Cell Tamper

The other night my alarm was set off. Alert did not say what was tampered (door, window, etc…) I was only sent one minor notification and since I was at the gym, ignored it. When I got home, every door and window were closed and locked. The sirens were going bazerk and the panel notifications said "cell tamper.’ Should I do a reset or leave it alone? What kind of activity could trigger these things?

I was only sent one minor notification and since I was at the gym, ignored it

This was an alarm event. Records indicate the contact list was called, messages left as well. Looks like contact with dispatchers occurred to request cancellation of dispatch.

From the Alarm.com side, there would be just the one notification, yes.

When I got home, every door and window were closed and locked. The sirens were going bazerk and the panel notifications said “cell tamper.’ Should I do a reset or leave it alone? What kind of activity could trigger these things?

A panel tamper, in this case cell tamper, indicates a physical tampering at the panel. If no one was at the property, this may indicate a loose cell module cover plate.

On the left side of the panel you’ll find the cover plate for the cell sled. There is a tamper button with a rubber cover just underneath the bottom latch. If the rubber cover is gone, or if the cover is loosened, the panel will report a tamper.

Can you check to make sure that cover plate is snapped down all the way and that the bottom is not loose?

Dispatch did call and leave me a message. I don’t know how I missed it. Is there a setting that if the alarm is triggered, it will send multiple/constant alerts to your phone rather than one? I like how fast the response was and the police also called and stayed on the phone with me until I got home. I checked the side of the panel and it appears the rubber cover is there. The side of the panel was also snapped into place. Thank you for your quick reply.

The closed cover does look a little pushed out. It may help to try to bend down the pull tab with the arrow cut-out. It can be somewhat rigid and may be the cause of this issue, pushing against the cover just enough to release the tamper switch.

There is no setting to send constant alerts, that would be rather demanding of data processing on a large scale.

You can select multiple recipients however, including email, text message, and push notification, resulting in three separate alerts to your phone as long as your email address is linked which typically arrive in a staggered fashion over 15-30 seconds or so.

Thank you Jason, I just saw your followup. My roommate and I just tried your suggestion of bending the tab. Doesn’t seem like it made much difference but fingers crossed. The door on the panel seems loose. Is this a normal fitting for the door? Thank you for all of your help.

The cover will not sit perfectly flush with the surrounding plastic and it will be somewhat loose, especially at the top.

Let us know if you see this again. As it is very likely a physical issue there are some work-arounds you could try.

Hi Jason,

 The cell tamper is happening a lot more frequently. It happens every time I set the alarm and leave the house as well as at night when I am sleeping. Please lmk what my other options are.  

Thank You
Jessica

In the image it shows a “Console: Tamper” alert, which is different than a Cell Tamper on the GC3.

The Cell Tamper means that the cell sled tamper button under the snap-shut enclosure was released.

A Console Tamper means that the panel itself was tampered, the tamper switch which is depressed by the mounting plate.

Is this panel mounted on the wall? Is the bottom set screw tightened down? If the set screw is not holding it in place, it could be lifted off its back plate.

I also see a huge number of cell tamper alerts on the 18th.

These are almost always indicative of physical issues. Let’s try the following to ensure everything is buttoned down properly:

Unplug the power supply from wall power and open the panel. Unplug the battery.

Remove the cell module door and pull the cell module out. Re-insert the cell module and ensure it is firmly pressed into place. Check the cell module cover plate. There are six latches along the cover plate. Are any of them worn down or broken?

Close the cover plate. Plug the battery back in. Close up the panel and make sure that you tighten the bottom set screw into place so the panel cannot be pulled from its back-plate.

Finally, with the panel plugged back in and powered on, tap on the cell module cover plate a few timesnear the bottom where the tamper switch is. Does this set off the “Cell Tamper?”

Im having the same issue with my demo panel. Everything is tightened down properly. Funny thing is, I just removed the cell sled while system is disarmed and nothing happened and no notifications sent. Go figure.

Funny thing is, I just removed the cell sled while system is disarmed and nothing happened and no notifications sent. Go figure.

You removed the cell sled? Or the cover to the cell sled bay?

Be sure to never remove or install the cell module while the system is powered.

It’s been a month and haven’t had anymore issues. Thank you for your help!!