Anyone using Simplisafe?

[happy_2008]

Currently looking at house alarms and they have some big discounts on at Simplisafe so looking to potentially buy one as house alarm. What are your opinions on the alarm?

 

[Semple]

Currently looking at house alarms and they have some big discounts on at Simplisafe so looking to potentially buy one as house alarm. What are your opinions on the alarm?

I've had one for just over a year now. I also pay for the monitored service. What would you like to know?

 

[happy_2008]

Which items did you order and whats your general opinion on the alarm?

 

[Semple]

Which items did you order and whats your general opinion on the alarm?

I did a custom order, I've got the following:
- base station
- motion sensors
- door/window sensors
- glass break sensor
- smoke alarm
- panic button
- key fob
- extra siren
- camera

Overall not too bad, the extra siren is a must. I originally bought it without, and when testing the base station wasn't really loud enough for an alarm. Wasn't too happy about that, so complained and simplisafe allowed me to order one with the same 40% discount I had on my original offer.

The system looks good, sleak/modern design for the alarm panel. The sensors were very easy to install as well, and no wireless/connection problems across the house. It integrates well with Google assistant, and they've got a somewhat partial API available that I've got integrated into Home Assistant. When you arm the alarm, it'll tell you if there's any contact sensors open.

A few downsides; they claim the motion sensors work well with pets - they don't really. We've got a small dog and he kept tripping the sensor, so had to remove the motion sensor from his bedroom (kitchen).
The camera doesn't have the best quality, but does work quite well in the dark. I personally wouldn't buy the camera for the sake of buying one - we had ours chucked in free with the bundle.
The smoke alarm can also be a bit sensitive, I've had it go off a few times when cooking, followed up with a phone call by the monitoring team. Although not really an issue, at least you're confirming it works!

I would also say, if you get a good discount code (40-50%) then buy all the sensors/extras that you need from the original order, as the discount codes on just accessories are rare and I've only seen 25% off.

It is one system that you kind of do need to pay for the professional monitoring to get the best use out of it. Based on that I would also get the smoke/water/freeze (if you lived somewhere that it gets very cold) sensors as they'll monitor those for you as well.

I.e. If you had a fire start in the kitchen whilst you weren't there, they'd get notified, do a visual confirmation with the camera and then call the fire brigade.

Let me know if anything else you want to know. Also let me know if you're planning on placing an order as I think there's a referral code that'll get you some extra discount / or a giftcard.

 

[happy_2008]

Thats us

I did a custom order, I've got the following:
- base station
- motion sensors
- door/window sensors
- glass break sensor
- smoke alarm
- panic button
- key fob
- extra siren
- camera

Overall not too bad, the extra siren is a must. I originally bought it without, and when testing the base station wasn't really loud enough for an alarm. Wasn't too happy about that, so complained and simplisafe allowed me to order one with the same 40% discount I had on my original offer.

The system looks good, sleak/modern design for the alarm panel. The sensors were very easy to install as well, and no wireless/connection problems across the house. It integrates well with Google assistant, and they've got a somewhat partial API available that I've got integrated into Home Assistant. When you arm the alarm, it'll tell you if there's any contact sensors open.

A few downsides; they claim the motion sensors work well with pets - they don't really. We've got a small dog and he kept tripping the sensor, so had to remove the motion sensor from his bedroom (kitchen).
The camera doesn't have the best quality, but does work quite well in the dark. I personally wouldn't buy the camera for the sake of buying one - we had ours chucked in free with the bundle.
The smoke alarm can also be a bit sensitive, I've had it go off a few times when cooking, followed up with a phone call by the monitoring team. Although not really an issue, at least you're confirming it works!

I would also say, if you get a good discount code (40-50%) then buy all the sensors/extras that you need from the original order, as the discount codes on just accessories are rare and I've only seen 25% off.

It is one system that you kind of do need to pay for the professional monitoring to get the best use out of it. Based on that I would also get the smoke/water/freeze (if you lived somewhere that it gets very cold) sensors as they'll monitor those for you as well.

I.e. If you had a fire start in the kitchen whilst you weren't there, they'd get notified, do a visual confirmation with the camera and then call the fire brigade.

Let me know if anything else you want to know. Also let me know if you're planning on placing an order as I think there's a referral code that'll get you some extra discount / or a giftcard.

Thats useful i was planning to order but most likely without the monitoring service. I was going to go for the Bambrugh product as this seems to have all the sensors i need at £327

• 2 Key Fobs
• 3 Entry Sensors
• 2 Motion Sensors
• 1 Glassbreak Sensor
• 1 105dB Siren
• 1 Panic Button
• 1 SimpliCam 1080

Where did you install the extra siren? I was thinking of installing it right besides the front door, but not sure if i can install it outside unless it can sit right under the fascia board.

 

[SimonR]

Maybe have a look at Ajax. I have 2 cats and zero false alarms.

 

[Semple]

Thats us


Thats useful i was planning to order but most likely without the monitoring service. I was going to go for the Bambrugh product as this seems to have all the sensors i need at £327

• 2 Key Fobs
• 3 Entry Sensors
• 2 Motion Sensors
• 1 Glassbreak Sensor
• 1 105dB Siren
• 1 Panic Button
• 1 SimpliCam 1080

Where did you install the extra siren? I was thinking of installing it right besides the front door, but not sure if i can install it outside unless it can sit right under the fascia board.

