2GIG Panel Issue

Support
1

Our last 2 alarm events were both due to defects with the 2Gig alarm system. The previous alarm (smoke) resulted from the 2Gig panel’s own tones for low batteries in the crappy IR camera that goes through batteries in no time, and these tones were detected by the FireFighter sensor as a smoke alarm event…thankfully my wife was home to know it wasn’t a fire so that we didn’t get fined for the fire department showing up.

The most recent alarm event was due to the 2Gig touch screen failing to work, this has actually caused several other alarm events previously including one that resulted in the police department arriving and interrogating our house sitter. In these cases the panel randomly stops responding to screen input while entering the disarm code during the entry delay. Sometimes one number “button” just sticks and you can’t input any numbers, you have to hit the “home” button and then go back into the disarm menu manually…which as practice proves often results in the entry delay expiring and the alarm event results.

The 2Gig alarm panel is very unreliable, between the above flaws and the fact that it often announces the wrong arm mode and then you have no way of knowing if it actually armed “stay” or “away”. An example is that every night we arm the panel for “stay”, as we don’t want the interior sensors active while we are in fact home…however ~10% of the time the panel actually verbally reports “armed away”, this happens both on the 2Gig primary panel and the remote TS-1.

I keep hoping that the firmware updates would improve any of these defects, however they do not. If it wasn’t for the sensors being proprietary to 2Gig I would toss the panel in the trash and replace it with something else, it amazes me that 2Gig passes alarm certifications and has so many customers with such a subpar product.

2

Well I can understand frustration with all of that. There very well may be some hardware issues occurring, but there are things to check, so let’s look at these one by one.

low batteries in the crappy IR camera that goes through batteries in no time

Looks like this is regarding an Image Sensor, is that correct? Is this a 100-GC or a 200-GC model Image Sensor? Model number can be found on the back sticker.

Also, oddly it looks like this Image Sensor reports on ADC that the last battery replacement was years ago, which is clearly not correct, but may indicate an issue: image sensors must use Lithium batteries for proper function. Using Alkaline AA batteries will cause extremely fast low battery alerts. The voltage starts out lower and depletes quickly. Double check that you are using Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries.

and these tones were detected by the FireFighter sensor as a smoke alarm event

This is extremely strange and should be impossible. Doubly so in that it looks like this Firefighter is programmed as Fire with Verification, which requires two activations or a solid 30 seconds of Smoke alarm tone. Neither of which can be simulated with trouble alert or low battery beeps.

Where is the Firefighter installed in relation to the 2GIG Panel?
Is the Firefighter within 6 inches of an interconnected smoke detector?
What loop number is it programmed to use?

In these cases the panel randomly stops responding to screen input while entering the disarm code during the entry delay. Sometimes one number “button” just sticks and you can’t input any numbers, you have to hit the “home” button and then go back into the disarm menu manually

Hmm, we have noticed some button-recognition issues on older panel models, but this would be rare.

The main thing to make sure of when physically using the keypad is to keep the point where you touch the screen as small as possible, as a resistive screen it requires a bit of force to register a button press, and pressing with too large of a surface (like a fingerprint) will cause problems.

Freezing and not accepting further input is off though. Are you able to recreate this very easily? If you could post a video of this it may help in determining the issue.

One thing that might influence this is power application. How far is the power cable from your plug in power supply to the panel? Are you using the included 14VDC power supply? What gauge of cable is being used?

often announces the wrong arm mode and then you have no way of knowing if it actually armed “stay” or “away”.

Hmm, in general I would say check Q26 in programming to be certain AutoStay is not enabled. When enabled, if you try to arm away locally and do not open an entry/exit point, it will revert to stay.

However, if arming stay and hearing “away” this would be different. I’ve heard in the past a couple reports of similar announcement issues with older model panels. From the age and irregularity it likely has to do with the hardware, not firmware though. We can check with 2GIG whether this was actively addressed and was a known issue at one point.

If it wasn’t for the sensors being proprietary to 2Gig

2GIG operates on 345mhz, same as Honeywell sensors.

