TONS of pretty good reviews (4.7 out of 5.0) over at amazon
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We bought this when woot had a deal a few months ago. This SEEMS like a great product. Until you actually deal with their dispatch, which I understand is outsourced. We had a nightmare that took hours to sort out - and ended up with a false alarm charge. So, this whole thing LOOKS great, until you actually have to deal with the company, or their outsourced dispatch. The company has REALLY fallen short there. Just beware - when you need this to work right, it might not!
BTW, look at the reviews - on the positive ones, few actually had an alarm go off. It really is easy to set up, I will say.
Anyone look at the app reviews? The reasons to switch to a new alarm system would include control via phone. The reviews say this truly sucks! No wonder they’re dumping this.
I bought my system straight from SimpliSafe just over a year ago. The system isn’t as fancy as some others out there, but then again they are trying to keep the price down. It works perfectly for my needs and I have not had one false alarm.
As someone else posted about a fee for a false alarm, well that is up to your local law enforcement and what their policies are, not the alarm company. I tested mine and had a call in 20 seconds and no issue cancelling with my safe word.
I installed everything myself one day and haven’t had any problems since. Even the 3M strips have held up on everything (they include screws too if you want to use those).
I suggest looking/searching the SimpliSafe website forum if you have questions. They allow the forum to be open to both positive and negative discussions. Very helpful.
I use the basic monitoring, but upgraded to the top tier plan while on vacation so I had remote control of the system and text alerts. I downgraded when I got home. The app worked perfect for me on my Samsung Galaxy S3.
You don’t have to purchase monitoring, but with my homeowners discount, I’m paying a couple bucks a month.
The cell connection is included and is the primary connection, you can connect a landline for a backup, but that’s mostly for dialing the monitoring company and doesn’t work for the app. You can also purchase a broadband adapter if you don’t have a landline.
Everything has batteries, even the base has built-in rechargeables that will power the base for a day if the powers out.
I would highly recommend getting extra sirens for inside and out, as the base siren isn’t loud enough. (they sell a 105db auxiliary siren- I bought two)
They are supposedly working on cameras, but it’s been in the works for a few years and no set release date yet. I purchased a Foscam HD camera that works great on it’s own.
As I work in the security technology field, I have to give my endorsement to this system. The days of ADT and the like are over. This really is the future of home security systems. I highly recommend this hardware.
Unfortunately these security systems including the bigger names like ADT are pretty much useless in my experience.
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Our dogs set off the motion sensors daily despite the Alarm company assuring us these couldn’t be set off by pets.
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The monitoring staff would try notifying all 3 contact phone numbers before calling the police wasting precious minutes.
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When the police had been called they would often fail to respond or come hours later. It just wasn’t a high priority for them since there were so many false alarms.
I have used similar products in the past with some of my commercial properties; namely Laser-shield. I in no way would recommend these products. They are fine when they work, but they don’t always. I even had one of the systems stolen when it was activated out of a building. If you are in the market for a security system get one installed.
Thanks to the encouragement from some kind thieves, I put one of these systems in last summer.
When the police came for my break-in, we discussed security systems, and they ensured me that they make security system calls a priority. Luckily, I haven’t had to test that, but a friend that lives down the street did (they were out of town and I was their next phone contact). It was a false alarm (a sensor on their Vivant system fell), but two police were there (with guns drawn) before me (I’m only a block away).
I’m not saying that a speedy response is the norm everywhere, but alarms seems effective here (and the police agreed with that).
How does paying for installation make it more effective? Do you mean hard-wired? If so, none of the installers in my area are using hard-wired systems anymore. Vivant is the biggest one in my area, and their systems are wireless.
I don’t know if any of this may help or apply, but here you go.
- Cats especially will give motion detectors and infrared detectors fits. go with glass breaks in main rooms and of course window and door sensors. they have to get in before they can trip a motion detector anyway.
2 and 3. My system has a 2way radio that dispatch can contact first. I have been told, and I cannot verify this, but if the 2-way indicates sounds of disturbance they can report such to the police who will move it up the priority list as something is actually going on versus a false alarm. I don’t know if this is true or marketing hype, but it sounds good. Your alarm call center should be able to call you or text for verification within a minute or two to protect against a false signal to the police, and depending on jurisdiction, a fine for a false alarm. I have gotten a text within 30 seconds and a call within 90 seconds of an alarm in my home. If your times are longer, as is a problem with some companies, get a new alarm monitoring service.
I would buy this if on one of the Woot’s for this product they offered individual “extra” pieces in addition to the “base” package…So you could order options…Like more motion detectors…Basically so you could “design” your system for your house…This “basic” kit does not work for me…and I am not going to hunt all over the internet for the extra pieces I would need…
I’m looking for something to use at our lake house. However we don’t have a phone line or Wi-Fi. Crazy I know rite! But that’s why I go to the lake to get away from it all. So I’m mostly looking for something I can install and have an alarm go off (siren) and also add a siren outside the house. Thinking it will scare the person away being so loud. So I don’t want to pay any monthly fee. Is this system for me? Thanks!
FYI…
You don’t have to hunt for all the pcs. If you go to their website they have all the add-on you can buy separately on their website.
My house is protected by the Smith & Wesson company. No alarm needed
I bought this system off Woot over a year ago as well. Liked it so much I had my father buy a system during another sale and he likes it as well.
If you want to run it without paying for the service, it’s not a problem. To make it not display the message that says something like “not connected to carrier” on the keypad you just call them and they change it in their system. You update it via the usb that comes with it and that’s it, no more message.
I do recommend buying the extra loud 105db siren, at least I think that’s the db rating but you all can find which one I’m talking about. I’m just replacing the keypad batteries today actually and it’s over a year old so that’s not bad IMO. The sensor batteries last much longer, I forget how long, but I think 3 or 5 years and I bet they will no problems.
I installed my system in under and hour and once familiar with doing it did my fathers in 30 minutes.
If you want a very good system that is easy to add extra sensors and alarm sirens to that is cheap to purchase and does not require monthly contracts get this system, you will not be disappointed.
While it says this is a totally wireless system, I am assuming that the master unit still requires electricity to provide power for that aspect of it??? (the specs. do not indicate, however I do see mention of a “battery Back-up”, so I assume electricity is the main power source - (I need something for a building that has no electrical power in it)
The iPhone app is fine. You can set your alarm to Home, Away, and Off. It also shows sensor status, Temp, Fire alarm, CO2, flood.
The base has a plug, and has built-in battery backup that lasts “up to 48 hrs”, but is more likely half that. You can replace the AA rechargeable batteries with higher capacity to get a little more time. Search the forums on their website. There have been a few threads on powering the base with solar and batteries to stay off the grid. (I think it was under some threads about the battery backup)
Extreme temperatures can have adverse affects on the sensors- namely the battery life.