Home security systems - ADT, Simplisafe, Other?

[Bill Clay 48]

We have ADT and I've been happy with it. Scared off a burglar that tried to enter through a side door, so I'm sold on having a system of some kind. But the ADT price has crept up to $45/mo at this point which is too damn high (like the rent). Is Simplisafe a legit alternative? I know Google/Nest has an alarm product too but don't hear much about it. Any other recs?

[PantsTent 2,002]

1 hour ago, Bill Clay said:

We have ADT and I've been happy with it. Scared off a burglar that tried to enter through a side door, so I'm sold on having a system of some kind. But the ADT price has crept up to $45/mo at this point which is too damn high (like the rent). Is Simplisafe a legit alternative? I know Google/Nest has an alarm product too but don't hear much about it. Any other recs?

Same issue with ADT about 5 years ago with price going from about $30 to $45+.  Switched to Smith Thompson which works with your existing equipment (ours is a traditional dumb system).  Price has been $17/month since 1978 for the basic monitoring.  More for smart systems, etc.

Luckily never had a real alarm, but the kids have set it off before (stupid glass break sensors and slamming doors) and they always call right away so at least know they do monitor.

I'm pretty sure I got the Smith Thompson recommendation from a similar thread on Shaggy.

Edited November 11, 2020 by PantsTent

[SquishMitten 10,403]

Well shit. I was going to recommend Point Security because they have free install, control panel, ring doorbell, and cameras. But I went to check what I’ve been paying, and it’s $55! I think it was $20/month when I signed up. Guess I’ll be following this thread now

[MillerEP 30,447]

You can call and re-negotiate with ADT. Whenever mine creeps up to about $40, I call and knock it back down to $20. It's like cable and phone, you have to threaten to leave, and they'll send you over to the deal makers.

Edited November 11, 2020 by MillerEP

[Quagmire 2,147]

Does the system function without monitoring ? My thought is the actual alarm going off would scare away most, but by the time they try to call you 3 times to verify you didn’t set off alarm , then send the cops it would be too late anyway.

[Enchubben 5,510]

FUCK VIVINT IN THE GOAT ASS. Do not ever go with Vivint. 

Assholes auto-renewed a 5 year agreement on me. The cost to break that contract one year in when I moved and couldn't transfer the service is going to cost me almost $1500 bucks.

 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,508]

6 hours ago, Bill Clay said:

We have ADT and I've been happy with it. Scared off a burglar that tried to enter through a side door, so I'm sold on having a system of some kind. But the ADT price has crept up to $45/mo at this point which is too damn high (like the rent). Is Simplisafe a legit alternative? I know Google/Nest has an alarm product too but don't hear much about it. Any other recs?

OP - when you say a burglar was scared off, were they scared off by the alarm going off, or the police arriving 30 minutes later?

2 hours ago, Quagmire said:

Does the system function without monitoring ? My thought is the actual alarm going off would scare away most, but by the time they try to call you 3 times to verify you didn’t set off alarm , then send the cops it would be too late anyway.

My home security system works just fine without monitoring. The monitoring signs that I bought 10+ years look good as well.

I figure that I've saved over 7K without monitoring.

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by Nice Guy Eddie

[Jerry Callo 8,695]

12 minutes ago, Enchubben said:

FUCK VIVINT IN THE GOAT ASS. Do not ever go with Vivint. 

Assholes auto-renewed a 5 year agreement on me. The cost to break that contract one year in when I moved and couldn't transfer the service is going to cost me almost $1500 bucks.

 

I have Vivint.  60 month contract expired and is auto-renewed month to month with 30 day termination notice.  Probably going to switch to something else to get new fangled cameras and equipment installed.  

[TKthunder2 4,985]

Google/Nest just discontinued their security system and is partnering with ADT in the next year and combining its Smoke Alarm/Door Bells/Cameras with ADTs basic alarm system that will also open more home automation options. We interested to see what the final product will look like.

[Liquor and Poker 3,659]

Big fan of my Abode system.  Cost me about $400 in total parts, took about 30-60 minutes to set everything up.  App is great, system is compatible with Smart Things and Z-Wave products, and I get monitored protection for $200/year.  Unmonitored is roughly $60/year.

[YChang 3,443]

58 minutes ago, Liquor and Poker said:

Big fan of my Abode system.  Cost me about $400 in total parts, took about 30-60 minutes to set everything up.  App is great, system is compatible with Smart Things and Z-Wave products, and I get monitored protection for $200/year.  Unmonitored is roughly $60/year.

