Adding Someone to Your Alarm.com System: Codes vs. Logins

Somebody new needs to use your Alarm.com system — a spouse, a cleaner, a property manager, the kid who just got a phone. Alarm.com gives you two completely different ways to let them in, and it is easy to want the wrong one. Here is the two-minute version, then the step-by-step for each.

A code and a login are different jobs

A code is the number somebody types to arm and disarm at the keypad, and to open any smart locks you give it. It lives on the panel, and it works whether or not that person owns a phone.

A login is an account for the app and website — for seeing cameras, checking history and getting notifications.

The rule of thumb: a cleaner who lets herself in on Tuesdays needs a code — one that opens the back door and disarms the panel, and nothing else. A spouse who wants the cameras on their phone needs a login. Family members usually end up with both.

Adding a user code

For anyone who needs to work the system in person — arming and disarming at the keypad, and unlocking any smart locks you enable the code on. You can do this from the app or the website.

In the app

1. Open the Alarm.com app and tap the menu icon
2. Go to Users, then tap add
3. Enter their first and last name, then Create
4. Type the code you want in the Access Code field
5. Use the toggles to choose which partitions and locks the code works on
6. Tap Save

On the website

1. Sign in at your Alarm.com portal and click Users
2. Click Add User
3. Enter their name, then Create
4. Enter the code in the Access Code field
5. Toggle the devices the code should work on
6. Click Save

Two things that catch people out. Codes cannot be changed while the system is armed — disarm first. And it takes a few minutes for a new code to reach the panel, so do not test it the second you hit save.

Adding an account login

For anyone who needs to see the system rather than operate the keypad. This one is the website only for the moment — Alarm.com have it in beta for the mobile app, so it should arrive there before long.

On the website

1. Sign in at your Alarm.com portal and click Users
2. Click Manage Logins, then Add a Login
3. Enter their email address and a login name
4. Choose the language, then Save
5. Pick their permission level, then Save again

What the permission levels mean

• Master Control — everything, including creating more logins
• Full Control — everything except managing logins
• Read Only — can look, cannot change anything
• Limited Device Access — only the devices you name
• Custom — build it feature by feature

Worth knowing. Only a Master Control login can create other logins, so if the option is missing that is why. There is no limit on how many you make. New logins get an email with a link to set their own password — it expires after 24 hours, so send it when they are around to use it.

Stuck on any of it?

If we installed your system, walking you through this is part of the deal — send us a message or call (928) 843-7767.

And if your current alarm company doesn’t answer questions like this, that is fixable too: we take over existing systems across Utah — same equipment, better help.