How to Delete a Sensor from a GE Simon 3 Alarm System

If you need to delete a sensor from a GE Simone 3 Alarm System you can do it yourself easily.  Also, if you want to change the group of a sensor, the Simon 3 has no way of editing sensors so you much delete the sensor and add it again, assigning it to the group you wish.  Follow along for by step by step instructions on deleting a sensor from a GE Simon 3 Alarm system panel.  Sensors can include door/window, motion, water, or keychain remote, etc.

Hardware:

Step 1: Disarm the alarm.

If you proceed without disarming the alarm, you will set off the alarm.

Step 2: Open the panel cover.

This will both invoke the programmer’s mode and reveal the programming menu button names.

Step 3: Enter the programmer’s passcode.

After you open the panel cover, the panel will then say to you:

Use numbered keys to enter ID.

Enter the programmer’s 4-digit passcode.  You’ll have to know what this is from the company you purchased it from.

Step 4: Press the “Delete” button in the START MENU Section.

The panel will then say to you:

Select from main menu. Select from main menu or press cancel to quit.

Step 5: Select the sensor you want to delete.

In the MAIN MENU section press the “Sensor/Remote” button.  At first the panel will most likely say to you:

Sensor 24 module remote. Press sensor again for next name or done to delete or press cancel to quit.

When it says “Press sensor again” what it really wants you to do is press the “Sensor/Remote” button on the panel repeatedly until it says the name of the sensor you want deleted.  If you keep pressing the “Sensor/Remote” button it will cycle through all the sensors that have been added to the alarm (the last one will always be Sensor 24) and then start over again.  Press the “Done” button to delete the sensor that was last spoken by the panel.

NOTE: Sensor 24 is the alarm panel’s internal radio (which communicates with the Alarm company) so you don’t want to delete this.  If you do accidentally delete it then you can just power cycle the alarm and it will add it again for you.

Step 6: Repeat to delete another sensor.

Once you have pressed “Done” to delete the sensor, you can delete another sensor by going back through Steps 4 and 5 or you can just close the panel if you are done.

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37 Comments

  • I am getting a “sensor failure” on one of my doors. I have replaced the sensor with a new one. I am unable to delete the sensor in the system in order to add the new sensor.

    • If you followed the instructions and it would not delete a sensor, then it likely is because you are not entering the programmer’s passcode. The programmer’s passcode isn’t the code you use to arm the alarm. Try 1234 if you haven’t tried it, sometimes that is the default. If you system was installed by an alarm company they likely would not have given you this code. Have you successfully programmed or deleted sensors into your system before?

  • I tried to delete a sensor on my GE Simon that intermittently beeps with a low battery message with fresh batteries and cleaned contacts. After pressing “delete”, the sensors button then says “unavailable” when pressed. I followed the procedure outlined but can only get the sensors button to list the sensors if I don’t press the delete or add button first. I can’t stop the low battery warning beep unless I press disarm and enter my code. Then, the disarm button will flash and the intermittent warning beep shuts up. I would like to replace the sensor but can’t delete it prior to removing it and would not be able to add a new sensor with this behavior.

    • It seems that you have not entered the programmer’s passcode. This is not necessarily the code you use to arm/disarm. If you enter the wrong code it will not tell you, it will just give an error like you are getting.

  • How can I access without programmer password since the programmer is no longer available? Trying to delete a failed sensor and replace it with one that I removed from a door I no longer have.

    • Try these steps:

      1. Open the panel cover
      2. Unplug the transformer and disconnect the battery
      3. Simultaneously press Cancel, Clock Set, and Minutes buttons
      4. Reconnect transformer while continuing to hold down the three buttons.
      5. Panel should say “Hello System XX OK.

      If this works the panel will be reset and the installer code will be 4321 and master code will be 1234

  • I just moved in to a house that had this alarm installed but disabled. I called an alarm company (the one that originally installed it) and asked them if it was possible to reactivate it. They said yes and my nightmares begun. The alarm is going off all the time. I think it is damaged after many years without any kind of maintenance. Calling to the company they give me temporary solution but it is still failing. Sick of this I asked them to cancel the service but they only agree on cancel the monitoring of the alarm, but not coming to the house to physically deactivate it. If I want them to do that I have to pay 200€. Of course I don’t want to pay. If I don’t deactivate it, they will not monitor it but the siren will keep going off locally all the time. I finally found the user guide but I don’t see how to completely disable it. I just want to turn it completely off, but if I just take the power off, the alarm will go off with the battery. I’ve been told somewhere between 18 and 24 hours. Can you help me? I need to sleep 🙂
    Thanks a lot!!

    • Unplug it and then push the tab to fold down the front cover. Then you must insert a screwdriver into that slot at the top of the panel to open up the panel. Use a phillips-head screwdriver to open the white compartment inside that has the red and black wires leading into it (2 screws hold the battery compartment cover plate in place) and disconnect the battery by pulling one of the connectors off the battery terminal. The alarm is then completely turned off. You can unbolt from the wall at that point or just close it back up. Alternatively, if you don’t want to open up the system, you can just unplug it and within 24-48 hours the battery will run dead. FYI: the battery will be ruined if you leave it in a dead state for long.

  • I have Simon 3 – I changed the smoke detector battery but the status light is still on. And when I try to arm the system it keeps saying “Sensor 20 tempered” and can’t arm now. I looked at he manual I can’t find how to clear that warning. Need your advice thanks

    • Lewis, thanks for the question. I’ve never had a smoke detector so I can only help you generally. All Simon 3 sensors have a momentary switch which is held “in” when the case is closed. Often there is a spring on the switch that the case presses down. This switch is for the purpose of detecting tampering–so if someone opens a sensor up, you are notified and if the alarm is armed when they open it, it triggers the alarm. There is a switch that your smoke detector has, which is not being pushed down when you re-assembled it. I’d take it a apart and see what is going on and correct it so the switch is depressed when you re-assemble. Let us know if you are able to resolve this and exactly how.

