Alarm Explanations

A Systems Power Fail signal is received when your security system registers a loss of mains power to the security system. During a power fail, a standby battery takes over supplying power to the security system and should enable the security system to operate for a limited amount of time. The duration that a standby battery is able to maintain the security system is variable & dependent on many factors, such as the condition of the battery and the power usage of the system. If the power of the security system is not restored, the system shall continue to operate on the standby battery until it is fully discharged (runs flat), at which time you will no longer be protected.

A large proportion of power fail situations are related to electrical blackouts. These situations generally rectify themselves when grid power is returned. However on occasion, a circuit breaker may have tripped or another cause may exist, that requires customer intervention to restore power to the security system. Apart from an area power outage, this signal could also indicate that the security system has been unplugged from a normal power point, just as you would unplug any electrical appliance or that the mains supply to the premises has been turned off. Should mains power not restore, the cause of the power loss should be investigated and rectified prior to the battery running low. When your standby system battery is running low, you should be notified by Sapio, however, the monitoring centre will not receive signals from a security system where mains power is off and the standby battery is fully discharged.

What are some of the other reasons my security system has lost power?

The Power Fail signal may be caused by some of the following:

• Mains supply failure in your area
• Blown fuse on the premise
• Power point has failed
• Cleaner removed the power pack
• Power pack has come loose in the socket or has accidentally been removed
• Power pack has failed.

What can I check?

• If you are experiencing a blackout in your area there is nothing you can do until power has been restored. (If your power is off for several days, your alarm panel may need minor reprogramming after the power has been restored)
• Check your keypad to see if your power light has restored, if it has then this indicates that the mains power has recovered.
• Locate your power pack, (this looks like an oversized phone charger), and feel it, it should be warm to the touch if working OK.
• If the power pack is cold, remove it and plug it back in, then check the keypad power light to confirm if the power has been restored.
• If nothing has worked, test the power point by plugging in another electrical device. If this device works then try the power pack again, if it has failed use an extension lead to plug the power pack into another power point.

An electrician may be required if you cannot restore mains power to the premises. In the event that you cannot restore mains power to the security system but have mains power available at the security system’s power point, please call Sapio on 1300 30 30 17 option 3 to troubleshoot your system, to discuss the alternatives and to book a technician, fees may apply.

Most alarm systems are set up to send a timer test within a prescribed time interval to ensure the alarm panel is communicating back to base.

No Signal Received could mean a possible communications problem between your alarm system and the Monitoring Centre, and your security alarm system may not be monitored back to base.

The most common reasons for No Signal Received are:

• Recent power and/or backup battery failure caused the panel to fully shut down.
• If your communication link is phone line, this could be caused by:
  • Cancellation of phone line
  • Recently upgraded to NBN
  • Damage to phone line
  • Phone off the hook/engaged
• If your communication link is wireless, this could be caused by:
  • Network is down or poor signal strength
  • Communication device has been unplugged or disconnected
  • Wiring issue
  • Problem with alarm system

Action required – please do not ignore. For sites with persistent No Signal Received alarms, you may need a technician to attend for troubleshoot and rectification work.

Please call Sapio on 1300 30 30 17 Option 1 for further assistance.

Your alarm system battery supplies backup power to operate your alarm system during a power outage. All alarm panels operate on mains power and contain a back-up battery, and different manufacturers use different batteries in the alarm panel.

How to Know If You Need a New Battery?

The first sign of alarm battery failure is usually a beeping keypad. The beeping or chirping will often occur at the same time. This is because many panels do their automatic battery test every 24 hours. Less commonly, a low battery condition can cause false alarms at random times throughout the day.

Almost all alarm panels will also display a keypad trouble light to indicate a problem. Keypads with LCD displays will print out “low batt”, “LB”, or something similar. Keypads with LED’s may need you to press a button or two for the lights to show the trouble condition.

Frequently asked Questions:

Should I Replace My Own Battery?

Sapio recommends a qualified technician attends and replaces the battery. To ensure the optimum performance of your system, we highly recommend a regular maintenance schedule. For more information on our affordable maintenance packages or for alternative options on battery replacement phone 1300 30 30 17 option 3, between 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.

What if my system is still in warranty?

If your system is in warranty and a low battery signal has occurred and you choose to replace the batteries by yourself, it may invalidate any remaining warranty.

Which battery type do I need?

You can find this out in a number of ways.

1. Use your system type to find out what batteries you need.
2. Refer to your user manual.
3. Open the panel and check battery type.

Warning Note: Please ensure you place your system on test before you inspect or change the batteries to prevent triggering a false tamper alarm. You can do this by phoning the 1300 30 3017 option 1 then option 3.

A Sensor Low Battery signal occurs when a wireless device on your alarm system has a battery that is running low or is completely flat.

Devices such as Reed switches, PIR (Passive Infra-Red) sensors or Smoke Detectors can be wireless. It is extremely important that the devices for your system are kept operational at all times. If a device is not working due to the battery running flat, your security and smoke detection system is at risk of being compromised. Sapio strongly recommends that you replace the battery at your earliest convenience and that you use a Sapio qualified Technician to service your system.

