Chose wireless sensors over hardwired for a retrofit, now I'm second guessing my panel choice

Did a job last month in an old building downtown where running wire just wasnt gonna happen without tearing up plaster walls. I picked wireless door and motion sensors over the traditional hardwired setup, figured itd save time and the customer was fine with the look. The install went smooth, took me about 6 hours compared to the 2 days I estimated for hardwire. But now the customer is saying the sensors have a lag when they arm the system from their phone, like a full 2 second delay before the panel shows ready. My panel is a basic model, not one of the high end ones with the faster radio updates. I'm wondering if I should have gone with a pricier panel or if that lag is just normal for wireless. Has anyone else dealt with this delay issue on retrofits, or did I cheap out on the wrong part?

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1 Comment

perez.thea18d agoMost Upvoted

The 2 second delay is pretty standard for most wireless panels, not just the basic ones. Even the expensive panels have a small delay because the radio has to wake up, check in, and then report back. Your real issue might be the phone app itself, sometimes those refresh slower than the keypad. Try arming from the wall keypad and see if the lag is still there, that'll tell you if it's the panel or the app. Either way, you didn't cheap out, wireless just has that slight pause built in for most systems. Have you checked if the panel has a setting to speed up the sensor check-in time?