



| (Added Dec 29/09) Wife and I built a new home in 2007. We had the house pre-wired for an alarm system as....(read the whole review) |
| (Added Dec 4/09) (Updated Feb 23/10) Amazing system. I have been a member of alarm.com for about 2.5 years now. Their systems are easy to self install and easy to use. If you do have issues they have wonderful technical support. The systems run off cell towers, so you do not have to worry about phone lines. I love the live video monitoring, the SMS alerts, Video clips in event of triggering, etc. I looked at a few different systems and this one made the most sense. ATD has a similar system, but they charge you a lot more and then do not offer half the features. I would and have recommended this system to my friends and family. Web interface is amazing and detailed. Options such as glass break, motion sensor, carbon dioxide, water, outdoor and indoor cams, etc. Update: I still LOVE my alarm.com system. No complaints here.... |
| (Added July 13/09) I have had my alarm system 2.5 years. I loved it until recently when I was contacted by the provider that I must purchase an upgrade costing 125.00, If I do not upgrade they will cancel my service. Apparently a tornado went through the area and damaged one of the towers the wireless uses and I must pay for them to change to another tower. They obviously can do this anytime they want since they will cancel your service if you don't pay. So after you purchase the equipment and keep paying the monthly monitoring you may or may not be done and you may or may not have service depending on the towers that surround you. |
| (Added April 24/09) Alarm.com is not what it is cracked up to be. They offer GSM monitoring, in addition to broadband monitoring. This is available throughout every monitoring company. In addition to this they offer proprietary webcam monitoring. Anyone with the knowledge how to setup a webcam, install the software and put it on the web can do the same for free! Realize that the camera function is 100% separate from the alarm unit; it is an webcam linked to their servers that have triggers for specific zones. There are free applications for webcams that you can do yourself and save $$$. |
| (Added May 27/08) I have had alarm systems installed by local alarm companies in a total of 3 homes that I lived in over the past 25 years. I recently moved to a new home, and last month I purchased a system from Guardcom.net which sells systems that use the cellular alarm services of Alarm.com. As far as I am concerned the Alarm.com system makes every other alarm system on the market obsolete. I won't go into detail about all of the features of Alarm.com, but you may want to check out their website before you buy another alarm system. I am very satisfied. |
| Nothing (that I've been able to find with extensive searching) compares to the type and level of service (level of integration) of the alarm.com service. If you haven't seen the functionality of alarm.com, go to their website to see a virtual version of their online portal for customers to see for yourself all it can do. No other system I've found is as tightly integrated and as full-featured. They no longer accept individuals, but instead focus on selling to dealers (like most in the alarm industry). The best dealer I was able to come across was FrontPoint Security Solutions of McLean, VA (www.frontpointsecurity.com). They configure and send you a system, ready to install to most locations within the U.S. Everything sticks onto walls and such via strong adhesive double-sided foam tape. I cannot say enough for FrontPoint or Alarm.com. Do yourself a favor, and check them out. |
| You might want to look at alarm.com. They use wireless to send the alarm signals so there aren't any cables to be cut. We have it and I really like the way I can know what's happening in the house. It lets you define how to react to different situations. For example, you can have it send you email, a page or call your cell phone when a sensor is triggered, so you can know when the maid comes in , or if your neighbor is feeding the cat while you're on vacation, etc. Basically it gives you access to what's happening and you can control the responses. Its not a whole lot cheaper than ADT but it gives you options that ADT & other companies can't. Something to think about if you're in the market for a system or upgrade.... |
| I just signed up with alarm.com, after they assured me that as I am paying upfront for the system, the local dealer will provide me with the installer codes on the day of installation. But local dealer has been telling me that they never give out the 'installer codes'. Not just for the monitoring contract period, but never! |
