House alarm monitoring

[scarlet knight]

We have an old hard wired house alarm. We just got a big, increased bill from the monitoring company. Can anyone suggest a different monitoring company? Can one easily switch?

[donas]

I have used Vector Security in SC and TN for about 12 years now. Not the cheapest, but I have been pretty pleased with the service. They have been very good about taking over previously installed hardwired sensors in both houses. I'm not a tech expert, but they supposedly had to change something in the central box to take over monitoring. I called some other companies who refused to take over hardwired sensors. I pay about $40 a month for first 3 years and then it drops from there. Also, they have added wireless sensors to enhance my alarm where hardwired wasn't previously installed.

I like their phone app features. It allows me to see any activated sensor and time whether alarm is on or not. It also detects "usual" activity and will notify if a door is opened that isn't usually opened or one remains open for extended time.

[Blansky]

Been a bunch of threads on this.

Personally I'd just get something like Simplisafe and a bunch of loud sirens.

I think the whole monitoring thing is a racket. (see what I did there)

[donas]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Been a bunch of threads on this.

Personally I'd just get something like Simplisafe and a bunch of loud sirens.

I think the whole monitoring thing is a racket. (see what I did there)

Even though I pay for monitoring, there is also truth to this statement. Being a retired LEO, I have been on the responding end of many activated alarms. Some were great, some had a delay of 20-30 minutes.

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by donas

Even though I pay for monitoring, there is also truth to this statement. Being a retired LEO, I have been on the responding end of many activated alarms. Some were great, some had a delay of 20-30 minutes.

Did you ever catch anyone, or were almost all false alarms. I would think LEOs would tire of this type of thing.

I guess it depends where you live.

[donas]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Did you ever catch anyone, or were almost all false alarms. I would think LEOs would tire of this type of thing.

I guess it depends where you live.

I did catch a few, but if I was to say percentage of apprehensions vs alarms would definitely be less than 1%. The best one was a Pep Boys auto store. I parked far away and snuck up with my K-9. I peeked in a bay door window and there was literally a black ski mask peeking out the same window! There is no way to describe that feeling.....who wears a black ski mask, outside of movie villans!! LOL.

On the flip side, once I was stopped at a red light and a hold up alarm went out at a bank I was stopped in front of! Again, what a feeling! Turned out, there was a 20+ minute delay in alarm to police notification. The bank policy was for the alarm to go to their own monitoring center who in turn calls in house security who then calls police.

And yes, I did tire of it, but forced myself to act like every alarm was real.

[Blansky]

While on vacation, we used to use a pet sitter that would come by twice a day to feed the dogs and bird. She set off the alarm at least 3 times, and would be standing in the house, with the alarm blaring and the cops banging on the door with the dogs going crazy. She'd be on the phone to me..."what was the code again"....

What a disaster. I finally had to shut of the alarms when I went on vacation.

[singe89]

combination of Ring doorbell and security lights and Vivint cameras and monitoring. Dont remember the cost of all the ring stuff but monitoring is only around $100 per month and we now have a dozen cameras inside and out and house automation with door locks, lights, AC/Heater, etc.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by scarlet knight

We have an old hard wired house alarm. We just got a big, increased bill from the monitoring company. Can anyone suggest a different monitoring company? Can one easily switch?

Whoever you choose, they will need to come in and install the module that calls them, rather than your old company, and likely the keypad. All of the rest of the system is probably compatible, it's just nuts and bolts..

[Carry The Interest]

Originally Posted by singe89

combination of Ring doorbell and security lights and Vivint cameras and monitoring. Dont remember the cost of all the ring stuff but monitoring is only around $100 per month and we now have a dozen cameras inside and out and house automation with door locks, lights, AC/Heater, etc.

Vivint is an appealing solution if you are looking to make the security company switch an opportunity to make your house more of a "smart home." I'd say they offer the closest thing to a comprehensive solution in security + smart home offerings.

[snypa]

Currently going through legal proceedings with our monitored alarm company after we had someone in our house for 2 hours, triggering all alarms.. No none was sent out and then the alarm company dealt with it by ignoring us completely!

funnily enough when I created a new email address and enquired about becoming a new customer they replied immediately!

