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My Circle Onboarding Guide

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The My Circle onboarding process is completed using the Alarm.com app.

Important: A My Circle profile must be onboarded using a phone and it cannot be completed using a tablet or iPad. Activity Sharing and Location Sharing permissions must be granted for this feature to work.

Requirements

  • An Interactive Alarm.com account with the My Circle feature add-on
    • For more information, contact your service provider.
  • The Alarm.com Alarm.com app
  • iOS app version 5.9.8+ or Android version 5.7.6+
     
  • The My Circle Terms must be accepted
  • Inviting others to My Circle requires specific permissions
    • Logins with Owner, Master, or Full Control permissions are eligible to send invitations
    • Custom logins can also be provided with two types of My Circle permissions: one to view My Circle profiles and the other to view and manage My Circle, the latter of which empowers them to invite others as well

Setting up My Circle

Before a user can start sharing with My Circle, they must agree to the My Circle terms and conditions and a profile must be created on the user's behalf.

Important: Invited users must download the Alarm.com app to complete the onboarding process.

To complete the first-time setup:
  1. Download the Alarm.com Alarm.com app if not already installed.
  2. Log in to the Alarm.com app.
  3. Accept the Terms of Service by tapping I Agree to accept the My Circle Agreement.
     
    Note: To receive a copy of the agreement, tap Email me a copy of this agreement​​​​​.
     
  4. In My Circle, tap Get Started.
  5. Create a profile or send an invite to a loved one by following the steps below.
To create your profile:
  1. Log in to the Alarm.com app or tap Home. 
  2. In My Circle, tap Get Started, then tap Create Profile.
    • If creating a profile after inviting someone to join My Circle, tap Details in the My Circle card, then tap Start Sharing to begin setting up a profile.
  3. Upload a profile picture from your device.
  4. Enter a nickname that will be viewed by others in My Circle.
  5. Select your home location from the existing fences on your account.
    • If you do not already have a home location set, enter your address to add it.
  6. Complete the onboarding process. This includes enabling location and activity sharing and setting your alert preferences.
To invite someone to join My Circle:
  1. Log in to the Alarm.com app or tap Home.
  2. In My Circle, tap Send Invite.
  3. Enter the invited user's email address to send the invitation.
  4. The invited user will receive an email with a link to join the My Circle.
    • Tap Share Invite to send a link by text through your phone's contacts.
       
      Note: A link shared by text should only be shared with the intended user. Multiple recipients cannot be selected and the same link cannot be sent to multiple people.
       
  5. They must download the Alarm.com Alarm.com app and follow the setup process which includes:
    • Accepting the terms of service and creating a password.
    • Completing onboarding, which includes enabling Activity Sharing and Location Sharing.
       

Frequently asked questions

No. Invited users are not required to complete the onboarding process to see other profiles on My Circle. However, this may limit the functionality of My Circle.

Yes. There are various mobile device settings and factors that can affect the performance of My Circle.

General device settings
  • Location Services must be turned on for all apps in the phone's settings
  • Airplane mode must be off
  • The phone must not be powered off for an extended period of time
  • Location Services in the Alarm.com Alarm.com app must be enabled
    • To enable Location Services:
      1. Log in to the Alarm.com app.
      2. Tap More.
      3. Tap App Settings.
      4. Tap Location Services.
      5. Tap the Location Services toggle switch to enable it.
iOS settings
  • Always allow must be selected for location sharing
  • Location access for the Alarm.com Alarm.com app must be set to Always in the phone's settings
  • Physical activity sharing (i.e., Motion & Fitness) in the phone's settings must not be changed or disabled
Android settings
  • Battery Optimization for the Alarm.com Alarm.com app to optimize app performance must be disabled
    • To disable Battery Optimization on an Android device:
      1. Go to the Android device settings.
      2. Tap Apps/Applications.
      3. Tap Alarm.com.
      4. Tap Battery.
      5. Tap Unrestricted.

If the customer or their loved one sees a message that the invite link in the Welcome to My Circle email has expired, use the following steps:

  1. The user who sent the invite should open the Alarm.com Alarm.com app and locate the My Circle dashboard card.
  2. Find the profile that was created for the invitee (it should be outlined in gray), then tap on it.
  3. A pop-up will appear with options to Resend invite or Remove profile”
  4. First, try re-sending the invite. If the recipient still does not receive the new invite email, remove the profile and create a new one for them.

Note: If you also sent the invite by text, ask your contact to use the link from your text message.

If the customer's location is not updating on My Circle, verify the following:

  1. Verify Location Sharing is enabled for the Alarm.com Alarm.com app in their phone’s operating system settings.
  2. Confirm Location Sharing is enabled in the My Circle section by going to My Profile Settings.
  3. Verify Location Services is enabled within the Alarm.com Alarm.com app:
    1. Log in to the Alarm.com app.
    2. Tap More.
    3. Tap App Settings.
    4. Tap Location Services and verify it is enabled.

If the customer has enabled location sharing in the Alarm.com Alarm.com app and their phone’s settings, but their Circle still can not view their data, sharing within My Circle may have accidentally been disabled.

If you are sharing with My Circle but data is still missing, verify location access, motion and fitness/physical activity access, push notifications are enabled, and battery optimization is turned off for Android devices.

To verify if sharing within My Circle is disabled:

  1. Log in to the Alarm.com app.
  2. In the My Circle dashboard card, tap Me to view your profile.
  3. Tap Configure to access My Profile Settings.
  4. Verify the Share with My Circle toggle switch is enabled.

Location access should be set to Always Allow for iOS devices or Allow all the time for Android devices with Precise Location enabled when available.

To verify Precise Location is enabled for iOS devices:

  1. Go to the iOS device's settings.
  2. Tap Privacy & Security.
  3. Tap Location Services.
  4. Tap Alarm.com.
  5. In Allow Location Access, tap Always.
  6. Tap the Precise Location toggle switch to enable it.

To verify Precise Location is enabled for Android devices:

  1. Go to the Android device's settings.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap Alarm.com.
  4. Tap Permissions.
  5. In Location, tap Allow all the time and enable Use precise location if displayed.

Motion and fitness/physical activity access must be turned on:

To verify motion and fitness/physical activity is enabled for iOS devices:

  1. Go to the iOS device's settings.
  2. Tap Privacy & Security.
  3. Tap Motion & Fitness.
  4. Tap the Alarm.com toggle switch to enable it.
  5. Tap On.

To verify motion and fitness/physical activity is enabled for Android devices:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap Alarm.com app.
  4. Tap Permissions.
  5. In Physical Activity, tap Allow.

Push notifications for the Alarm.com Alarm.com app are enabled in the device’s settings.

  1. Log in to the Alarm.com app.
  2. Tap More.
  3. Tap Notifications.
  4. Verify the Push Notifications toggle switch is enabled.

Battery optimization must be turned off for the Alarm.com app (Android only).

To turn off battery optimization for Android devices:

  1. Go to the Android device's settings.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap Alarm.com.
  4. Tap Battery.
  5. Verify Battery optimization is disabled.

Yes. A push notification is automatically created for new profiles on My Circle. By default, all of the following options are selected with the primary email as the only receipient unless the user edits the notification.

  • Battery level low
  • Phone has not been plugged in for 24 hours
  • Geo-fence crossings (i.e., enters or exits a location)
  • Phone outside of the primary location for more than 24 hours
  • No activity report (i.e., no steps)
  • Personal state is Bad (i.e., The user reports a Bad status.)
  • No data reported alert (i.e., No data reported for 24+ hours.)

Note: The type of notification received depends on the recipients selected, but they can be push notification, SMS if applicable, email, etc.

 

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