Vivint is a well-established and highly popular supplier of smart Home Security System services. The security systems provided by Vivint come equipped with security cameras, smoke alarms, CO alarms, smart locks, and other features. One of the major advantages of the system offered by Vivint is the ability to monitor and manage it from the smartphone application, including the possibility to activate and deactivate the security system, watch the camera streams, and receive notices about the activity or breaches, from any location with an Internet connection.
What if there is no WiFi connection to connect to?
To answer the previous question directly, yes, some strategies can be used to directly counteract the symptoms of anxiety. In general, a Vivint system will remain active and continue its functions if the WiFi in your home is turned off. In any case, there are still a few shortcomings to consider as follows: Now, let us discuss the details of how a Vivint system functions with and without an active connection to a WiFi system.
How Vivint Systems Work?
To further comprehend this, one needs to learn about how Vivint security systems are installed and how they communicate. The key part of the system is the panel or the Sky Control, as it is referred to. This panel doesn’t need any internet or WiFi connection to work, this panel is a physical panel. However, it does not interact with other devices such as wireless sensors placed within your home through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or any other standard wireless protocol.
For instance, where there is an occurrence such as door opening or motion detection, those devices send a signal directly to the control panel of the security system. It then triggers the corresponding alarm procedure if the system is armed and immediately records the events in an activities log. Everything on this operational data transmission occurs through the dedicated wireless system; it does not use WiFi or the internet.
It is also connected to your house’s electrical and telephone cables through wiring. This enables it to pull always-on backup power when and if the lights go out and beam signals through cellular data networks if needed.
Thus, in review, the main necessity of detailed communication within the Vivint system is that the majority of the core interactions are capable of functioning without relying on WiFi signals. Nevertheless, syncing the system to one’s smartphone and Vivint’s support services does entail the need to be continuously connected to the Internet.
What Works Without WiFi?
Typically, when the home WiFi is on, the Vivint Sky Control panel continually logs on to the cloud. This is what makes it possible to operate the systems within your home remotely via the mobile application and receive support from the Vivint monitoring stations. However, losing this internet connectivity affects the convenience more than the important security functionalities.
When there is no WiFi access, you still can only manually put your home security system in the armed and disarmed state. The panel will be able to send information and commands to all the devices as it would under normal circumstances and it will sound the alarms whenever they are activated, all the activities will also be documented for later use. Cellular data is also used as an optional notification to the Vivint support center for alarms or any notifications, but there would be a slight delay from the internet-based transmission.
Therefore, to summarize, all the intra-home communications and alarms operate in a manner that is completely separated from the internet. Your system has continuous active patrol and protection regardless of WiFi connection.
What Doesn’t Work Without WiFi?
On the other hand, relying on wired connections means that the main defense mechanisms of your system remain preserved, but there are several smart features you lose. Specific components that rely on either the fact that the application is installed on a mobile device or Vivint’s cloud platform will stop working correctly or, in some cases, at all.
Most importantly, when it is not connected to WiFi, it is impossible to use the Vivint Sky app to control the system. This, of course, means no arming/disarming through the app, no live feed from security cameras, etc; The user regains this form of remote control only when the WiFi is back online. The same applies to the app connectivity; it denies the system of sending push notifications regarding security events or occurrences.
Moreover, Vivint’s support staff has, in general, more friendly response times, and fewer problem-solving choices when the system loses the fast internet connection. Such functions that rely on the cloud including even recording for cameras also freeze until the network connection is restored. Thus, although you still have the main security modes without WiFi, it is inconvenient and slow.
Tips for Maintaining Connectivity
Due to the heavy reliance on continuous WiFi for added smart security through the Vivint Sky system, it is wise to minimize the likelihood of such an event. Consider the following tips:
Acquire a second internet connection or use a cellular data hotspot at your house to reduce the chances of getting a connectivity drop. For wireless routers, make sure you invest in a backup battery because it is an important device to have in case of emergencies.
Check the connectivity limit of your WiFi network and introduce booster units for the areas of your house where the control panel signal may be compromised.
Activate sms gateway from Vivint to have an additional path for transmitting alerts in case the internet is out. While slower than WiFi, it would offer a vital ability to bridge a gap.
Use the Vivint app to set power loss alerts and get a notification if the router or modem loses electrical power. This way, you can address concerns before designing a wirecutter and prevent any damage to the equipment.
If you invest a little time and effort in ensuring your home WiFi signals are strong and reliable, you can rest assured that the Vivint system has a constant connection day or night. Reduce exposure to these disruption-related risks in your smart home connection.
Conclusion
Vivint still delivers all the essential security features even if your home WiFi connectivity is lost. Transmission from/to other connected devices and the main device continues with ease, there are other options for alarms aside from wireless connections, and each alert gets recorded for future reference. It ‘ only loses some convenience-oriented capabilities such as remote mobile access and support options until the internet is back. Although sudden drops in-home WiFi can be disruptive for a time, it does not affect your system’s capability to identify security threats and risks. It is enough just to try to avoid such outages in a certain measure, for example, due to the improvement of the network and the creation of the backup circuits.
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