Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After resolving some initial issues, I am happy with my SimpliSafe system after a month of use. I decided to purchase this system over others because: (1) The system is cellular, with a battery back-up, so a burglar cannot disable it by simply cutting the phone line or power line. Most other companies either do not offer cellular monitoring at all, charge extra for it and/or only offer it as a back-up if the land line fails. (2) SimpliSafe does not lock you into a monitoring contract. You pay a monthly fee for monitoring, and you can cancel the service whenever you want without penalty. Most of SimpliSafe's competitors require you to sign at least a three year contract. (3) Price. SimpliSafe offers interactive monitoring for $24.95/month, which is significantly less than the competition. With interactive monitoring you get text alerts, can change the settings on your system (customize it) through SimpliSafe's webpage and can arm or disarm the system either through the webpage or by using the Android or iPhone app (they also offer less expensive plans if you do not want the interactive features, but I chose the interactive plan). The equipment itself is also less expensive than the competition. (4) The system is easily expandable. You can add additional components whenever you want. Some other companies jack up the monthly monitoring fee when you add more components. (5) SimpliSafe sells the system online or by the phone and you self-install it, so you don't have to deal with high pressure salespeople coming to your house. (6) You can try out the system with no risk. You can return it for a full refund within 60 days if you are not happy with it. I am not handy at all, but I was able to set up the system with relative ease. Most of the components attach with adhesive tape or, if you prefer, you can mount them with screws. I used the screws to mount an entry sensor on my garage door, since that sensor would be exposed to a lot more jostling than the others, and used the tape for all of the other units (except the smoke detector, which must be mounted with screws). The tape has been working fine so far. I believe the tape is 3M Command tape. If you buy Command tape directly from 3M, the instructions tell you to firmly press on the base of whatever you are mounting for 30 seconds and then let it sit for an hour before mounting whatever you are hanging. Although SimpliSafe's instructions do not say that, I would suggest sliding each sensor off of its base (like you would to change the battery), pressing the base firmly against the wall for 30 seconds, letting it sit for at least an hour, and then mounting the sensor. The components are wireless and I am impressed with their range. I have a 2,400 square foot center hall colonial wood frame house. To test out the sensor range, I placed the base station (the brains of the unit) in a far corner of my house on the second floor. It was able to "hear" the entry sensors from every other location in the house, including the basement and garage. I had cellular connection issues when I first got the system. T-Mobile is SimpliSafe's default cell provider. The T-Mobile coverage map showed that some areas near my house had excellent cellular reception, but that my neighborhood had only "satisfactory" coverage. In theory, "satisfactory" coverage should have been sufficient, but it was not. I was able to make a connection to the T-Mobile network, but it was not reliable. About half the time I could not access my system from the SimpliSafe webpage or app -- they would time out when attempting to access my system status. Occasionally I would not receive texts when the system was armed or disarmed and the event log did not show every arming and disarming of the system. I worked with SimpliSafe's customer service department (who were very responsive and helpful) to try to find a location in my house with better reception, but to no avail. In short, I was very unhappy with the performance of the system for the first few weeks I had it. Ultimately, SimpliSafe sent me a replacement Verizon cell module (they only recently started offering Verizon service as alternative to T-Mobile). The Verizon coverage in my area is much more robust than T-Mobile, and the new module solved my issues -- the system now works reliably. I receive text messages within seconds or arming or disarming the system and I am able to control the system using the Android app or the webpage. When you put the system into test mode, it sends a test signal to the monitoring service and, unless they are inundated with real alarm calls, they will call you to let you know they received the test signal. The service has called me within 30 seconds each time I have put the system in test mode. Although I am satisfied with the system, there are some drawbacks you should consider before purchasing: A) Unlike most of its competitors, SimpliSafe does not yet have glass break sensors which, to my mind, are an important piece of a complete home security system for the following reason: When the system is armed in the "Home" mode, the motion sensors are not active so you can walk around the house without setting off the alarm (this is the standard out-of-the box setting, though you can change it). I arm the system in Home mode at night because I have young kids who otherwise would trip the motion sensors if