Alarm Relay wants to charge for open/closing reports

[EOppegaard]

So I received a call today from Alarm Relay stating that I was going to be billed $180 ($15 per month) due to my panel sending open/close reports to the central station.

I explained that I installed an EnvisaLink in April of this year, and didn't need to have monitored open/close reports from the central station. I further told them that due to the way the EnvisaLink works, the panel (Vista 20p) sends the signal to both the EnvisaLink and the dialer and cannot be changed for one or the other.

Though being placed on hold a bunch, called back, speaking with service, and a "senior account manager" I was told that they can program the panel to only send Open/Close reports to the EnvisaLink. I told them I didn't think this was possible, but they were welcome to try.

My logic is correct here in that the Vista panels cannot only send the signal to the EnvisaLink and not the dialer, right?

Alarm Relay did state they do support the EnvisaLink for monitoring, but there would be an $80 activation fee, and I would still have to pay for open and close reports if the panel was sending them.

Frankly, this doesn't make any sense to me if I am on IP monitoring. Can they not "ignore" the open/close reports and not log them on the account? All I really want is the EnvisaLink to send me an email for Opens/Closes.

Any ideas or insight would be appreciated.

[DaveSin]

Though being placed on hold a bunch, called back, speaking with service, and a "senior account manager" I was told that they can program the panel to only send Open/Close reports to the EnvisaLink. I told them I didn't think this was possible, but they were welcome to try.

My logic is correct here in that the Vista panels cannot only send the signal to the EnvisaLink and not the dialer, right?

That is my understanding "that the Vista panels cannot only send the signal to the EnvisaLink and not the dialer" and I think, this was confirmed by GrandWizard.

In order for them to reprogram you Panel to "only send Open/Close reports to the EnvisaLink", wouldn't YOU have to do the actual programing steps? I'm not aware that Alarm Relay has the capability to do this remotely through the phone lines. Have they/you done the reprograming as of yet and if so, what was the outcome?

It is interesting that they are now quoting you a price of $80 activation fee to switch to Monitoring through the EnvisaLink 3, when I was told it was a $40 or $45 Fee a few weeks ago. Nothing was said about the need to pay extra for Opening/Closing events. As you know, we are using their ARIM Device and they have not said anything about the extraneous events. Maybe because these events are sent to their intermediate server in the cloud and maybe these extra reporting are simply ignored at that server and not passed-on to their Monitoring Station (assumptions).

[EOppegaard]

I have an appointment with a service tech at 6 p.m. tomorrow via phone. They could log in with compass software however I imagine they will want me to input codes via the phone.

I asked them about additional fees if I were to go to ip monitoring and they still said the $15 per month charge.

I guess we will see.

[EOppegaard]

Update from this evening's time on the phone...still no dice.

Frankly, it seemed I knew more about how the EnvisaLink operated than the technician. They are still convinced the panel sees it as a communicator, when in my opinion it functions more like a keypad.

Long story short, they enabled split/bypass reporting which just caused no more open/closing reports to go to the EnvisaLink. They are convinced they can get it to work the way we all say it won't. They contacted Honeywell today and said they support the product, but do not offer technical support. Since Technical Support closes at 4pm Eastern at EnvisaLink, the AlarmRelay technician has scheduled a follow-up appointment for Monday at 11:00am Eastern so they can speak with them over the phone as well.

Curious as to see how this will all pan out. I am still thinking we are going to end with either no open/close reporting, or switching to IP based monitoring that can filter the reporting.

[GrandWizard]

On Ademco systems the Envisalink is a "Secondary Communicator", as well as being a keypad. To the best of our knowledge there is no way to have open/close go to the secondary, and not the primary (dialer).

If there is a way, I'd really like to know about it too. It's another frustrating quirk of Ademco systems.

[EOppegaard]

Agreed it is frustrating, however it is more frustrating seeming to know more about how the EnvisaLink operates than the "support" technician.

Granted, I have been working with AlarmRelay support, however that is due to my unwillingness to want to pay for open/close reports and AlarmRelay wants them to stop.

They went silent when I asked them why they do not charge for Open/Close reports when using their ARIM module

I guess we will see what Monday brings.

[DaveSin]

I am still thinking we are going to end with either no open/close reporting, or switching to IP based monitoring that can filter the reporting.