Would you use the key fobs? It's handy i suppose if you have a side/rear entry that won't have a keypad, ours very rarely gets used - only for guests who don't frequently visit. The alarm station allows you to set up "profiles" so you can set your own pin (saves everyone having to remember a pin, so you can set it to something personal to them) - This also helps identify who has come home.

If you don't think you'd use a key fob, see if you can swap it out for another component.

The extra siren went in the hallway.

 

[happy_2008]

Would you use the key fobs? It's handy i suppose if you have a side/rear entry that won't have a keypad, ours very rarely gets used - only for guests who don't frequently visit. The alarm station allows you to set up "profiles" so you can set your own pin (saves everyone having to remember a pin, so you can set it to something personal to them) - This also helps identify who has come home.

If you don't think you'd use a key fob, see if you can swap it out for another component.

The extra siren went in the hallway.

So you didn't consider housing the extra siren outside then? I thought it would be useful to have the fobs to arm and disarm as you enter/leave the property but just found out that you can only do this with your phone if you have the monitoring service which seems like a con

 

[Semple]

So you didn't consider housing the extra siren outside then? I thought it would be useful to have the fobs to arm and disarm as you enter/leave the property but just found out that you can only do this with your phone if you have the monitoring service which seems like a con

I hadn't at the time. I did hear rumours they were working on an external bell, so we'll see what comes out this year.

You could use the fobs to arm/disarm as a way around not being able to use the app, although you'd still need to be in range of the base station. TBH after a years use, i very rarely arm/disarm via the app. Although i don't think you get google assistant integration without it though.

The monitoring service also gives the base station a backup data connection. If you had a power cut, the alarm and its components would still work, but with no access to the internet you wouldn't get any alerts.

 

[ash_scotland88]

Maybe have a look at Ajax. I have 2 cats and zero false alarms.

Seen these guys getting mentioned quite a bit recently.
Our new house will require an alarm system and thinking of putting something in myself. Looking down the road of door/window alarms and broken glass route. We have cats and our current house often forget to de-alarm before going down stairs.

 

[Buffman]

Is there a particular reason you guys want an alarm system? It's possibly an obvious question but just wondering if its because you live in high theft area and/or have for example a nice car on the drive?

Just wondering if its worth me getting an alarm system for the new house I'm buying but I'm erring on the side of no to alarms. I may possibly consider a single amazon blink camera to watch the drive as a deterent

 

[WJA96]

Seen these guys getting mentioned quite a bit recently.
Our new house will require an alarm system and thinking of putting something in myself. Looking down the road of door/window alarms and broken glass route. We have cats and our current house often forget to de-alarm before going down stairs.

+1 for Ajax. The anti-pet false alarm method is based on eliminating anything under approximately 12kg so if you have big dogs you will still get some false alarms. But other than that Ajax is basically the best system on the market at the moment. And it fully integrates with Dahua CCTV out of the box.

Also check out Hikvision AX Pro which is the same sort of product but made by Hikvision. I’ve done the training for it and it looks great, but it’s more expensive than Ajax and right now Ajax is the easier recommendation because I know it works properly. And it really is so easy to install.

 

[ash_scotland88]

+1 for Ajax. The anti-pet false alarm method is based on eliminating anything under approximately 12kg so if you have big dogs you will still get some false alarms. But other than that Ajax is basically the best system on the market at the moment. And it fully integrates with Dahua CCTV out of the box.

Also check out Hikvision AX Pro which is the same sort of product but made by Hikvision. I’ve done the training for it and it looks great, but it’s more expensive than Ajax and right now Ajax is the easier recommendation because I know it works properly. And it really is so easy to install.

That's interesting to hear, when I was last reading up about it 6months ago, or whenever, the cameras of any system where the downfall.
Any news for a doorbell yet?

 

[WJA96]

That's interesting to hear, when I was last reading up about it 6months ago, or whenever, the cameras of any system where the downfall.
Any news for a doorbell yet?

Both Dahua and Hikvision have battery/WiFi and PoE cabled door entry solutions. You have to cable the cameras. That’s why all the cheap wireless ones are pants.

 

[ash_scotland88]

Both Dahua and Hikvision have battery/WiFi and PoE cabled door entry solutions. You have to cable the cameras. That’s why all the cheap wireless ones are pants.

That's good to know. I ideally want a one app does all including alerts, don't mind a separate DVR type thing running in the background for fine tuning settings and viewing past events for the CCTV. Oh and I'm cheap so don't want to pay a monthly subscription.

 

[WJA96]

Dahua DMSS does both the NVR and security.

 

[Loagi]

Another option is the Abode alarm (not Adobe !) - Similar to Simplisafe but with lots more home automation integration (which is why I chose it). They've been out in America for years and launched in the UK in August - which is when I got and installed it.

I have the 2 x outdoor sirens, keypad, key-fob, base unit (include battery and cell backup), panic button, motion sensors, contact sensor etc

I have it integrated with my Hue lighting, Alexa, and Sonos.

If your into Apple Homekit then its fully certified for that side of home automation.

 

[happy_2008]

Dahua DMSS does both the NVR and security.

Hey Walt,
It’s likely I will be going ahead with an Ajax in next week or so. Can you check your trust?

 

[WJA96]

Nothing so far as far as I can tell.

 

[happy_2008]

Nothing so far as far as I can tell.

You didn’t get my trust message?