The Panel reported a Tamper

I have started receiving random Tamper and End of Tamper alerts from my qolsys panel. The alerts generally happen within a minute of each other and there is no indication of a real tamper of the panel. No changes at all to the panel or wiring. Any ideas what could be causing the tamper alerts?

I believe similar reports occurred a couple times regarding firmware version 1.6.1. The issue appears to have been resolved in those cases by updating to 1.6.2. You should be able to update the main panel to 1.6.2 using the patch tag “systest162”

Updated to 1.6.2 and still have the same issue :-(. Not sure what my options are at this point other than to disable the tamper alerts?

Just to double check the physical possibilities, do you have the set screw firmly attached at the top?

Also check to make sure the tamper spring is not bent or missing inside. The tamper switch is right next to the terminal block. Does the panel respond accordingly when the tamper switch is pressed/released?

Are you using a back-stand or is the panel attached to the wall?

I have the same issue with qolsys panel. Mine turned out to be swelling of the internal battery that is pushing the back wall plate away from the panel to cause a tamper. Check your battery for swelling, if it is, time for a new battery.
I dont know why the batteries are swelling. This is the 3rd battery in 3 years.

Ah ok will try to check that. My unit is mounted to the wall and has not been altered/moved since installation. The panel is around 2.5 years old I believe.

Check your battery for swelling, if it is, time for a new battery.

We haven’t noticed this on our own panels, at least to the point of setting off a tamper, but it is certainly possible and good to check.

Mine has the expanded battery issue. I guess I am off to find a replacement.

This has been happening to me and I have reason to believe it is related to the batteries in the individual sensors. I am using the mighty mouse sensor and when I start receiving tamper alerts (which also activates sirens and wakes everyone up) it is time for a new battery.

I had posted about this before and one of the first few times it happend my panel actually notified me of a low battery alert during a tamper.

I have had one particular sensor that I have been bypassing each evening and then track how many times the tamper is triggered. This has been going for about two months.

If i go and change the battery I bet it will stop.

***Is there anyway to stop the siren from going off during a tamper? ***

I would much rather receive the notification that it has been tampered the next morning because I am not worried about anyone tampering from the inside :slight_smile:

Thanks!!

This has been happening to me and I have reason to believe it is related to the batteries in the individual sensors. I am using the mighty mouse sensor and when I start receiving tamper alerts (which also activates sirens and wakes everyone up) it is time for a new battery.

To clarify, you are referring to a sensor tamper not a panel tamper correct? I do see a sensor periodically reporting a tamper

If i go and change the battery I bet it will stop.

If this is occurring repeatedly with a particular sensor, you will want to ensure that the case for the sensor is firmly snapped in place and the tamper switch is operating as it should. To clarify, what is the model number of the device?
How old is the device?
When were the batteries last changed?
Are the batteries listed as out of date?

***Is there anyway to stop the siren from going off during a tamper? ***

You could switch the sensor’s group from 10 to 25 (Local Safety Sensor) the sensor would cease to generate any alarms at all but would still generate Alarm.com notifications. This group can be selected for activity monitoring but does not report to the Central Station or trigger alarms.

Yes, this is a sensor tamper - I have 37 Resolution mighty mouse window/door sensors throughout my home purchased Oct 2014. This has been going on approx one year after I purchased them and once I replace the battery it stops.

I have made sure the units have been snapped back properly in every situation it has happened in (approx 20 separate sensors over the years - rough estimate but it has happened a lot)

I have changed the batteries when they start reporting tampers because that has always fixed it.

There is a sensor that has happened repeatedly recently but I have just bypassed temporarily. There is another one that just did it as well on 12/24. This has been happening to most my sensors sporadically, however.

I dont want to change the sensor to a safety sensor because the most recent one that occurred on 12/24 is a primary entry to my residence.

I would prefer just to be able to disable the siren from going off during a tamper event.

Anyway, Ill replace the batteries again and it will stop.

