A System For Your Quality of Life: Full Review of the Qolsys IQ Panel 2+

You know all about our video surveillance systems, our alarm systems, our access control systems. But today we want to introduce you to a product that transcends any efforts at applying a single-dimensional description. A product so versatile and multi-faceted that it falls into its very own classification. Sure, it’s an alarm system. But it’s so much more than that! It’s more like a quality of life system. Meet the Qolsys IQ Panel 2+.

This is an exceptional alarm panel that has a lot of power both behind the scenes and at your fingertips. PowerG wireless technology and S-Line encryption allows for security sensors with longer ranges and a more secure connection. The end user can automatically disarm their alarm remotely based on their location using a Bluetooth connection to a mobile device. With face recognition and high-quality disarm snapshots sent to their mobile device, they’ll instantly know anytime someone interacts with the panel.

The IQ Panel 2+ can also serve as a video surveillance hub for any Alarm.com security camera. Up to 40 ADC cameras associated with the end user’s account can show up on the panel with the click of a button, so there’s little-to-no configuration to do on your part. Your customers can view their surveillance feeds, activate 2-way audio, and even answer their doorbell all directly from the panel.

Finally, the IQ Panel 2+ is a complete smart-home system. With Z-Wave plus, the amount of control your customers can have over their home is limitless. The IQ 2+ panel allows the user to create scenes and routines that play automatically based on certain triggers or manually. Your customers can come home to find their alarm already disarmed, their door unlocked, and their thermostat set right where it’s supposed to be. Or they can simply ask Google or Alexa to take care of automated tasks around the home.

The Qolsys IQ Panel is incredibly simple to set up. With Verizon LTE integrated into the panel’s chip, there’s nothing you need to install before taking it to your customers. The interface is intuitive and flexible, and setup is a breeze with the step-by-step startup wizard. It’s so simple that the end user can set it up themselves, making this perfect for DIY-type packages.

Through the rest of this post, you’ll see that Qolsys IQ Panel 2+ just makes sense both for your business and for your customers. This is why Qolsys and Nelly’s Security are such a great pair. Because it just makes sense to go with a supplier where you get more for your money. And when you’re a part of our dealer program at Nelly’s, you’re a part of our team. You’ll get lifetime tech support, a full one-year warranty, and we’ll even print your company’s logo on the face plate in full color free of charge.

So why does the Qolsys IQ Panel 2+ make sense? What is it about this alarm panel that’s worth reading a lengthy blog post?

When you look at the surface of the panel, it’ll look pretty familiar to you. Yes, the interface is sleeker than you might be used to. Yes, there are a few bells and whistles that separate this panel from the pack. But like an iceberg, the true potential of the panel is hidden deep below the surface. So that’s how we’re going to structure this blog post. Before we can look at the shiny end-user experience at the top, let’s take a look at what’s under the surface of this panel. Once we do, I think you’ll agree that this quality of life system really does live up to its name.

Qolsys Seamless Technology Integration

We are living at a critical time in the alarm panel industry. We are at the crossroads of the way things have always been and the way things will soon be. Older technologies are dying to make way for the technologies of the future. As a security professionals, it’s imperative that we stay up to date on these technological trends so that we can bring those new technologies into our customers' lives.

Here’s the technological shift that’s happening. Just when you thought the alarm panel market was over-saturated, the 5G network hit the market. What does that mean for you? It means the 3G sunset is just around the corner. All those customers who have already been taken out of the market by you and your competitors will soon be looking for brand new security solutions as their 3G alarm panels start to lose service. And with Qolsys in your bag, you’ll be there to greet them with socially distanced open arms.

Sure, you could take their old Interlogix keypad and replace the 3G radio with an LTE radio. It’s a simple enough fix, but it’s more like slapping a big ol' band-aid on it. You and I both know the alarm panel industry has exploded over the last few years, and network speeds is just one of the many updates your customers will be interested in. Instead of replacing their radio, you have the opportunity to update their alarm panel system and their entire homes with the IQ Panel 2+ from Qolsys.

Why Qolsys? Because this is the perfect system to bridge your customers from the past to the future. Let me explain.

Legacy Support: Security Technology Past

All Qolsys IQ panels have legacy support for a variety of frequencies, meaning you can integrate this seamlessly into a variety of older systems. Currently we sell the 319.5MHz and 345MHz frequencies. If you choose the 319.5 version, you can set this up with Qolsys unencrypted sensors, Qolsys S-Line encrypted sensors, and Interlogix sensors. If you choose the 345 MHz version, you'll be able to set your panel up with 2GIG legacy sensors, 2GIG eSeries sensors, and Honeywell sensors. These SRF radios are built into the panel, so you have no additional parts to buy or chips to install.

