Here is the “4 step process” of best practices we recommend for connecting the IQ Remotes. If the first step doesn’t work, move on to the second step and so on.
STEP 1: Update to software version 2.5.2 or higher. 2.5.2 enables the following improvements:
- IQ Remote Improvements:
- Sound/Voices
- Fixed an issue where IQ Remote could stop chiming.
- Added Severe Weather Alert annunciation to IQ Remote when enabled on the primary Panel.
- Network Connectivity
- Fixed an issue where the IQ Remote could get stuck in the Network Reconnection page.
- Addressed miscellaneous connection use cases to improve reliability.
- Photo/Video Changes
- Photo Frame images can now be pushed from the primary IQ Panel 2 to the IQ Remote.
- Added the ability to record duress alarm videos from the built-in camera on the IQ Remote.
- Disarm Photos from IQ Remote can now be enabled/disabled.
- Modified “LiveView” cameras on the IQ Remote to be full screen.
- Improved Alarm Image upload timing to the primary Panel.
- Sound/Voices
STEP 2: Split the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
When a router broadcasts a single 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSID (i.e. 'Smith Home' instead of 'Smith Home 2.4' & 'Smith Home 5'), this is sometimes referred to as Band Steering, and can lead to issues with IQ Remote disconnects. While there is no IEEE standard for this feature, Band Steering will generally try to optimize your 5GHz connectivity and may move devices around from one frequency to another on the network. The IQ Panel 2 and IQ Remote support both 2.4 and 5 GHz and will often try to ‘roam’ between 2.4 or 5GHz if both SSID’s have the same parameters, depending on what the router tells them to do.
It is a best practice to isolate both the 2.4 and 5GHz networks when installing an IQ Remote ensuring that it can't roam to a different frequency than the primary IQ Panel 2. It is highly recommended to connect both the main IQ Panel 2 and the IQ Remote to the same dedicated 2.4GHz network.
STEP 3: Set Up Mac Address Reservation.
A. Use DHCP Reservations from the Customer Network.
- Head to your router's configuration tool by typing in your router's IP address in your browser's navigation bar. Usually this is something like 192.168.0.1. You can check it by running ipconfig in a Command Prompt or heading to System Preferences > Network on a Mac.
- Log in
- Find the DHCP reservation setting. This could also be called "DHCP Static Lease" or something similar. On my router, it was under the "Gateway" category.
- Head to the remote for which you want to reserve an IP address and find its MAC address. On the panel or remote go to settings - advance settings -about - panel. Your MAC address will be in the form 00:00:00:00:00:00. Note that a Wi-Fi card and Ethernet port will have two different MAC addresses, and you can't assign them both to the same IP, so pick the one you use primarily. Most panels and remotes will only support Wi-Fi.
- Type that remotes MAC address into the first entry in the DHCP Reservation setting. Then, type in the IP address that you want to reserve for that machine. Hit Apply, or whatever button is available to you. Note: the current IP address that is assigned by the router will likely be the address you will be reserving for the remote or panel.
- Repeat with any other remotes that you want to reserve
STEP 4: Set Up a Private Network.
Set up a private network that runs parallel/separate to the customers network. This network would only have alarm devices connected to it such as the IQ Panel 2, IQ Remote and IP Cameras and can help ensure that there are not other devices on the network causing conflicts or issues. You can do this by installing your own router or by enabling the IQ2 panel to broadcast its own SSID via the built-in Panel Access Point. To enable this, go to Settings - Advanced Settings - Installation - Devices - Wi-Fi Devices - Access Point Settings and enable the panel as a WI-FI access point. The limitation in doing so will be that the Access Point or AP will have a limited range for the IQ remote to connect to and the IQ Panel 2 will default to 2.4GHz connectivity. This access point can be extended with Wi-Fi extenders if further range is needed.