Before you replace that panel, let somebody who does not sell panels look at it
There is a keypad in your hallway with a blinking light nobody has understood since the previous owner moved out. Three companies have told you it needs to be replaced. All three sell replacements.
Fixed written quote after a free survey — we beat any written competitor quote
The takeover, plainly
Most alarm panels installed in the last fifteen years are perfectly capable hardware that has simply been abandoned. The sensors in your walls still work — a magnetic reed switch does not wear out. The wiring still runs. What died was the account, when the previous owner cancelled or the previous company sold their book to a national and stopped answering the phone.
A takeover means we come out, evaluate what is physically there, replace the communicator so the panel talks to our central station over cellular instead of the dead landline it was built for, reprogram the zones, test every sensor, and hand you a working system. It typically takes ninety minutes. On Honeywell Vista, 2GIG GC2 and GC3, GE Concord and Interlogix, and Qolsys IQ panels, it is nearly routine.
When we will tell you to replace it
We are not romantics about old equipment. There are panels we will look at and tell you honestly to retire: systems whose manufacturer no longer supplies parts, panels with failed boards, 3G-only communicators stranded by the carrier sunsets, and anything where the previous installer's wiring is genuinely unsafe. Roughly one job in five, we recommend replacement.
The difference is that we say it after opening the can, not before seeing the house. And when we do recommend new hardware, we tell you which specific component failed and why, because you are entitled to know what you are paying for.
Switching from another monitoring company
This is the other half of the takeover business, and it comes with a piece of advice we give freely: read your current agreement before you call anybody, including us. Look for the auto-renewal window. Most national contracts renew automatically unless you cancel in a specific 30-to-60 day window, and the entire industry depends on you missing it.
We will read the contract with you. We will tell you the date to send written notice and what it needs to say. If you are stuck mid-term, we will tell you that too, and suggest you call us back when the window opens rather than paying two companies at once. We have talked more than a few people out of switching this month in favor of switching in four. It is a bad short-term sales tactic and an excellent long-term business.
What is included
- Usually same-dayMost takeovers are evaluated and completed in a single 90-minute visit.
- Often free with monitoringIf the existing panel is sound, the takeover itself is typically no charge.
- Cellular communicator upgradeReplaces dead landline and sunset 3G radios with current LTE signaling.
- Every sensor testedZone by zone walk test, documented, before we leave.
- Honest replace/repair callWe open it up first. About one in five, we tell you to replace it.
- Contract exit helpWe will read your current agreement and find your cancellation window.
Questions people actually ask
- Which panels can you take over? +
- Honeywell Vista and Lyric, 2GIG GC2/GC3/Edge, GE Concord and Interlogix Simon and NX, Qolsys IQ2 and IQ4, DSC PowerSeries and Neo, and most DMP commercial panels. If yours is not listed, send us a photo of the keypad and we will tell you.
- Is the takeover really free? +
- If the existing equipment is sound and you start monitoring with us, yes — the labor is included. If the panel needs a new communicator or failed components, we quote those parts up front at cost-plus and you approve before we order.
- I am still under contract with another company. Can you help? +
- We can read the agreement with you and identify the cancellation window and notice requirements. If you are mid-term with a real penalty, our honest advice is usually to wait — and we will put a reminder on our calendar to call you when your window opens.
System Takeover & Reactivation across Texas
We install and service this in all four metros, and in every community within fifty miles of downtown San Antonio. Service calls carry no trip charge regardless of how far out the address is.
Free survey · No obligation
Bring us a written quote. We will beat it.
Any competitor, comparable scope, in writing. A licensed technician walks your property, maps the real entry points and gives you a fixed number — whether or not you hire us.
TX DPS PSB Lic. #B16898 · Serving San Antonio, Austin, Houston & Dallas since 2010