Response
Cellular Backup
Internet down? Power glitched? Pro Monitoring tier includes a cellular backup hub that keeps your system online when nothing else is.
What it is
Cellular backup is a secondary internet connection through an LTE-M cellular modem built into the Halstead Hub. If your home's wifi internet drops or your power goes out, the hub stays connected through cellular and continues processing alarms, sending notifications, and (on Pro Monitoring) communicating with the central station.
How it works
Step by step.
Hub uses wifi by default
Under normal conditions, the Halstead Hub connects to your home wifi for camera communication, cloud upload, and platform connectivity.
Wifi failure detected
If the hub loses wifi connectivity (router crash, ISP outage, severed line), it detects the failure within seconds and automatically fails over to cellular.
Cellular maintains alarm path
Through the LTE-M modem, the hub continues to communicate alarms to Halstead's platform and (on Pro Monitoring) to the central station partner. Notifications still fire. Smart escalation still works.
24-hour battery backup
If your power also goes out, the hub's lithium-ion battery sustains the system for approximately 24 hours, depending on activity level. Cameras with their own battery backup continue recording and the hub continues sending alarms via cellular.
Auto-recovery when wifi/power return
When your wifi or power restores, the hub automatically switches back to wifi and resumes normal cloud upload of any video that was queued during the outage.
Why it matters
The most common time for a residential break-in is during or after a storm or power outage — when traditional security systems are offline and homeowners are distracted. Cellular backup ensures your security never goes dark, even when everything else does.
Common questions
What carriers does the cellular backup use?+
Halstead's cellular hubs use LTE-M (Cat-M1) on multiple major carriers' networks for maximum coverage. The hub auto-selects the strongest available signal at your location.
Does cellular backup increase my monthly cost?+
Cellular backup is included with the Pro Monitoring tier ($75/month). It's available as an add-on to the Premium tier for $10/month additional.
Will I get full video upload during a wifi outage?+
During a wifi outage, the cellular connection prioritizes alarm signaling over video upload to conserve cellular bandwidth. Footage continues recording locally to the hub. When wifi restores, queued footage uploads to the cloud automatically.
What about the 24-hour battery — what if power is out longer?+
After 24 hours on battery, the hub will send a low-battery alert and then enter a power-conservation mode that maintains alarm signaling but stops video processing. For most residential power outages this is more than sufficient — most outages resolve within 12-24 hours.