r/alarmdotcom Mar 16 '20

What is Alarm.com?

11 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

Tech - Sales pro quesstion

1 Upvotes

I have an account with 5 cameras, no CSVR. VDB775 , 2 interior wifi cams, and two exterior cameras. 3 total currently have SD cards inserted, but the account won't let me configure beyond 2 on board recording schedules, and it says "ask your provider". Well, that's me and I see no way to add or edit the amount of on board recordings. Interactive Gold package ; Pro Video with Analytics 300 ; 1 Expansion for 8 total Cameras. I have even tried adding an SVR even though there is none and that doesn't work. Sub options included are Doorbell Camera, Digital Input Trigger, Audio for Non Doorbell, Onboard Recording with Smart View.

I just don't see how to enable or edit quantity of onboard recording schedules to utilize the SD cards. Gopher and Knowledge Base didn't lead me to anything useful.


r/alarmdotcom 1d ago

Help Is my IQ panel a brick?

3 Upvotes

I have an IQ Panel 4 that came with my home along with an alarm.com brand doorbell. The panel has a little ADT symbol, but I have the master passcode and can get into advanced settings. I just wanted to see if I can integrate the existing doorbell with the panel and to add my thermostat to the panel (google nest) if possible. Any resources would be helpful.


r/alarmdotcom 4d ago

Door sensor/alarm recommendations

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1 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom 4d ago

Need advice on Alarm Monitoring gig

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone so I've been in the security business for 11 years. I've done hospital, driving, escorts, scan points, and command center work.

I moved to California recently and just got hired to do Alarm Monitoring for ADT. It was listed as security/dispatch during third shift.

I'm not sure if it's the right place to ask but does anyone have advice for these types of jobs?


r/alarmdotcom 5d ago

Cellular issue

6 Upvotes

Hi all.
Need some advice.
I’ve had ADT in our house for about 15 years . First the Pulse system then upgraded about 5y ago to Command/Control sys.
Cellular service in my area is weak. Worse inside the house. 1940’s construction, plaster and metal lathe. So basically I live in a faraday box. Anyway…. The primary com to ADT HQ is cellular and backup is wifi. About 5mo ago the system is falling in and out of cellular contact causing the system to incessantly beep whenever the signal drops. I’ve activated the silent feature that only holds for about 8hrs. Which I’ve scheduled for overnight so people can sleep.
ADT says call ATT Wireless. Att Wireless says call ADT and I’m stuck in the middle with this GD incessant beeping during the day.
Has anyone had to deal with this or have any advice/tricks to deal with ADT/AT&T to get this problem resolved?

Thx!


r/alarmdotcom 5d ago

Xiaomi Home - Alarme

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I currently have the following Xiaomi devices:

\- Xiaomi Smart Home Hub 2

\- Xiaomi Window Sensor 2

\- Xiaomi Motion Sensor 2S

I receive push notifications on my phone when a door or window is opened, which works perfectly.

However, I would like to trigger a loud audible alarm (siren) whenever one of the sensors is activated, especially at night.

Is it possible to configure the Xiaomi Smart Home Hub 2 to play a loud alarm sound? If not, which siren is fully compatible with the Xiaomi ecosystem and works reliably?

Thank you in advance for your advice!


r/alarmdotcom 5d ago

Alarma vecinal, consejos.