  • trying to remove or delete the remote keychain on my Simon 3 as I am getting a message that it has failed (never had one so why now?) I followed all the trails above and when I hear the keychain sensor prompt and hit the done button, “the voice” says invalid. what now?

    M

    • It sounds like you have not entered a programmer password but just a user password. Try going through the process to add as sensor and if it gives you the same error, that’s likely the problem. A normal user password can arm or disarm but doesn’t have permission to delete a sensor.

  • I finally managed to reboot my system and got it back to the factory settings. I reinstalled my sencors and key fobs. I did manage to install my cell phone as the contact and when I do the test the system does call me but it will not acknowlege that I have recieved the call. I push * and it will not accept the comand, so the phone test fails. Any suggestions ??

    • Good work Quinn on getting your Simon reset. I can’t recall the “phone test” you are referring to. Are you running into an issue where it wants to periodically call you to test that the phone connection is active? That is a setting and if that’s what you are dealing with you can disable it by: To turn off AutoPhoneTest, login in with master code, press: 1. Delete, 2. Option #, 3. 16, 4. DONE

  • Thank you ,I will try it tomorrow. Will you be able to help me input my door and motion sensors again and program my cell to receive the intrusion alert… please

    • Try this:
      1. Open the panel cover
      2. Unplug the transformer and disconnect the battery
      3. Simultaneously press Cancel, Clock Set and Minutes buttons
      4. Reconnect transformer with button depressed.
      5. Panel say”Hello System XX OK.
      Panel is reset, installer code is 4321 master code is 1234
      Let me know if this is successful.

  • How do I figure out what my installer or company code is? I have had the unit many years and do not have it monitored. I called the company and they willnot help or give me any information. Is there a way to reset or wipe the memory clean and start all over? I realize I would need to reprogram all my sencors, but I think with the help of the net I can do that. My wish is to program the system to call my cell. TIA For any help

  • Same problem with mine, does yours beep every four hours until you hit the disarm button ??

    • I believe those are “trouble beeps.” They indicate that something is wrong on the system. “The system” refers to the alarm panel itself or one of the sensors programmed into it. It could be that the internal battery is low or that a sensor is faulty, the battery is low, or out of range of the panel. When you open the panel it should speak to you to tell you what the issue is (for example, “Sensor 4 low battery”. You can turn those off (with a programmer’s code) by opening the door of the Simon 3, entering the programmer’s code, press the “delete” button, press the “option” button, enter “40” on the numerical keypad, press the “done” button.

  • Hi John,
    Didn’t work. When i enter the programmer code, hit delete, then hit the sensor /remote button it says invalid function. If i hit it a second time it starts going through the list of sensors. I tried hitting done as the sensor i want to remove is the first one on the list but it just says invalid and keeps on listing.

    • What I believe that means is that the code you entered is not a programmer’s code. They gave you a user code, which only can do certain things.

  • Thanks, I tried all of the suggestions so far…didn’t work..
    My unit is no longer monitored by ADT so I was wondering if that made a difference…

    • I believe the issue you may be having is that you do not know the programmer’s code. If you enter the wrong code or just the user code, it doesn’t tell you anything, it just restricts you from doing certain things. You could call ADT and ask for it.

  • I’m having the same issue with my door sensor. I’ve replaced the batteries and it still does not communicate and i need to disarm every so often. I’ve tried to follow the examples to remove a sensor but when i enter the programmer code, select delete, then select the sensor/ remote button it just cycles through all the sensors and does not give me an option to hit the sensor remote button to select individual sensors.
    Any help would be Appreciated. thanks!

    • When it is cycling through the sensors, Sensor 1, Sensor 2… when it says the one you want deleted, press the done button. You will not do anything with the sensor itself, the deleting takes place at the panel only. Does that help?

  • My Simon 3 beeps every four hours, I replaced the battery in the main housing …. it says the door sensor failure (I replaced the two batteries), how do I stop the annoying beep (which I have to hit the disarm button every time)… I am not on a Monitored program with ADT anymore…
    How do I activate the voice (door open/closed) message…. thanks

    • The remote sensors send a “check-in” message to the control panel every so often to report on their status and so that the control panel knows that they are functioning correctly. If that message isn’t received for a while or the message includes that there is an issue, you’ll get that error. If replacing the battery doesn’t fix it you need to replace the door sensor completely. You must delete it and then add the new sensor. I’ve had this happen multiple times over the years, often for door sensors that see a lot of moist air because of their proximity to the exterior.

  • This is a great site. I’d like to share something.

    After 15 years, one of our sensors went bad ( Simon 3). I took everything apart. I’m too cheap to pay for a repair. Using a magnifying glass, I saw that one resistor became unsoldered. Probably because the installer put that part (instead of the magnet) on the door and 15 years of closing the door (or slamming it) jarred it loose. Resoldered and it’s as good as new. Easy breezy

    • Nice job Robert–I love it when I can figure out what went wrong and can fix it myself, as you might have noticed around here! Thank you for sharing your repair. I’ve thrown away multiple sensors over the years and have looked at the circuit boards before but never tried to fix one. Next time I will take a closer look thanks to the insight you shared! Take care and please come back again if you need any more help down the road on your Simon 3–I’ve set up Simon 3 systems probably 500 times so I’m pretty familiar with them.

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