Customer ServiceHow to Successfully Install Alarm.com SEM300-VT without Hiccups
Hey, guys. Hayden here again from Alarm System Store. And today we're going to be going over potential problems that you might run into when installing the SEM300 on the Honeywell Vista system. So there's not a whole lot of things that can go wrong when installing this module. but I'm going to put them all up on this little TV here, and we're basically just going to knock them out one by one.
The main thing that we see the most of it is that top listing there, which is star 29 in the Honeywell programing, enables or disables the cellular and IP communication of the panel. Most of the issues that we see are that that's just not enabled. The second most common thing that we see are wiring issues. so this is explained pretty well in our SEM300 installation video. However, occasionally, you know, things don't always work out the way that they're supposed to. Sometimes you get like some insulation in the terminals or whatever the case might be, so we're going to go over the wiring again just so you guys can double check it.
So the third most common thing that we see is the installer code is not set to the default, which is fine. Technically, any service provider, whenever they're activating alarm.com on a panel for the first time, can plug it in on their end. However, just for ease of installation and activation, it is better if during the activation process you default that. So I'm going to run you through how to do that real quick. And then the last thing that we generally see is that the keypad address that the SEM300 connects to in the panel is not enabled. Now all visitors come with that keypad address enabled. So we very rarely see this one. However, it is something to check if you've gone through all the other options and nothing stands out. You can't figure out what's going on. Occasionally an installer here and there will go in and disable keypad addresses that aren't in use. It's very uncommon, but it's worth checking. So we're going to cover that as well.
And if you stick around to the end of the video, I'll also cover something that you might run into after activation. it's not super common. However, if your panel's ever been connected to a landline before, it is something that you want to watch out for. So, stick around and we'll cover that as well.
So the first one we're going to cover is the star 29 programing section. And like I mentioned, all that does is it determines it tells the panel that you're basically going to be using a cellular and IP communicator. So it knows to look for it and it knows to try and send signals out that way. So all you're going to do is plug in your installer code followed by 800 on the keypad, and then type in star two nine and then hit the one key. After you hit the one key, you should hear a confirmation ding from the alarm system. And then you can just hit star nine nine to back out. And after you've backed out of programing, it is a good idea to power cycle the panel.
That goes for all of the things that we're going to be checking here. With wiring that's a little different. You're going to have the system, or you should have the system powered down while you're adjusting any wiring for the system. So make sure you power down, and you're going to be booting up anyway, so it'll go through this process. But essentially any time you make a change and you're trying to activate a communicator, it is a good idea. Once you've done any changing in the system programing, wiring, whatever, perform a reboot on the panel and power everything back up again. And that way it can go through any sync processes, and basically just go through the boot up process and make sure everything's good to go.
And moving on to the second most common thing that we run into is the wiring. So make sure that you have your system depowered before you mess with any wiring for the SEM or the the system, but essentially it is just a four wire connection. So the only variable that you run into here is the power wire. So on the SEM you'll have a 12 volt positive terminal. That's where your red wire is going to connect to. And it also comes with an optional wire to connect the power to the battery. So decide whether or not you're going to connect the SEM to the system CORBUS, or whether you're going to power it via the battery. Either way's fine. It'll still get power in the event of a power outage, whatever the case is. However, if you have a lot of bus devices such as zone expanders or, motion detectors, things like that, devices that draw power from the system itself, it is a good idea to use the battery cable. And that way the SEM has its own specific power source, which is going to be the battery. So decide what you're going to do there. If you do connect it to the system, the wire goes from the 12 volt positive terminal on the SEM to terminal number five on the Honeywell.
The other three wires are fairly straightforward, but the black wire is the ground. And that is going to connect to terminal number four on the Honeywell. Green and yellow are your data wires. So these are the ones where we actually see the most problems. Because people will get the red and black right in the SEM will power up. It'll look like it's doing what it's supposed to, but it just won't activate or it won't sync with the panel, whatever the case is. So double check those green and yellow wires very carefully, but they're very easy to hook up. Essentially, on the SEM it says right on it green or yellow. And then green is going to go to terminal number six on the Honeywell. And yellow is going to go to terminal number seven. Make sure for all the wires that they are stripped properly. You don't want any insulation in the terminals whatsoever as that can cause connection problems. Make sure there's no extreme bends in the wires. So you don't have any broken wires anywhere. if you are having any issues and you believe it's wiring, try a new wire. We'll just swap out all the wires that you currently have. Try a new little short piece of wire. connect it near the panel and see if it works then. Because if it does, then you just need a new wire run to wherever you're going to locate the communicator. So after that, again, since your system should be powered, just power back up and you should see the SEM go through its sync process.