+1 for Abode

The geofencing works great. Never have to bother with setting/disarming the alarm now. 

[billfromlaketravis 11,447]

I wish I knew about Smith Thompson before signing up with ADT. 

[Deej 76,752]

[Axle Hongsnort 208]

I looked at everything last month and went with Ring. 1) cheap monthly monitoring at $10 2) tons of hardware options 3) Amazon owns them, so no question they will continue to invest in R&D 4) crazy easy to install 4) simple yet powerful app

I was willing to spend and almost did vivint, but holy shit, look at their yelp reviews. I’ve never seen customers hate a company like that.

[Enchubben 5,510]

34 minutes ago, Axle Hongsnort said:

I looked at everything last month and went with Ring. 1) cheap monthly monitoring at $10 2) tons of hardware options 3) Amazon owns them, so no question they will continue to invest in R&D 4) crazy easy to install 4) simple yet powerful app

I was willing to spend and almost did vivint, but holy shit, look at their yelp reviews. I’ve never seen customers hate a company like that.

Thank god you did not do Vivint. I promised them the last time we talked on the phone I would make it my life’s mission to keep people from using them. If I in any way helped you decide to go elsewhere, I will sleep well.  

[fattyflattie 4,639]

Smith Thompson for years.  Went Ring this time around. Been very happy. Cheap and easy to use system that you can easily build on. 

[TexasEd 8,066]

We have a whole house system but no longer monitored.  We never turned it on unless we were out of town.  

I just ordered a couple of Reolink Argus 2 wireless cameras with solar panels and a QNAP ts251d home NAS and will try to set up my own two camera security system.  The NAS will also be a media server.

Wish me luck.

[Dbeasy 15,040]

I looked at everything last month and went with Ring. 1) cheap monthly monitoring at $10 2) tons of hardware options 3) Amazon owns them, so no question they will continue to invest in R&D 4) crazy easy to install 4) simple yet powerful app

I was willing to spend and almost did vivint, but holy shit, look at their yelp reviews. I’ve never seen customers hate a company like that.

I have the whole Ring enchilada, including now smart lights for the yard. Overall I’m very happy with the system. The only product that hasn’t been great are solar powered cameras. They sometimes don’t trigger recording.

[TexasEd 8,066]

I saw a comparison of the ring to the reolink Argus 2 I ordered and I think I made the right choice. I’ll also add a Google hub to the system for monitoring and as a photo frame for my wife in the kitchen. 

[tokamak 6,391]

I need some learnin' on home security systems. We just bought a new house - all the doors and windows are wired for an alarm (wires all go to one closet), but there's no keypad or anything. Up to us to figure out the rest. We're not very interested in monitoring unless we can get a good deal but we'd like to set up something that will beep when the doors open, etc.

My wife called a few of the ADT-type companies and said they seemed pretty scammy (and crazy expensive). Apparently Simplisafe makes you use all their equipment, which we don't need. Looks like that goes for Ring as well? What are my options here?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,508]

7 minutes ago, tokamak said:

I need some learnin' on home security systems. We just bought a new house - all the doors and windows are wired for an alarm (wires all go to one closet), but there's no keypad or anything. Up to us to figure out the rest. We're not very interested in monitoring unless we can get a good deal but we'd like to set up something that will beep when the doors open, etc.

My wife called a few of the ADT-type companies and said they seemed pretty scammy (and crazy expensive). Apparently Simplisafe makes you use all their equipment, which we don't need. Looks like that goes for Ring as well? What are my options here?

You're asking the right questions. I've repeated myself here again and again but be aware that you don't get much service with the monitoring services. They make it seem like they're proactively watching over your family. They're not. Mainly their job is to talk to you when you open the door to let the dog out but failed to turn off the instant alarm.  I do think there is value in an unmonitored alarm going off if someone breaks into your home.

I can't answer your direct question but I would reach out to a local home automation or security company. Not the big companies that require a 3-4 year commitment. Those local companies should be able to tell you your options. 

[TKthunder2 4,985]

2 hours ago, tokamak said:

I need some learnin' on home security systems. We just bought a new house - all the doors and windows are wired for an alarm (wires all go to one closet), but there's no keypad or anything. Up to us to figure out the rest. We're not very interested in monitoring unless we can get a good deal but we'd like to set up something that will beep when the doors open, etc.

My wife called a few of the ADT-type companies and said they seemed pretty scammy (and crazy expensive). Apparently Simplisafe makes you use all their equipment, which we don't need. Looks like that goes for Ring as well? What are my options here?

