Qolsys IQ Panel Control Driver

Version 1.3

Controls a Qolsys IQ Panel (IQ Panel 2, 2+, 4, IQ4 Hub, and IQ Panel 5 / IQP5017) over the panel's local network connection. Arm, disarm, read every zone, and react to alarms and trouble - all on the LAN, with no Alarm.com cloud account and no extra hardware. A built-in web dashboard gives you a clean keypad and live sensor view on any web-capable panel.

What You Can Do

- Arm Away / Arm Stay (with optional bypass of open zones)

- Disarm using a stored user PIN

- Live feedback: armed state, each zone open / closed, motion, ready-to-arm

- Events on arm, disarm, entry delay, exit delay, alarm, and bad-PIN

- Run an RTI macro automatically on alarm, arm, disarm, or entry delay

- Panic buttons (police / fire / auxiliary)

- Built-in web dashboard served straight off the processor

Requirements

- A Qolsys IQ Panel on the same LAN as the RTI processor.

- Minimum firmware: IQ Panel 2 / 2+ requires 2.5.3 or newer; IQ Panel 4 requires 4.1.0 or newer; IQ Panel 5 ships new enough. Below these the 3rd Party Connection option is not available.

- The panel's dealer code (default 2222) to reveal the connection settings.

- The panel connects over Wi-Fi only. The IQ Panel 4 / 5 family has no wired Ethernet for local control, so the network setup below matters.

One-Time Panel Setup - Enable the 3rd Party Connection

The panel's local connection is off by default. A dealer switches it on and reveals a 6-character Secure Token. The path depends on the panel generation.

IQ Panel 2 / 2+ / 4 (set on the panel screen):

1. On the panel: Settings, then Advanced Settings, enter the Dealer Code (default 2222).

2. Go to Installation, then Devices, then Wi-Fi Devices, then 3rd Party Connections.

3. Turn the Control4 / 3rd Party Connection ON, then Reveal the Secure Token (6 characters).

4. Note the panel's IP address.

IQ Panel 5 / IQ Pro / IQ4-NS (set in the IQ Installer app, NOT on the panel):

On these newer panels Qolsys moved 3rd-party setup off the panel screen and into the IQ Installer app - which is why the option is not in the panel's Dealer Settings menu.

1. In the IQ Installer app (signed in to the account for this panel): Config, then Installation, then Devices, then Wi-Fi, then 3rd Party.

2. Select Control4 and Enable it. Confirm the switch to 6-digit codes when prompted.

3. The panel reboots. Reopen the same screen - the 6-character Secure Token is now shown.

No Alarm.com account flag is needed; the token is generated locally on the panel. The on-panel "Other Automation" toggle is a different feature - do not use it for this.

Important - enabling Control4 forces 6-digit user codes.When the 3rd Party / Control4 connection is enabled, the panel converts all user codes to 6 digits by appending 00 (for example, 1234 becomes 123400). Use the 6-digit form as the driver's User Code.

Network Setup - Do This For Reliable Operation

The single biggest cause of drop-outs is the panel's Wi-Fi, not the driver. Set the router up as follows and the connection stays rock-solid for days:

1. Reserve a static DHCP IP for the panel (bind its Wi-Fi MAC to a fixed IP). If the panel's IP changes, its connection to the driver is lost.

2. Keep the panel on the 2.4 GHz band.

3. Turn OFF any Wi-Fi power-save / sleep for the panel.

4. DISABLE the router's Roaming Assistant / Band Steering / Smart Connect. Each time it hands the panel between the 2.4 and 5 GHz radios it silently drops the panel's single 3rd-party session, even though the router still shows the panel online with an excellent signal. This is the classic "shows online everywhere, all green, but nothing works" symptom.

5. Leave the 3rd Party / Control4 connection enabled. The panel disables it automatically if it reboots and is not re-integrated within 10 minutes - so avoid unnecessary panel reboots, and re-check this setting after any firmware update.

Note: the IQ Panel does not answer ping or most network scanners by design. A failed ping does NOT mean the panel is offline - the only real test is whether the driver can control it.

Driver Configuration

Panel IP Address- the panel's (reserved) IP.

Panel Port- leave at 12345.

Use TLS- leave ON for a real panel. Only turn OFF to test against the bundled simulator.

Secure Token- the 6-character token from the panel.

User Code (PIN)- a valid USER disarm PIN, not the Dealer / Master 2222 code. Remember it is 6 digits once Control4 is enabled. Required for Disarm.

Partition ID- 0 for a single-partition system.

Macros- optionally pick a macro to run on alarm, arm, disarm, or entry delay.

Web Dashboard Port- TCP port for the built-in web dashboard (default 9063). Use a unique port if another driver on this processor hosts a web object.

Licence Key- the key issued for this processor's MAC address (see Licensing).

Wiring the Panel

Use the functions under Arming, Panic and System for buttons. Bind the variables under Partition and Zones to your touch-panel feedback (for example Is Armed Away, Zone 1 Open, Ready To Arm). Use the events under Partition, Alarm and Zones to drive macros (for example flash lights on ALARM, or a chime on Zone 1 Opened).

