Serious question about using magnets on alarm contacts

I tried putting a small rare earth magnet on a recessed door contact to test if it would bypass the circuit without breaking the seal. It actually worked for a few minutes before the panel threw a tamper. Anyone else ever mess with this and get different results?

2 comments

2 Comments

maxb461mo ago

Yeah that tamper thing is a pain. Had the exact same issue with a recessed contact on a storage door. Ran fine for about five minutes then the panel started chirping like crazy. Figured the sensor was doing some kind of continuity check or something. Must be a common feature on newer panels. Heard some models actually pulse a tiny voltage to verify the loop is intact. The magnet trick fools the switch but the panel notices something isn't right. Pretty slick how they caught onto it though. Guess the manufacturers wised up.

james5331mo agoMost Upvoted

That's a neat trick but the tamper thing is exactly what happened to me. I used a little neodymium magnet on a window contact and it held for maybe ten minutes before the system went nuts with the tamper alert. The panel must be smart enough to check for resistance changes even when the circuit is technically closed.