Getting ready to pull the trigger and buy this.. Does anyone own this and how do I like it Thanks in advance
We have a Frontpoint system, which is very similar in benefits and operation. I’d say go for it. You can tailor it to do whatever you want.
I bought SimpliSafe in my townhome when I was single. LOVED it. At least when I used it, you could shut off service any time (no contracts) and just use it as an internal alarm, which I wound up opting for. You do pay per piece, so upfront cost will depend on how many doors/windows you want covered, but I found it to be a GREAT way to avoid long-term contracts, yet still get a system that made me feel safe. There might be more secure systems out there (hardwired into wall), but it fit my needs perfectly, I LOVED that you could shut on or off service (no contract), and I'd buy it again in a heartbeat! PS I had one of the big name companies come out for a quote before I found SimpliSafe. Creepy, high-pressure sales guy, and again, creepy. On top of creepy, he then wouldn't leave, until I gave him a piece of homemade lasagna for the road as a bribe. I know, not the norm, as most techs are probably fine, but this specific guy was DEFINITELY not someone I wanted installing my system. With SimpliSafe, you do it yourself, so no creeper risk!
Ok sounds good question at night I will set it Now I have habit of going down to get something to drink in middle of night Will the sensor put off alarm ? Do I have too turn it off each time and reset ? Thanks
Depends on how you set it, and if you use motion detectors inside. I preferred to only use entry-point alarms, outside doors and windows, and I did not opt for indoor motion detectors, too much of a PITA for me. I just wanted to know if someone was getting IN, but wanted to be able to walk around inside at my leisure. So, if you use for points-of-entry only, you could play a soccer game inside and be fine.
You set the alarm for home or away. Home will leave all your interior sensors off, but perimeter doors, windows, glass breakage, etc. on. Away arms everything. It’s a shock if you incorrectly set it to away and wander out to your kitchen at night, especially if don’t have an entry delay set.
Just to throw out a cheap alternative. We have three of these cameras at $20 each. When we are not traveling, we turn off the motion detector and sound detector alerts. We leave on the built-in CO2 detector and fire detector. One camera covers the two back doors, the 2nd, the front door and one in the garage that covers the two overhead doors and the service door. Simple install, all wifi and no monthly fees. They also can record video and take stills. https://www.wyzecam.com/
I loved it at first, incredibly easy setup and as others have said, completely customizable to your own needs. Here are some things that frustrate me with them, with the caveat that I still use them with monitored service: 1) The base station alarm is very low volume. When it was going off once, we didn't even realize (we were upstairs) until we received a call from the monitoring company. You have to pay extra for a loud alarm. However, the smoke detectors have their own alarms and those are loud. 2) We had a few smoke detectors start going off randomly when no smoke/humidity was present and if we weren't home, we wouldn't have known that there wasn't a fire and would have asked them to contact the fire department. When I spoke to customer service, I received a lecture that if I don't clean them with a vacuum every 4 weeks, dust build-up will cause random false alarms. I have had smoke detectors for 15+ years with this never happening. Before hanging up, the representative made sure to let me know that they are not responsible for false alarms and I would have to pay the FD if they did come out for nothing (I think it is $250 in my county). They did replace them and we haven't had problems since. 3) Despite being 20 feet away from the base station, the keypad by the garage frequently loses connection to the base station. So, there have been several times when I got home, turned off the alarm on the keypad, only to have it's connection lost and the alarm goes off since I can't load the app fast enough to disable the alarm through the internet. After advising me to change the batteries, just in case, customer service stated that this is common and is the result of interference with other wireless devices and not something that they could help with. If I was a rich man, I would pay through the nose for Google's solution, but Simplisafe gets the job done, albeit a little shakily!
Jeffers102 post above is why I chose Frontpoint. Similar system design and never a problem, ever. Sadly I’ve learned that the alarm is very loud because I’ve inadvertently set it off myself. These systems are not cheap when you have monitoring, but I like the additional things they can do. We have elaborate lighting controls attached which do things like automatically turn on interior lights when you raise the main garage door (so you don’t come into a dark house). Garage overhead lights come on automatically when I open a garage exit door. If we get an alarm all the lights come on. We can control our digital front door lock with it (for instance our housekeeper has her own limited privilege front door lock code). Finally, it’s great for Las Vegas trips! Not only are we monitored and protected, but we can turn lights on and off, etc.
We have used Frontpoint for the past 2.5 years. Install is easy and you get a lot of options to customize your setup. I just wish you could customize through the app more than just enable/disable home/away. We also have Ring cameras on the outside of our house. We live in a low crime area, but we are gone a lot. It's good to make sure there is no ********* snooping around. We will always have a monitored system. I think it is very important, especially for anyone who has gun(s) in their home. Not to mention, it isn't very expensive when you factor in the homeowner's insurance discount.
I think it is a very good system. There are so many options out there it all depends on your requirements. With them you are paying for their monitoring service, but not sure they store any of the recordings. Granted getting notified is important but also using the video as a means to capture the people is also important. What ever your requirements as long as the system meets it then good for you.