I assume that by by IP based monitoring you mean using the Alarm Relay's ARIM device, since you mentioned that they will charge you the extra $5.00 per month to monitor via the EnvisaLink 3. But the ARIM device would run you about $150 upfront, which is equivalent to ~$5.00 per month over 3 years. Maybe you should consider EnvisAlarm Monitoring, where the monthly monitoring fee is slightly less expensive than Alarm Relay. I also find Alarm Relay's $80 setup fee for the EnvisaLink 3 monitoring to be ridiculous and seem to be shifting on the fly. I know you like Alarm Relay, but if they are not prepared to get their system in line with this new technology, then it might be a good time to look at alternatives. When they mention the $40/$45 setup fee to switch from the ARIM to the EnvisaLink 3, I decided against the switchover, since I already own the ARIM device (which I did not pay for to begin with) and paid them a setup fee two years ago when service was initiated.

They went silent when I asked them why they do not charge for Open/Close reports when using their ARIM module

The next time you speak to Alarm Relay, could you ask them how they handle their ARIM reporting versus reporting via your POTS line? That should give us a clue as to why communication via these two methods seem to be treated differently.

[EOppegaard]

I assume that by by IP based monitoring you mean using the Alarm Relay's ARIM device

Actually the technician stated there would be no additional charge for open/closing reports being sent if I monitored through the ARIM or the EnvisaLink...clearly there is a disconnect between sales and support.

Maybe you should consider EnvisAlarm Monitoring...I know you like Alarm Relay, but if they are not prepared to get their system in line with this new technology, then it might be a good time to look at alternatives.

I agree however in talking with a "senior account representative" she stated that they are currently in talks with Eyez-On about handling the monitoring for them. So even if I were to go to EnvisAlarm, it may eventually be handled by AlarmRelay, which may put me back in the same boat.

The next time you speak to Alarm Relay, could you ask them how they handle their ARIM reporting versus reporting via your POTS line? That should give us a clue as to why communication via these two methods seem to be treated differently.

I will ask again, however I did ask previously and they stated they were able to select what signals were being sent to the ARIM. The support technician stated all the ARIM does is provide a VOIP phone line, and there is no intermediary cloud or server in-between. He said it was the same as being monitored by phone. That makes me even more confused as to how it works since that should put everyone with an EnvisaLink, Vista Panel, and POTS monitoring in the same boat as those with an ARIM. Maybe you are sliding under the radar DaveSin

One of the stumbling blocks for me going to IP based monitoring is that our internet connection is not always reliable. Our phone is. It would irk me to no end to switch to IP, and miss an alarm because the network was down, or acting wonky. I understand that a loss of connectivity should trigger a line cut, but this can take some time for it to even alert, time that a signal could be trying to be sent from the panel.

[EOppegaard]

After going through all the hoops with AlarmRelay, including getting Eyez-On Support on the phone, we are back to where I originally stated we would be

No way to separate the reporting of open/close signals between the two communicators on a Vista Panel.

I asked again about the ARIM device, and the technician said it works the same as the dialer. The panels they have gotten to work with it were all DSC. He stated there may be a few they are

They once again gave the same pricing of $150 for their ARIM module or $80 "activation" of the EnvisaLink for monitoring. Both would still have the $15 per month additional fee if I wanted to have Open/Close reports.

I reached out to Eyez-On to see that they have to offer for monitoring, and what (if any) additional fees there would be. Sent an email with my questions, and hope to hear back soon.

[DaveSin]

EOppegaard:

I just conducted a series of test by opening and closing the front door and no (VOIP) calls went out through the ARIM Device (nothing sent to the Central Station), yet I do get the opening/closing Envisalerts. I'm using the Ademco VISTA 20P Panel with the ARIM Device. I'm not sure what the setup differences are, but there is no outgoing Opening/Closing events being sent to to Alarm Relay. The moment I set the Alarm to Stay, I can see the ARIM Device making a Toll Free call. So, that explains why I'm not getting any feedback from Alarm Relay requesting additional payment or the need to deactivate the Opening/Closing reporting. I agree that the VOIP and POTS calling should be the same, so I'm at a loss to explain what is going on. Would be nice to hear from someone else who have the VISTA 20P, EnvisaLink 3 and Central Station Monitoring through Alarm Relay. I don't think the firmware version of the VISTA 20P Chip should make a difference (I have Version 6.xx; Version 9.12 I think is the latest!).

I followed the setup "exactly" as outlined in the EnvisaLink 3 "Vista-10P/15P/20P/21IP Programming" Guide.

https://www.eyez-on.com/EZMAIN/evl3honeywell.php