Stephan Pringle

First step is to determine the true ownership of the system. It’s possible
that ADT may be the legal owners. If you cannot determine the ownership
through the previous homeowner’s paperwork, a call to ADT will get the answer.
If ADT say’s you own it, simple. If they say they own it, request a copy of
the “lease” paperwork for verification.

If they own it, inquire about an out right purchase from them contingent on
them providing you with all access codes. I’ve found that ADT has been
accepting this. Now, that still places the financial burden on you and
relieved the previous homeowner from the responsibility of providing a free and
clear alarm system, but at least you have a system. Depending on what the cost
will be, you need to balance it versus the cost of obtaining a new system
directly.

If ADT says you own it, your burden is still with the previous homeowner to
provide the codes at no charge. ADT can reprogram the system for you and
provide all the codes, but they will charge you for that service since you’re
not a current client.

It’s an often assumed misconception that the installing alarmco is responsible
for providing a working system when a home is sold. The reality is, it’s the
responsibility of the buyer and seller to ensure the alarm is what the seller
claims and the buyer thought. Even if the panel is locked out, the seller (if
they are selling the system as an owned system) was responsible for delivering
a working and programmable system to you. You as the buyer, was responsible
for inspecting the system to ensure it conformed to your requirements.

So, where do you go from here? First, contact ADT. You’ll never know what
they can and can’t do for you until you call and ask. Don’t assume a
particular answer from them, get it straight from the horses mouth. Second,
call around to other alarm companies (many good ones post on his NG), explain
the situation, making sure you let them know that you want full access to your
system and plan on not using their monitoring service. This will weed out
those that won’t deal with you unless you accept monitoring. Finally, you will
have to accept the fact that this may cost you some money to solve. If you
were under the impression the alarm system was privately owned and fully usable
by you, you may have a claim against the previous owner if they misled you.
However, since you never had it inspected for functionality and programing
ability, it falls into the “as-is” clause in most residential sales.

Although it really doesn’t help you this time around, keep this lesson in mind
(pass it along to others) and make sure you treat the alarm as you would the
furnace, roofing, windows, etc.

1. Hold the nine (9) button until it beeps three (3) times.
2. When it does, enter on the keypad the following: 96321.
2a. The system may try to enable the communicator to dial out. This is a normal feature.
2b. Wait for all the lights on the keypad to light up.
2c. When the keypad lights up, you will be in programming mode.
3. Enter on the keypad 034#0
3a. This will disable the communicator and clear the trouble indicator on the keypad.
4. Exit out programming mode by entering ** on the keypad.
4a. This should end the trouble condition.
5. Check the condition of your ADT Safewatch Plus 7603 Battery.
5a. Look for leaks or corrosion to avoid damages to the alarm system.

00:00 – ADT Safewatch Plus
00:45 – Bypassing a sensor or zone
00:50 – Entering alarm code

1. Hold the six (6) button until it rapidly beeps.
1a. Two beeps will disable the alerts.
1b. Three beeps will enable the alerts.
2. Open a door or window. The system should beep or no longer beep until reset.