The Need
A keypad near the front door is the most natural way to arm and disarm an alarm. It works when the phone is at the bottom of a pocket, when you have your arms full, and for people who don’t use the app.
These keypads exist in Zigbee — the Frient KEYZB-110, for example — with a numeric keypad, mode buttons, and sometimes a badge reader. But Gladys doesn’t know they are alarm keypads: these are devices that send events, and it’s up to each user to manually rebuild the logic, often through an external tool like Node-RED. For such a central function, this is a shame.
What is Expected
The keypad should be just a remote control, and all the intelligence should remain in Gladys:
- the keypad requests something — arm in presence, night, absence, disarm — accompanied by a code or a badge;
- Gladys validates the code, checks if the action is allowed, and decides;
- the keypad receives feedback: accepted, refused, incorrect code — for its beep and indicators.
Several keypads should be able to coexist, alongside the app, tablets, and scenes, and all control the same alarm. Nothing should be specific to a model: any compatible keypad should be able to connect in the same way.
What It Would Look Like
KEYPADS + Add a Keypad
Front Door Keypad Frient KEYZB-110 online
Arm without code ○ no ● yes
Sound and light feedback ● enabled
Authorized badges 2
Hallway Tablet Gladys, locked mode online
Questions to Decide
- Which models to target first? The Frient KEYZB-110 is the most cited. Other Zigbee keypads exist — which ones are actually used in the community?
- RFID badges are they managed like codes (one badge = one user), or is this a separate issue?
- How far does the feedback to the keypad go? The confirmation beep and status indicators are what make the difference between a pleasant keypad and a frustrating one — but not all models expose this in the same way. Minimal feedback everywhere, or rich where possible?
- Should it be possible to arm without a code from the keypad, and only require the code to disarm? This is the most common setting.
- What does Gladys do if the keypad is offline when you want to use it — and how do you know this before you’re in front of it?
- Should Gladys’ locked tablet mode be treated like any other keypad, with the same settings?
Complexity and Dependencies
High. This request needs user-specific codes — Gladys must be able to validate a code coming from somewhere other than its interface — and benefits greatly from the night mode, which these keypads generally offer on a dedicated button.
This request is part of a set from the discussion Gladys Alarm System (need F09).