Hello,
I’m thinking about upgrading from 2GIG to IQ 2+ for a few reasons. One, I still use a 3G AT&T sled in my panel and I’m looking to upgrade to LTE. Second, I have Control4 automation system in my home and the IQ 2+ has some integration capabilities with C4.
Does Surety sell just the IQ 2+ panel that is compatible with 2GIG sensors? If so, are there any promotions available for existing Surety customers to upgrade?
Thanks,
Dino
Yes we do! It’s $368. The promotion is you get a month of Surety Home monitoring for free with the upgrade.
Thanks!
No problem. It’s also free shipping.
Out of curiosity, what would be the benefits of going to the IQ2+? I have been a 2Gig guy for a long time now.
Depending on which panel you are coming from, there would be a variety of benefits. This thread offers a comparison between the GC3 and the IQ Panel 2+.
Bullet points:
I would add that generally Qolsys pumps out more frequent firmware and feature updates. 2GIG has made a big improvement by releasing the e-series systems to give encryption options, but that requires swapping out the panel as well, and I would recommend the IQ Panel 2+ if you’re looking to do that.
Does the IQ 2+ have an indicator LED to show when it’s armed or disarmed similar to the 2GIG panel? There doesn’t appear to be any lights/buttons on the front panel other than the screen? Does the screen not go to sleep when armed and show status directly?
Thanks,
Dino
There a green light when disarmed and red when armed
Yep, as Charlie said, there is an LED on the right side of the panel screen that is Red when armed, Green when disarmed.
The screen still enters sleep mode when armed, but the LED is always on.
Thinking about pulling the trigger on the IQ 2+ panel (345 MHz version). When I go to checkout do I select the $5 monitoring fee? I already have monitoring with Alarm.com automation ($22 a month) and I simply want to upgrade my panel to the Qolysis unit. I don’t want to get charged twice.
Another question, since I plan to integrate the IQ panel with my Control4 automation system, could I cancel my Alarm.com subscription and use the integrated features of my C4 app to control the alarm remotely? That would save me some money each month. I would still want the central monitoring, so would I only pay $5 a month?
Edit: Looks like the cheapest plan with professional monitoring is $19 a month, true?
All panels and communicators include a free month of service currently through Surety, but if you are just looking to upgrade your existing system please use this link to get just the panel without a new subscription tied to it. We would then apply a free month to your existing subscription.
Another question, since I plan to integrate the IQ panel with my Control4 automation system, could I cancel my Alarm.com subscription and use the integrated features of my C4 app to control the alarm remotely? That would save me some money each month. I would still want the central monitoring, so would I only pay $5 a month?
No. I’m not 100% sure what that plan would be but Control4 is not compatible with the panel. You cannot control the IQ Panel alarm functions through any app but Alarm.com.
Control4 is a separate system and not compatible with Alarm.com. Can you clarify what the intention is there?
Looks like the cheapest plan with professional monitoring is $19 a month, true?
As of this post, correct, Surety Alarm + Professional Monitoring is $19.
IQ Panel 2+ is compatible with Control4, I’ve seen reports of others who have this integrated and working well. Here is the link from Qolsys:
https://qolsys.reamaze.com/kb/faqs-for-iqp2/how-to-integrate-your-iq-system-with-control-4
The benefit is having all my home automation controlled from one system, that being C4. Once integrated, C4 talks to the panel over WiFi and allows C4 to arm/disarm, and also do automations based on Qolsys sensors. Similar to what Alarm.com provides , with Control4’s series of apps, remote controls, touch panels, etc.
Aha, wow, I hadn’t seen any instructions on this yet, but I do remember reading something about it a while back. Interesting.
Alright, well based on what you linked I don’t think you’re able to do what you are planning though. It looks like what this integration is for is to allow the IQ Panel sensor activity to drive automation scenes in Control4. It doesn’t look like you can control any IQ Panel functions in Control4, unless I am missing something. ( I would never have expected this to be true, but I’ve been surprised before 
)
Also, we only provide service through Alarm.com. Professional monitoring is not currently available by itself, if that makes sense. All accounts use Alarm.com and optionally professional monitoring.
I’m going to get official confirmation from Qolsys on what all is confirmed to be capable with this integration. I’ll follow up here.
From your competitor’s blog, it sure looks like you can arm/disarm. Plus I have seen post on C4 forums that confirm this. I just want to make sure Surety isn’t doing anything to disable this capability. So assuming I have the latest firmware, this should work, right?
No, there is nothing that would be blocked, it should work as described. You would just control this via the 3rd party connections setting they reference.
I am genuinely surprised that this deep of integration exists with it, although we do recommend Qolsys due to the amount of effort they put into support and feature advancement.
I haven’t had a chance to try this myself of course, I would love to see more about it. I’ll take a look at the Control4 forums. Thank you for bringing it up!
Thanks Jason. I plan to order my Qolsys panel from you very soon, and once I get it integrated with C4 by my dealer, I’ll let you know how it works out.
As far as replacing my GC3 panel with Qolsys, I’m hoping the new panel can use the existing hole in the wall and cover that up properly, so I don’t have to do any drywall patching. Can you confirm?
Yeah the backplates are similarly sized and the openings in back are roughly centralized (the GC3’s is lower, but the IQ’s is bigger)
You can use existing wiring, but the electrical requirements are different. What is the length and gauge of the current power cable from the transformer to the panel?
FYI Qolsys confirmed for me that you should be able to use the full Control4 and Alarm.com controls in parallel so you would be able to use whichever ADC plan fits best and then Control4 for automation. Not sure all the specific benefits or differences since I haven’t used it myself. Please do let us know how it works for you!
Thanks Jason.