This fixes a couple of problems that you might encounter. Imagine, for instance, you start a conversation with a customer who wants to update their panel. In a lot of cases, their older sensors might not be compatible with their new panel. You would have to do one of two things. You could either go through and replace every single sensor in their home with the new sensors. Or you could get an additional piece of equipment to translate the frequencies coming from the sensors to the frequency of the panel. Either way, this is going to take up more of your time and more of your customer’s money. And it could present code violation issues if there are any fire or carbon monoxide sensors as part of the alarm ecosystem.

With these backwards-compatible radios, you can now swap out your customer’s old panel with a new IQ Panel 2+ from Qolsys without any additional work or equipment. Walk around the house tripping the old sensors and they’re instantly learned into the new Qolsys panel.

But that’s only half of what the these panels are capable of. Qolsys IQ Panel 2+ supports dual Security Radio Frequencies. This means that there are actually two radios inside this panel that simultaneously listen for sensor frequencies: the legacy radio and an updated PowerG radio. This Dual SRF functionality is the key for bridging your customers from the past to the future. Which is also our segue from this section into the next.

PowerG: Security Technology of the Future

PowerG is the first update to security sensor technology in decades, and what an update it is! This wireless technology has four times the range of standard security sensors. Four times! So for installs that might have required a signal extender in past systems, PowerG sensors will most likely be able to reach the central panel with no issues whatsoever.

Moreover, these sensors are capable of 2-way communication. Standard security sensors can only broadcast; PowerG sensors can broadcast signals and receive signals. This opens up a ton of potential, since you can now adjust the sensitivity and check the status of your sensors anytime from the panel. And since your sensors can now communicate with your panel, they can tell how far away their signals have to reach. This means they can adjust the strength of their signals. So sensors that are closer to the panel and don’t require signals to be as powerful can save quite a bit of battery life over time.

The signals are encrypted with bank-level encryption, not once but twice. So whether the PowerG sensor is sending or receiving signals, it’s going to be safe from cyber attacks.

Finally, PowerG sensors are able to communicate across a whopping 50 channels of frequencies, whereas standard security sensors only had one channel. So every single second, the PowerG sensor scans each channel 64 times just to make sure it’s communicating across the clearest frequency. This process, called interference circumvention, saves your alarm systems from the interference of other wireless signals broadcasting throughout your customer’s home.

Check out the video below for a visual representation of the awesome benefits of PowerG sensors.

PowerG is awesome. It’s the future of security sensor technology. At the time of this blog post, it has not hit our store yet, but we will pick it up soon. So if you want to be notified when we start selling the 2GIG and Honeywell compatible panels or the PowerG sensors, be sure to sign up for our newsletter by filling out the form below!

Qualcomm Snapdragon

That’s the name of the impressive SOC that runs the panel. What’s great about this SOC is that it’s the same type of chip you’d find inside a tablet. Other alarm panel systems take their chips and add functions like a cell card, a Bluetooth radio, Wi-Fi. With the Qolsys IQ Panel 2+, these functions are built directly into the panel’s brain.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon SOC is great for both you and your customers. First, you’ll love this because you don’t have to manually install any hardware or any cell cards. It’s all already there by default. The systems we sell at Nelly’s Security include Verizon LTE.

Second, your clients are going to love this because it’s just like the mobile devices and tablet that they’re already used to interacting with on a daily basis. Instead of feeling like their alarm panel is always trying to catch up, it’s going to be much more integrated into the technology of their lives.

With the Snapdragon SOC, both the LTE and Wi-Fi radios work in sync with one another, creating what’s called a “dual path.” Other alarm panels have a limited version of this functionality, but it’s typically not simultaneous. With another panel, the LTE might kick on if the Wi-Fi signal fails, but there will be a gap in the service as the panel switches from one path to another. With Qolsys, both paths are always engaged. In the Wi-Fi goes out, there’s no gap in service, because the LTE was always running.

In addition to Wi-Fi connectivity, the Snapdragon also has a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot. That means you can use this panel to connect other devices to your network. This is perfect for extending your Wi-Fi connection to your front porch, for instance, to allow a stronger Internet connection for your doorbell camera.

