutto a posto non ha fatto molto.
Diciamo che non ci ha mai dato la sensazione che fosse proprio tuttissimo sotto controllo, ma alla fine era un brav'uomo e ci eravamo anche affezionati...

Ora però che ci hanno derubati vedo le cose un po' diversamente: perché cosa ce ne facciamo dell'antifurto se non dissuade i ladri dal furto?

Sentendo degli amici, sembra che Verisure tutto sommato faccia il suo mestiere, trovo ottima l'idea quella della guardia che parla direttamente al ladro e nel caso chiama qualcuno (e so di tentativi di furto dissuasi da questo procedimento) ma, al netto dei forti dubbi sulla privacy, dal punto di vista tecnico è un sistema un po' "Fischer Price", mentre il sistema attualmente montato e che dovremmo eventualmente riparare è un sistema sofisticato e molto ben integrato nell'immobile.

Ora abbiamo un preventivo per rimettere tutto come prima, ma il pensiero spontaneo è se non sia il caso di sentire degli altri installatori... ma mi vien male, perché il sistema è complesso e qualsiasi nuovo installatore lo vedrebbe per la prima volta, senza conoscere gli intricati passaggi dei fili, il funzionamento e tra l'altro nemmeno le password... confesso che il pensiero che qualcuno debba chiamare il vecchio installatore e chiedergli le password, in pratica dicendogli che è stato bypassato, mi mette molto a disagio.

Aggiungo che il vecchio installatore, al netto di tutti i limiti, sicuramente è una persona per bene... mentre chiamare una persona nuova, per quanto professionista, vuole pur sempre dire raccontare a uno sconosciuto come entrare in casa tua...

Troppe paranoie? Sì, sicuramente... ma nel complesso sono bloccato e... senza sistema d'allarme!

Voi come vi muovereste?


r/alarmdotcom • • 7d ago

sound activated phone notifications

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3 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom • • 7d ago

Help with RING alert

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0 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom • • 11d ago

How To Separate Login for 2nd Property

2 Upvotes

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 • • 11d ago

X-Sense thermometer units supposed to be super accurate

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0 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom • • 12d ago

Can’t decide. Alarm.com vs Reolink

4 Upvotes

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 • • 14d ago

Sensor Open/Close Logging

3 Upvotes

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 • • 14d ago

Qolsys IQ 4 time woes

3 Upvotes

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 • • 15d ago

This is driving me NUTS!

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0 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom • • 15d ago

Why do blink codes exist if the same code means 5 different things depending on the model?

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1 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom • • 17d ago

Laser Beam outdoor security with alarm?? Can I DIY?

1 Upvotes

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 • • 18d ago

Alarm.com & Smart plugs - not good

4 Upvotes

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 • • 18d ago

Weighing out options

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1 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom • • 19d ago

DSC Panel / 433 mhz Wireless Devices

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2 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom • • 20d ago

Please share Paradox m25 alarm ecosystem experience

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0 Upvotes

I am posting here since I have received zero feedback in homesecurity sub. I appreciate any insight.


r/alarmdotcom • • 23d ago

Weighing Alarm.com camera lvs. switching to Reolink — renter, no permanent wiring

5 Upvotes

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 • • 24d ago

How are you programming a Vista 20P fire zone w/Alarm.com?

3 Upvotes

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 • • 26d ago

Help Iq4 Internet Issues

3 Upvotes

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 • • 29d ago

Zwave key fob to open a zwave lock

3 Upvotes

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.