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Post by AN on Nov 2, 2018 18:26:23 GMT
I found a (new model) Simplisafe system someone is selling at about half price, sort of the bare bones to get started - the base & keypad, 4 entry sensors, and a motion sensor. I'm considering buying it and seeing if we like it before committing to any sort of monitoring or additional sensors. It does seem like Simplisafe is 10x more useful with the monitoring, but I just want to make sure it's livable for us first.
For example, we have 3 doors we go in and out regularly. How often are we going to forget to disarm the system while going in and out? I was thinking we'd put the keypad at the garage door, but if someone is at the front door - going to be a pain to disarm it.
The monitoring is $25/month for what I'd get, which is where you can control it from the app. I guess that would solve a lot of the issues if you can disable it from the app versus having to walk to the keypad. Our doors aren't close together.
Really wondering if it's going to make us crazy when it is on Home mode.
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Post by Patter on Nov 2, 2018 19:25:59 GMT
We have simplisafe and it is monitored. It works really well. We even have apps on our phone and can check whether we armed the house before left or not. If we didn't we can arm it from the app. We also get a text is an issue (i.e. alarm going off) as well as phone calls. It is very easy to install. That's what my daughter had. It was monitored, she used the app, etc. Worked terrible for her. For $10 more a month, she got CPI which was so much better. I would just warn anyone looking at it that it may not be what you are looking for. Glad it's working great for you though.
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Post by AN on Nov 2, 2018 19:46:56 GMT
We have simplisafe and it is monitored. It works really well. We even have apps on our phone and can check whether we armed the house before left or not. If we didn't we can arm it from the app. We also get a text is an issue (i.e. alarm going off) as well as phone calls. It is very easy to install. That's what my daughter had. It was monitored, she used the app, etc. Worked terrible for her. For $10 more a month, she got CPI which was so much better. I would just warn anyone looking at it that it may not be what you are looking for. Glad it's working great for you though. What was the cause of false alarms? Totally random, or was a sensor going off somewhere mistakenly? Just trying to figure out watch outs. I haven't seen a lot of complaints about false alarms.
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Post by busy on Nov 2, 2018 20:00:16 GMT
I know several people who have Simplisafe systems and they all seem happy with them. We went with Xfinity Home because we have Xfinity internet and cable and that's not changing (there are no other viable high speed internet providers to our house), so the contract isn't tying us to anything that we might potentially leave. That said, I'm happy with the system. The installation was professional and no extra charge. The hardware is good. The app is good - I like being able to disarm/arm from my phone with Face ID. I never use the "at home" setting because it immediately sets off the alarm if you open the door without disarming, where as "away" gives you 30 or 60 seconds of beeping to disarm. I hate that.
I know Comcast is generally the devil, but I'm actually happy with our system. The one time we had a false alarm (our fault) and they called us, it was simple to sort things out.
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pancakes
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,993
Feb 4, 2015 6:49:53 GMT
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Post by pancakes on Nov 2, 2018 22:38:37 GMT
I grew up with a security system at home, so I got one as an adult.
I've had Simplisafe, since around 2011 or so, and I've had few to no problems with it. I pay for the monitoring and the most "expensive" plan so I can use it remotely. Our house also has a Ring doorbell, Ecobee and Nest thermostats, August and Yale locks, and Arlo outdoor cameras.
None of these things (aside from the thermostats) are hardwired in, and I prefer it that way. I had initially purchased Simplisafe because I was in my 20s and moved around quite a bit. I still like it and would recommend it to anyone.
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pancakes
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,993
Feb 4, 2015 6:49:53 GMT
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Post by pancakes on Nov 2, 2018 22:40:12 GMT
I found a (new model) Simplisafe system someone is selling at about half price, sort of the bare bones to get started - the base & keypad, 4 entry sensors, and a motion sensor. I'm considering buying it and seeing if we like it before committing to any sort of monitoring or additional sensors. It does seem like Simplisafe is 10x more useful with the monitoring, but I just want to make sure it's livable for us first. For example, we have 3 doors we go in and out regularly. How often are we going to forget to disarm the system while going in and out? I was thinking we'd put the keypad at the garage door, but if someone is at the front door - going to be a pain to disarm it. The monitoring is $25/month for what I'd get, which is where you can control it from the app. I guess that would solve a lot of the issues if you can disable it from the app versus having to walk to the keypad. Our doors aren't close together. Really wondering if it's going to make us crazy when it is on Home mode. You can buy a second keypad for the back door. I know that costs $, but it's def something you can do. And maybe you can find someone selling just a keypad for cheap as well.