Everything was fine as it was actually the cleaner that made a last minute date change whilst we were on holiday and her message didn't get to us, luckily!

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

[Blansky]

Monitoring companies:

What they sell you, and what you really get.

[dtwer]

Originally Posted by Carry The Interest

Vivint is an appealing solution if you are looking to make the security company switch an opportunity to make your house more of a "smart home." I'd say they offer the closest thing to a comprehensive solution in security + smart home offerings.

They are ok, the keypad is kinda buggy; everything time something goes wrong it still requires a phone call to the tech support with long queue. Once getting through the tech support is generally quite helpful.

[CKizzy]

We have a ADT system, it's easy to use both at home and on my phone and the support has been good!

[Ballzzz]

I think it’s all a scam and hope I die feeling that way BUT it makes my wife feel safe so I have ADT.

[101031-28]

Have been using Simplisafe for the past 4 years. Love them! Had ADT for 8 prior. Simplisafe is a breeze to install (DIY), has many options to choose from (I have video cameras and obnoxiously loud sirens), one amazing app and awesome staff! They respond within 30 seconds of a triggered alarm and a couple of times I missed them and found Police officers at my door in less than 8 minutes from the alarm going off.

[77T]

Originally Posted by scarlet knight

We have an old hard wired house alarm. We just got a big, increased bill from the monitoring company. Can anyone suggest a different monitoring company? Can one easily switch?

You can easily switch companies if your old system is one of the brands for which they already have a decoder. Of course you may need to make some calls with your model number in hand.

Now the reason your monitoring fee jumped might be a migration strategy for their installed base. The newer monitoring systems provide better cost control at their center. Old systems can’t be handled by the software and require the center’s agent to intervene.

It’s your call if you’ve been satisfied with their responsiveness thus far - maybe ask them if the price jump was associated with the old system. They may have cheaper plans for updated IP/Ethernet compatible systems.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Runnin' Rebel]

Originally Posted by 101031-28

Have been using Simplisafe for the past 4 years. Love them! Had ADT for 8 prior. Simplisafe is a breeze to install (DIY), has many options to choose from (I have video cameras and obnoxiously loud sirens), one amazing app and awesome staff! They respond within 30 seconds of a triggered alarm and a couple of times I missed them and found Police officers at my door in less than 8 minutes from the alarm going off.

+ 100, I have ADT and SimpliSafe, simpliSafe very quick to respond. With 4 cameras motion detector. Panic alarm all lower level under control with my phones it’s a great system so far 9 months. Every
camera is 720 clear. I love the infrared on the camera. Took 15 minutes to set up and I believe if someone cuts power to Base station it reverts to cell network to handle the emergency calls and for me to pull up instant camera recording on my phone with speaker to communicate- 2 cameras outside work great too with full coverage I need

I believe SimpliSafe is 25.00 a month and can cancel any time. ADT is getting ridiculously priced so that may be gone end of summer, although when both alarms go off it’s crazy loud.

Highly recommended, 2 alarms and dogs named beretta and Glock you’re set. Any where in the world you can watch on your phone if anything is going on

[PeqFB]

I use ADT. Get a quote from a few providers and let your current one know you know prices and they may match.

[JasoninDenver]

I use Abode and love them.

Their system is much cheaper than ADT as it is all wireless. Whereas my neighbor’s ADT install was close to $4,000, all the Intrusion sensors, motion detectors, two cameras and Environmental monitoring devices I purchased came to $1,600.

Monitoring is bare bones but priced accordingly. I set up the system to call police for fire and uncleared intrusion alarms. On the only occasion where we have had a problem (our cleaner did not completely shut and lock a new patio door and it blew upon in the wind) the system sent me an alarm notice and a video of the police walking through our house three minutes later.

I have also used Alarm.com with a self installed GE system in our old house and some rentals. It was very easy and reliable as well but I found their environmental monitoring and smart home integration seriously lacking at the time (2 years ago).

In talking with one of our LEOs, he stated very emphatically that 50% of the benefit is having a well placed sticker or yard sign. At that point, any intruder is going to do a dash and grab in one or two minutes and be gone before the polIce arrive. Rarely had he made any arrest on Pictures from video capture except for when they were able to use a neighbors video camera to capture the plate number of the truck the intruder left in.

