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System hiccups and false alarms can be frustrating, and even worse, may prevent your home’s security from working how it should. Luckily, most troubles, from dead batteries to false alarms, are simple to remedy. Check out our tips for troubleshooting your home alarm system in Chattanooga. We’ll help keep your household shielded and your system operating properly.

Test Your Home Security System In Chattanooga

One sensible way to troubleshoot your property’s defense is to test it yourself! Modern systems have a test mode so you don’t by accident trigger an emergency response from monitoring agents. Once you’re in test mode, follow these steps:

• Arm your system as you typically would when leaving.
• Open a window or door protected by a contact sensor, or try to set off another device. Close the window or door so it doesn’t prompt the alarm as you get out of test mode.
• Let the alarm go off for 60 seconds to make sure a signal is sent to the security provider and an entry is made in the alarm system log.
• Proceed to test equipment as needed
• Inspect the system activity log to validate functionality.

Rest assured, monitoring professionals can tell that your system is involved in a test. Just make sure to switch off test mode when done. It’s wise to test once a month or anytime you make changes to your home’s internet or phone connectivity.

Inspect The Position And State Of Motion Detectors

Although an essential part of your alarm system, motion detectors are prone to false alarms. You can help prevent them with some easy troubleshooting.

• Do a physical inspection. Are there things that could shift within the sensor’s detection area, like a window treatment blown in a breeze?
• Is the sensor clean? Cobwebs, dirt, and grime can cause poor performance. Check to confirm the face is clean.
• Does the motion detector offer pet immunity you can enable? Some sensors can be programmed to ignore pets up to 100 pounds.
• When was the battery replaced? A nearly depleted battery may impact performance or result in false alarms.
• Is a heat source impairing the sensor? Too much heat from a fireplace, direct sun, or something else can cause an alarm.

Keep Batteries Ready And Pay Attention To Low Battery Notifications

One of the great aspects of modern home security systems is that they’ll tell you when batteries are getting low. If your system has a control panel or smartphone app, you’ll typically find notifications there. Depending on your alarm, you could detect an intermittent beep when batteries are getting low. 

Contact sensors, motion detectors, smoke detectors, and other wireless devices have batteries that will have to be replaced every so often. It’s best to keep batteries around and set a replacement schedule. Some systems also include a backup battery for the main control panel. This backup battery helps keep your system running if your power goes out and should recharge itself once power is restored. If it fails to recharge, you will need to replace it.

Troubleshooting Is Effortless With ADT Home Security In Chattanooga 

As the foremost name in home security, ADT designs systems that offer superior functionality and protection. Getting into test mode is easy through the ADT+ app or MyADT.com, and you’ll always get updates when a battery is nearing depletion. Get in touch with Secure24 Alarm Systems, an authorized ADT dealer, to learn more and design a system perfectly suited to your Chattanooga home. Place a call to (423) 241-8594 or submit our form today!