Someone in another thread turned me onto this.  It uses your existing hard wired sensors and allow smart home automation.

https://konnected.io/?gclid=CjwKCAjwm7mEBhBsEiwA_of-TCeiGhmjKXdSRrUPBRGnqjIHbDC8T-X-Z7maOFQI_eUKpYZ7sbNhPRoChK8QAvD_BwE

[Axle Hongsnort 208]

Ring is the best mix of value, tech and flexibility IMO

[MonkeyDoughnut 10,227]

On 5/2/2021 at 9:42 AM, tokamak said:

I need some learnin' on home security systems. We just bought a new house - all the doors and windows are wired for an alarm (wires all go to one closet), but there's no keypad or anything. Up to us to figure out the rest. We're not very interested in monitoring unless we can get a good deal but we'd like to set up something that will beep when the doors open, etc.

My wife called a few of the ADT-type companies and said they seemed pretty scammy (and crazy expensive). Apparently Simplisafe makes you use all their equipment, which we don't need. Looks like that goes for Ring as well? What are my options here?

Are the wires in the closet loose or already in a control panel? Also, there is no keypad anywhere? What about a wall plate at the appropriate height that you have no idea why it's there?  It seems very off they would wire the doors and windows and not wire up keypad locations.

[tokamak 6,391]

Are the wires in the closet loose or already in a control panel? Also, there is no keypad anywhere? What about a wall plate at the appropriate height that you have no idea why it's there?  It seems very off they would wire the doors and windows and not wire up keypad locations.

Wires are loose in the closet. No keypad locations that I can tell. I asked about it at one point during the build process and was told “oh they’re all wireless these days anyway”. I’ve been dealing with the builder’s AV/low voltage guy on some other stuff as well and I can say with confidence that he is one seriously lazy motherfucker.

Now that I type it out, maybe I’d be better off just forgetting about the sensors and wires that are already there and just do my own thing with Simplisafe or Ring.

[TexasEd 8,066]

Ring has a box you can wire in to the pre wired sensors.

[Pancho 44,694]

Simplisafe is having a sale that ends tonight. Wondering if it’s worth it?  They have a Shit ton of good reviews but so does vivint.

 

Xfinity was shit
 

 

[troph 24,781]

We are about to start the rough-in on our home and are thinking about hard wiring sensors, sounds like monitoring though is worthless meaning any alarm is just an alarm to let you know it’s time to get your gun and a warning to the asshole that you’re aware and getting your gun, am I right? 

[fattyflattie 4,639]

On 11/6/2021 at 7:36 AM, troph said:

We are about to start the rough-in on our home and are thinking about hard wiring sensors, sounds like monitoring though is worthless meaning any alarm is just an alarm to let you know it’s time to get your gun and a warning to the asshole that you’re aware and getting your gun, am I right? 

The monitoring is like $10, so I do it. Whether it works on not I don’t know. Would definitely hardwire the sensors in.  Much less intrusive visual that the alternative. 

[TexasEd 8,066]

On 11/6/2021 at 7:36 AM, troph said:

We are about to start the rough-in on our home and are thinking about hard wiring sensors, sounds like monitoring though is worthless meaning any alarm is just an alarm to let you know it’s time to get your gun and a warning to the asshole that you’re aware and getting your gun, am I right? 

Run hardwire.  Does not rely on wifi being up.  

Also run Cat6 wiring to every room or at least to key areas of the house.  There are some things that are just more reliable on copper than wifi like streaming movies and such.  Maybe I'm just overly cautious but I use copper where I can and have run a couple extra lines over the years.

Figure out where you want security cameras and run the CAT 6 there too.

Edited November 8, 2021 by TexasEd

[MillerEP 30,447]

I've been with ADT for years. They installed RING products for my doorbell and outdoor camera, but just run it all through their app. I practically never set it because my big dog is big enough to set off the internal motion detectors when we're away, and I don't want to get a bunch of false alarms. I'd only set it if I plan on going away for more than a day and I don't have the dog there. The only benefit I get from it is I get an email with a video clip of everything going on in the front of my house sent to an email folder that I check every day, and I also get free replacements/repairs when they shit the bed which both have over the years. I'm told if I cancel the monitoring, I'd lose access to the videos, so I shell out the $40 a month.

[Dutchrudder 11,133]

I have Smith Thompson in my area, and they charge $16.95 a month for basic monitoring.  I went with the Wifi enabled version that has an app on our phones to check it, and that was $5 more per month. $22 per month, no contract, price has always been the same. I really liked their install guy, he was really nice. 