Using a translator, they can be used with most panels.

3

I am the customer that had emailed support in response to their query about our most recent false alarm event (due to the panel not responding).

Also, oddly it looks like this Image Sensor reports on ADC that the last battery replacement was years ago, which is clearly not correct, but may indicate an issue: image sensors must use Lithium batteries for proper function. Using Alkaline AA batteries will cause extremely fast low battery alerts. The voltage starts out lower and depletes quickly. Double check that you are using Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries.

We have replaced the batteries more recently than that, however I disabled this sensor as it is pretty much worthless in a house with cats and dogs. When we first got the alarm system we had several false alerts due to the image PIR, so I had to set it to non-reporting…but with how quickly it eats through batteries, which is both costly and wasteful I have completely disabled the sensor as it served no value. I will have to check the model when I am home, it was purchased from Surety DIY end of 2013.

This is extremely strange and should be impossible. Doubly so in that it looks like this Firefighter is programmed as Fire with Verification, which requires two activations or a solid 30 seconds of Smoke alarm tone. Neither of which can be simulated with trouble alert or low battery beeps.

Where is the Firefighter installed in relation to the 2GIG Panel?
Is the Firefighter within 6 inches of an interconnected smoke detector?
What loop number is it programmed to use?

Agreed, it is rather odd. The mounting location of the FireFighter is about ~10 feet away and above the 2Gig panel, through a doorway (within a hallway) ~4" away from one our First Alert OneLink smoke detectors.

I will have to check when I am home on which loop is programed.

Hmm, we have noticed some button-recognition issues on older panel models, but this would be rare.

The main thing to make sure of when physically using the keypad is to keep the point where you touch the screen as small as possible, as a resistive screen it requires a bit of force to register a button press, and pressing with too large of a surface (like a fingerprint) will cause problems.

Freezing and not accepting further input is off though. Are you able to recreate this very easily? If you could post a video of this it may help in determining the issue.

One thing that might influence this is power application. How far is the power cable from your plug in power supply to the panel? Are you using the included 14VDC power supply? What gauge of cable is being used?

My finger tip is only so small, I cannot make it any smaller. I can’t account for house guests, but I use the tip of my index finger every time I interact with the panel. I’ve never had any other resistive touch panel “freeze” regardless of how an input was made, perhaps an undesired input was registered but never seen one “freeze”…that would be a software or hardware defect. When this happens the last depressed number stays “depressed” and the panel refuses additional touch screen inputs. It isn’t reproducible per se in that I can trigger it on command, it happens intermittently and almost always when least convenient (not that it is ever convenient to have your alarm panel stop taking inputs).

I am not sure how I would capture a video of the problem since it is very intermittent, I could capture it after the screen stops responding…but then that prolongs the time period before disarm occurs on a entry delay, which then results in alarm…crying babies, barking dogs, and increased intolerance for the system from my wife.

The panel is powered using the exact wire that was supplied with the panel when purchased from SuretyDIY. The power plug is probably <4’ away from the panel.

Hmm, in general I would say check Q26 in programming to be certain AutoStay is not enabled. When enabled, if you try to arm away locally and do not open an entry/exit point, it will revert to stay.

However, if arming stay and hearing “away” this would be different. I’ve heard in the past a couple reports of similar announcement issues with older model panels. From the age and irregularity it likely has to do with the hardware, not firmware though. We can check with 2GIG whether this was actively addressed and was a known issue at one point.

I will have to check the state of Q26. I usually arm the system at night with the ADC app from my mobile phone as it avoids the unnecessary double statement of arming. When armed from the panel it always announces arming, counts down and then announces armed state…which with a sleeping baby in the house is just unnecessary, so I arm from my mobile phone. I cannot recall if the problem also happens when arming from the panel, but I am certain that it has happened at least once.

We seldom arm “away” due to the problems we have had with interior followers in the past and we no longer have open windows, so it is pretty unlikely that someone would enter the home without triggering an intrusion sensor…so I haven’t ever heard it say “arming stay” when we selected to “arm away”. It is always “arming away” when the request was in fact to “arm stay”.

