Rich's Tongfamily (Richtong.net add-on)

Ok, I kind of wanted to just use Apple Home and Aqara for alarm systems but it turns out just to he too much maintenance and Apple home isn’t stable enough nor is there a way to be monitoring.

It works decently well but the application is beyond confusing. There are some key concepts that sound similar but are different:

1. Website vs mobile app. You would think they are the same, but no the mobile app doesn’t have any of the management features. So when someone says to login to alarm.com, you have ask on the website or in the mobile app. All the website stuff deals either users. Sigh. This is a lot like Unifi where I can never tell when I can use each and they are different applications.
2. Users and Logins Required. You would think users get logins to alarm.com so they can use the app easily but that’s not the way it works. Users are definitely a pre internet idea so when doing setup, you have to create both sets separately. The users at where you get individual PIN codes and logins is where you can control the system with the mobile app or the web app for that matter. This is in the option section at the top.
3. Multiple homes with Linked Systems. Ok this is really confusing. If you have to monitor say your parents house. You have to create a login for each house in the alarm.com website and then you go through a complex merge process so you can see each home in the same console. At the very upper left of the application is your home and there you will find Managed Linked Systems. Go there and it will let you login to your other home. And yes it looks like you need a separate email for each home.

Final warning is to turn on two factor authentication and use 1Password for this stuff. It’s your security system after all!