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Post by Patter on Nov 2, 2018 22:44:51 GMT
That's what my daughter had. It was monitored, she used the app, etc. Worked terrible for her. For $10 more a month, she got CPI which was so much better. I would just warn anyone looking at it that it may not be what you are looking for. Glad it's working great for you though. What was the cause of false alarms? Totally random, or was a sensor going off somewhere mistakenly? Just trying to figure out watch outs. I haven't seen a lot of complaints about false alarms. Sensors kept going off mistakenly. Different sensors too, and they would not mail her new ones without her paying. It really was terrible CS. Having used two other companies in the past, I was not impressed with them at all.
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Post by bdawnb on Nov 3, 2018 2:49:13 GMT
We have an installed alarm that is monitored by an independent company. Instead of window contacts, we did glass breakage sensors where there are windows and doors. We also have an exterior camera and doorbell (Ring) that is separate from the alarm system. A local police officer told us once that an intruder looking to break into your home only needs between 3-5 minutes to run to a bedroom and grab a drawer of jewelry, a laptop or whatever else of value is laying around. That's less than the time it takes for your alarm to be triggered, notify the central station and dispatch police. We lock all of our doors when leaving, especially the door from the garage to the house. We didn’t, even after someone kicked our French doors in and did just this - grabbed our flat screen and the laptop in the living room and ran out the front door. However, the next time someone came in they spent hours going through every.single.thing.in.my.house down to Kleenex boxes just to find any and all jewelry. Tore my house apart. Now we have a monitored system and cameras inside and outside.
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Post by glory77 on Nov 3, 2018 4:01:32 GMT
Yes, we have Simplisafe and Ring products. We pay for the monitoring so we can turn the alarm on/off remotely. They also have a key ring remote. We’ve been extremely happy with both Simplisafe and Ring. We did pay an electrician to install the Ring devices because they were wired (two spotlight cams and the doorbell), but the Simplisafe system is really easy to install yourself and will only take about 15 minutes. All the sensors have double stick tape so no drilling or wires. Plus, if you move, you can take the whole system with you. I’ve also got a big dog who sounds mean when someone knocks on the door, but as soon as I let them in, he’s lovable. We live in a low crime area, but my husband travels some for work and these systems help me feel more comfortable. And yes, I’m a wimp, so even during the day when I’m showering or just hanging out alone, I still arm the system.
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Post by Just Beth on Nov 3, 2018 13:06:16 GMT
We have ADT and I just call out "Alexa, tell ADT to arm the system" and she turns it on. I have 60 seconds to get out whatever door I decide to use. If I forget I just turn it on with the app.
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Post by pepperwood on Nov 4, 2018 0:02:35 GMT
I just switched to ADT and had a horible installation experience. We were using the existing window and door sensors, motion detector and fire alarms and only adding a video doorbell, camera in the back, garage door controller and CO dectector The techinician was here for three full days (which I had to take off without pay!) The first day he could not figure out how to connect the wires to their keypad and blamed it on the fact that the old keypad was mounted on a load bearing column. He cut an 18x3 inch hole in my wall trying to get around the column and said that he would need to cut into the wall from the other side of the wall behind my refrigerator. Fortunately, when he came back a week later, his supervisor gave him a different keypad that was supposed to work. He spent the whole day unsuccessfully trying to hook it up and said that he claimed the unit was defective. When he came back the third day, he said someone told him what he was doing wrong and he finally finished the installation. He did a shitty job patching the hole he left in the wall.
Other than that, I am happy with the new system but have only had it for a couple of days.
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Post by mollycoddle on Nov 4, 2018 0:14:38 GMT
We have a system in the house we moved to it it isn’t monitored. We have a panic button on it, that one of our cats found right after we moved in....that was fun. Oy. We also have a German Shepherd. One who doesn’t like people coming in. His job is to bark every time we come in or out, anytime I go to the door to meet the pizza delivery guy, ups, or anyone... he also stakes out the yard every time he goes outside. Frankly I trust him more than the security system. German shepherds are the best! They are my favorite dogs.
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Post by AN on Nov 4, 2018 0:25:14 GMT
It's really interesting to me reading about everyone's experience with different systems! I didn't grow up with one, so this is all new to me.
Got the Simplisafe installed today, and ended up also adding 2 Blink cameras I was able to get off Facebook marketplace at a great price. I went ahead and set up monitoring because I realized very quickly being concerned about false alarms while I'm not home and don't know it's going off was going to stress me out more.
I'm pretty impressed by the ease and flexibility of the system so far, but we will see how it works over time. If I like it after a few weeks, I will get a few supplements, like water sensors for the water heaters (in the ATTIC... what could go wrong) and a smoke detector so it is all monitored. They really do make it so you can build to your comfort level.
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