Home security systems?

charlotte989875

Does anyone have one? We’re looking to put one in the new house because 1) we’re in the village and there’s always people around. A super safe neighborhood, but just in case. And 2) H leaves a ton during the fall for hunting and I feel so much better coming home knowing there isn’t someone in there. 

So any recommendations? Things you like/hate with yours?

CharmedPam

charlotte989875 said:

Does anyone have one? We’re looking to put one in the new house because 1) we’re in the village and there’s always people around. A super safe neighborhood, but just in case. And 2) H leaves a ton during the fall for hunting and I feel so much better coming home knowing there isn’t someone in there. 

So any recommendations? Things you like/hate with yours?

so I don't have any recommendations, but I wanted you to know I read this as "H leaves a ton during the fall for hauntings" and I was like...there's others out there like me!  But then I re read the real word, and I don't do that.

mrsconn23

We have SimpliSafe.  You can create your own package (door sensors, pad, panic buttons, indoor motion sensors for when you're away, cameras, glass break sensors, etc).   You install it yourself and connect it to your WiFi.  Monitoring is only $14.95/mo.  They're great about contacting you.  (We've had a few false alarms.)  

Tips: If you have two doors where you seem to go in and out about the same amount, two key pads may be ideal.   We need to get a second one.  

Make sure you get an alarm permit from your township/city when you get it.  We were billed after our first false alarm call. 

You can also buy things individually, so if you go conservative first, you can always buy more options later. 

ETA:  I might be able to dig up a referral link.  I'll have to see if I can get into our account.  If not today, I can definitely find it over the weekend.  

short+sassy

I personally don't, but I've heard a lot of negative reviews about ADT.  That they are very nickel and diming.  It's impossible to get out of contracts, even if the service and/or equipment has been continually problematic.

Services like ADT, where there is a monthly monitoring charge, can also run the risk of too many false alarms.  Those systems can automatically trigger a call to the police and I've heard of people getting fined by their local police dept., because their security system was sending too many false alarms.

If I were going to get one, I'd lean more toward a stand-alone system.  You pay for the equipment.  Install it.  And that's it for the cost because monitoring isn't set up with an external source.  But then, the negative is, neither you (if you're away from home) or the police will be automatically called if the alarm goes off.

levioosa

We have simplisafe. We chose to take down the sensors inside the house though since Aurora kept setting them off. We even put the sensors higher so the door/human height would trigger it and impressively she still managed to get us some false alarms. No idea what she was doing. She's an angel when we're around. lol. 

kvruns

False alarms are definitely a big downside of systems although mine did save my butt years ago. I had ADT followed by FE Moran (might just be a local company), no complaints on either although FE Moran was a lot cheaper.

We have stand alone security cameras which I like and a few times I've thought I heard something I pull up the cameras and check the house. 

maine7mob

ADT was horrible. We have learned that if you have a company monitor your system, make sure it is a local company, not some call center in India or some city in the US that is thousands of miles from where you actually live. We have only had good service from local companies, so when you call to set up your contract, make sure there is a brick and mortar building in your town or a nearby town where people are monitoring your system. The speed of response will be much faster.

ernursej

We have a system through a local Albertan company and I really like that it was customizable for our needs. They set up cameras for each entrance, door sensors, keypads and remote monitoring that we could log into and check. It worked for us. I have friends that went the same route and they have a completely different system (iPhone locks that can be set up etc). I think what I appreciated was that they came and we discussed the needs and they chimed in about a few things. The customizable approach was what sold us.

maine7mob

^^Yes, the customizable approach is the way to go! This is especially true if you have pets and need motion sensors that don't pick up their movement.

banana468

I know that the only trigger of my parents alarm is when my mom nearly set the house on fire.   I'll find out what they use.  

ILoveBeachMusic

We have one through a local company. At first we had several false alarms - there was a problem with the mother board. We never were charged because when the company contacted us we told them it was a false alarm. Ours has the option to have the inside sensors turned off when we are home. We also have our smoke detectors and CO detectors wired into the system.

Ro041

We have ADT and a Ring doorbell (with motion sensors).  I have no complaints about ADT.  Their new system doesn't pick up anything moving around the house that is less than 40 lbs.  We have 4 dogs and I regularly run the roomba while I am gone and we haven't had any false alarms.  They also have an app that is cool to use (if you forget to set the alarm you can do it from the app).

We live in an urban neighborhood with a train station about 1/4 mile away and a lot of foot traffic.  I like having the ring because it makes me feel like my amazon packages will be safe.

CharmedPam

Ro041 said:

We have ADT and a Ring doorbell (with motion sensors).  I have no complaints about ADT.  Their new system doesn't pick up anything moving around the house that is less than 40 lbs.  We have 4 dogs and I regularly run the roomba while I am gone and we haven't had any false alarms.  They also have an app that is cool to use (if you forget to set the alarm you can do it from the app).

We live in an urban neighborhood with a train station about 1/4 mile away and a lot of foot traffic.  I like having the ring because it makes me feel like my amazon packages will be safe.

Is ring really only $10/month?

Ro041

@CharmedPam - it's bundled into our ADT plan (and the ADT guy installed it at the time he installed the security system) so we don't pay a separate fee to Ring.  We pay $30 a year to Ring to be able to store the videos for 30 days.  If you don't buy that feature, you can't look at anything if you miss it in real time.  

charlotte989875

Thanks everyone this is all super helpful! I think this has ruled out ADT for us. If anyone else has other recommendations or suggestions (or discount codes!) let me know!