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I’m looking at installing a whole home secrity system in my home
Have had Simplisafe previously, but they don’t have decent outside cameras. Looking at Ring now. Anyone have any experience, or suggestions? My mai. Concern with Ring is that I live in a cold climate and am concerned that Ring appears to only work to temperatures at freezing or above. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
ETA: The one thing I didn’t like about Simplisafe is that I was paying a monitoring company to essentially call me and tell me what I usually already knew, which is that I had accidently set my alarm off.
I want a system that gives me notifications if something is amiss, and lets me investigate it myself (with cameras and remote system access). I also want evidence, if a crime is actually committted. I find that a traditional alarm system doesn’t provide any of this.
Look into Blink. That might offer what you are looking for. I don't think it has window sensors, and I don't know how valuable that is anyway. But there are indoor and outdoor cameras. On Prime Day you could have scored the cameras with the other core components of the system for about $70 per camera. Not sure what it costs now.
Amazon was running a pretty sweet deal on Blink cameras for Amazon Prime Day. With any luck, they might run the promo again for Black Friday. Blink doesn't have door sensors, but the XT camera gets good reviews. Price point seemed pretty reasonable to me, even without the $40 or so of Prime Day savings that was going on.
I have one of their "DIY" alarm systems in my home and am very satisfied with it.
What I like about this system is that there are NO MONTHLY FEES. The system is considered "self-monitored" meaning that if the alarm is tripped, both me and my wife are notified on our cell phones. I can bring up cameras in my home on the phone to see what is going on. It's then up to us to decide what to do from there. But Abode also offers central-monitoring for a monthly fee if you want it. They will also provide central-monitoring for short periods of time, like if you're going out of town for a week.
I have interior motion detectors with cameras on them so I can see who set off the alarm. I can also capture stills from any of the cameras at any time and download them to my phone. Of course, I also have all the doors and windows protected with switches as well. I can customize notifications to alert me to doors opening or closing, if there is motion detected, alarms, and more. It’s all configurable and totally up to me. The system also has automation features so I can automatically lock the doors and arm my system when I leave the house, disarm the system and open the garage door when I return home, turn certain lights on when an alarm is tripped or if a given door is opened, etc.
There are also integration capabilities with Nest, Amazon Echo, Z-Wave, Zigbee, IFTTT, and more. The system also has 3G cellular backup (optional, monthly fee). The system includes a built-in battery backup so that the alarm system will remain online in the event of power outage for up to 10 hours.
I currently work for a MAJOR home security provider, having been with them for over 16 years now. I've had their alarm systems installed in my previous homes. I moved to Colorado almost two years ago now and I knew from the start that I would not go with another "professionally monitored" system like that. I wanted a system that I could install and configure myself, that I could maintain, that would alert ME to problems / alarms, and did NOT have monthly fees. The Abode system checked all those boxes and more.
For anyone looking at an alarm system, and are especially interested in going the DIY route, check out the Abode system.
I use https://simplisafe.com/ it can be used without contract as local alarm or with SIM card and paying $14.99 per month. It is easy to install yourself. I use it without monthly fee as home is most of the time occupied.
I have one of their "DIY" alarm systems in my home and am very satisfied with it.
What I like about this system is that there are NO MONTHLY FEES. The system is considered "self-monitored" meaning that if the alarm is tripped, both me and my wife are notified on our cell phones. I can bring up cameras in my home on the phone to see what is going on. It's then up to us to decide what to do from there. But Abode also offers central-monitoring for a monthly fee if you want it. They will also provide central-monitoring for short periods of time, like if you're going out of town for a week.
I have interior motion detectors with cameras on them so I can see who set off the alarm. I can also capture stills from any of the cameras at any time and download them to my phone. Of course, I also have all the doors and windows protected with switches as well. I can customize notifications to alert me to doors opening or closing, if there is motion detected, alarms, and more. It’s all configurable and totally up to me. The system also has automation features so I can automatically lock the doors and arm my system when I leave the house, disarm the system and open the garage door when I return home, turn certain lights on when an alarm is tripped or if a given door is opened, etc.
There are also integration capabilities with Nest, Amazon Echo, Z-Wave, Zigbee, IFTTT, and more. The system also has 3G cellular backup (optional, monthly fee). The system includes a built-in battery backup so that the alarm system will remain online in the event of power outage for up to 10 hours.
I currently work for a MAJOR home security provider, having been with them for over 16 years now. I've had their alarm systems installed in my previous homes. I moved to Colorado almost two years ago now and I knew from the start that I would not go with another "professionally monitored" system like that. I wanted a system that I could install and configure myself, that I could maintain, that would alert ME to problems / alarms, and did NOT have monthly fees. The Abode system checked all those boxes and more.
For anyone looking at an alarm system, and are especially interested in going the DIY route, check out the Abode system.
Completely agree here. We use Abode too. I did a lot of research before we settled on abode and have been pretty satisfied.
AvertX. Their customer service is unmatched. You can find AvertX systems on Costco online (not in stores). They are expensive but get stellar reviews, and I think will more than offer what your objectives are.
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