And moving on to our third most common problem that's going to be the installer code. Now like I mentioned this is mainly for installs where you have not had alarm.com connected to your system before. However, if you are setting up alarm.com for the first time, make sure that your installer code is set to the default. If you're unsure how to do that, I'm going to run through the process real quick. If you know the current installer code, you can enter the current installer code followed by 800 to enter programing. It'll pop up and it'll say installer code 20, or it'll just show 20 if it's a fixed English keypad, but just hit star two zero and then enter 4112. 4112 is the default Honeywell programing installer code. So that's what you want it set to during your activation, as that is what the same is going to default to whenever it's first plugged in.
Now, if you don't have the current installer code, there is a way to back door into Honeywell panels. I do have a specific video made just for that. if you want to go watch that, I'll link it down below in the description. But essentially you power the panel, you power it back up, you hold the star and pound keys on the keypad, and it'll just go right into programing once the boot sequence is finished, which once it does that, then you can just follow the star 20, enter 4112, and then you're good to go. So if I went through that a little bit quick, go check out that other video. I go through a very specifically I show you exactly what to do, actually walk through the process with the system, the whole bit. So, but it should be pretty straightforward. Like I said, just make sure the installer code is set to the default 4112 before activating, and that way it just goes as smoothly as possible.
And moving into the last thing that we most commonly see which is the keypad address, that one's pretty simple. Like I said, is should be enabled by default, especially if this is a new install, you don't have to worry about this. However, if you've had your system installed by somebody else, occasionally installers will go in and disable keypad addresses that aren't in use. So if you want to check it, it's very simple to do. Essentially, you do have to go into programing again. So enter your installer code followed by 800. And whenever you see installer code 20 or just 20, type in star 196. And that's going to take you to keypad address 23. And that needs to be enabled for the SIM to be able to connect to the panel. So you just type in one zero and you'll get a confirmation ding from the panel. And then just hit star 99 to back out. And that's all you got to do. It just enables the keypad address and allows the SEM to connect through that CORBUS connection and transfer data back and forth to the panel.
And the last thing that I wanted to talk about was a potential trouble that you might run into after activation. So after activating, if everything's looking good, the alarm.com's working, and you go to test your system, but you get a communication problem that could be an indication that you have a phone line still plugged in from previous monitoring, or even from way back when, before you even own the system, possibly. Basically, whenever the system tries to send out a signal, it will do so with any method that is plugged in. So when we went in and turned on star 29, that told it, you know it's going to use that cellular communicator. However, if a phone number is still plugged into the panel, it's going to try and send something out of the phone line terminals on the panel as well.
If it can't do that, or if it doesn't get a kickback from that phone line, which it won't since it's not connected, you will get a trouble on the system. It'll just be a communications trouble. It won't be able to indicate exactly what the issue is. But essentially, if you get a communication trouble after you've activated the SEM300, follow this procedure and it'll just wipe out all of the previous possible programing for the phone number. So that way the SEM can resync, set things to the way it needs to be, and you shouldn't run into that trouble anymore. So to do this you're basically just going to go into programing again. And then you're going to go to section star 41 to start. And then whenever you're there, it won't show you the phone number or anything. It'll just show a little flashing number in the bottom right. But just hit the start button. And what that does is it just erases whatever value might be in there currently.
You do have to do this for multiple sections. You'll have to do it for section star 41 through star 46. So essentially just go down the line, hit *41*, *42* just in order the same way I'm saying it. And it will go in. And what you're doing is just erasing all the values in those sections. Now, after you've done this, you do want to make sure that you reboot the system. So after you've gone through, *46* and you get that last confirmation, then hit star 99 to back out of this programing and then power down the system and then reboot it, give it, you know, five, ten minutes. Let the system resync to the Honeywell. It's going to go in and it's going to program what it needs to. And then you'll be good to go. And you should never see that trouble again. If you do run into it, by all means reach out to your service provider. Reach out to us. If that's us, you know, whatever the case is, and they should be able to assist you.
And that's pretty much all the issues that we've ever run into on the SEM300 for the Vista systems. So hopefully that was informative and fixed any issues that you guys might be having out there. If you do have any other issues, by all means reach out to your service provider. Especially if that's us. We're happy to help. But essentially, if you guys want to see anything else along.com related or Honeywell related, by all means check out our website alarmsystemstore.com. We have pretty much everything for alarm.com that you can ask for. We have the SVRs, we have the service, we have cameras, communicators for a lot of different systems. If you guys are looking for alarm.com service and you just happened to be on this video and we did just recently add discounted annual plans for our alarm.com set ups. So you can check those out. We offer very good rates. we are a remote company so we don't do installs. But if you guys are looking for a cheap alarm monitoring solution, check us out.
