New house with existing security system… need help understanding it

General Security Topics and Discussions
1

Hi everyone. We moved into a house about two weeks ago, and it already had a security system installed by the previous owner. Looks like Bates Security set it up and monitored it. They left us the code to arm and disarm, but there’s no other documentation. The Honeywell panels seem pretty restricted—like, I can see logs and arm/disarm it, but I can’t change the code or add new users without the admin code. I’m guessing Bates kept that code to themselves.

Last night, while the system was armed, we got an E381 error on one of the CO sensors, and now it won’t let me re-arm it. This made me realize I don’t really know much about this setup or how to maintain it. I expected the sensors to need replacing someday, but I didn’t think it’d happen this fast.

Can anyone here give me a rundown of what might be installed and how to handle this kind of issue?

2

You’ve got a Vista 20P. If you need to change the installer codes, there’s a way to backdoor into the panel, but you can’t do it with the touchscreen keypad you have. You’d need a rubber button keypad, like a 6160, to get into programming mode.

3

@JessicaJupyter
I tried it a few weeks back on a system takeover but gave up. Maybe it’s possible, but it just wasn’t worth the trouble.

4

@JessicaJupyter
Thanks for the info! So, does that mean I need something other than the 6160 to do the backdoor reset?

5

There’s got to be a reset option. Did you try searching for the model number online?