Smart Home App to Control Everything in Your Home

So, your preprogrammed Frontpoint Security system is installed throughout your home, and now you’re ready to begin safer, smarter, and more convenient living. Everything you need is just a tap away with Frontpoint’s top-rated smart home app, available for download on the Android and Apple stores.

The convenience of using one app to manage your smart security system and the smart features in your home can’t be overstated. After all, if your frustrated family has to fumble through an array of apps every day to figure out which one controls the thermostat and which unlocks the door, smart living isn’t exactly making life easier.

Frontpoint avoids this common smart home confusion by unifying your security system, connected devices, and more into a simple, reliable, and intuitive experience. For added convenience, the app also enables users to control the system through voice commands to a connected Siri, Amazon Echo, or Google Home device. Frontpoint even offers a version of the app for Apple Watch that makes issuing simple commands and receiving alerts as easy as raising your wrist.

Compatible with every smartphone or tablet, the Frontpoint App’s user-friendly interface lets people secure their homes, dim the lights, view alerts, watch real-time videos, remotely answer the door, and more. It also allows users to create scenes, schedules, and rules that automate smart home functions.

For instance, a “vacation” scene might lock the doors, arm intrusion sensors, adjust the temperature, and turn various lights on and off at different times to make it look like you’re home. This is a great way to keep your house secure while you are traveling. An event-triggered rule is an if-then statement; for example, instructing wireless light controls to switch off if motion sensors detect no one is home to save energy and money off your electric bill.

But despite the limitless customization options and wealth of features, learning how to use the Frontpoint app shouldn’t feel intimidating. Our guide helps you get the most out of your next-generation smart home security system and understand the amazing features available with the tap of a button. All of these functions can also be controlled by logging into the My.Frontpointsecurity.com online portal.

A key step after installing the Frontpoint app is setting up who can use the system. From basic alerts to full access, you can create rules to meet your requirements for each user.

You can provide unique permissions to manage control of different devices like smart door locks and indoor cameras. And you can customize your permissions with different levels of access and control, from just receiving alerts to issuing a time-restricted door lock code to providing full access.

For instance, give your neighbor temporary access while you’re out of town. Or give a trusted contractor the ability to enter the house weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. for the length of a remodeling project. You can also use the app to block access for people who previously had personal codes. No matter what, you’re always in control and know who accessed the system, at what time, and what exactly they did.

Follow these steps to create temporary users on your account:

From the home screen of the Frontpoint app:

1. Tap the Menu button at the top left.
   
   
2. Tap on Users.

On an Android device:

1. Tap More at the top right.
   
   
2. Tap the + button.
   
   
3. Enter the user's first and last name and hit Save.

On an iPhone device:

1. Tap the + button.
   
   
2. Type the new user's name.
   
   
3. Hit Create at the top right.

To assign the new user an access level:

1. Tap Device Access (the round grey box under the name).
   
   
2. In Access Code, enter the user's desired 4-digit code.
   
   
3. In Device Access, tap to select either:
   
   

• Full Access, allowing access to all devices on the system. This includes the panel and any locks on the system.
  
  
• , blocking access to all devices on the system.

Your smart security system keeps tabs on everything happening in your home in real-time. The Frontpoint App enables you to choose which events you want to know about.

The possibilities are varied but you can start with some of our suggestions below. You can also choose from many more alerts or customize your own through the smart home app.

Notifications include:

• Set an alert that lets you know if a door opens between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. That way, you’ll know who’s coming and going from the house when you are at work.
• Receive reminders based on your location so you never leave your home exposed. For instance, you can be alerted if you left the garage door open or didn’t arm your security system when you left.
• Set activity alerts that let you know when something unexpected happens, such as a child not arriving at the expected time after school or a medicine cabinet failing to open when an elderly relative is due for medication.
• Notifications are integrated with emergency response. While your 24/7 professional monitoring service will also receive an alert, you will find out instantly if an intrusion sensor, Smoke and Heat Sensor, or Carbon Monoxide sensor triggers an alarm—making sure you receive an early warning.
• Set up notifications by device. If someone keeps adjusting the thermostat, you’ll know before your electric bills spiral out of control.
• Keep a watchful eye on sensitive or potentially dangerous places inside the home, like your office drawer or liquor cabinet. Simply add a sensor and set an alert for when it’s opened.
• Find out instantly when motion-activated home security cameras record video clips so you can determine if there is a threat.
• Make sure your home is always protected with notifications of important security and property management concerns, such as sensors with low batteries or malfunction alerts.

Here’s how to set up notifications for sensor activity with the Frontpoint app:

1. Tap on the Menu button at the top left.
2. Tap on the Notifications
3. Tap on the + button to create a new notification and select Sensor Activity from the list. From here, you can check the boxes next to any sensors you want to receive notifications about.
4. Tap on +Add Recipient to select which phone numbers, emails, or push devices you would like to receive the notification. You can also use the During This Time Frame: section to limit notifications by times of day or days of the week.
5. Tap Save when done.

