Spending a lot of time at home has many people thinking ‘is my house protected enough?’, and for many of us, the answer is…well, not really.
We hate to say it, but it’s true! Most people have a baseline indoor alarm system (if they have one at all) that can provide some coverage for the inside of their home, but does nothing for the yard, driveway, or garage - and that’s where a sizable chunk of our stuff is! So, how can we keep an eye on not just our indoor valuables, but our outdoor valuables as well?
Enter the Guardline Wireless Driveway Alarm. This handy little device is the perfect solution keeping your family safe, your valuables protected, and your privacy intact. It’s perfect for city, suburban, or rural areas alike. The ultimate protective package!
Alright, perfect! Let’s say you’ve snatched one up. But…how exactly does one set it up? This alarm comes with a Guardline driveway alarm manual, sure, but those aren’t always the easiest to follow. That’s why we’ve lined up a simple guide to help you if you’re feeling a little stumped:
How to Set Up the Guardline Driveway Alarm
If you’re not big on following manuals, or maybe your manual got lost along the way (here’s a PDF), no worries - we’ve got plenty of resources to help you get your Guardline driveway alarm installed with ease. Just follow this handy guide to get your alarm and sensor put together in a few simple steps:
Step 1: Plug in Receiver
The receiver is the four-cornered device included in your kit. Plug it in using the included power adaptor to any outlet. Because this is a Guardline wireless driveway alarm, you’ll want to make sure you place your receiver at least within 500 ft of where you place your sensor - otherwise they won’t work!
Tip: We recommend placing backup batteries (AAA x4) into your receiver to ensure coverage in the event of a power outage!
Step 2: Power up Your Sensor
Because this equipment is wireless, our sensors run on 4 AAA batteries (not included), so you’ll want to have a lot on hand. To insert the batteries, you’ll want to remove the screws from all 4 of the sensor’s corners. (These screws are quite small, so you’ll want to place them in a cup or somewhere that they won’t get lost). Once you’ve placed the batteries in, you’ll want to replace the cover and screws.
Step 3: Pair up Your Sensor to the Receiver
Now that you’re all powered up, it’s time to pair! Make sure you have both the sensor and receiver nearby, and make sure the sensor is turned away from you. Now you’re ready to turn your devices on:
- Press the ‘ON’ button on the side of your receiver, as well as turn the volume all the way up.
- On the other side of the receiver, you’ll see a button that says ‘LEARN’. Hold this button down for a few seconds, or until the ZONE 1 LED (numbered and located on the top of the receiver) lights up and starts to blink. The blinking indicates that your Guardline driveway alarm is in LEARN mode.
- Now that it’s on and in LEARN mode, you can choose a melody for your alarm! There are over 32 different melodies to choose from, so pick your favorite!
- Now it’s time to pair the sensor. Your sensor should automatically be activated, so try waving your hand in front of it to ensure it’s on. You should hear a beep.
- Everything is paired! Exit LEARN mode by turning your receiver OFF and ON again.
- Test your sensor out by waving your hand in front of it. It should play the melody you chose.
That’s all! A perfectly working Guardline wireless driveway alarm in 3 easy steps!
So, now we’ve got our devices all paired and working together. What do we do about actually installing our sensors outside?
This can be the most daunting step for some, but it doesn’t have to be - it’s really quite easy!
How Do You Install a Wireless Driveway Alarm?
Let’s get to the basics, first - location.
You’ll want to mount your motion sensor at least 3 to 4 feet above ground on a sturdy, non-metal surface. This can be a wall, a tree, or a wooden post - whatever you have available that fits the criteria!
Next, you’ll want to make sure your sensor is pointed straight at the area you’re covering (i.e. your driveway or sidewalk, looking towards your house). This allows less opportunity for frequent setoffs from small animals or cars going by.
Now that we have our location placed, you’ll want to have these items at the ready:
- A pencil
- A Phillips screwdriver
- An Electric drill (compatible with 3/32” and 9/32” drill bits)
- A hammer (optional)
Next, you’ll want to follow these simple steps:
- Mark the surface you’re mounting your Guardline wireless driveway alarm on, using the 4 added mounting holds as a guide to fill in.
- Next, you’ll want to drill some pilot holes within your surface.
- IF USING A WOODEN SURFACE: Use the screws included in the kit. Drill out your pilot holes with a 3/32” drill bit, to about ¾”.
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IF USING A NON-WOODEN SURFACE: Use the included screws as well as anchors. Drill out pilot holes using a 9/32” drill bit, and gently tap the anchors in.
- Screw your sensor mount onto the post until it’s tight. Tip: Don’t over-tighten, as this can damage the mount!
- Secure your sensor onto the mount, and adjust the angle so it’s looking at your target area.
You should now have a paired, secured sensor and receiver, ready to protect your household! This works for most of our other products as well, so don’t be afraid to check out some of our other state of the art driveway alarms and sensors!
