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How Do I Arm My Security System When I’m Staying Home?

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Do you wonder if you can arm your security system while at home but worry about setting off theĀ motion detectors? We’ll explain the different arming modes and how to arm your system whether you’re home or on your way out.

When might you want to arm your system in “stay” mode?

  • If you leave the house and leave a spouse or child at home
  • If you’re home alone
  • When you’re sleeping
  • Whenever you’re at home

Many people have a security system to guard against intrusion, and burglaries can happen even when you’re home. To protect yourself and your family, you can arm your system in “stay” mode.

picture of a security system keypad

How to arm your security system when you’re home

If you’re at home, you can arm just the doors and windows on your system and exclude the motion detectors.

With Simon keypads, there are 2 buttons to help you do this. When you want to arm the system when you’re in the house, arm the system and push the “doors/windows” button. Caddx and most other keypads instead have the words “stay” and “away”/”exit”. You simply arm the system and choose “stay” or “away”/”exit” and the system will know whether to ignore when the motion detectors are triggered.

To make it even easier, many smart home security systems also let you arm your system in both “stay” and “away”/”exit” modes from your smartphone or tablet.

How to change your system from armed while at home to armed while away

If you want to leave your house but your system was already armed in “stay” mode, you just need to disarm the system and then re-arm it to “away”/”exit” mode.


With today’s smart security systems, you can arm your system whether you’re at home or away, all from your smartphone or tablet. Make sure you’re using your alarm system in the best way possible – make it a habit to arm it. For more information about how a smart home security system can help you, contact us.