[HouTex 1,866]

I have an existing alarm system (with Eyeon Integrated Solutions--apparently a Houston-based provider).  It has a z-wave hub and uses Alarm.com which I can access with my iPhone.  It seems I can integrate other z-wave devices with the Alarm.com account.  I'm already paying for monitoring through Eyeon.  I am looking to add a Ring-type door bell/monitor and at least one outdoor security camera/motion sensor.  Is there any advice for using z-wave compatible devices and running them through the z-wave hub vs. going with a standalone system like Ring?  

[thunderlounge 7,813]

It depends if you want to piecemeal things together, while using multiple apps, or try to be more compatible with fewer apps to manage across. 
 

That doesn’t necessarily mean all zwave or all of this or that. There is always the option of apps like homekit, google home, or other type management apps that may be able to bridge daily operations into one place. 
 

I ended up down the first route. It’s a lot of clutter. An app for the lights, the ceiling fan, smart outlets, tv’s, ring doorbell, door locks, remote cameras, and I’m sure I’m forgetting something. 
 

Some of it isn’t terrible, as most of it is set it and forget it. But if you want the light off before it’s scheduled, then it’s open the app ( in my case, Hue) and turn the light or light group off.

Same for most pf the things on my smart plugs. Most of the time the schedule is fine for those, but again it’s open another app if not.

That isn’t exactly a direct answer, but may help narrow your scope a bit. 

[TwiceHorn 31,438]

We went with simplisafe in new house. There was some stuff already here, but kind of spotty, and, as I removed it, apparently some kind of AT&T thing. 

Their monitoring is 29.95/month, no contract/obligation. 9.95 for camera recordings. The latter is probably what we'll end up with. 

The stuff seems good, easy to install and pretty well thought out. The standard camera mount may be a bit inflexible. 

I honestly kinda wanted to avoid an Amazon ecosystem so ring never really was a consideration. 

[Viper 12,101]

ADT has a new Nest Product coming out soon. I think they're waiting on everyone's Nest vouchers to expire.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/23/24048187/adt-smart-home-security-system-google-nest-launch

[HouTex 1,866]

I ended up buying a Eufy system.  It’s another app but Eyeon wanted to sell me cameras and equipment at $325 plus another $20 per month in Cloud storage.  The Eufy system stores the videos on a local card that can store 3 months of videos which is more than I need.  So long as my internet is up (it rarely goes down) I can access the videos from my iPhone anywhere that I get an internet connection.  No monthly fees.  If I don’t like it I have 30 days to return it with Amazon.  

[Okie State 3,804]

Our house has some Ring cameras outside when we moved in so I added on the alarm package which I installed myself on all the doors and downstairs windows. We pay $10/month for video recording without monitoring. I've never really seen a lot of value for the monitoring.

[TwiceHorn 31,438]

So, we have had our simplisafe installed, up and running for about a week now. The main interest was cameras and at first they seemed a little wonky. 

Digging deeper, simplisafes doorbell and indoor cameras seem to be rock solid, but their outdoor cameras apparently are a non-native design that has had some problems. Connectivity, interference, low range, etc. 

That said, after some initial hiccups, they seem to be working fine. The other sensors also, but they are simpler and less finicky. 

We have full monitoring for now at the mentioned 30/mo,but will probably change that to just video recording for 10/mo.

Satisfied. I think. 

[Gil Bang 25,907]

Los Angeles area police are saying a burglary gang is working the area and they are using Wi-Fi jammers to disable many security systems

[TexasEd 8,066]

2 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

Los Angeles area police are saying a burglary gang is working the area and they are using Wi-Fi jammers to disable many security systems

This is one of my concerns.  Ring has a wired option for people like me that have wired sensors in every door and window.  They call it the retrofit system: https://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Ring-Retrofit-Alarm-Kit/dp/B07Y926SS8/ref=asc_df_B07Y926SS8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=385448272964&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18325711883469657945&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028226&hvtargid=pla-1042404308792&psc=1&mcid=8f4b6e25495339daa89040acffe6f313&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=81228106969&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=385448272964&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18325711883469657945&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028226&hvtargid=pla-1042404308792&gclid=CjwKCAjwkuqvBhAQEiwA65XxQF7U2w58pODWOdktjPNSzUH1td-vv0A4YWpkgETDisFjPLm_1iGKgBoC1G4QAvD_BwE

 

I need to look into weaknesses like requiring a wifi signal to other parts of the alarm.  The main thing I would want the wireless sensor for is my liquor cabinet. and maybe adding sensors to the garage doors.