they woke up before me. Therefore, while I am sleeping, my alarm only will trigger if a burglar opens a door or window that has an entry sensor. If a burglar smashes a sliding glass door or window while my family is sleeping, he could enter the house without setting off the alarm and, if the noise of the glass breaking did not wake us, we would be completely defenseless. Therefore, I would feel more comfortable with glass break sensors. According to discussions on the user forum on their webpage, SimpliSafe currently is developing glass break sensors (indeed, the installation manual that comes with the system describes how to install them), but they appear to have been in development for more than 2 years and SimpliSafe has not offered a projected date when the sensors will be ready. *UPDATE: SimpliSafe started selling glass break sensors on February 13, 2014* B) SimpliSafe does not have "crash and smash" technology. Here's what that means: In your standard GE Simon alarm system (the equipment used by many of SimpliSafe's competitors), the component that controls the system (the control panel) contains both the keypad that you use to arm and disarm the system and the communication device that contacts the monitoring service. When you enter your home through a door with an entry sensor, the system gives you a certain amount of time (the entry delay) to enter your code to disarm the system before an alarm signal is sent to the monitoring service. If an intruder is able to destroy the control panel during that entry delay period, the system would not send an alarm signal to the monitoring service and the police would not be dispatched This is referred to as a "crash and smash" because the intruder "crashes" into your home and then "smashes" the control panel before it sends an alarm. Some of SimpliSafe's competitors (such as Frontpoint) solve this problem with what they call "crash and smash" technology. The "crash and smash" technology works by sending a signal to the monitoring service the moment any sensor is tripped. If you enter your code during the entry delay, the control panel sends an "all clear" signal to the monitoring service. If, on the other hand, the monitoring service receives no signal from your system at the end of the entry delay period, it assumes that the control panel was destroyed and treats the lack of an "all clear" signal as an alarm. SimpliSafe does not offer this "crash and smash" technology, so if an intruder trips a sensor when entering your home but then destroys the communicator during the entry delay period, the system does not contact the monitoring service and police are not dispatched. However, SimpliSafe has attempted to reduce the likelihood of this scenario by separating the communicator (the base station) from the keypad. Because they are separate components, you can place the base station in a location where the intruder is unlikely to find it during the entry delay (the base station goes dark and silent during the entry delay so as not to give away its location). Destroying the keypad will not do the intruder any good because the separate base station will still send a signal to the monitoring service at the end of the entry delay. There are ways you can make the SimpliSafe system even less prone to a "crash and smash." For instance, you could put the base station in a locked room or cabinet, which would reduce the likelihood that an intruder could get to the base station during the entry delay. Also, you can set certain sensors to trigger the alarm instantly (with no entry delay) if tripped. Therefore, you could put the base unit in a room where every point of entry is armed with either an entry sensor or motion sensor set to instant trigger (note that this only would work if the intruder did not first trip a sensor with an entry delay, because once a sensor with an entry delay is tripped, the instant trigger on any other sensor is disabled). Both of these setups only would work if the room/cabinet in which you want to locate the base station has a power outlet and cell reception. In addition, the base station has a blue light that, under the factory settings, glows when the system is armed (the light goes off when a sensor is tripped). I changed the settings to disable the blue light on the theory that the light could give away the location of the base station to a burglar who cases the house before he tries to break in. Similarly, an intruder only will be looking for the separate base station to smash if he knows you have SimpliSafe. Therefore, you should not advertise that you have the system by putting SimpliSafe signs and stickers in your yard and windows. Rather, you can, as I did, buy a yard sign for a different security company off eBay. Likewise, since SimpliSafe uses its own proprietary equipment, the components look different than any other security system. A burglar that has done his homework will recognize that you are using SimpliSafe if he gets a good look at the components. Therefore, to the extent possible, you should attempt to mount the sensors in locations where a burglar will not be able to get a good look at them when he is casing the house (I realize this is difficult to do with entry sensors placed on windows or sliding doors). Also, since the SimpliSafe logo is on the keypad, it makes sense to avoid mounting the keypad in a location where a burglar can easily see it