The Bluetooth functionality also opens up new ways for your customers to interact with their alarm panel. You can connect up to five cell phones to the panel via Bluetooth, allowing your customers to disarm the system automatically when the paired device comes within a certain range of the panel.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon chip also allows a lot of room for growth. The Qolsys team is continually coming out with updates, which automatically download to your panels from the cloud. These updates contain new features that, for the most part, come from dealers like you communicating with your suppliers (us) and directly with Qolsys exactly what kind of functionality you’re looking for. In the short amount of time we’ve been partnered with Qolsys, I can already tell you that their level of support and communication meets the Nelly’s standard. So if you have any ideas for how these panels can improve, run them by us. Together we can make the next update even better.

I’ve already spilled almost 2,000 words talking about this panel, and so far we’ve only talked about the technology working in the background. Let’s switch gears now to focus on the tip of the ice berg. How does this panel perform in terms of its front end interface and actual customer experience?

Qolsys IQ Panel 2+ User Interface

We’re going to spend less time in this section, because the interface is, for the most part, what you’re used to when it comes to an alarm panel. There are a few extra bells and whistles that we’ll point out, but for the most part it’s in the background where this panel really shines. Here we’ll talk about the user experience in three sections: alarm and life safety, video surveillance, and smart home.

Qolsys Alarm and Life Safety

The main functionality of the alarm panel works very similarly to 2GIG, Honeywell, and other LCD touch panels that you may be used to, but with a twist. It’s got a nice 7" LCD screen with capacitive touch. It’s got an attractive and user-friendly UI, making it easy and intuitive for your customers to learn the basic functions of the panel. It tells the weather, the time, displays pictures in a frame. You can even set up dealer images that show up every few photos to advertise your services and make it easier for your customers to remember who you are. But unlike other alarm panels, this one has a high-quality 5MP camera built in, which does a number of things.

First, it takes pictures every time the panel is disarmed. It can even send those pictures immediately to your cell phone through a text message. This way you’ll always know when your alarm is disarmed and who was standing in front of the panel.

It can also take pictures based on motion detection. So let’s say the alarm was disarmed remotely via Bluetooth. When someone walks through the door, the camera can take a picture so you can still see who disarmed the alarm.

You can also take pictures anytime someone accesses the panel’s settings or anytime an alarm is triggered.

When these photos are uploaded to the Alarm.com cloud, the panel can even learn to associate faces with users. It can then recognize those faces. So if the panel was disarmed using a user’s code, but the face of the person who disarmed the system doesn’t match the expected face of the user, the panel will notify you.

The camera can also pick up on motion, making this an excellent motion detector for more customizable home automation. Based on motion detection, you can have your panel start a scene, such as turning on lights or starting a recording on an Alarm.com camera.

Another function of the built-in camera gives your customers the ability to “peek in” on their home through the Alarm.com app. You can either tell the app to immediately send you a current picture from the panel’s camera or to send you a picture the next time the panel detects motion.

In addition to the camera, there’s also a high-quality microphone, which allows you to communicate with others in and around your home via your Alarm.com security cameras (which we’ll touch in more detail in the next section). But the microphone also doubles as a reliable glass-break sensor. The built-in glass sensor will automatically activate anytime the panel is set to arm away. So if the panel is installed near a window, that’s one less sensor that you have to install.

We could spend a ton of time here talking all about the interface, the quick and simple setup wizard, the amount of chimes and sensor descriptions available, the ability to type your own sensor descriptions (finally!), the smooth animations and responsive swipe gestures, the UI layout that automatically adjusts based on the panel’s activated features, and so much more. But at this point, I’ll leave it at this: the Qolsys IQ Panel 2+ is natural. It just fits into our world of smart phones and tablets in a way that other alarm panels don’t.

IQ Panel 2+ as a Video Surveillance Hub

There is one aspect of the user interface that is worth diving into a bit more, and that’s the ability to view and interact with your Alarm.com security cameras directly from your panel. If the camera has two-way audio, you can communicate through the camera from the panel using the built-in microphone. And if you have any ADC doorbell cameras, you can answer the door from your panel and communicate with your visitors. With a capacity of up to 40 devices, your IQ Panel 2+ can act as a central hub for accessing all your Alarm.com security cameras.

As with the rest of the panel, setting up the cameras is incredibly easy. In fact, it’s as simple as… well, as having cameras. Any Alarm.com cameras associated with your customer’s account will automatically show up on the IQ Panel 2+. Just swipe over to the right and you’ll see all the available cameras. There is no configuration, no installation, no menus or IP addresses or anything like that. It all just works the way it should, which honestly is a breath of fresh air for this industry.

