Total Connect

Product alert – New Video Doorbell

Have you been thinking about adding or upgrading your home security system by adding a video doorbell? 

If so, there is good news for the Raleigh/Durham area: Secur-Tek, Inc. now has the new VX1 HD Video Doorbell from First Alert!

With this new model, you can select and receive the alerts you want — like when there is a package delivery, animals, people, and/or vehicles — from your Total Connect home security system, right to your phone or PC.

In addition, this doorbell features:

  • A durable design that can withstand a variety of extreme weather conditions – including temperature, (-40 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit), humidity, dust, moisture, and ultraviolet rays.
  • Innovative AI that can reduce false alarms by detecting and differentiating between people, packages, vehicles, and animals. Homeowners can customize notifications and detection areas based on their needs.
  • Deterrence Features, including siren & spotlight LED.
  • Night vision Modes: IR (infrared light) and color night vision
  • Field of view options: Tall, Wide, and Full.
  • High Resolution: 5MP sensor, 2592×1944 pixels max.
  • Better Wi-Fi connection with Dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5Ghz
  • Anytime, anywhere programming, troubleshooting, account creation, and more via web, IOS, and Android devices.

 

If you are located in our service area and would like to learn more, contact Secur-Tek at 919-387-1800 or fill out the form below.

Secur-Tek, Inc. is locally owned and operated in Apex, NC, offering home and business security, monitoring, controlled access, automation, audio, and central vacuum systems.  We serve Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Chapel Hill, Clayton, Garner, Holly Springs, Durham, Raleigh, Morrisville, and Pittsboro in North Carolina.

 

Seven Handy Home Automation Features

A security system with home automation features has many benefits that can add convenience and peace of mind, like cameras, smart locks, and lighting control.

But did you know that there are other ways that home automation can make life easier for you and your family?

Check out these features:

1) See what’s going on at home while you’re away.

  • Know at a glance if a family member has arrived home or left the premises.
  • Speak to babysitters or your children through the Total Connect app for reassurance and to let them know you are watching.
  • Get push notifications, email, and video alerts when events occur, like when you have a delivery or there is a stranger at the door.
  • Monitor key hallways, staircases, and/or doors with live, look-in video.
  • Be notified if a bathtub or toilet overflows or if an extreme temperature has been sensed.

2) Check if the garage door is closed. Have you ever driven away and wondered if you left the garage door open? If you have kids (or another forgetful family member), it can be worrisome when they leave the garage door open. A great solution to this is the MyQ app, which works well with Resideo Total Connect.

With the MyQ app, you can check if the door is closed. You can even accept home deliveries safely even when you’re at work – with the deliveryman on the phone, you can open the door, watch him put your package inside, then shut the door to keep everything safe until you return home.

3) Garage/Outbuilding Monitoring: In addition to monitoring the door of your garage or other building, you can also keep tabs on the temperature inside. If you store items in your garage that can be harmed by extreme heat or cold, adding a temperature sensor can have the system send you an alert if things get too hot or too cold.

4) Vacation Home Alerts: If you are away on vacation or own a vacation home, a “hard freeze” alert can let you know if special measures need to be taken to prevent burst pipes and flooding. In addition, water sensors can detect leaks and send warnings before they become a flood.

5) Power-saving “Mockupancy”: Speaking of vacations, your home automation system can turn lights on and off at random intervals when your house is in “vacation” mode, saving energy while creating the illusion that someone is home and moving from room to room.

6) Lock Programming: With the Total Connect app, scenes and schedules keep everyone safe and comfortable without having to remember to adjust the thermostats, turn lights on or off or lock the doors at night. If you have teens, or sometimes wonder if you locked the door(s), don’t lose sleep worrying. If your teens are old enough to be coming home by themselves after school or late at night, you can have a text message or e-mail notification sent to you to let you know exactly what time your teenager actually arrived home.

7) Flashing Light Ideas: The lights can be programmed to flash all over the house or in certain areas when a smoke detector goes off or the security alarm is activated. It’s sometimes hard to hear all of your various bells and buzzers when you’re watching TV or listening to music in another room, but these events are hard to miss when the overhead lights let you know what’s happening.

 

Interested?  Call Secur-Tek at 919.387.1800 and ask how we can customize a monitored security and automation system for your home. 

Frequently Asked Questions about Cellular Communicators

If you are interested in higher security, reliability, and the ease of controlling parts of your security system from your smartphone, a cellular communicator may be the right solution for you.

Secur-Tek, Inc. encourages our customers to use a dedicated cell communicator for the security system to communicate with the monitoring service.  With the addition of a cell communicator to your Vista or First Alert Security system, you gain the capability to remotely connect with your security system. The Total Connect App allows you to remotely arm or disarm your alarm system and receive event notifications using your smartphone or I-pad. 

Cell phone technology keeps advancing – you may have seen the ads talking about 5G phones and networks. With this latest update, wireless carriers are discontinuing support of 3G devices in 2022.

