When a false alarm was triggered today at 9:35 am, we received a call from the monitoring station on the contact number, instead of on the panel as usual.
The agent said that they were trying to use two way voice, but weren’t able to hear anything from the panel. We didn’t hear them either.
The last time there was a false alarm, two way audio was working fine. I checked Service Manager to make sure two way audio is still enabled.
What could be the issue?
Hi, sorry to hear there was an issue but I am happy to assist!
Looking into the history it looks like Alarm.com did not receive acknowledgement that the call connected. There are a handful of possible issues in this kind of error, but it is possible that the signal strength between the panel and ADC is strong enough for reliable alarm data signals, but may have intermittent issue with voice.
In checking your history it looks like in roughly the last month the signal strength has gone down quite a bit from what it generally showed before then. It was previously a very strong 17-19/31 signal. Lately it has been in the high single digits.
Has there been any changes to the panel location or immediate environment? Can you double check to make sure both LTE antennae are securely plugged into the module ports?
Try a reboot of your panel (can be sent via our System Manager here) and wait a few minutes. Afterward check the signal rating under Security > Menu > Toolbox > Installer Code > Radio Status.
16-19 is what I recall seeing in the past. The panel wasn’t opened recently and there was no remodeling, moving of furniture, or anything else I can think of that could explain significant signal drop.
When I came home tonight, I checked the panel 3 times within 20 minutes and signal was low 8/31 each time.
Then I rebooted it (~ 6:30 pm CST). After the reboot the signal was at the normal value of 17, I’ve got this value 3 times in a row within. 20 minutes. However, a moment later I saw 8 again, then 16.
Then I disconnected panel power and checked antenna connections. We have Verizon LTE radio module that has 2 antennas, MAIN (located inside the enclosure, left side) and DIV (outside / behind the enclosure). I made sure both antenna connectors are firmly seated, reconnected the panel, signal was 17.
Then I called the monitoring station and asked them to test 2-way audio. Test alarm was triggered around 9 pm CST. Although signal was 17 right before and right after the test, there was no audio in either direction.
So, I’m not sure it’s just signal weakness that prevents 2-way audio from working or something else.
Then I called the monitoring station and asked them to test 2-way audio. Test alarm was triggered around 9 pm CST. Although signal was 17 right before and right after the test, there was no audio in either direction.
So, I’m not sure it’s just signal weakness that prevents 2-way audio from working or something else.
There is probably something else at play, but it is strange that the signal strength is fluctuating quickly between such different values. It may indicate the anomaly here is with the module’s registration to the carrier network.
I imagine based on your description that the panel was powered down for at least 2 minutes?
Also, just to verify, you don’t happen to use a network extender for Verizon correct?
If you follow the steps in the video below, do you notice any change in behavior?
Yes, the panel was turned off for 5 minutes or so and we don’t have a Verizon extender.
Today I checked the signal a few times, I the morning it was 9, evening 16.
I followed the procedure from the video, canceling walk test 3 times and performing cellphone test a couple of times. The cellphone test passed each time. This was around 7pm CST
Yesterday I forgot to mention that I did try cellphone test already and it passed (multiple times). I did it before the incoming call test (which failed)
It looks like my panel can call out, but the monitoring station can’t call the panel.
Is it possible that Verizon deactivated the number assigned to my panel and it is no longer routable through their network? Is there any way to check with them?
It looks like my panel can call out, but the monitoring station can’t call the panel.
Is it possible that Verizon deactivated the number assigned to my panel and it is no longer routable through their network? Is there any way to check with them?
That’s not how the panel 2-Way Connection works. The Monitoring Station does not (and cannot) initiate a call to the panel. The panel initiates a call to ADC on alarm events, and ADC just forwards the call to the monitoring station. Operators receiving the alarm signal then answer the call to connect directly to the panel.
In this case, according to history operators are simply unable to pick up the call.
This may suggest the call has dropped shortly after being placed, which can be the result of signaling trouble. It may also have other causes.
I am investigating this with ADC and our Monitoring Station at this time to determine the cause of the connection failure. I will follow up here with details shortly!
I have spoken with our support folks at the monitoring station, and they have indicated that they have recently discovered this same issue, specifically occurring on 2GIG GC2 Panels with Verizon LTE modules.
It appears the cell carrier may have made a change which affects the DTMF tones. Alarm.com and our Monitoring Station are in the process of testing and implementing a fix. I do not have an ETA, but it is being actively addressed at this time, and we will update you here when resolved.
In the meantime, Two Way Voice can either be temporarily disabled in your System Manager, or you can leave it active but operators may have difficulty connecting for a short time.
Thanks for figuring this out. I disabled 2 way voice for now. Hopefully it won’t take long to fix.
Unrelated, I noticed GC2 firmware 1.19 is available (although the files don’t seem to be posted on suretyhome.com, any reason?). Any benefits upgrading from 1.17.0.3?
Yes, primarily because 1.19 is required for the most recent versions of the LTE module for the GC2, but there are also usually small improvements/optimizations in every version… That link should be on the firmware thread, I’ll update that now.
This issue ended up being a carrier-caused problem with Verizon modules and our monitoring station implemented some updates to fix this issue. It should be resolved at this time.
Thanks for the update. I re-enabled two way voice in the system manager
Sounds good! If you do notice any further issues please let us know!
Just to let you know, this morning we caused a false alarm and this gave ma an opportunity to see (or hear) that two way voice worked fine.
Thank you for confirming!