How to Use Your Ajax Alarm
The complete guide to the alarm we installed: arming and Night mode, the keypad and key fob, what every alert means, adding family, batteries and outages, and what to do when the siren goes off.
What should you know before anything else?
Your alarm has three everyday modes. Armed protects the whole house when nobody is home. Night mode guards the doors and windows while you sleep. Disarmed switches the intrusion sensors off. Smoke, heat and leak detectors stay on in every mode. You can change modes from the Ajax Security System app, the keypad by your door, a card or tag, or a key fob.
In a real emergency, call 911 first. Then call your monitoring company, if you have one, or us. Everything else on this page can wait until you have a quiet minute.
In this guide
How does your Ajax system work?
A hub sits at the centre. Every sensor, keypad and siren in your home talks to it over a dedicated wireless radio called Jeweller. The hub reaches the internet through your router and, on many installs, a cellular SIM card as a backup. Ajax Cloud carries your commands from the app to the hub and sends alerts back to your phone. Because the sensors are wireless, that is also how an alarm goes into a finished house without opening walls.
The parts of your system
Hub
The control centre, usually near your router. In the usual setting, its light shows the connection: white means two channels (for example network cable and SIM), green means one, red means it cannot reach the internet.
Keypad
Mounted by your main door. It arms and disarms with a code, a card or a tag. Most models wake up when you wave a hand over them or touch them.
Door and window sensors
DoorProtect contacts report when a door or window opens. When the system is disarmed they can also play a short door chime, if it is set up.
Motion sensors
MotionProtect detectors watch a room for movement. Mounted and set up correctly, they ignore pets up to a stated size.
Sirens
An indoor HomeSiren or an outdoor StreetSiren sounds during an alarm. Sirens can also beep during entry and exit delays and play the door chime.
Smoke and heat detectors
FireProtect 2 units have their own siren and work around the clock, whether the alarm is armed or not. Linked units all sound together.
Leak detectors
A LeaksProtect sits on the floor near a water heater, washer or sink and alerts you the moment it gets wet. It is always on.
Key fob, cards and tags
A SpaceControl fob arms, disarms and sets Night mode with one press. Tag and Pass cards work with the keypad and need no battery.
How do you set up the Ajax app on your phone?
Install the free Ajax Security System app and sign in with the email address we invited. Your home shows up in the app as a space, with four tabs: Devices, Rooms, Notifications and Control. Control is where you arm and disarm; Notifications is the history of everything that happened. Then take two more minutes to lock the app down, because your phone is now a key to your home.
Install the app
Search for Ajax Security System in the App Store or Google Play. It is free. There are also versions for Apple Watch, Wear OS and desktop computers.
Sign in with the invited email
Create your account with the exact email address the invitation went to. If you already have an Ajax account on that address, your home appears on its own.
Turn on the passcode lock
Tap the menu icon at the top left, then App Settings, System settings, and switch on Passcode Lock. Add Face ID or a fingerprint if you like. Someone who picks up your phone then cannot disarm your home.
Turn on two-factor authentication
Menu, App Settings, Account protection, Two-Factor Authentication. You will need an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator. Your other signed-in devices log out when you switch it on, and your phone’s clock must be set automatically. Before you change or reset your phone, move the authenticator app to the new phone first.
Allow critical alerts
On an iPhone, open Settings, Notifications, Ajax, and turn on Allow Notifications and Allow Critical Alerts. Alarm alerts then sound even when the phone is on silent or in Do Not Disturb. On Android, make sure the app’s notifications are allowed.
Leaving home and forgetting to arm? The app can remind you. In your home’s settings (the gear icon at the bottom right of the Control tab), Geofence sends a reminder to arm when you leave and to disarm when you come back.
What is the difference between Armed, Night mode and Disarmed?
It comes down to which sensors are on guard. Armed watches everything: doors, windows and motion. Night mode watches only the sensors set to join it, usually the doors and windows, so you can move around inside. Disarmed switches the intrusion sensors off. In all three modes, smoke, heat and leak detectors keep working.
Armed
Use it when everyone has left.
- Doors and windows on guard
- Motion sensors on guard
- The door you use has an entry delay so you can disarm
Night mode
Use it at bedtime.
- Doors and windows on guard
- Indoor motion sensors usually off
- Opening a guarded door sets off the alarm
Disarmed
Use it while you are home and up.
- Intrusion sensors off
- The door chime can play, if set up
- Smoke, heat and leak detectors still on
Floor plans: gold means on guard, grey means off, red means always on (smoke, heat and leak). Your own plan depends on where we placed the sensors.
Some homes are split into groups, for example the house and a detached garage. In that case the app can also show Partially armed, which means at least one group is armed. Tap a single group to arm or disarm just that part.
How do you arm and disarm, step by step?