If you could pass my feedback to Qolsys which is to add an option to bypass sirens on a tamper event. I still want to be notified of a tamper or false tampers but I dont want it waking me up at 4AM when it wasnt actually tampered with :slight_smile:

I believe I answered all of your questions - thanks for responding :slight_smile:

I just reread the OP and didnt catch that it was the panel reporting a tamper of the panel itself so if you would like me to make a new thread I will :slight_smile:

On another note, I had two different sensors do the same tamper alert the others are doing, both are on windows I never open.

There has never been any evidence of actual tampering.

Police showed up on the first one at midnight because I slept theough several minutes of the alarm (by the way is there a siren I can purchase separately?) and I felt terrible but they were understanding and happy everything was okay.

The second one happened at 6am and I answered my phone in time.

Although the windows do not get too cold, I think it is worth noting that it has always gotten worse when the temperature drops which is why I believe it almost always happens when I am sleeping and in the winter.

Please suggest an update to QOLSYS to allow a checkbox that wont set off the alarm during a tamper event.

If you could set it that tampers were treated like safety sensors; similar to your suggestion but I would still want the sensor opening and closing to set an alarm off. This would be a very helpful feature.

Thank you :slight_smile:

(by the way is there a siren I can purchase separately?)
You could try a z-wave siren. The IQ Siren QZ2300-840, is compatible with the IQ Panel.
On another note, I had two different sensors do the same tamper alert the others are doing, both are on windows I never open.

I did some more digging, since a tamper alert on a sensor with no tamper switch is a bit odd. According to Resolution Products, the Mighty Mouse will occasionally report a tamper when the battery is low instead of a low battery signal.

think it is worth noting that it has always gotten worse when the temperature drops which is why I believe it almost always happens when I am sleeping and in the winter.

From the manual, the operating temperature of the Mighty Mouse is 0F to 120F. Not sure how cold the sensors get inside but if the sensor is exposed to the low end of the operating temperature spectrum that could cause issues.

Please suggest an update to QOLSYS to allow a checkbox that wont set off the alarm during a tamper event.

Will pass this suggestion along to Qolsys.

so if you would like me to make a new thread I will ????
No worries! Just wanted to make sure you weren't experiencing both.

Had the same thing happen last night and sorry to bump an old thread but I like keeping everything related in one thread. Around 4:40 am MT, the alarm went off. Checking my app and alerts it was related to a panel tamper. I have two IQ Remote panels.

Could one of those have a defective tamper switch or battery swelling issue? I checked the main panel and the set screw was tight, no creases/cracks on the casing so it doesn’t look like a battery issue. I do have some wireless sensors, very few, but there were no low battery warnings. The only thing I can think of is the temp last night was -10F with the windchill, probably one of the coldest days we’ve had here but all the sensors and panels are inside the house.

Can someone from Surety just take a look at the logs to make sure I’m not missing anything? I’ll go check all the panels now.

I went through some other threads and just disabled the panel tamper for now. There is no swollen battery and the case is well sealed so I will chalk this up to cold weather for now and will monitor the situation unless Surety tells me it was some other sensor. I don’t have any battery powered window or door sensors, just on my two refrigerators.

The IQ Remote secondary panel does not have a tamper switch, nor does it come apart.

The Tamper alert came from the main panel. The backplate can be a tad hard to put into place correctly. The below guide covers how to resolve a tamper issue with the IQP2

Try using small square of double sided 3M VHB Acrylic foam tape . Use at least 1/16" thick. I have a roll of their RP62 grey VHB and use it all over the place. it is bullet proof. some of my sensors i needed this as the thin white VHB that comes with the sensors on the smaller magnet piece just doesn’t work and is a little too thin for the back plate. The acrylic foam tape will contract and expand (move) but still stay put but you can still pop off the panel and press back down. Just make sure the surfaces are clean and you don’t touch the tape with greasy fingers after eating your double double at In-and-Out