Top 10 Frontpoint Features You Must Know

One of the advantages of a Frontpoint system is that the features and capabilities just keep on getting better. We are all about increasing your sense of security and your convenience, so it makes sense for us to continue offering enhancements as the technology evolves.

For end-users, it can be a challenge keeping up with the improvements. That's why we are offering this selection of what we think are the Top 10 Frontpoint features that you may not use—or be aware of. It's a great set of benefits for you. And even if you only add a couple of these items to your to-do list, you’ll be happy you did.

Once logged in to your system, use the new "My Account" features through the Frontpoint App or Frontpoint’s website. Now you can change all sorts of personal info and even perform some account functions without calling us. For example, you can update your security passcode, emergency contact numbers, credit card information, and even your billing and shipping address.

Notifications have been around for a long time, but they are highly underutilized. These are also accessed by a separate tab once you are logged in to your Frontpoint account. Want to know when doors open? When your home loses power—and gets it back? When there is an alarm activation? Or when the system is armed or disarmed? All this activity (and more) can be sent to you and others by text or email—and all it takes is a walk through the simple setup process.

It's pretty easy to find a Z-Wave thermostat these days, and Frontpoint supports most of them. The convenience of controlling the temperature in your home from your smartphone is amazing, and you can control multiple thermostats if you have more than one in your home. You can even set up schedules remotely and override a schedule, if the need arises.

With all of these cool features and layers of technology available, it's easy to forget that some of them can work together. For example, we have the system in our home programmed so that when the front door opens at night, two lights (upstairs and downstairs hallways) automatically go on. Yes, your Frontpoint system can do that. These “scenes” allow you to schedule your smart devices to fit your daily routine—such as a “wake up” scene to help you get up in the morning and a “sleep” scene to increase energy efficiency at night. It’s the same technology that allows you to light a pathway out of the house with plug-in Z-Wave lamp modules if your system sounds a fire alarm: not just convenience, but safety, too!

The Frontpoint App is powered by Alarm.com, the industry leader in this area and our technology partner. While we are not the only alarm company to work with Alarm.com, we are one of their very largest partners—and this gives us some extra leverage. The new Frontpoint app is a good example: customized for Frontpoint, the app sports new graphics and a simpler interface that you will find more intuitive. And the Frontpoint App is compatible with the Apple Watch!

This is one of my favorites because there are times when I forget to do important things, like arming my system. Geofencing is a feature for busy folks on the go that provides an important reminder to you if you leave home without arming your system. You get to set the distance from home where you receive the reminder, specific to the tenth of a mile: when you reach that distance from home, the system will send you an arming reminder. Then, just use the Frontpoint App to arm remotely.

Since Frontpoint doesn’t know where each sensor will be placed, we encourage you to change sensor names from the generic sensor descriptions used when your system was originally shipped to you. After all, "Back Door" is much better than "Door Window Sensor Number 1!"  Custom sensors names can be added to a variety of sensors, but it is most common for the door and window sensors. Setting up your own customized sensor names is a very easy process, and the benefits are plentiful: you will know which sensor is being activated, and so will we.

This item is a logical extension of the one just mentioned. Once you have your sensors named, you can easily change the voice chime feature from a generic door chime tone to the actual name of the sensor—i.e. "Front Door"—so you will know which door is being opened. It's a great feature. And once you set it up, you’ll appreciate knowing more about what’s happening in your home.

Of course, there are those times when you go to arm your system, but there's that one sensor that you want to leave out of the mix—or "bypass." For example, you may want to leave a window with a sensor slightly open, or let your large dog roam in a part of the house where there's a motion sensor. And your Frontpoint system can easily handle those situations. Your User Manual tells you how to accomplish this. Or, just send us an email (or give us a call), and we'll walk you through it. You be surprised how easy it is!

One of the great advantages of interactive services is the ability to protect and monitor your home remotely, and that is especially relevant for second homes. More and more Frontpoint customers have a system in two locations, and we make that easy to manage: just log in to the app, and you can see (and control) each system separately. You can set up this feature through the website or your app—and it's much simpler than it used to be.

We hope this list is useful to you, and encourage to get as much as you can out of your Frontpoint system. Alarm technology has come a very long way in the last 10 years or so, and it will continue to evolve. And we plan to stay at the forefront of the improvements, providing more and better ways to protect and connect with your home. Thanks for reading.