from outside the house. Keep in mind that the "crash and smash" technology offered by others is not foolproof -- it only works if you design your system properly. Say, for instance, the control panel is installed near your front door and there is a window near the door. If you do not have an entry sensor and glass break sensor for that window, or if you do not have a motion sensor that would detect movement in the area between the window and the control panel, an intruder could enter through the window and smash the control panel without ever triggering a sensor, thereby defeating the crash and smash technology. To take advantage of smash and crash technology, you need to carefully design your system to minimize the possibility that an intruder could get to your control panel without triggering a sensor. All things equal, I think I would have preferred a system with crash and smash technology. But all things are not equal -- the systems that offer that technology are much more expensive and/or require a long-term contract. Having said all of that, it is worth noting that crash and smash technology (or the lack thereof) only is an issue if you are dealing with more sophisticated burglars who, knowing you have an alarm system, break in anyway on the theory that they can disable the system. Most burglars probably are not that sophisticated and may just move on to another house if they see you have an alarm, so installing any alarm (or, at least, making a burglar think you have an alarm), whether it has crash and smash technology or not, may well deter a majority of burglars. C) Although SimpliSafe has been saying they will offer video surveillance "soon" for more than two years now, they currently do not offer it and, in light of their inability to meet previous target release dates, there is no reason to expect they will anytime in the foreseeable future. Therefore, if integrated video monitoring is a priority for you, look elsewhere. That said, you can buy stand-alone web access video cameras that will record video whenever they detect motion (look up Foscams, for instance), so you can easily equip your home with a video monitoring system even though SimpliSafe does not offer it. The separate cameras are not ideal because they will not arm and disarm with the security system and the monitoring service will not have access to them in the event of an alarm, but if all you want is the ability to see what it going on in your home when you are notified of an alarm, they will do the job. *UPDATE: SimpliSafe started offering integrated cameras in late 2016* Before ordering SimpliSafe, I recommend that you read through the comments in the user forum on SimpliSafe's webpage. Some owners do not like certain features of the system that I do not find problematic. For instance, if you leave one of the entry sensors open when you leave the house, the system will tell you a sensor is open, but then will arm the rest of the sensors. So, in theory, your system could be armed even though your front door is wide open. Also, if one of your sensors is open when you attempt to arm the system, it will announce that a sensor is open, but it does not identify which one. I do not have an issue with either of those features, but some owners really dislike them. By reading the owner comments, you will get a better sense of whether this system will fit your needs. Incidentally, I give SimpliSafe a lot of credit for their openness. They allow all comments -- both positive and negative -- on their online forum and do not take down ones that are critical. Try to find another alarm company that allows its customers to speak so freely on its webpage. I looked at several other companies before choosing SimpliSafe. Frontpoint was the runner-up. They also offer cellular service, self-installation, no contracts and a 30 day return period, but both the equipment and the monitoring service are considerably more expensive (they do offer a substantial discount on the equipment if you sign up for 3 years). Safemart also offered most of the options I wanted and their monitoring prices were more reasonable (though still more than SimpliSafe), but their equipment was much more expensive. Others like Protect America and Life Shield require you to sign a contract and charged much more for cellular monitoring. As far as I can tell from their (deliberately?) confusing webpage, ADT does not offer primary cellular monitoring, only cellular back up. ADT also requires you to sign a contract and they are not at all transparent about pricing. In order to even get a quote, you have to subject yourself to one their sales people. Note that most of these other companies are selling the same hardware -- different versions of GE's Simon security system -- so the only real differences between the companies are their monitoring/pricing plans, installation (DIY vs. professional) and customer service. SimpliSafe, by contrast, uses its own proprietary equipment. In my opinion, SimpliSafe's equipment looks less sturdy and professional than the GE equipment, but I certainly am not going to pay more for aesthetics. If you decide to order, discount coupon codes are available online. Just run a Google search for SimpliSafe coupon codes. In sum, although SimpliSafe does have some shortfalls and may not be right for everyone, it would appear to be one of the best value propositions in the home security market.