How to Change the Master Code on Your Alarm Panel (IQ Panel, Alarm.com App, Honeywell, DSC)
You should change the master code on your alarm the day you move in, the day an installer leaves, and any time someone who knew it no longer should. It takes two minutes. Here is how on a Qolsys IQ Panel, in the Alarm.com app, and on the older Honeywell and DSC keypads still guarding a lot of Utah homes.
- Disarm the system first. Codes cannot be changed while armed.
- Know the difference. The master code arms, disarms and manages other users. User codes arm and disarm. The installer or dealer code is ours and does not open your door; it configures the panel.
- Pick a code you will not forget and that is not your street number, birth year or 1234. Four digits on most panels, six if yours is set that way.
Qolsys IQ Panel 4 and IQ Panel 2+
- Touch the small grey bar at the top of the home screen to pull down the menu.
- Tap Settings, then Advanced Settings.
- Enter your current master code.
- Tap User Management. The Master user is the first line.
- Tap the pencil next to Master, enter the new code, confirm it, and save.
Test it right away: arm Stay from the home screen, then disarm with the new code. While you are in User Management, delete any user you do not recognize and give each family member their own code so the activity log shows who came and went.
In the Alarm.com app (any Alarm.com panel)
- Open the app, tap the menu in the top left, and tap Users.
- Tap your own name, then Access Code.
- Enter the new code, or tap Generate Code, and save.
- Allow a few minutes for the panel to pick up the change, then test it at the keypad.
The app is also the easiest place to add a temporary code for a house sitter or a contractor, with a start and end date, and to turn it off when the job is done.
Honeywell VISTA keypads (6160, 6162RF and similar)
- With the system disarmed, enter [master code] [8] [02] [new code] on the keypad, with no pauses.
- Some panels ask for the new code a second time to confirm. Enter it again.
- Arm Stay with the new code, then disarm with it, to confirm.
The same pattern adds users: [master code] [8] [user number] [new code], with user numbers from 03 upward. Write down which number belongs to whom.
DSC PowerSeries and Neo keypads
- Disarmed, press [*] [5] and enter the current master code.
- Enter the master user number: 40 on classic PowerSeries panels (PC1616, PC1832, PC1864), 01 on PowerSeries Neo and Pro.
- Enter the new code. The keypad beeps to confirm.
- Press [#] to exit, then test by arming and disarming.
Lost the master code entirely?
You are not locked out of your own house; you are locked out of user management. On an IQ Panel or any Alarm.com system we can reset the master code remotely from the dealer side once we verify you are the account holder. On a VISTA or DSC panel with no Alarm.com connection, we reset it at the keypad on a service visit. Either way, call the office and have your account details ready.
Moved into a home with an existing alarm? Changing the master code is step one. Step two is finding out who is monitoring it, if anyone. We take over existing panels and connect them to Alarm.com, usually without replacing the hardware.
Shield Low Voltage services Qolsys, Honeywell and DSC systems and provides Alarm.com monitoring across the Wasatch Front and Back.
