Burglar Alarm Servicing and Maintenance

Why an alarm needs a service at all

An intruder alarm spends most of its life doing nothing, which is exactly why faults hide. A standby battery can lose most of its capacity without a single warning until the mains drops. A wireless door contact can drift out of range after furniture moves. A siren can sit silent for years with a failed strobe nobody has noticed. A service visit finds those things before a break-in or a power cut does.

Insurers who ask for an alarm usually also expect it to be kept in working order, and many policies ask for proof of a yearly maintenance visit. We leave a written record of what was tested and what was found so you have something to show if the question ever comes up.

What our engineers check on a service visit

Every visit follows the same order so nothing is skipped, whatever make the panel is.

• Panel: event log read, stored faults cleared or explained, firmware and clock checked.
• Standby battery: load tested under the panel's own draw, not just a voltage reading.
• Detectors: every PIR and dual-tech sensor walk tested, lenses cleaned, tamper checked.
• Door and window contacts: each one opened and closed with the zone watched on the keypad.
• Wireless devices: signal strength and battery level read for every sensor and keyfob.
• External sounder: siren, strobe and self-activating battery tested with neighbours warned first.
• Keypads, fobs and app: user codes, entry and exit timers and remote arming confirmed.

Panels we service, including ones we did not fit

A large share of the alarms we service were installed by someone else. The original company may have closed, stopped answering or moved on to monitoring only. That is fine. We regularly take over Pyronix Enforcer and Euro panels, Texecom Premier Elite, Risco, Honeywell Galaxy, Menvier, Eaton Scantronic, Orisec and Visonic systems.

If the engineer code is unknown we explain the options before touching anything, because on some panels a code reset clears the programming. Where a panel is too old for parts, we say so plainly and set out what could be kept, such as cabling and contacts, if you later decide to upgrade.

How often, and how it fits with repairs

For most homes a yearly service is the sensible rhythm. Businesses with more zones, more users or a monitored signalling path often choose twice a year, because more things can change between visits. The guide on how often alarms and CCTV should be serviced goes into the reasoning in more detail.

A service is planned work. If your alarm is sounding, will not set or shows a fault right now, that is a repair, and it is handled on our alarm repair page instead so it can be booked urgently.

Where we carry out alarm servicing

Our engineers work from Walsham Road in Chatham. Homes within about 30 miles and businesses within about 60 miles are inside our everyday area, which takes in Medway, most of Kent and South East London. There are no call centres: you speak to the people who come out.