IQ Panel 2+ as a Smart Home Hub

You can’t talk about modern alarm systems without talking about smart homes. So in this final section, we’ll touch on this panel’s integrated Z-Wave Plus technology. Not because there’s anything new here, but because Z-Wave is so foundational to the concept of turning your alarm system into a quality of life system.

The Z-Wave functionality is compatible with both the older Z-Wave protocol and the newer Z-Wave Plus protocol. So again, you can install this in your customers' homes for instant compatibility with the devices they already have, then slowly upgrade their devices to Z-Wave plus over time.

With Alarm.com, you can set up a variety of scenes and routines based on your Z-Wave devices. You can activate these scenes by pushing a button on the panel or your mobile phone, giving a voice command to your digital assistant of choice, based on motion detection from your panel’s camera, or when your phone enters or exits the geolocation fence.

Picture this. You overslept, so now your rushing around your house to get ready for work and run out the door. You have to make sure the lights are off, the thermostat is set to an appropriate setting, your doors are locked, your alarm is set to away. You have to sit in your car to wait for the garage door to open. With everything going on, you’re bound to miss something.

Now picture this. The same situation as above, but this time all you have to do is say, “Hey Google, I’m leaving!” Then all at once, Google will tell Alarm.com to open your garage door, turn off all the lights in the house, set the thermostat appropriately, lock all your doors, and set your alarm all at once.

This example and short paragraph just scratches the surface of the amount of potential that Z-Wave devices can add to your alarm security system.

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Why Nelly’s Security Should Be Your Hub for All Things Qolsys

Now before we wrap up here, let’s talk a little bit about the buying experience at Nelly’s Security. We are well on the way to becoming the number one security supplier in the world. And there are three ways that we’re going to get there: outstanding customer service, simple and straightforward processes, and our unique dealer program.

First, our customer service really is second to none. We hear it time and time again. People from all over the country flock to us daily, not because we’re offering any products that they can’t get elsewhere, but because of the level of service we offer. The folks that answer our phones are right here on site. They’re always getting their hands dirty with our products, learning them from the inside-out. They’re always ready to help you better understand your products and walk you through any problems that may arise. Whether you’re in your office trying to decide on a new product or out in the field running into issues, be sure to use us as a resource. Any purchase from us comes with lifetime tech support, so just know that you aren’t alone. We’re here to help.

Second, our processes are simple and straightforward. Ordering is quick and flexible. Communicating with our team can be done however is most convenient for you. Facebook, our website chat, email, phone calls, Twitter. We’re always looking for ways to make your job easier. Which brings us to the single greatest asset that we offer, and the main reason why you should purchase your Qolsys alarm panels from us: our incredible dealer and branding program.

Our goal at Nelly’s security isn’t simply to sell you equipment. Our goal is to be your business partner and your one-stop shop for your marketing needs. As such, we’ve developed our one-of-a-kind dealer and branding program that allows you to resell our equipment under your own brand. So when you buy a Qolsys alarm panel from us, we’ll print your logo at the bottom of the panel in high-quality, full-color ink. The best part? We offer this service free of charge with any purchase. No minimum purchase quantity. No color limitations. And like everything else we do, it’s easy. Once you place your order, we’ll send you an email asking for your logo.

Other benefits of our Nelly’s dealer program includes competitive dealer pricing, custom model numbers and spec sheets on cameras and recorders, and a network of referrals. Click here to learn more about our dealer program!

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, Qolsys IQ Panel 2+ just makes sense. It makes sense for you as a business owner, because this panel gives you the opportunity to bridge your customers from legacy systems of the past to the PowerG systems of the future. It also gives you the opportunity to reach a whole new group of 3G customers who, until now, haven’t been in need of your services. It makes sense for your customers, because it integrates seamlessly into the technological ecosystems where they’ve already invested. And when you’re looking for a Qolsys supplier, it just makes sense to spend your money where you’ll get more bang for your buck. And at Nelly’s Security, you’ll get so much more than just a supplier.

So if you have any questions at all about the Qolsys panels or about partnering with Nelly’s Security, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Also, let us know in the comments below what you think about the Qolsys IQ Panel 2+. Have you used Qolsys in the past? Do you plan on switching to Qolsys from something else? Is there anything holding you back from trying out Qolsys? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

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