But, that's going to do it for me. If you guys don't mind, leave a like and subscribe and I will catch you guys on the next one.
The main thing that we see the most of it is that top listing there, which is star 29 in the Honeywell programing, enables or disables the cellular and IP communication of the panel. Most of the issues that we see are that that's just not enabled. The second most common thing that we see are wiring issues. so this is explained pretty well in our SEM300 installation video. However, occasionally, you know, things don't always work out the way that they're supposed to. Sometimes you get like some insulation in the terminals or whatever the case might be, so we're going to go over the wiring again just so you guys can double check it.
So the third most common thing that we see is the installer code is not set to the default, which is fine. Technically, any service provider, whenever they're activating alarm.com on a panel for the first time, can plug it in on their end. However, just for ease of installation and activation, it is better if during the activation process you default that. So I'm going to run you through how to do that real quick. And then the last thing that we generally see is that the keypad address that the SEM300 connects to in the panel is not enabled. Now all visitors come with that keypad address enabled. So we very rarely see this one. However, it is something to check if you've gone through all the other options and nothing stands out. You can't figure out what's going on. Occasionally an installer here and there will go in and disable keypad addresses that aren't in use. It's very uncommon, but it's worth checking. So we're going to cover that as well.
And if you stick around to the end of the video, I'll also cover something that you might run into after activation. it's not super common. However, if your panel's ever been connected to a landline before, it is something that you want to watch out for. So, stick around and we'll cover that as well.
So the first one we're going to cover is the star 29 programing section. And like I mentioned, all that does is it determines it tells the panel that you're basically going to be using a cellular and IP communicator. So it knows to look for it and it knows to try and send signals out that way. So all you're going to do is plug in your installer code followed by 800 on the keypad, and then type in star two nine and then hit the one key. After you hit the one key, you should hear a confirmation ding from the alarm system. And then you can just hit star nine nine to back out. And after you've backed out of programing, it is a good idea to power cycle the panel.
That goes for all of the things that we're going to be checking here. With wiring that's a little different. You're going to have the system, or you should have the system powered down while you're adjusting any wiring for the system. So make sure you power down, and you're going to be booting up anyway, so it'll go through this process. But essentially any time you make a change and you're trying to activate a communicator, it is a good idea. Once you've done any changing in the system programing, wiring, whatever, perform a reboot on the panel and power everything back up again. And that way it can go through any sync processes, and basically just go through the boot up process and make sure everything's good to go.
And moving on to the second most common thing that we run into is the wiring. So make sure that you have your system depowered before you mess with any wiring for the SEM or the the system, but essentially it is just a four wire connection. So the only variable that you run into here is the power wire. So on the SEM you'll have a 12 volt positive terminal. That's where your red wire is going to connect to. And it also comes with an optional wire to connect the power to the battery. So decide whether or not you're going to connect the SEM to the system CORBUS, or whether you're going to power it via the battery. Either way's fine. It'll still get power in the event of a power outage, whatever the case is. However, if you have a lot of bus devices such as zone expanders or, motion detectors, things like that, devices that draw power from the system itself, it is a good idea to use the battery cable. And that way the SEM has its own specific power source, which is going to be the battery. So decide what you're going to do there. If you do connect it to the system, the wire goes from the 12 volt positive terminal on the SEM to terminal number five on the Honeywell.
The other three wires are fairly straightforward, but the black wire is the ground. And that is going to connect to terminal number four on the Honeywell. Green and yellow are your data wires. So these are the ones where we actually see the most problems. Because people will get the red and black right in the SEM will power up. It'll look like it's doing what it's supposed to, but it just won't activate or it won't sync with the panel, whatever the case is. So double check those green and yellow wires very carefully, but they're very easy to hook up. Essentially, on the SEM it says right on it green or yellow. And then green is going to go to terminal number six on the Honeywell. And yellow is going to go to terminal number seven. Make sure for all the wires that they are stripped properly. You don't want any insulation in the terminals whatsoever as that can cause connection problems. Make sure there's no extreme bends in the wires. So you don't have any broken wires anywhere. if you are having any issues and you believe it's wiring, try a new wire. We'll just swap out all the wires that you currently have. Try a new little short piece of wire. connect it near the panel and see if it works then. Because if it does, then you just need a new wire run to wherever you're going to locate the communicator. So after that, again, since your system should be powered, just power back up and you should see the SEM go through its sync process.
