Questions About Simplisafe Alarms

[Olphart]

I'm considering an alarm system and haven't called them yet. Those of you that have this system,

1. are you happy with what you ordered? Which package do you have and why?
2. are you required to have the system monitored?
3. can you control your system with a smart phone and in what way?
4. if you have a monitored system, do they contact you before contacting the popo?
5. if their system sounds an alarm in error (equip failure), are they responsible for any "false alarm fees" assessed by the PD/SO?
6. how much of a drain is the system on your wifi? Ours isn't that fast now.

If you are uneasy with posting about your system, I understand and would appreciate a PM about your thoughts. I'd like to get some comments about the plus and minus points before I invest. These questions are just off the top of the noggin, so if there's other "things" I should consider, please include those.

Thanks in advance!

[Olphart]

Nobody?

[berettadave]

I have one for my gun room being it is not attached to the main residence. It does take a while to get someone on the phone when you call but they've been very helpful. You do not have to have it monitored. I have mine monitored and it costs me 24.95 a month. I had issues with it not being able to connect with the cell carrier at first. They sent me a Verizon card to replace the T Mobile card I had. It was free and all I had to do was put the old card in the prepaid envelope and send back. It works great now. You can control it with your cell phone through the available free app but I don't know if you can without the service(I think so though). With my phone, I can turn it on or off and change pin #s etc. Pretty much everything you can do in person.
And yes, they contact you before the authorities. In case of false alarm, if I remember correctly you get one or two "freebies" before being charged a response fee.
You only need wifi if you are using the camera. I have the camera but don't use it being I don't have wifi available in this room. If you have it though, you can monitor it with your phone and see what's going on.

So far, I've been pleased with the system. I have it with door sensors, motion sensors and smoke alarm sensor. I also have the audible siren. I mounted it at the main residence so it would be heard from in the house.

Hope this helps
Dave

[Olphart]

Thanks for your reply Dave.

I went ahead and ordered after talking to a salesperson about some questions I had.

[Shane]

We have a system at our house, and I bought one for my daughter and her roommates as well. My answers in bold below....

I'm considering an alarm system and haven't called them yet. Those of you that have this system,

1. are you happy with what you ordered? Which package do you have and why? Yes, we like it. Can't remember what package we have. We have doors covered, some motion detectors, panic button, remotes, etc...
2. are you required to have the system monitored? No, but we subscribe to the monitoring.
3. can you control your system with a smart phone and in what way? Yes. Easy app
4. if you have a monitored system, do they contact you before contacting the popo? Yes
5. if their system sounds an alarm in error (equip failure), are they responsible for any "false alarm fees" assessed by the PD/SO? I have no idea. Never had that issue.
6. how much of a drain is the system on your wifi? Ours isn't that fast now. We have cable internet, so it's not an issue. I have no idea how it would affect slow internet.

If you are uneasy with posting about your system, I understand and would appreciate a PM about your thoughts. I'd like to get some comments about the plus and minus points before I invest. These questions are just off the top of the noggin, so if there's other "things" I should consider, please include those.

Thanks in advance!

[deerplanter]

I have Vivint home security and we have been happy with them

[Olphart]

Thanks Shane. The systems they are offering are cellular, so the wifi is a non-issue. As long as Verizon and the like don't fail, I should be good.

The reason I posted this is that I had difficulty with the saleswoman understanding what I was asking. Plus, their website helped but left off some detail. I did find out that monitoring can be added or deleted as needed (at $15/month), which could come in handy for extended trips away.

[Shane]

Thanks Shane. The systems they are offering are cellular, so the wifi is a non-issue. As long as Verizon and the like don't fail, I should be good.

The reason I posted this is that I had difficulty with the saleswoman understanding what I was asking. Plus, their website helped but left off some detail. I did find out that monitoring can be added or deleted as needed (at $15/month), which could come in handy for extended trips away.

You're right, I forgot about the cellular part. It does have it's own router for that.

My wife likes the monitoring, so we just keep it on all the time. But you can turn it off and on, as needed. We have to register with the city police and pay $20/year for monitoring. I guess that covers all the false alarm calls they get from everybody.

[CaptainDave]

I don't have any experience with this alarm company. However, I've had an alarm at home for several years now and have a few comments.

1. If you pay for the monitoring service, be sure to read the contract fine print. Alarm companies are notorious for inserting extension clauses. I had a 3 year contract that had an automatic 3 year renewal provision upon termination if you failed to notify the Company within 30 days of contract termination. I found this out when I notified the Company about 10 days before the contract expired. They wanted to charge me a cancelation fee for the sum of the entire 3 year contract extension. I fought them tooth and nail to get that lowered.

2. False alarms - Most cities (not sure about counties) require you to have and renew an annual alarm permit. The price of permit depends on the city. The City of Houston charges like $60 per year. At least in Houston, this buys you 2 false alarms...the 3rd you will be billed.

3. Another note on false alarms - If your alarm is tripped, the alarm monitoring company will attempt to contact you. If they are able to contact you and you tell them it's a false alarm, they will not notify the authorities. The authorities are notified only if you - 1. Don't answer the call; 2. Do answer and tell them you don't believe it's a false alarm.

That's at least how it has worked for me. Definitely get the app on your phone. It allows for you to enable or disable remotely. It also will notify you anytime the alarm status has been changed.

Call it crazy, but my alarm monitoring is now through Xfinity (Comcast) and I really like the service.

[Olphart]

Thanks guys. I know about the permitting, but we are in the county and (thus far) they don't require it. The false alarms is my only issue if the equipment should fail (not my fault), but they have a good reputation. I understand completely about alarm fees for false alarms as they drove us nuts; I assume they still do.

Dave, I understand about the monitoring "lock in" junk. This company doesn't have it and I don't want it. We are here most of the time and would only consider having it monitored if we were absent for more than a trip to town.