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

I use Abode and love them.

Their system is much cheaper than ADT as it is all wireless. Whereas my neighbor’s ADT install was close to $4,000, all the Intrusion sensors, motion detectors, two cameras and Environmental monitoring devices I purchased came to $1,600.

Monitoring is bare bones but priced accordingly. I set up the system to call police for fire and uncleared intrusion alarms. On the only occasion where we have had a problem (our cleaner did not completely shut and lock a new patio door and it blew upon in the wind) the system sent me an alarm notice and a video of the police walking through our house three minutes later.

I have also used Alarm.com with a self installed GE system in our old house and some rentals. It was very easy and reliable as well but I found their environmental monitoring and smart home integration seriously lacking at the time (2 years ago).

In talking with one of our LEOs, he stated very emphatically that 50% of the benefit is having a well placed sticker or yard sign. At that point, any intruder is going to do a dash and grab in one or two minutes and be gone before the polIce arrive. Rarely had he made any arrest on Pictures from video capture except for when they were able to use a neighbors video camera to capture the plate number of the truck the intruder left in.

Interesting, Jason.

The fact you can buy or make a yard sign and stick up some fake outdoor cameras and you're good to go. Or not.
I have to say I am surprised that the number of people here that live in fear of home burglaries though. All the posts about safes as well. Not really something I ever really think about. I installed my indoor cameras so we could watch out for my aging mother in law when she pet sits while we go to Hawaii. Just trying to make sure she doesn't keep raiding the liquor cabinet.

Selling fear really is a great moneymaking gig.

[scarlet knight]

Home burglary fear on this board is not surprising. I am sure that many of us have valuable watches at home, even if some are in safes and/or insured.

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by scarlet knight

Home burglary fear on this board is not surprising. I am sure that many of us have valuable watches at home, even if some are in safes and/or insured.

I guess.

I look down my street and perhaps there are at least half the houses with the signs on the lawn. Which is sort of surprising since I bet nobody around here has even ever had a UPS box taken from their porch.

[crew]

Just returned from a visit to my friends new (to him) home.
Previous owner used ADT, my friend installed SimpliSafe and loves it. He walked me through his setup. I was impressed by what he had and the relatively low cost of everything.
I’d definitely consider it.

[crew]

Just returned from a visit to my friends new (to him) home.
Previous owner used ADT, my friend installed SimpliSafe and loves it. He walked me through his setup. I was impressed by what he had and the relatively low cost of everything.
I’d definitely consider it.

[GB-man]

With ring you can get cloud storage for as many cameras as you like plus professional monitoring on the alarm system for 100 per year.

Good value compared to the run of the mill systems. If you need something comprehensive contact a professional local provider and pay up.

[crew]

Originally Posted by singe89

combination of Ring doorbell and security lights and Vivint cameras and monitoring. Dont remember the cost of all the ring stuff but monitoring is only around $100 per month and we now have a dozen cameras inside and out and house automation with door locks, lights, AC/Heater, etc.

$100/month or per year???

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by Blansky

I guess.

I look down my street and perhaps there are at least half the houses with the signs on the lawn. Which is sort of surprising since I bet nobody around here has even ever had a UPS box taken from their porch.

Hence, the argument for a well placed yard sign.

Most property crime is opportunistic scum looking for the easiest target. The open garage door and keys left in the car (both were recent incidents in our neighborhood).

A thief probably will not bother to break into your house is he suspects there is a security system. he would probably go on to the next house as he wont have enough time to make it worth his while unless he knows exactly where what he wants is.

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by scarlet knight

We have an old hard wired house alarm. We just got a big, increased bill from the monitoring company. Can anyone suggest a different monitoring company? Can one easily switch?

Lose the subscription rip off the sensors and wires. Jam them in the walls. It’s a waste of money today.

Get an Arlo 4 camera kit from Costco.

Done.

Not worth the chance to break in for a thief. But they’ll rob your neighbor instead.

Oh well.

[GB-man]

Originally Posted by crew

$100/month or per year???

It’s 10 per month or 99 per year at least around here.