Our home security professionals just installed a new alarm in your home…now what?
Before completing your installation, our installer should have walked you through arming and disarming your alarm system. You now know how to arm your system in stay and away mode. In case you forgot, away mode is used anytime you and your family are leaving home, meaning no one is left inside unless you have pets. Stay mode is used when you and your family are in the home, but you still want the perimeter to be secured. It may take a while to get used to arming your system, and that is okay. Keep reading to learn the benefits of arming your system and how ADS can help you make arming your system a part of your daily routine.
Why does my system need to be armed?
Arming your system is a crucial step to ensure that our central monitoring station receives alarm notifications from your home. Whether or not you are home, your alarm will need to be set for us to respond to any activated devices. Setting your alarm means that your interior and/or perimeter zones are turned on.
Here’s an example:
Imagine leaving your home in the morning with your alarm set. Around lunchtime, you get a call from our central monitoring station stating that one of your doors was opened and a motion detector was activated. The house should still be empty, and no one should be home. You pass this information over to our operators, and they dispatch authorities immediately. The police found the door open with evidence of forced entry, however; everything in the house is okay. The sirens must have scared the intruder away before any real harm could be done.
If your system were not armed, the siren would have never gone off, and our operators would not have known to contact the authorities. This scenario could have played out differently.
How to Set Your Alarm
When it comes to setting your alarm, you have a few options.
- Enter your code at the keypad
- Using a wireless Key Fob
- Using voice commands
- Using the Total Connect app
Keypad Arming
Your keypad should be mounted in a convenient location as you are exiting your home. Typically, keypads are found near your front entry or garage to house door. Your alarm allows an exit delay count down that can range from 30 to 90 seconds. You can adjust this delay based on your personal needs with a quick call to our technical support.
Arming with a Key Fob
A Key Fob is a four-button wireless device that allows you to arm or disarm your system with just a put of a button. Each button allows a different function; arm away, arm stay, disarm, and panic.
Voice Commands
Your Lyric panel has built-in voice commands. You can easily set up voice commands at your panel. It will require a few steps on your end; Lyric will need to learn your voice before this function will work. Once it is set up, you will be able to arm and disarm your system by just saying a few words before walking out of your home.
Arm Using Total Connect
The total connect app is a convenient and easy way to arm and disarm whether or not you are home. As previously mentioned, it can take some time after your installation to get used to arming your
system. The Total Connect app allows you to check your system’s status from anywhere using your mobile device. Once you are logged into the app, you can check to see if your system is armed or disarmed. This allows you to arm your system if you forgot to on your way out. Click here to test drive the functions of the app.
With the total connect app, you can also view a live feed of any cameras you have in your home, including your doorbell camera. Let’s go back to our example from earlier. After receiving the call from our operator, you would have been able to view your cameras in real-time to see exactly what was going on on-site. Your camera footage may have even captured a description of your intruder for the authorities.
Make It a Routine
You may need to set up a few reminders to get into the habit of setting your alarm. Â Some ideas may be:
- Setting a daily reminder on your phone
- Carry your key fob with you as a reminder when turning on your car
- Arm your system for the night when setting your wake up alarm for the next morning
- Add a temporary post-it note to your exit door
We hope that these tips and tricks will help you make the most out of your new alarm system. As always, if you need any help, we are here. We have on-site technical support available during regular business hours at 630.844.6307, or you can reach us 24/7 at 630.844.6300.
About Alarm Detection Systems, Inc.
ADS is one of the largest alarm firms in Illinois. It has been family-owned since 1968. ADS provides business alarms, fire alarms, card access, security cameras, and home security systems. Our main office is in the Fox Valley. We service all of Chicago, suburbs, and southern Wisconsin.