Use whatever is closest to hand. The app works from anywhere with an internet connection. The keypad, cards and key fobs talk to the hub directly, so they keep working even when your internet is down.
From the app
Open the app and pick your home
If you have more than one space, such as a cottage, select the one you want first.
Go to the Control tab
This screen shows the current mode and the mode buttons.
Tap Arm, Disarm or Night mode
The mode changes within moments, and the change is logged under your name in Notifications, where everyone with access can see it.
From the keypad
Wake the keypad
Wave your hand over it or touch it. The buttons light up.
Enter your code
A general keypad code is just the digits. A personal code starts with your user ID and the Function (*) button: for example 2, *, then your code. Your user ID is listed under Users in the app.
Press Arm, Disarm or Night Mode
A short beep and the matching light confirm it. If your keypad is set to arm without a code, press Arm or Night Mode on its own. Disarming at the keypad always needs a code, a card or a tag.
Three wrong codes within a minute lock the keypad for a set time, anywhere from 3 to 180 minutes depending on setup. Disarm from the app instead, or ask an admin to unlock the keypad in the app. Avoid the Function (*) button unless we have shown you what it does on your keypad.
With a card, tag or key fob
Tag and Pass cards have no battery. Wake the keypad, hold the card to the reader, then press Arm, Disarm or Night Mode. If we turned on Easy armed mode change, the tap alone flips the mode: it arms when disarmed and disarms when armed. Lost a card? An admin can switch it off in the app right away by turning off Active in the card’s settings.
A SpaceControl key fob has four buttons: Arm, Disarm, Night mode and a panic button that sets off the alarm on purpose. The panic button can be set to need a long press or a double press so it is hard to press by accident; ask us if yours is not. After a press, a green light next to the button means the hub got the command. A red light means it did not, usually because you are out of range or something stopped it from arming, such as an open door. Check the app before you leave.
Entry and exit delays
Delays give you time to leave after arming and to disarm after you come in. They apply only to the sensors on your way in and out, such as the front door and the hallway motion sensor. Every other sensor is live the moment the system arms.
Arming with a door or window open
If your system has the integrity check turned on, it checks itself before arming. An open window, a sensor with a low battery or a lost connection can stop it from arming, and the app shows Not ready to arm. Close the window and arm again. If you have the Arming with issues permission, you can confirm and arm anyway; everyone who sees notifications then gets a list of the problems. Leaving one window open on purpose for the night? An admin can use One-time device deactivation on that sensor, which lasts until the next disarm.
How do you use Night mode?
Switch it on when you go to bed: tap Night mode on the Control tab, or enter your code on the keypad and press Night Mode. Only the sensors with Arm in Night mode turned on will guard the house. In the morning, disarm as usual.
Which sensors join Night mode is set during the install. The usual choice is every outside door and the ground-floor windows, with the motion sensors near bedrooms and the kitchen left out. You can switch from Armed straight to Night mode without disarming first.
- Letting the dog out at night? Disarm first, or the back door will set off the alarm
- Night mode has its own entry and exit delays
- It can switch on by itself on a schedule, if we set one up
- Want a different set of sensors at night? Call us and we change it
What should you do when the alarm goes off?
First, decide whether it could be real. The notification names the sensor and the room. If it could be a break-in, stay outside, call 911 and let the police go in. If it is clearly a false alarm, disarm from the app, keypad or fob to silence the sirens, then find out what set it off.
Read the alert
It tells you which sensor went off and where. If you have Ajax cameras or photo-capable motion sensors, the app may show pictures taken at the moment of the alarm.
If it could be real, stay out
Do not go in to check. Call 911 from somewhere safe.
If it is false, disarm
Disarming silences the intrusion sirens. Then look for the cause: a door that blew open, a balloon drifting past a motion sensor, a pet that got into a room.
Tell your monitoring company
If a monitoring company watches your system, call them and say it was false. Some installs have a short abort window: disarming within it stops the alarm from being sent to them at all.
Restore the system if asked
Some systems will not arm again after an alarm until it is restored. A warning icon in the app opens the restoration window. If you do not have that permission, tap Send request and an admin or we approve it.
Smoke and heat alarms are different
Smoke and heat detectors sound around the clock, armed or not, and disarming the alarm does not stop them. Get everyone out first. Once you are sure it is safe, press the centre of the detector’s front panel to mute it for 5 minutes; it starts again if smoke is still there. At a high smoke level it cannot be muted at all. Linked detectors can also be muted from the app or from a keypad button set up to mute fire alarms. How long a mute lasts, and where you can mute from, depends on the detector model, so ask us which applies to yours.
