Signs That a Home Security System Is Going Bad

House Is Burglarized

• If you come home and find your house has been burglarized, it might be a sign your home security system is going bad. If the system is not sounding an alarm, you need to establish whether an alarm did sound during the break-in. Some home security systems have flashing lights, or other indicators, to show that they have recently sounded an alarm. You could also ask neighbors who might have heard an alarm. Having your house burglarized does not necessarily indicate that your home security system is going bad as you just might have forgotten to set it.

Alarm Wakes You

• If you are awoken in the middle of the night by an alarm from your home security system, it could be a strong indication that the system is going bad. If you check every zone of the house and discover than no break-in has occurred, this is a further sign that your system might need to be repaired. However, before you jump to that conclusion, you need to rule out other factors which might be the actual cause of the alarm sounding, such as the movement of pets, or even spiders crawling across the sensors.

Alarm Won't Set

• If you are about to leave your home and find that you can't perform what Alarm System Reviews calls "away arming," this possibly indicates that the system is compromised. Stop, slow down and try to go through your normal alarm setting routine again. Did you accidentally skip a step? Have you inadvertently pushed the wrong button? Did you check the battery? If you are quite certain that you are following the correct procedure for setting your alarm, and the alarm won't set, the system has definitely gone bad.

Other Signs

• If the beep that goes off when you enter the house is weak or feeble sounding, it's probably a sign that the system is in need of attention. If you notice damage, such as a broken wireless receiver, or see wear to parts of the system, such as frayed wires, these might cause a malfunction. If you see birds nesting on the external box, they might have caused damage to the system. Another strong indication that the system in defective is if it fails its routine monthly alarm test.