Web Dashboard

The driver hosts a clean control dashboard (a keypad plus a live sensor view) directly on the processor - no cloud needed. Add a Web Object to any panel that supports it and point it at http://<processor-IP>:9063/ (matching the Web Dashboard Port setting). Because it is served locally off the processor it loads instantly. It shows the current armed state, a working keypad for arm / disarm, and a Sensors tab listing every zone with its open / closed state and a badge for how many are open.

Notifications

Pair the ALARM and Disarm Failed events with a push-notification driver, or pick an On Alarm macro, to alert the owner the moment the system trips. A glass-break or door sensor reports as a normal zone, so it fires that zone's Opened / Changed event as well as the global ALARM event when the system is armed - wire either to a macro that sends the alert (phone push, panel popup, spoken message, or auto-popping a camera feed).

Cameras

The IQ Panel's built-in camera stores disarm / alarm photos in the Alarm.com cloud only - there is no local stream this driver can pull. For live camera feeds on the RTI panel, use the site's own ONVIF / RTSP cameras with a camera driver, and wire a zone or alarm event from this driver to a macro that pops the matching feed on-screen.

Showing an Open / Closed Graphic

Each zone publishes a matched pair of booleans: Zone N Open and Zone N Closed. They are always opposites, and an unused zone slot reads false on both.

RTI layer and button visibility takes a single boolean and has no NOT option, so the pair is what lets you drive both states. To make an open-door icon and its text appear only while a door is open, set the layer's Visibility Variable (or the button's Visible slot) to Zone N Open. For the matching closed / secure graphic use Zone N Closed.

A variable dropped as a tag lands in the button's Reversed slot, which only recolours the button - it does not hide or show anything. If a graphic stays on screen no matter what the zone does, the variable is almost certainly wired to Reversed rather than to Visible: set the Visible slot, or the layer's Visibility Variable, instead.

Zone Numbers

The driver uses the panel's OWN zone numbers. Driver Zone 6 is panel zone 6 is Alarm.com zone 6 - there is nothing to cross-reference, on a 5-zone house or a 50-zone one.

A panel enrols more than just security zones on its sensor list: key fobs, wireless keypads, hardwire / takeover translators, sirens, repeaters, paired Bluetooth phones, and the panel's own built-in glass-break and motion sensors. Those are not numbered zones on the panel or in Alarm.com, so the driver leaves them out and the zone list matches what you see on the panel. If you want them - for example to trigger a macro from a key fob - tick Include Panel & Accessory Devices under Zones. They then appear at their own panel zone numbers; your real zones keep theirs either way.

Zone slots run 1 to 128, matching the panel's capacity. A site that has had sensors added and removed over the years can carry zone numbers higher than its zone count - that is normal and handled.

Checking the Zone Map

If a zone is not where you expect, ask the driver. Wire Print Zone Report (Diagnostics) to any button, or run it from a macro, and open RTI TraceView. It prints every entry the panel sent, the driver zone it landed on, and why anything was left out - for example:

Panel sent 14 entries -> 9 zones mapped, 5 left out

1 Zone 1 Closed Door_Window Front Door

92 - Closed Bluetooth Owner Phone <- skipped (accessory)

That one report answers nearly every zone question. Print Raw Panel Summary dumps the panel's exact reply if it does not. Neither needs Debug Level raised. Setting Debug Level to Basic also prints the report automatically each time the driver connects.

Troubleshooting

Status stuck at Connecting- confirm the Secure Token is exactly right, the 3rd Party Connection is enabled on the panel, and Use TLS is ON. After a drop the panel can refuse a new secure connection for a few minutes while it releases the previous session - the driver retries automatically and recovers on its own, no restart needed.

Connection drops (works for hours or days, then stops)- this is almost always the panel's Wi-Fi, not the driver. Work through the Network Setup checklist above: static DHCP reservation, 2.4 GHz, Wi-Fi power-save off, and especially DISABLE Roaming Assistant / Band Steering. Confirm the 3rd Party / Control4 connection is still ON (a firmware update or reboot can switch it off). Remember the panel does not answer ping, so a failed ping is not a fault. If the dashboard still loads and rejects a wrong PIN but the buttons do nothing, the connection has stalled - the Wi-Fi fixes are the cure.

Commands do nothing- check the Secure Token is exactly right and the 3rd Party Connection is still enabled on the panel.

Disarm does nothing / Invalid usercode- a valid User Code must be entered in the driver configuration, it must be a USER code (not the Dealer / Master 2222 code), and it must be the 6-digit form once Control4 is enabled.

Licensing

The driver runs for a free 120-minute trial so you can prove it out. For permanent use, enter the licence key issued for this processor's MAC address in the Licence Key setting. The key is tied to the processor, so each processor (each site) needs its own key; the same key works in any project on that processor.

Support

Smart Home Programming - https://smarthomeprogramming.com.au