Sapio recommends a qualified technician attends and replaces the battery. To ensure the optimum performance of your system, we highly recommend a regular maintenance schedule. For more information on our affordable maintenance packages or for alternative options on battery replacement phone 1300 30 30 17 option 3, between 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.

If your system is in warranty and a low battery signal has occurred and you choose to replace the batteries by yourself, it may invalidate any remaining warranty.

Warning Note: Please ensure you place your system on test before you inspect or change the batteries to prevent triggering a false tamper alarm. You can do this by phoning the 1300 30 3017 option 1 then option 3.

Frequently asked Questions:

How do I determine which device in my system requires a battery replacement?

You may have been sent an SMS text message with the details of which device is running low or completely flat.

What if my system is still in warranty?

If your system is in warranty and a low battery signal has occurred and you choose to replace the batteries by yourself, it will invalidate any remaining warranty. Therefore, we highly recommend you organise a Sapio qualified technician to attend site. Please call 1300 30 30 17 option 3 and we will schedule a technician to attend at a time that best suits you.

If I replace the batteries in the device that has triggered the low battery signal, should I replace the batteries in the other devices?

Yes! As your systems devices were installed together it is likely that the batteries in other similar devices are also towards the end of their effective life. We highly recommend you replace the batteries in all your devices to prevent the system being at risk of being compromised by flat batteries. We recommend you take a record of the length of the battery life and set a reminder for future reference.

A Late to Close signal is received if the monitoring centre has not received the arming signal from your premises by the scheduled time. This normally indicates that staff members are on site working back, and can be rectified by simply ringing the site and advising the staff to turn on the alarm when they leave and advising the monitoring centre that you require the schedule for the day to be delayed for the required duration.

On the very rare occasion, this signal could mean that the site was armed up but the signal was jammed up in the alarm communication’s process, unfortunately there is no way of knowing if this is the case, it is up to you to decide if you wish to return to work and check the alarm system. If you require a guard to be sent to check your premises, please call our Monitoring Centre on 1300 30 30 17 option 1, fees may apply.

If this signal occurs frequently, please call 1300 30 30 17 option 1 to organise to change your closing schedule.

Please note that if the site has not been armed, the monitoring centre will not receive signals from the area that the alarm covers.

An “Early Opening” is received at the monitoring centre if the alarm has been disarmed. This indicates a user with a valid code or access has disarmed the alarm system at a time you’ve indicated to us is outside of normal operating hours.

This event is merely a notification to advise you. If you are not expecting anyone to be on site, it would be advisable to investigate.

If you require a guard to be sent to check your premises, please call our Monitoring Centre on 1300 30 30 17 option 1, fees may apply.

A “Disarming” signal is received by the monitoring centre to indicate that the alarm system has been turned off by a user with a valid code or access.

Conversely, an “Arming” signal is received to indicate the alarm is now turned on and your premises is protected.

This event is merely a notification to advise you. If you are not expecting anyone to be on site, it would be advisable to investigate.

If you require a guard to be sent to check your premises, please call our Monitoring Centre on 1300 30 30 17 option 1, fees may apply.

A Bypass signal indicates that a zone has either been automatically or manually programmed not to send a signal. If you have manually bypassed a zone be aware that we can no longer monitor that zone and that the Security Monitoring Centre cannot inform you of any future alarm signals for that zone until it has been made un-bypassed.

If this was not your intention, then you will need a service call to site and rectify this zone. Some panels automatically bypass any faulty zones on arming or after they have been activated, these zones will no longer send any signals to the Security Monitoring Centre, to rectify bypass issues please call 1300 30 30 17.

The RF Loss of Supervisory signal indicates that one of your wireless devices is not correctly communicating to the main alarm panel. All wireless devices regularly communicate to the alarm panel to check that the signal is being correctly received. This ensures the devices are not being interfered with. Should a RF Loss of Supervisory signal be received, the device in question may no longer be able to reliably send alarm activations in the case of a genuine break and enter event.

Possible causes:

• As the batteries in a device get weaker, the signals range is reduced to the point where the device is no longer within the range of the main panel.
• Signal interference between sensor and alarm panel.
• Some large or dense metal object has been introduced between the device and the main panel.
• The device has become faulty.

Recommended Solution:

Arrange for a Sapio technician to service or asses the device. Please contact 1300 30 30 17

A trouble / supervision alarm indicates a possible fault with a detector and usually occurs when the alarm system is switched on.  It may also be a system fault i.e. Control panel CPU restarts.

Possible causes:

• Faulty sensor
• Faulty system
• Motion sensor is being obstructed
• Roller shutter / door has been left open
• Window has been left open
• Communication issue between sensor & system

Recommended Solution:

If you cannot fix or find the fault, please contact Sapio on 1300 30 30 17   to troubleshoot, or to discuss the alternatives and to book a technician, fees may apply.