And moving on to our third most common problem that's going to be the installer code. Now like I mentioned this is mainly for installs where you have not had alarm.com connected to your system before. However, if you are setting up alarm.com for the first time, make sure that your installer code is set to the default. If you're unsure how to do that, I'm going to run through the process real quick. If you know the current installer code, you can enter the current installer code followed by 800 to enter programing. It'll pop up and it'll say installer code 20, or it'll just show 20 if it's a fixed English keypad, but just hit star two zero and then enter 4112. 4112 is the default Honeywell programing installer code. So that's what you want it set to during your activation, as that is what the same is going to default to whenever it's first plugged in.
Now, if you don't have the current installer code, there is a way to back door into Honeywell panels. I do have a specific video made just for that. if you want to go watch that, I'll link it down below in the description. But essentially you power the panel, you power it back up, you hold the star and pound keys on the keypad, and it'll just go right into programing once the boot sequence is finished, which once it does that, then you can just follow the star 20, enter 4112, and then you're good to go. So if I went through that a little bit quick, go check out that other video. I go through a very specifically I show you exactly what to do, actually walk through the process with the system, the whole bit. So, but it should be pretty straightforward. Like I said, just make sure the installer code is set to the default 4112 before activating, and that way it just goes as smoothly as possible.
And moving into the last thing that we most commonly see which is the keypad address, that one's pretty simple. Like I said, is should be enabled by default, especially if this is a new install, you don't have to worry about this. However, if you've had your system installed by somebody else, occasionally installers will go in and disable keypad addresses that aren't in use. So if you want to check it, it's very simple to do. Essentially, you do have to go into programing again. So enter your installer code followed by 800. And whenever you see installer code 20 or just 20, type in star 196. And that's going to take you to keypad address 23. And that needs to be enabled for the SIM to be able to connect to the panel. So you just type in one zero and you'll get a confirmation ding from the panel. And then just hit star 99 to back out. And that's all you got to do. It just enables the keypad address and allows the SEM to connect through that CORBUS connection and transfer data back and forth to the panel.
And the last thing that I wanted to talk about was a potential trouble that you might run into after activation. So after activating, if everything's looking good, the alarm.com's working, and you go to test your system, but you get a communication problem that could be an indication that you have a phone line still plugged in from previous monitoring, or even from way back when, before you even own the system, possibly. Basically, whenever the system tries to send out a signal, it will do so with any method that is plugged in. So when we went in and turned on star 29, that told it, you know it's going to use that cellular communicator. However, if a phone number is still plugged into the panel, it's going to try and send something out of the phone line terminals on the panel as well.
If it can't do that, or if it doesn't get a kickback from that phone line, which it won't since it's not connected, you will get a trouble on the system. It'll just be a communications trouble. It won't be able to indicate exactly what the issue is. But essentially, if you get a communication trouble after you've activated the SEM300, follow this procedure and it'll just wipe out all of the previous possible programing for the phone number. So that way the SEM can resync, set things to the way it needs to be, and you shouldn't run into that trouble anymore. So to do this you're basically just going to go into programing again. And then you're going to go to section star 41 to start. And then whenever you're there, it won't show you the phone number or anything. It'll just show a little flashing number in the bottom right. But just hit the start button. And what that does is it just erases whatever value might be in there currently.
You do have to do this for multiple sections. You'll have to do it for section star 41 through star 46. So essentially just go down the line, hit *41*, *42* just in order the same way I'm saying it. And it will go in. And what you're doing is just erasing all the values in those sections. Now, after you've done this, you do want to make sure that you reboot the system. So after you've gone through, *46* and you get that last confirmation, then hit star 99 to back out of this programing and then power down the system and then reboot it, give it, you know, five, ten minutes. Let the system resync to the Honeywell. It's going to go in and it's going to program what it needs to. And then you'll be good to go. And you should never see that trouble again. If you do run into it, by all means reach out to your service provider. Reach out to us. If that's us, you know, whatever the case is, and they should be able to assist you.
And that's pretty much all the issues that we've ever run into on the SEM300 for the Vista systems. So hopefully that was informative and fixed any issues that you guys might be having out there. If you do have any other issues, by all means reach out to your service provider. Especially if that's us. We're happy to help. But essentially, if you guys want to see anything else along.com related or Honeywell related, by all means check out our website alarmsystemstore.com. We have pretty much everything for alarm.com that you can ask for. We have the SVRs, we have the service, we have cameras, communicators for a lot of different systems. If you guys are looking for alarm.com service and you just happened to be on this video and we did just recently add discounted annual plans for our alarm.com set ups. So you can check those out. We offer very good rates. we are a remote company so we don't do installs. But if you guys are looking for a cheap alarm monitoring solution, check us out.
But, that's going to do it for me. If you guys don't mind, leave a like and subscribe and I will catch you guys on the next one.