ADT is one of those home security systems that is most frequently used all over the world. Their systems are installed with several forms of sensors including door/window, motion, smoke, CO, and many others. This means that ADT can keep a close watch on your home at all times to look for any signs of threats, danger, or break-ins. One of the fundamental operations that you need to learn is how to effectively set your ADT alarm system to protect your house when you are out.
Before Arming Your Alarm
You will still need to spend some time walking around your home before actually engaging the ADT alarm system of the ADT alarm. Make sure all the doors and windows of the building are closed and locked to eliminate any openings for the snakes to enter. This makes sure that there are no holes left that one can exploit to gain entry into a house without disarming the security. Make sure each room is secure and get rid of any door and window that may have been left open. Ensure that your garage door is shut before you arm your security system because the garage can be part of the system.
As the outside of the home is protected, it is important to determine if anyone is left in the house after you leave. Your tenancy agreement should provide for other members of the tenant’s family, domestics, or pets that will be occupying the premises after the tenant has vacated. Most ADT alarm systems provide you with the capability to allow the motion detectors and particular zones should stay deactivated to avoid the alarm being triggered by the innocent people occupying the house. It will also inform you which zones, rooms, and motion detectors will be temporarily turned off before you proceed to arm your alarm.
Also, make sure you pay close attention to which external sensors you want to be activated. Perhaps you have detectors for detached garages, gates, yards, or other outdoor areas you can program to trigger or exclude when you arm your security system. You need to decide whether you wish those detectors active.
Finally, check out if the backup battery for the alarm system is good and charged to ensure the alarm system is always functional. This is because your system also has a battery backup where a burglar might try to cut power to the system. Batteries should be checked, so that adequate power remains for continuous monitoring of the situation.
ADT alarm systems comprise a control panel that can be installed on a wall just near your inside exit, usually near a door that links your house to a garage.
- Color or black-and-white display system and menu choices
- Motion-activated lighting
- Backlit numerical keypad
- Safe for novelty key operational effectiveness for arming the system
To arm the ADT alarm, all one has to do is dial in their 4 to 8-digit passcode on the keypad when they are ready to do so. But the system on its part will start the arming sequence when an authentic passcode has been punched in. Note – Some of the ADT panels contain an extra feature called ‘Duress Passcode’ which you can use to silently set the system on the armed mode while a hostile invader is around. If worst-case scenarios, where an intruder is trying to make it impossible to arm the system, are causes for concern, this functionality can be discussed with an ADT security consultant during installation.
Should you have disarmed the zones for people in some areas, the keypad will show the messages that some of the detectors are off. This allows you to ensure that those detectors will be kept off once you are out of the home.
For example, if the passcode is entered it will show a countdown of the number of seconds left until the system is on and is usually set for a time of 30 to 60 seconds. This countdown lets you leave the home and also shut the door without activating the alarm system.
Stay Arming
The Stay Arm mode engages all the interior motion detectors so that the alarm sounds if an intruder comes into the home while you are sleeping or in an adjacent room. Detectors working on the doors and windows are not activated in case you vacate the premises while the alarm is Stay Armed. Stay Arming mode is used when you intend to spend most of your time within the protected premises and you will be coming back in the evening or at night.
Away Arming
While in Away mode, all lights in the house are switched off and the entire system including all internal motion detectors is disarmed after the countdown clock elapses. Away mode assumes that the protected property is going to be empty, therefore the door accesses or room motions activate the alarm. It is the most secure option if the house is going to be empty or if it is going to be sold.
Depending on the arm selected, the ADT system will beep and count down until the entire home is armed based on the detectors chosen to be triggered. The keypad lights will go out and a steady red light located at the bottom will blink when the system is armed fully. Now, anybody who attempts to enter the said area will activate the alarm.
If you find that it is necessary to go back to the home for any reason after turning on the ADT system, you will have to enter the passcode again to open any of the protected entry and exit points to turn off the alarm. This is quite helpful since it helps avoid a situation where you accidentally set off your security system.
Supplementary Steps Before Arming
A few final tips before arming your ADT system:
First, ensure that the mode of the lights on the motion detectors and the zones are properly illuminated. This ensures that the rooms to be deactivated have their status light turned off and this confirms that the particular zones are not active.
This is because the upper levels of a building are vulnerable to being breached by intruders who may take advantage of the second-story windows, which may have been left open by closing all windows including the upper levels. Pull down the blinds, shades, curtains, and blinds to ensure that people passing by cannot view the interior of the house. If you have one, turn on the porch or outdoor lighting at night as this extra amount of light could act as a deterrent to criminals.
Carry out your arming despite working or being at home at night. As noticed with the Stay Arm mode, the best way to ensure your interior motion detectors stay on is to get an alert when an unauthorized individual gains entry to your house. That the alarm is set to be active all night makes it provide the optimum safety.
Finally, it is a good practice to perform a challenge on the system and activate all the sensors purposely to ensure that the monitoring, alerts, and notifications are working correctly. The full testing ensures that your family lives in protected environments.
To ensure the safety of your home once you arm the system; make sure that all doors and windows are closed and locked, ensure that the detectors are programmed well, make the correct choice of the Arm mode to be set, and finally, do practice your system often and you will have complete confidence in the ADT alarm system to protect your home at any time. Therefore, using the keypad to program the system each time you leave the premises will help to make your home as secure as you can.
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