A key advantage of smart living is enabling connected devices to perform smart functions automatically based on schedules and/or events that you decide. Through Frontpoint, automation can be based on:

• Set rules based on time of day and/or day of the week.
• Have your home act automatically based on your location. By enabling Geo-services on the app and sharing your smartphone’s location, you can program multiple rules to automatically take effect any time your phone crosses a geofence, the invisible boundary you create around a place. For instance, leaving your house can trigger a reminder to arm intrusion sensors, raise the thermostat, turn off the lights, and lock the door. Users can create multiple geofences that each maintains their own set of rules, and every user on the account can customize their own fences as well.
• Set rules based on other devices. For example, when you arm your security system, you can automatically have your doors lock and the lights turn off, plus any other commands that you specify.
• Customize automations to fit your unique needs and daily routines. Frontpoint’s sophisticated smart security system lets you set rules by device, time of day and day of the week, using sunrise and sunset, based on whether you are home or not, based on learned activity patterns, and more. Thanks to the Frontpoint app’s Geo-Services feature, users can arrive home to a warm welcome by creating rules that turn on the lights and adjust the thermostat when they leave the office.

Scenes give users the ability to control multiple smart home devices with a single command. The Frontpoint App includes four ready-made scenes: Home, Away, Sleep, and Wake Up.

These scenes can be easily customized to fit users’ preferences, perhaps adding a porch light when you arrive at home or using a Wireless Light Control to turn on the coffeemaker in the morning. You can also create scenes that fit your needs, such as a “vacation” scene that could raise the thermostat, lock the doors, and convincingly mimic human activity by turning lights on and off as if someone were using different rooms in the house.

Follow these steps to create scenes that can control multiple smart devices with one button on the Frontpoint App:

1. Locate the Scenes
2. Tap on the right arrow.
3. To create a new scene, tap on the + button.
   
4. In the Scene Name field, enter the desired name for the scene.
5. Tap the icon symbol to change the icon image and color to represent the scene.
6. In Devices, tap on the + button to select which devices the scene will control.
7. Depending on the equipment enrolled in your system, you can:

• In Security System, tap to select the desired arming status. The panel can be placed into Disarmed, Armed (Stay), or Arm (Away) status.
• In Lock, tap to select the desired lock status. Locks can be locked or unlocked.
• In Thermostat, tap the desired thermostat status. Thermostats can be set to a custom temperature, mode, schedule, fan status, and/or specific temperature sensors.
• In Lights, tap the desired light status. Lights can be set to On, Off, or a specified brightness level (with compatible devices).

8. Once all the actions are set, tap Save.

Smart video monitoring is essential to a modern security system. With video alerts, real-time camera feeds, and around-the-clock recording options, all of Frontpoint’s home security cameras make it easy to stay in the know about important activity in a home.

Frontpoint’s Smart Video Analytics service, however, takes surveillance to the next level. It gives people ultimate control over when their cameras will start recording and when they will receive system notifications.

This highly intelligent security feature monitors a camera’s video streams to separate important events from routine activity. It can even tell whether something in the driveway is a person, an animal, or a vehicle. Video alerts are filtered and categorized in real-time before users are alerted—or not—according to preferences they establish in the Frontpoint App.

You can set virtual zones so that triggers only occur in specific areas. Duration rules enable cameras to ignore a delivery man who quickly drops off a package at your front door but alert you if someone loiters too long.

Multi-directional “tripwires” can determine who or what is traveling across a section of the camera's view. They can also be set up to record for activity moving in a certain direction, zeroing in on cars that pull into the driveway—not every vehicle that passes the house.

Here's how to set up video analytics on the Frontpoint app:

1. Click on Video in the left side panel.
2. Click the gear-type symbol in the right corner.
3. Tap Recording Rules.
4. Tap + Add New Rule.
   
5. Tap Video Object Detection.
   
6. Select the relevant camera for which you want to set up the rules.

• Make sure the camera is mounted in its permanent position before calibrating or it won’t work properly.
• Select the rule type you desire by clicking on either Ground Zone or Tripwire, depending on the area you wish to monitor. Follow the steps to fully customize the feature.

Fast, reliable communication is essential when an emergency strikes. Smart Signal lets you use your Frontpoint app to verify an alarm event or cancel a false alarm from anywhere. When every second counts, it eliminates the need for the monitoring service to attempt two calls before sending help—or for you to have to talk to the service and provide your passcode for verification.

To safeguard against accidental responses, the “Cancel Alarm” and “Verify Alarm” buttons only pop up when an alarm sounds. If your system has home security cameras, you can quickly check your video feed if you are not at home to confirm if there is a threat.

Holding either button for three seconds triggers a specific message from your security panel to the monitoring station that provides real-time information on what's happening. Ultimately, Smart Signal helps reduce the time it takes to alert the local police or fire department during an emergency. When an alarm sounds, “Cancel Alarm” and “Verify Alarm” buttons pop up instantly on your smartphone, enabling you to quickly respond to an emergency.

Digging into the functionality of Frontpoint’s App teaches you how to make the most of smart home security and conveniences. And as new technology continues to emerge, Frontpoint Security remains committed to constantly developing new features and functionalities that help take smart home living to the next level.

Frontpoint keeps homes safe whether families are there or not. To shop DIY home security systems, check out our products page. If you have questions or would like to discuss a quote, contact us at 855-866-4409.