Still a little confused? No worries - we also have a super helpful video that shows you a more hands-on method of how to set up a wireless driveway alarm system:
Watch this Helpful Video!
For more visual learners, this video should show you everything you need to set up your Guardline wireless driveway alarm!
The transcript for this video can be found below:
[How’s it going today? This is Thomas with Guardline Security, and today we’re going to be going over the basic setup and pairing routine for your Guardline Driveway Alarm.
The first step in setting up our driveway alarm is to power each of our devices. Your sensor runs on four AA batteries that fit into the battery carriage inside, and you can access that by removing the four screws located on the front corners of your sensor.
Your receiver has the option to run on a 12-volt adapter that you can plug in here, and that comes with your unit, or you can pop the back plate off and run it on four AAA batteries. This is what we’ll be doing today.
Now that both of your devices are powered up and ready to go, we can begin the pairing process. The first two things you want to do are locate the ON switch on your receiver, flip that on, and also ensure that your volume is turned up.
On the other side of your receiver, the next step is to locate the LEARN button and hold this for a few seconds or until your Zone One LED starts to blink. Once that starts to blink, your receiver is in LEARN mode. At this point, you can use the MELODY button to select a different melody other than the default for your sensor. We’ll stick with that for simplicity’s sake today.
So your receiver is in LEARN mode, and you have selected a melody. The only step left is to activate your sensor and receive the confirmation beep on your receiver that it has been paired. You can now use the LEARN button to cycle through the available zones until none of these zones are blinking. You have exited LEARN mode. At this point, if I activate my sensor, I should receive a confirmation on Zone One with the selected tone.
Now that your sensor has successfully paired the receiver, the only step left is to find a place outside to mount your sensor. We recommend mounting your sensor three to four feet off the ground, not mounting on a metal surface as that will cause interference, and giving yourself as close to a line of sight as possible as this will give you the maximum range out of your system.
One important step to take before you begin your pairing process is to make sure that your Guardline sensor is facing away from you during the setup. This will ensure that you don’t prematurely pair your Guardline sensor with the incorrect zone or melody.
As always, thanks for watching, and if you have any additional questions or comments, feel free to reach out and contact us at Guardlinesecurity.com.]
FAQs & Troubleshooting
For those who have successfully set up their Guardline wireless driveway alarm, but may still have questions or issues, here’s a handy list of the most common issues and questions.
If you don’t see your question here, feel free to contact us at (888) 519-0413, or shoot us an email at info@guardlinesecurity.com. We’ll get your problem solved as quickly as possible!
Why Won’t My Guardline Driveway Alarm Pair?
If you don’t hear a small, short beep when your sensor has paired, first check to ensure you have the right equipment. Not all of our systems are compatible (for example, the long range motion detection units are not compatible with any of our 500 ft sensor units, and won’t pair. Check out our blog that explains this in detail here).
If you’re still having trouble, reach out via email or phone for quick, easy troubleshooting.
Can False Alarms Happen?
In short, yes. This can happen for a multitude of reasons. First, we suggest examining your Guardline driveway alarm sensor’s mount positioning to make sure it isn’t being triggered by too many outside forces (animals or cars). Remember, you’ll want your sensor to be at least 3-4ft off the ground, otherwise it may pick up unwanted motion!
Next, you may want to try lowering the sensitivity on your sensor. It’s automatically adjusted to pick up anything up to 40ft, so try adjusting it down to 26ft and see if that helps. Here’s a video on how to lower your sensor sensitivity!
Why is My Sensor Reception so Shaky?
Having your Guardline wireless driveway alarm work some days and not others is a super tedious problem. After all, you got it for your and your families’ protection! This issue most commonly occurs due to interference, which can be caused by brick, trees, metal, or even inclines in your driveway. Any of these blockages can reduce the signal travel distance by about half, leading to inconsistent performance. Try reducing these blockages as much as possible by adjusting your sensor in a different area.
If you’re getting inconsistent alarms, first see if your sensor is turning red when it sees motion. If your sensor is turning red when triggered, it may be too far away from the receiver. Try adjusting the position closer for a more reliable connection.
If the sensor doesn’t turn red, it’s possible that the batteries are dead. If replacing the batteries doesn’t work, email us!
Why Am I Having Issues Pairing Multiple Sensors?
Because there are multiple zones, you may find a sensor accidentally pairs to a different zone than you’d like. It’s a common issue! To learn how to clear sensors from a zone, check out this troubleshooting blog!
Final Thoughts
Feeling secure on your own property is a must for your peace of mind. That’s why we’re here to help! These alarm systems are built to keep you safe and help you relax, after all. We certainly hope this helps - if you’re interested in learning more, check out our blog! For more sensors, alarms, and safety devices, be sure to check out our website!
Stay safe out there!
Contributing Writer: Aurora Detor
