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With the beautiful weather we have here in California, customers often want to leave some windows open for fresh air and still have their security system armed.  There are several ways to BYPASS a window or door depending upon the type of security system you have.

When all of your doors and windows are shut and no one is moving or recently moved in front of your motion detector, your ready to arm light will appear in green on your security system keypad. If you have a window or door open, you will not be able to be arm your security system from the keypad until you either shut all the openings or BYPASS the open windows and doors. Once you BYPASS each window or door you want to leave open your system will then show the ready to arm green light.

You will be able to BYPASS from the security system keypad in ARM STAY, ARM AWAY and in ARM NO DELAY modes. With ADT Pulse monitoring service, you will be able to BYPASS from your mobile devices from the ADT Pulse App, your personalized Web Portal and from the the touchscreen control center. From mobile devices and the touch screen control center, you will only be able to BYPASS in ARM STAY and ARM AWAY.  You can not BYPASS from a key-chain remote.

So how do you BYPASS openings?

Setting Up BYPASS for Your Home Security System from the Keypad

From your security system keypad, you will need to enter the into the BYPASS mode. On some security keypads there is a one touch BYPASS button and on other keypads you will need to enter your master code and press the BYPASS command button. Once you enter the BYPASS mode you will need to scroll through the zones and find the one with typically an O for open. Once you get to the zone that needs to be BYPASSED you will then typically press the # to BYPASS that zone. Often a B will be now appear replacing the O to show that you BYPASSED that zone. Scroll through all the zones until you BYPASS each zone you want to leave open. Once all the opened zones are BYPASSED your security system keypad ready light will turn green and now you can arm it to your desired mode.

IMPORTANT: When you BYPASS a zone on a hardwired security system you are BYPASSING all of the openings in that zone. All the openings in a BYPASSED zone are unprotected. Most hardwired security systems are setup with 8 zones so you normally have 4-5 windows per zone. You can add zone expanders to a hardwired security system so each opening will be able to be BYPASSED individually. With wireless security systems, all openings secured by a wireless sensor can be BYPASSED individually. 

BYPASSING from Mobile Devices and the Touchscreen Control Center

When you get ADT Pulse monitoring service, you will be able to BYPASS openings from mobile devices with the ADT Pulse App and from the Touchscreen Control Center. From both devices when you go to arm your alarm system and have windows or doors open, it will give you a warning that issued are detected (see picture above), show you which zones are open and give you the option to ARM to STAY or AWAY and BYPASS the open zones. Very easy to use and can be done remotely as well.

Another benefit of Pulse is to look at the Sensors Tab from the ADT Pulse App. This will show you every zone in your system and which ones are closed or open, Makes it quick to figure out which windows and doors are open and need to be closed before you head out. 

What if I want to Vent a Window and Still Have it Armed?

There is a way to have a window armed and a few inches open at the same time. It is often called "summer venting". It is where you add a second magnet at a location point where you want to leave the window open. If an intruder starts to open the window further apart the alarm goes off when it is armed. I use this in the summer when I put window fans in the bedroom windows at night.

See picture. If you look closely, you can see the small magnet next to the wireless sensor. This magnet is lined up with the window sensor when the fan is in the window. The other magnet is near the top corner of the bottom window pane and aligns with the window sensors when the window is closed.

It is important to note that anytime you leave a window open you are compromising your security.

If you'd like to get more information on a home security system with these options, give us a call at 1-800-310-9490 or set up your FREE Home Security Review.