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System glitches and false alarms can be aggravating, and more importantly, may prevent your home’s security from doing its job effectively. Fortunately, most issues, from false alarms to dead batteries, are easy to fix. Take a look at our recommendations for troubleshooting your home alarm system in Orange County. We’ll help you keep your household protected and your system operating smoothly.

Test Your Home Security System In Orange County

One of the best ways to troubleshoot your home’s security is to test it! The latest systems allow you to put them in test mode to prevent you from triggering an emergency response from monitoring agents. Once you’re in test mode, do the following:

• Activate your system as you normally would when heading out.
• Open a door or window that has a contact sensor, or test other devices. Shut the door or window so it doesn’t prompt the alarm when you switch out of test mode.
• Allow the alarm to go off for 60 seconds to ensure communications with the security provider and to create an entry in the alarm system log.
• Continue testing devices as needed
• Check the alarm’s activity log to verify that everything’s working.

Don’t worry, monitoring specialists can see that your system is involved in a test. Be sure to switch out of test mode when you’re done. It’s smart to test once a month or whenever you adjust your home’s phone or internet provider.

Evaluate The Position And Condition Of Motion Sensors

Although an crucial aspect of your alarm system, motion sensors are prone to false alarms. You can help prevent them with a few basic troubleshooting steps.

• Perform a physical inspection. Are there things that could shift within the sensor’s detection zone, like drapery taken by a breeze?
• Is the sensor dirty? Cobwebs, dirt, and debris can result in poor performance. Check to confirm the face is clean.
• Does the motion detector come with pet immunity you can enable? Some can be set to disregard pets weighing up to 100 pounds.
• When was the battery last replaced? A low battery might impact performance or result in false alarms.
• Is a heat source impacting the sensor? Excess heat from a fireplace, direct sun, or something else can cause an alarm.

Keep Batteries Ready And Pay Attention To Low Battery Signals

One helpful benefit of new home security systems is that they’ll alert you when batteries are running low. If your system uses a smartphone app or control panel, you’ll often discover alerts there. Depending on your system, you could hear an intermittent beep when batteries are getting low. 

Motion detectors, smoke detectors, contact sensors, and other wireless components have batteries that should be replaced every year or two. It’s a good idea to keep batteries on hand and create a replacement schedule. Some systems also have a rechargeable backup battery for the main control panel. This backup helps keep your system operating if you lose power and should recharge itself once the electricity is working again. If it fails to recharge, you should replace it.

Troubleshooting Is Simple With ADT Home Security In Orange County 

As the foremost name in home security, ADT designs systems that provide unsurpassed functionality and convenience. Switching to test mode is easy through MyADT.com or the ADT+ app, and you’ll always get alerts when a sensor battery is nearing depletion. Reach out to Secure24 Alarm Systems, an authorized ADT dealer, to learn more and design a system ideal for your Orange County home and family. Place a call to (714) 475-2212 or complete our form today!