You pay for an alarm system each month to protect your family and assets from various things like fire, theft, burglary, and smoke. You may be surprised to find out that even though you are paying for twenty-four hour monitoring, you are not getting what you paid for.
Every year or two, we update our cell phones to whatever is the latest Android or iPhone on the market. We have been using 4G signal phones for quite some time. Now we are even starting to upgrade to 5G phones. Since most phones on the market use either 4G or 5G cell phone towers, mobile service providers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are shutting down the old 3G towers that we used in the past. Years ago, most homes had a landline telephone. When you installed an alarm system, installers tied the landline phone into the alarm system. When the alarm was tripped, a landline phone call was made to a central station operator to determine whether the police, fire department, or an ambulance needed to be sent to the home. In recent years, many homes no longer have a landline phone. In order to keep the monitoring service active, alarm systems began using an internal cell phone signal to make the call to the operator. Your alarm system basically had a cell phone inside it to make the call for emergencies. If you have an alarm system that is older than three years, it is very possible that the internal cell phone inside your alarm system used a 3G signal to make the call to the operator. Since the 3G cell phone towers are being shut down, your alarm system may not make the call to the operator in the event of an emergency. You will not get any kind of error message. The system call to the operator simply will not go through. So you may be paying for an alarm/fire monitoring system each month that may not be reporting to the operator in the event of an emergency. So how do you know if your system is reporting? Here are two suggestions:
Set off the alarm. Set your burglar alarm and open a door to set it off. Just because you hear the alarm, doesn’t mean that it is reporting to the operator. Wait for the call from the alarm company to see if you are okay. If you never get a call, your system may not be reporting.
Call your alarm company to find out if your system is 3G or 4G. Even if you try step one, give the company a call to find out. The 3G towers in your area may still be working for a few more months. If the alarm company tells you that you have a 3G system, go ahead and schedule an appointment for the upgrade. Many companies will do this upgrade at no charge in order to keep you as a client. If they will not, tell them you are going to upgrade with another service provider. This should be a free upgrade for you since it is not your fault that the system isn’t reporting. They need to upgrade their equipment.
Give your system a check ASAP. Who wants to pay for a service that isn’t even working? If you have an alarm system, give us a call to make sure we know. Our homeowners insurance companies give a 5-15% discount on your homeowners or renters insurance policy premium for having the service. If you are interested in installing one, give us a call. We have some referral discounts with local providers. The discount you get on your homeowners insurance may be enough to pay for half of the monthly monitoring fees.