I’m glad to see there is now a translator available, it is still frustrating to have to go through the entire learning curve and configuration process for something so integral to home automation. We have several Zwave devices and additional sensors for home automation and energy tracking that make it into a multi-day task, especially when it comes to the process of removing Zwave devices in order to add them to a new controller.

I see the GC3 is out, what are the primary advantages it offers over the GC2 other than increased number of zones, users and capacitive touch? It seems they didn’t add any new home automation compatibility, still only Zwave. Does it integrate with existing remote TS1 and the GoBridge? Seems pretty foolish that it doesn’t include WiFi.

No translators that work with Qolsys IQ?

4
but with how quickly it eats through batteries, which is both costly and wasteful I have completely disabled the sensor as it served no value.

Are you using Alkaline or Lithium batteries? Lithium should see at least 6 months on a GC-100 (older model, battery life is improved on 200) but if ever using Alkaline, they may report low pretty much immediately.

It looks like the device is still programmed into the panel. How did you disable the sensor? Are the batteries completely removed? Is it still installed and communicating with the panel at all? You would want to delete this sensor from programming if there is no intention to use it, otherwise loss of supervision/low battery/etc. will result.

Agreed, it is rather odd. The mounting location of the FireFighter is about ~10 feet away and above the 2Gig panel, through a doorway (within a hallway) ~4″ away from one our First Alert OneLink smoke detectors.

Following up from above, this should be impossible. The Firefighter only registers smoke alarm cadence and the way it is programmed would make it even more difficult for any kind of false activation. The distance from the panel likewise should not allow even the correct cadence to register properly.

If the Firefighter did activate off of a non-smoke detector sound I would recommend replacing the Firefighter in general, considering it is a life safety device. You can test the firefighter by placing the account on test with the central station and holding the smoke detector test button for 30 seconds. This will verify the Firefighter is picking up the smoke detector cadence and will activate properly.

I’ll see if we can duplicate this at all.

When this happens the last depressed number stays “depressed” and the panel refuses additional touch screen inputs. It isn’t reproducible per se in that I can trigger it on command, it happens intermittently and almost always when least convenient (not that it is ever convenient to have your alarm panel stop taking inputs)

Do you ever notice similar behavior in any other circumstance? Accessing Z-wave devices on the panel, settings, programming, etc.? Or have you only ever noticed this kind of behavior where registering user input locks up during arming?

so I haven’t ever heard it say “arming stay” when we selected to “arm away”. It is always “arming away” when the request was in fact to “arm stay”.

Hmm, we will ask ADC about this one if it is always from a remote arming source when you hear this. They may have heard of this issue in the past.

It seems they didn’t add any new home automation compatibility, still only Zwave

Z-wave an Zigbee are the two more prominent home automation protocols, and Zigbee is much less suited to wide application, at least in my opinion, given that it operates on a band which can interfere and be interfered with by wifi.

Z-wave is by and large what you will see any ADC compatible panel use for automation.

I see the GC3 is out, what are the primary advantages it offers over the GC2 other than increased number of zones, users and capacitive touch?

Capacitive touch is a big one, but in general it is not a replacement for the 2GIG Go!Control, but intended as a premium version.

It does not communicate with the TS1 or Go!Bridge, no. Wifi is built in (not yet enabled, will be enabled by firmware) and a secondary touchscreen keypad for the GC3 is expected fairly soon.

No translators that work with Qolsys IQ?

The translator linked is a universal sensor translator. You select the protocol it listens for, and the protocol it repeats. It can be used to translate 2GIG to GE (what Qolsys uses). This cannot be used with life safety devices, but all standard Security sensors (doors, windows, motions, glass breaks, etc.) using 345mhz will work.

5

As a follow up, the Firefighter here during testing did not register any trouble beeps (no LED activity) and no activation. This was with the Firefighter inches from the panel and a directed effort to produce enough trouble alerts in a row.

I would think either a smoke detector did go off or the Firefighter in question is malfunctioning and should be replaced.