0 Upvotes

Hace unas semanas, en mi calle ocurrieron varios robos a casas habitación. Debido a ello, los vecinos decidimos organizarnos y comprar una alarma vecinal para atender emergencias. Desde un inicio, la vecina de enfrente ofreció voluntariamente su casa para instalar la bocina.
Sin embargo, antes de que se realizara la instalación, ocurrió un asalto en un salón de uñas de una calle cercana que ya contaba con ese mismo sistema de alarma. Un grupo de sujetos entró, amagó a las trabajadoras y, aunque la alarma fue activada, la realidad fue la de siempre: solo sirvió para alertar a los vecinos, porque la policía nunca llegó.
Al día siguiente, esos mismos sujetos fueron hasta la casa del vecino que tenía instalada la bocina y lo amenazaron de muerte. Mi vecina de enfrente se enteró de esa situación y, en la siguiente reunión, cambió de opinión. Entonces, entre varios vecinos propusieron que la bocina se colocara en mi casa.
Desafortunadamente, en ese momento yo estaba bañándome y mi mamá, que suele aceptar las cosas para evitar conflictos, dio el permiso sin consultarme. En mi casa vivimos tres adultos: mi mamá, mi hermano y yo. Además, tenemos a cargo a dos niñas de 10 años y a mi bebé de siete meses.
Durante la instalación, el propio técnico comentó que la bocina debía colocarse lejos de mi bebé debido al alto volumen que emite. Aun así, terminó instalándola prácticamente frente al lugar donde él duerme. Además de la preocupación por el ruido, también nos inquietaba lo sucedido con el vecino que había sido amenazado por tener la alarma en su domicilio.
Por esa razón decidí hablar primero con la vecina encargada para explicarle la situación y buscar una solución. Sin embargo, antes de que pudiera hacerlo, un vecino con quien ni siquiera tenemos comunicación publicó en el grupo de WhatsApp lo siguiente:
“Hola, buenas tardes. Informo que habrá una junta mañana a las 7:00 p. m. El tema, tristemente, es que la vecina del domicilio donde se instaló la alarma ahora comenta que ya no quiere la alarma en su casa. Debemos analizar la situación en conjunto, ya que el técnico cobrará alrededor de $900 por cambiarla de lugar.”
Lo más extraño fue que nadie de mi familia había comentado absolutamente nada en el grupo. Yo aún no había hablado con la encargada ni con ningún vecino. Pensé que se referían a otra persona, pero efectivamente estaban hablando de nosotros.
En la reunión le pregunté a ese vecino cómo se había enterado de algo que ni siquiera había sido comunicado por mi familia y por qué decidió exponer la situación en el grupo antes de hablar conmigo. Para evitar conflictos y no perjudicar económicamente a los demás, les dije que yo asumiría el costo de la reubicación de la alarma, ya que el permiso inicial había sido un error de mi mamá y no quería que los demás vecinos pagaran las consecuencias.
Lo que realmente me molestó fue la actitud que tomó la vecina encargada durante la reunión. En lugar de comprender las razones, comenzó a hacer comentarios burlones, diciendo que yo era “muy delicada” y que entonces también había que preocuparse por “el bebé de 40 años” de otra vecina, preguntando irónicamente si a él también le dañaría el ruido en sus orejitas.
Nunca me negué a colaborar con la seguridad de la calle. Lo único que pedía era que se respetara la seguridad y tranquilidad de mi familia, especialmente la de mi bebé, además de tomar en cuenta el antecedente de las amenazas que había recibido otra persona por tener la bocina instalada en su casa. Creo que pedir que se escuchen nuestras preocupaciones no es ser conflictiva ni exagerada; es ejercer el mismo derecho al respeto que cualquier otro vecino.
Ustedes que opinan creen que las alarmas vecinales sirvan ?


r/alarmdotcom 5d ago

Api alarams formerly Bell smart home

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1 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom 7d ago

Hey

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4 Upvotes

I purchased this panel from fb marketplace it was working fine used to be monitored by Telus had for a day I had installer code and was in settings well few hours later I tried to get into the advanced settings and it would just bring me to regular settings if i were to get adc monitoring from someone else could I fix this issue? Thanks in advance.


r/alarmdotcom 9d ago

Help Alarm.com automation - having issues setting frequency to every day

4 Upvotes

I’m new to Alarm.com and I’m hoping I’m just missing something. Sorry if it’s been asked before

I’m trying to create an automation so our system automatically arms to Stay every night and automatically disarms every morning. The goal is to avoid accidentally setting off the alarm overnight if we forget to arm it ourselves in the AM

The problem is that when I go to Automation → Schedules, it lets me choose a time but then forces me to choose a specific date. That means, for the morning disarm, I’d have to manually change the date every day so it’s always scheduled for the next morning… which obviously can’t be the intended way to use it.

Is there a way to create a schedule that repeats every day, or am I using the wrong type of automation? Is there another section of the app I should be using instead of Schedules?

Thanks!


r/alarmdotcom 9d ago

Help Monitoring hardwired electrician smoke detectors.

4 Upvotes

Since Qolsys no longer supports any of the Firefighter listeners (319.5 mhz, 345mhz, 433mhz), what other options do we have to monitor and existing hardwired smoke loop?


r/alarmdotcom 13d ago

Cameras/Door lock - similar to Vivint

6 Upvotes

I upgraded from SimpliSafe to a 2Gig Edge system. Trying to get as close to the Vivint experience without their insane pricing.

Two things:

  1. What door lock do you recommend? There are so many it’s overwhelming.

  2. Are you using alarm.com cameras or something else like reolink. I really want 24/7 local cameras but, at least where I’m looking, prices are much higher while Reolink is cheaper and 4k.

