Our ADT alarm system can be flaky. Several years ago we were having problems and found that our land line had lots of interference so the alarm couldn't "phone home." The solution was a wireless LTE connection which seemed just fine. We ditched the land line since the only reason we had it was to operate the alarm system. We netted positive on cost because the LTE connection was cheaper than our land line. Good deal, when it works.

About a month ago we were having problems. Our alarm system wasn't communicating with the mother ship. They sent out a tech who spent over an hour screwing with it. After he left, it didn't work. We went off on a trip and couldn't fix it at the time. When we returned, it was still acting up. So I decided to figure out what the problem was.

I needed an installation manual for the wireless LTE alarm communicator box. ADT didn't have it. As a matter of fact they were clueless about our configuration. On the back side of the box, way out of sight, was a sticker. After fumbling around for a bit with my iPhone I got a decent photo of the sticker and could go to the web to find the desired manual.

I think it is a poor installation because the antenna is horizontally oriented and the tip is touching a shelf. I found out a long time ago (as a ham radio operator) that if the tip of an antenna is near a solid object, things will get screwed up. There are remote antennas available which is recommended when connectivity is an issue. Included in the manual were trouble shooting and startup guidelines which will be useful.

So everything appeared to be working so I called ADT to check the system. It was working properly. Next time the blinking lights go goofy, I will be able to figure out what's going on and call ADT. They said that cell towers were being upgraded which could cause a problem. We will see.

p.s. Note that the equipment is made in Canada. Way to go, Maple Leafs!