Complete Security

Detector batteries last on average 5 years - longer in some cases. For example, the WS4904 wireless PIR detector has a battery that lasts approximately 9 years! Battery life does depend on how often the device in question is operated. Devices in a busy area will obviously not last as long as those in quiet. When quoting battery life, we are however in the hands of battery manufacturers. You should always use the best quality batteries available to ensure trouble free operation. If you ever experience faults or false activations, your first step should always be to replace the detectors battery.

Keypads and wireless bells battery life is a more complicated subject. Depending on make/model, battery lives are quoted from 12 months to 5 years.

The cause of false alarms are always difficult to identify - and will vary from property to property. But do not jump to the conclusion that the alarm has malfunctioned! Motion detectors can be triggered by objects moving or hot/cold drafts. Vibration by wind or objects (like twigs or rubbish getting blown into a window by the wind) can activate vibration detectors. And never rule out that the activation might be down to a genuine intrusion attempt! But saying all this, if you have checked everywhere and can find nothing, then you might look to the detector. If the device is wireless - ALWAYS change the battery following any false activation. Batteries are responsible for the vast majority of issues with wireless systems, so as the first step change them! If the problem persists, please contact your service provider or our support desk.

Night time activations are possibly the most important topic you should consider - and a subject that many security companies fail to mention! More detail is provided in our security FREE Newsletter. In any case, you should NEVER assume that the alarm is false. Work on the basis that you have been alerted to a potential intrusion and proceed with extreme caution. You should not silence or cancel your alarm from sounding until you are 100% sure that your property is secure, and occupants safe. If your alarm is monitored, wait for the monitoring station to call you before investigating - and ask them to wait on the line while you check. Too many people worry about disturbing neighbours and immediately turn sounding systems off, forgetting the fact the alarm might be warning of an intrusion!

Pet immunity is a very difficult topic! Many detectors on the market are designed and claim to be pet immune. In many cases, you might consider alternative detection types rather than PIR (protect doors/windows in that area to allow an animal to roam freely). If you want to stick with PIR detectors though, you must ensure that the model chosen is suitable for your pets size and installed to the manufacturers specification in the fitting guide. You should also take into consideration objects within a room that pets might be able to climb onto. Cats can be particularly difficult loving to climb on everything - we have even seen some that have ended up in bizarre locations people would not believe possible! But do not forget, if you are looking to have a detector ignore something with the body mass of a large dog - it would also ignore people of a similar size!! So we recommend you only consider such devices for pets like cats and smaller dogs. For larger pets, look at different technologies. More advice can be found in our security FREE Newsletter.

Systems that use standard telephone lines to communicate either directly to a mobile phone or monitoring stations, do suffer frequent problems! In many cases, little or nothing can be done to resolve these issues. Transmission paths that use data (such as an internet connection or mobile GPRS data) are now far more reliable. It is a matter of personal opinion how good a voice line is - crackling or interference is something telephone providers do not cover under their terms. However data transmission is clear cut, it either works or it doesn't! If you are having difficulties with dial-up connections, please look at our range of internet or mobile transmitters. More advice can be found in our security FREE Newsletter.