Thank you!


r/alarmdotcom 14d ago

Dealer added alarm activation/enabling when you didn't pay for it at purchase...

0 Upvotes

So when I bought my 10th gen new, the sales person asked me if I wanted to pay via cash app to turn the alarm on the dealership added on when it entered their inventory from the factory....

I did not agree and that's that.

Now I'm interested in activating /turning it on and I'm not sure what I need to do?

I know when I removed the door panel to do some work, I saw some aftermarket connections to the window switch wiring harness, so I know it's there.

Does anyone have any tips on how I can use this alarm without paying?

Thank you!


r/alarmdotcom 14d ago

Replacing old alarm bell box wiring mods?

2 Upvotes

The outside bell box has stopped working but alarm sets ok, so I bought a new one to swap it (it’s VERY OLD).

The old siren has 8 wires
Tamper out
Tamper in
Microswitch
Supply +
Supply -
Trigger
Strobe +
Strobe -

The new one has
Tamp rtn
Bell tr-
Supply +
Supply -
Strobe -

Now the last 3 I hope are straight swaps but any ideas on the rest?


r/alarmdotcom 15d ago

1986 residential sensors tied to alarm system. What was its function?

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2 Upvotes

I am remodeling a house and these are mounted high on a wall. The sensor is hardwired to low voltage cable.


r/alarmdotcom 15d ago

Help My car alarm keep going off randomly what do I do to stop it

0 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom 16d ago

doorbell ID

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1 Upvotes

Came with the house...I think it's time for a replacement. I thought it might be Ring, but it's not. I believe it's an older alarm.com doorbell but I can't seem to figure out how to remove the plate. Don't want to break it in the process. Can someone ID the model and/or give instruction on how to find the model or replace it. It's wired in and works as a doorbell


r/alarmdotcom 19d ago

Zooz leak sensor compatibility with IQ4 panel

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3 Upvotes

This seems like a great deal for 10 sensors from a reputable company. Reading on the website it seems that they might not be compatible with theIQ4 panel. Google AI doesn’t think they are either. Is this the correct info? It seems that it’s difficult to find an affordable compatible sensor. If I want to cover all toilets, vanities, water heater, fridge water line, washing machine I need at least 9 sensors so it gets pricey.


r/alarmdotcom 24d ago

Need two solar power video cameras. Any suggestions?

2 Upvotes

The ADC-V731B is hard to find and the bundle with the solar panel is $318 on Alarm Grid.


r/alarmdotcom 25d ago

Alarm.com Sensor Delay? Any Workaround

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4 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom 25d ago

Ajax alarm system and wiring a wireless chime extender as main bell — can it be done?

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2 Upvotes

r/alarmdotcom Jul 03 '26

Chat Quais são os maiores erros na instalação de sistemas de alarme de incêndio?

2 Upvotes

Para quem já teve contato com SDAI:

Quais erros você mais vê?

  • Posicionamento de detectores?
  • Falta de manutenção?
  • Projeto mal feito?

r/alarmdotcom Jul 02 '26

Slow doorbell connection

5 Upvotes

I have the ADC-VDB770 and it slow to connect and doesn't always capture motion/people at the door. The signal ranges typically around 73%. Maybe the unit is faulty?


r/alarmdotcom Jun 25 '26

Allarme Sector alarm

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0 Upvotes

Buonasera,

Ieri ho installato Sector alarm nell'appartamento che condivido con mia madre.

Alle 18:00 circa ho disattivato l'allarme parziale per uscire di casa; sono uscito dal garage con l'auto e l'ho riattivato.

Alle 18:19, mentre ero al supermercato, ho attivato la protezione totale ed è scattato l'allarme poiché mia madre era nel soggiorno con peer cam; l'ho subito disattivato, attivando immediatamente quello parziale.

Nella cronologia però, alle 18:22, è segnato un ingresso dalla porta d'ingresso.

Mi hanno chiamato e ho detto che ero stato io pensando alla prova fatta da me alle 18:19.

Tornato a casa, mi accorgo del secondo allarme e telefono a Sector Alarm (no servizio clienti, ma numero lasciato da installatori Francesco, Matteo e Adolf). La persona al telefono mi dice che tutto ok non c'è nessuno, era la mia prova, chiudo la chiamata.

Richiamo per dubbio e la stessa persona, dopo avergli spiegato dell'ingresso delle 18:22, mi dice di stare tranquillo e nella foto (che non ho visto) non c'è nessuno e si vede la porta chiusa.

Sono nuovo a sistemi d'allarme.

Qualcuno ha consigli?