The panic button
A panic alarm is a deliberate alarm for an emergency. Depending on your setup, you can send one from the Panic button on the app’s Control tab, a SpaceControl key fob, an Ajax Button or a keypad’s Function (*) button. It alerts everyone with access and your monitoring company, if you have one. If you press it by mistake, call your monitoring company straight away and let your family know.
The duress code
A duress code is a second code you would use only if someone forced you to disarm. It disarms the system as normal, with no siren and nothing unusual in your app, while quietly alerting your monitoring company and the other people with access, whose apps mark the event with a red icon. Without professional monitoring, nobody is sent: only your family is told. Duress codes can be set per keypad or per person; ask us if you want one, and if you ever enter it by mistake, call your monitoring company right away.
What do the Ajax notifications mean?
Ajax sorts its messages into alarms, malfunctions, mode changes and system events. Only alarms need you to act straight away. Malfunctions need attention within days, and the rest are a record of what happened. Use the three groups below to judge any message in seconds, then the table for the details.
Act now
Something is happening in your home.
- Intrusion alarm
- Fire, smoke or heat alarm
- Water leak
- Panic alarm or disarm under duress
Deal with it soon
The system needs attention.
- Low battery
- Lid open
- Device offline or hub offline
- External power lost
- Radio interference
For your records
Nothing to do.
- Armed or disarmed by a name
- Night mode switched on
- External power restored
- Chime turned on or off
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Intrusion alarm | A sensor went off while the system was armed or in Night mode. The alert names the sensor and room. | Check cameras or photos if you have them. If it could be real, stay out and call 911. |
| Fire alarm, smoke detected, temperature threshold exceeded | A smoke or heat detector sensed a fire risk. These work 24/7. | Get everyone out and call 911. |
| Leakage detected | A leak detector got wet. | Shut off the water at the appliance or the main valve. A second message arrives when the sensor is dry. |
| Panic, or disarmed under duress (red icon) | Someone pressed a panic button or disarmed with a duress code. | Treat it as an emergency. For a duress alert, do not phone the person, because the attacker may be with them: call 911 or your monitoring company. For a panic alarm, call them, and call 911 if you cannot reach them. |
| Battery low | About 10 percent left. That leaves a few weeks to about two months, depending on the device. | Book a battery swap. See the battery table further down. |
| Lid open | A sensor’s cover or mounting plate came loose, or the sensor was moved. | Press it firmly back onto its mount. If the message stays, call us. |
| Device offline, connection lost | The hub cannot hear one sensor. | Check whether its battery is low. If it does not come back, call us; it may need moving or a range extender. |
| Hub offline, connection with Ajax Cloud lost | The hub cannot reach the internet. | Check your router and internet. The alarm still works locally; app control and alerts pause. |
| External power disconnected | The hub lost mains power. | Check the breaker and the plug. The hub runs about 14 to 16 hours on its battery. |
| Radio interference | Something is jamming the wireless signal. | The hub moves to a clear channel and tells you. If it keeps happening, call us. |
| Not ready to arm, arming error | The system check found an open door, an open window or a fault. | Close it or fix the fault, then arm again. |
The wording in your app can differ slightly by version. Each person picks their own alerts: in your home’s settings, open Users, tap your name, then Notification settings. A category you switch off sends you nothing at all, so leave alarms on.
Calls and texts from the hub. If your hub has a SIM card with a plan, it can also text you and phone you during an alarm, in the order set under Users. It calls at most once every two minutes and does not call back if you miss it. Save the hub’s SIM number in your contacts so you recognise the call.
How do you add a family member or a cleaner?
Give every person their own access. Family members get their own free Ajax account, invited by email. People who will not use the app, like a cleaner or a dog walker, get a keypad access code instead. Each person then shows up by name in the history, and you can remove one person without changing anyone else’s code. Admins can invite people, and so can anyone an admin gives the Invite users permission.
Invite someone to the app
Open your home’s settings
Go to the Control tab and tap the gear icon at the bottom right; on some app versions you tap the arrow there first. Older versions call this the hub settings.
Tap Users, then Send invites
Type their email address, or tap Add from contacts, then tap Continue.
They install the app and sign up
They must register with that same email address. Until they do, they show under Pending invites. Anyone who already has an Ajax account sees your home appear straight away.
Choose what they can do
Under Users, tap their name to set permissions. Give each person only what they need.
The permissions worth knowing
Arm and disarm space
Everyday control from the app. Most family members need this and little else.
Send panic alarm
Lets them raise a panic alarm from the app in an emergency.
Arming with issues
Lets them arm anyway when a door, a window or a fault would otherwise block arming.
View cameras
Live video from Ajax cameras. Access to alarm photos is set separately, under Privacy.
Mute alarms from fire detectors
Lets them silence linked smoke alarms once it is safe.
Invite users to space
Lets a non-admin invite other people, such as a grown child adding a partner.
