Hi
I just left front point with a Simon XT with Verizon com card. I verified the card is unregistered. However when I follow the directions to start my new account by doing a Com Test the panel shows “test in progress” for several minutes then just turns back to disarmed mode without showing test “Ok”. I can’t start the process until the com is working. Any suggestions for troubleshooting?
Thanks
To troubleshoot, you will want to power cycle the Simon XT (Unplug transformer, then internal battery) While its powered down check to make sure the cellular module is connected properly. After a couple minutes, power the panel back up, battery first, then transformer. Wait about five minutes or so and try running a cell test again, any change?
Cell test steps are printed below for your convenience:
Note: Manual Phone Tests must be ON under Phone Options in System Programming for this option to appear.
Upon completion, the panel display will read “3G Test signal sent OK” or “CDMA Test signal sent OK”.
Have you went and opened a ticket for alarm.com and let them know that you had a new SIM card?
If you are a Surety customer, tickets opened through Alarm.com are forwarded directly to us.
I’ll give the shutdown a try and let you know. Will the LED lights on the card give me some kind of indication of its condition?
Also if it fails would it indicate failure or some kind of error code?
L1 will flash red between 1 and 8 times if there is an error. More than one error will show as one sequence, then another with about a 4 second pause in between.
L4 is green and flashes to indicate signal strength, of 0-5.
What LED flashes are you seeing, if any?
Tyler
Ok just powered down and back up. Checked the board for install. The LEDs are flashing as such.
L1 Three red flashes
L2 one yellow flash
L3 quick yellow flash… more like a half flash
L4 Nothing
L5 2 yellow flashes
Not sure exactly the trouble code but just know it’s not so good.
CDMA test ended without a fail or OK
Verified manual phone line test was “on”
L1 at 3 flashes indicates that the module is having trouble registering on the CDMA network.
L4 should flash between 0-5 times indicating signal strength. If there is no flash, then there would be 0 signal.
If there are less than two bars (flashes) from L4, make sure the module is not underground, in a closet, or surrounded by any metal, all of these can inhibit signalling. You will want to move the module and use LED 4 as an indicator to find a good coverage area. Keep in mind that it may take L4 a moment to read and display the signal level at a new location. Does relocating the module fix your issue?
LED 2 Flashes when communicating with the panel and LED 3 flashes when attempting communication with Alarm.com.
LED 5 Flashing twice indicates that no Z-Wave nodes are on the network.
Ok moved the unit all around the house including upstairs. Did not have a single L4 flash. Checked coverage and we are in a strong VRZ 3G location. Could a firmware update help? Is my CDMA card bad?
The firmware of the module is current.
While cell phone signalling is not always representative of machine to machine coverage, Coverage Check indicates good signal at the location via CDMA. When moving the panel/module from location to location, you may need to let the panel sit for a couple minutes to obtain signal.
One other thing to try is to power down the panel completely, transformer first, then battery and remove the cell module. wait about ten full minutes and reseat the module ensuring that none of the connector pins are bent and also check to make sure the antenna is fully plugged in. Then screw it down and power the panel back up, battery first, then transformer. Any change?
Ok, so I did the power down with the card removal and location test with minimum 10 minutes between tests. Not a single time did L4 light up. We even moved unit to another house and tested it. The board itself looks healthy with no hot spots, damage or bent pins. The wire Antenna is soldered well and strong.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks
Is it possible to take a picture of the module and post it here?
The unit is at my daughters but I have some pics but they aren’t great. If you need a better more complete pic let me know.
Its missing the antenna in its entirety. Notice the gold bit at the top of the second picture (above the serial number info)? An antenna for signalling should be plugged in there. The orange bit is for the Z-Wave radio.
This would likely be the cause for no signal. Its a black wire that leads to a flat blade like bit. The gold connector plus directly into it. Usually this is fished into the wall where the panel was mounted and may have been affixed to the inside of the wall via double sided tape.
I did notice that gold socket that looks like it had threads for an antenna. However I had purchased this unit and another touchpad unit as two separate packages from frontline and neither one had an external antenna. This one was used in Memphis Tn and Dallas Tx for the last 2 years and the other in Alabama for last 2 years with no antenna.
I installed both units.
Like this one I suspected
I can’t find an antenna alone for purchase and since I feel the issue may also a problem with the CDMA itself I found that a used cdma card with an antenna is moderately priced on eBay. If found one with a firmware of FW:C183-vz the difference being the panel “c”. Does this make a difference? Could this board work with a Simon XT as well?
Yes the one in the image is the antenna. The 9AM-MMCX is a 6Ft antenna that would be compatible with the module.
Buying used modules is not recommended as they can be 2G and unusable, Locked to another service provider and unusable or in rare cases, locked out due to a promotion, as seen in this post here. If they give you the cellular module number prior to purchase you can confirm the module number here.
FW:C183-vz the difference being the panel “c”. Does this make a difference?
IIRC that is for the Concord4. The X in X183-VZ on your current module indicates Simon XT/XTi
If it’s for the concord does that mean it won’t work for the Simon XT? This one in the picture is not supported.
Apologies for the confusion. To clarify, the Concord module would be physically different from the module in the picture above. They hook up to the panel differently and would not be interchangeable.
Ultimately, 600-1048-XX-XX would be the part number for the Simon XT, Alarm.com compatible cellular module. The 600-1053-XXX-XX would designate Concord 4.
This would be the Alarm.com LTE Module for the Simon XT/Xti/XTi-5
