New service with existing cameras

Hi, I just purchased a home where the previous owner has 3 alarm.com cameras on the outside and 2 on the inside. It also has a control panel and plenty of sensors throughout the home. I am only interested in accessing the cameras remotely and them taking clips when the motion sensors are on.

It looks like this is the service i need. https://suretyhome.com/product/diy-alarm-com-cloud-video/

Questions

  1. Is it possible that the cameras are locked or should they be free for me to connect them to my alarm.com account.
  2. The cameras all meet up at a d-link 8 port switch. d link dgs-1100-08p. do i just plug the port switch to the internet to connect to the cameras?
    i am trying to figure out how the alarm.com app knows where my cameras are and how to connect to them.

Thank you

Is it possible that the cameras are locked or should they be free for me to connect them to my alarm.com account.

It is possible for them to be still registered to an Alarm.com account. If that is the case, they could not be provisioned for use with another account. Defaulting them locally would not change this, as their MAC would still be assigned to an account in Alarm.com.

For security, only the original owner would be able to remove them.

It is not a terribly likely scenario if the home was sold and the equipment remained, unless there is still an open contract on it through whatever provider they previously used.

The cameras all meet up at a d-link 8 port switch. d link dgs-1100-08p. do i just plug the port switch to the internet to connect to the cameras?

Yes, all Alarm.com cameras would require internet connection and power. A couple models are POE capable. In this case you would like just need to connect the switch to your router. You would want to determine where the cameras are powered.

i am trying to figure out how the alarm.com app knows where my cameras are and how to connect to them.

You would first need Alarm.com Cloud Video service in order to have an account to which you can add the cameras. Cloud Video can be added to interactive alarm subscriptions, or it can be purchased by itself.

When logged into the Alarm.com website, the ADC add device wizard will search for devices on your network. You can then add them one by one. Each will take a minute or two to provision to your account.

Thanks for the answers. Is there a way for me to find out if the cameras are locked into another account before purchasing the alarm.com service? Without contacting the seller of my house?

Typically no, unfortunately, you would need to use the Alarm.com add device wizard to check for devices.

Did they mention whether the alarm panel was or was not being actively monitored?

I will try to find this out today. I took the control panel apart last night and it looks like there is no cellular module in it. It also looks like i have the concord 4 panel.

The Concord 4 panel cellular module is wired to the main board and comes with its own housing, so it may be (and often is) mounted outside of the main panel can, likely nearby.

It looks like this.