Codes for people without the app
An admin creates these in your home’s settings under Keypad Access Codes, with a name and a code. The person enters the code on the keypad and presses Arm or Disarm, and the history shows the name you gave it. Most current hubs support access codes; ask us if you are unsure about yours. To remove someone from the app, open Users, tap their name and choose Delete user.
Never tap Delete space. It resets the hub to factory settings and removes everyone’s access, including yours.
What happens with batteries, power cuts and internet outages?
Every sensor runs on its own battery for years, and the hub has a backup battery for power cuts. The app warns you about a low battery weeks to months before it runs out. During a power cut or an internet outage the alarm keeps protecting the house; what you can lose is control and alerts through the app.
| Device | Battery | Typical life |
|---|---|---|
| KeyPad Plus | 4 × AA | Up to 3.5 years |
| KeyPad TouchScreen | 6 × AA | Up to 1.5 years |
| DoorProtect | 1 × CR123A | Up to 7 years |
| DoorProtect Plus, MotionProtect | 1 × CR123A | Up to 5 years |
| FireProtect 2 (replaceable battery) | 2 × CR123A | 5 to 7 years |
| FireProtect 2 (sealed battery) | Built in | Up to 10 years, then the detector is replaced |
| LeaksProtect | 2 × AAA | Up to 5 years |
| HomeSiren | 2 × CR123A | Up to 5 years |
| StreetSiren | 4 × CR123A | Up to 5 years |
| SpaceControl, Button | 1 × CR2032 | Up to 5 years |
| Tag, Pass | None | No battery to replace |
These are typical figures. Real life is shorter in the cold, with a weak signal or with lots of activity. Ask us to swap batteries on a visit, or we can tell you exactly which ones to buy.
Power cuts and internet outages
| Situation | What keeps working | What stops |
|---|---|---|
| Power cut | The hub runs about 14 to 16 hours on its battery. Sensors and sirens run on their own batteries, so alarms still sound. | If your router also loses power, app control and alerts stop, unless the hub has a working SIM card. |
| Internet outage | The hub, sensors and sirens work as normal. Keypads, cards and fobs still arm and disarm. With a SIM, the hub stays connected over cellular. | Without a SIM, the app cannot arm or disarm, and alerts wait. The hub stores events and sends them when the connection returns. |
| Both, with no SIM | The local alarm: sensors, sirens and the keypad. | The app, alerts and any monitoring signal, until something reconnects. |
You may see much longer backup times quoted for Ajax hubs. Those apply only to a power-saving mode that disconnects the hub from Ajax Cloud and monitoring, which is not how we set up homes. If your hub has a SIM card, keep its plan paid up and its PIN request switched off, or the backup will not work when you need it.
Which habits keep your alarm reliable?
Four small habits: test the smoke detectors once a month (tell your monitoring company first, if you have one), keep pets in mind around motion sensors, check the leak detectors now and then, and use the door chime if you like knowing when a door opens. Just as useful is knowing what not to touch.
Test smoke detectors monthly
Test them once a month. Hold the Test/Mute button for 1.5 seconds, or run Device Self-test from the detector’s settings in the app. Five red flashes and five beeps mean it passed.
Pets and motion sensors
Mounted at 2.4 m and set up correctly, motion sensors ignore animals up to 50 cm tall and 20 kg. A cat climbing furniture near a sensor can still trigger it. Tell us about new pets.
Check leak detectors
Press a wet finger across one pair of contacts for 3 seconds, then wipe it dry. You should get a leak alert, then an all-clear. If you have an automatic water shut-off valve, a test may close it. Clean the contacts every two to three months.
The door chime
When the system is disarmed, opening a door can play a short beep. Turn it on or off with the bell icon on the Control tab; everyone with access is told. No bell icon means chime is not set up.
What not to do
Each of these can leave part of your home unprotected until it is put right. If one has already happened, call us.
- Do not lift a sensor off its mounting plate: it sends a tamper alert. Moving the hub does so even when disarmed
- Do not delete devices from the app; a deleted sensor stops protecting
- Do not factory reset the hub or delete the space
- Do not share one login; invite each person
- Ask us before turning on Battery power saver or Arming without code; both lower the system’s security grade
Who do you call for help?
Call SetupTeam at (647) 464-0606, any day from 8:30 AM to 9 PM. If we texted you after your install, you can also reply to that text. We installed your system, so we know how it is set up. For a break-in, a fire or a medical emergency, call 911 first.
Thinking about cameras to go with the alarm? See our security camera installation page.
- A sensor that keeps sending false alarms
- A battery swap, an extra sensor or a range extender
- Changing codes, delays or who has access
- Moving a sensor after a renovation
- A new phone: sign in with the same email and your home comes back
Ajax Alarm Questions
Questions about your Ajax alarm?
Call us, or send a message and we will get back to you.