  • AT&T started the sunset of their 3G cellular network beginning on March 22, 2022, they are no longer operating.
  • Verizon has announced its 3G network will be upgraded by the end of 2022.

 

How does this affect Secur-Tek customers? 

All 3G cellular communicators will need to be replaced. Secur-Tek has been working with our existing customers to update their cell communicator from 3G to LTE technology since early 2020. All our cellular customers requiring the upgrade were mailed notifications. Additionally, when a customer calls in for service, Secur-Tek staff review the customer’s security features and recommend the communication upgrade be completed at the time of service. 

Not sure if you have a 3G cellular communicator?  Call our office at 919-387-1800. We can provide further information, and if needed, schedule this system upgrade.

 

Frequently asked questions about cellular communicators:

 

What is a cellular communicator?

A Cellular communicator is the device that contacts the central station monitoring service for security alarms, fire, and medical alerts. It functions much like a cell phone that is specifically dedicated to your security system by communicating via cellular network data channels. In essence, the cellular communicator installed on the Control Panel of your alarm system acts as a connection to the “outside world”. Cellular communicators are dedicated solely to the security system, so they are not shared with any other service.

 

What is the difference between a Wireless and Cellular Security System? 

 When you investigate purchasing or activating monitoring for a security system, you will hear the terms wireless and cellular used. So, what is the difference? 

  • Wireless refers to the wireless connection between the security system sensors and the control panel. Instead of wires, the connection is through radio waves.
  • Cellular refers to how the control panel communicates to your security monitoring company.

Cellular alarm monitoring requires that you have a cellular communicator in your security system and the technology offers significant advantages over landline-based systems:

  • Cellular communicators are more stable.
    • They are not affected by brief power outages
    • Cutting your phone line will NOT disable your alarm system
  • They enable remote access/interactive monitoring – A great advantage of cellular communication is the option to monitor your home or business remotely. With an app you can add to your monitoring, you will be able to arm/disarm and manage security alerts, and the status of your secured property, even while you’re away.

 

I’m thinking of dropping my landline. How would that affect my security system?

  • If you get rid of your landline, you will need a cellular communicator.
  • If you decide to change your home phone service you will need to reconnect your security system, which may require a service visit and a service charge from Secur-Tek, Inc.
  • Security system manufacturers do not recommend using VOIP (Voice over Internet Phone Service) phone carriers

 

If you have any questions concerning upgrading your system or cellular communicator, we urge you to please call our office at 919-387-1800 or contact us.

 

Thinking you’d like the added peace of mind that comes with having your system monitored, especially when you’re not there?  

Find out more about our monitoring service here.  

 

Secur-Tek, Inc. is locally owned and operated in Apex, NC, offering home and business security and monitoring. Secur-Tek also provides automation, audio, and central vacuum systems to customers in the Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Chapel Hill, Clayton, Garner, Holly Springs, Durham, Raleigh, Morrisville, and Pittsboro areas.

 

Providing Peace of Mind Since 1990

Security is our industry, but for us at Secur-Tek, it’s not just a business.

We feel what we do is important.

Our job is to help people feel safe, more secure, and able to get help when it’s urgently needed.

 

As a locally owned and operated company based in Apex, we are proud to serve our neighbors in the greater Triangle area:  Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Chapel Hill, Clayton, Garner, Holly Springs, Durham, Raleigh, Morrisville, and Pittsboro.

We appreciate all our customers and take the time to understand their unique situations, so we can give you an honest quote on a quality security system customized to fit your needs.

Speaking of customization, some of the features frequently asked for include:

Cameras – indoor and outdoor cameras

Security – dual technology motion detectors, with the combined strength of microwave and PIR technologies providing superior detection and reduced false alarms

Video doorbells – see who is at your door, from anywhere

Smart locks – go key free; lock and unlock from anywhere

Secur-Tek can also include smart devices that can make your life more convenient, all connected by the Resideo Total Connect® app:

  • Temperature controls – to control your climate and save money on your heating/cooling bills
  • Water leak monitors
  • MyQ Garage door control
  • Smoke and CO detectors – these life safety devices actively protect 24/7, even if the system is not armed

We also offer special customizations to make life easier for senior citizens:

With our Total Connect app, family members can receive event notifications and alerts for the home where the senior is living, letting them know when the senior arms/disarms the security system or presses a button to call for help. A text alert can be sent when the medicine cabinet or the door to the garage is opened. Having a Total Connect camera near the TV, for example, will allow the caregiver to chat with their loved ones during their favorite tv show.

 

We’ve been in business since 1990 and have many long-time customers. We’ve grown by referral. And we appreciate them! 

 

If you have any questions or would like a complimentary quote, please call us at 919-387-1800 or fill in the form below.

 

Secur-Tek proudly serves the North Carolina communities of Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Chapel Hill, Clayton, Garner, Holly Springs, Durham, Raleigh, Morrisville, and Pittsboro

Security & Home Automation