Hot take: Cellular backup installs got sloppier since 2019, not better

I've been doing residential work in Columbus for 15 years, and I swear the quality of cellular module setups has gone downhill since the big panel shortages. Back in 2019, every communicator I put in had a proper antenna placement test, signal bars checked on site, and the battery secured tight. Now I see new guys just zip tying the module inside the can and calling it done, then wondering why the alarm misses a ping three months later. Just last week I swapped out a Resideo module that was shoved behind the transformer, took a whole hour to re-route and reach 3 bars instead of 1. The manufacturers push faster installs, but they don't pay for the callback when the customer's panel goes silent during an attempted break in. Has anyone else noticed this slip in quality, or is it just the crews in my area cutting corners to hit production numbers?

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anthony_jackson26d ago

And it's not just the install side either, the panels themselves got cheaper about the same time, so you're fighting flimsy plastic and weaker antennas on top of the sloppy work. The whole industry traded reliability for speed, and we're the ones holding the bag when it fails.