(Added May 7/12) I had Vivint (full automation system) installed recently. I did check their BBB report and google their company prior to signing. I choose to go with them because almost all of the complaints were to do with the salesmen or sales process. As being a salesmen myself (heating & air conditioning),  this did not scare me...(read the whole review)

(Added May 7/12) We attempted to use Vivint for our alarm system, however when the installer didn't show up TWICE and we never received a phone call from Vivint informing us our installer was going to be late.....we cancelled them. After the first no show and phone call to Vivint we decided to give them a second chance knowing things can happen.  But, the SECOND time the installer didn't show and we where their first appt. of day.  That did it for us.

(Added May 2/12) Be careful of these guys I am elderly person who was tricked into signing an extension of a three year contract by an agent.  I had sold my house and he wanted to install a new panel and had me sign an paper that verified he had completed the installation.  I told him I had sold my house and was stopping my services.  He had me sign and initial the papers that he had installed the paneland snuck in a service contract extension.  My fault but I have poor eye sight and hearing.  Be aware.

(Added May 2/12) Would never recommend Vivint.  Horrible customer service. Horrible to cancel after I moved to area where their service wasn't even available but still has been ordeal to cancel 2 months later with them still drafting my account.  Had to call twice to get a service tech out. After a month, finally scheduled. Service tech said no signal.  After two weeks post tech visit, no word from Vivint so called and they imformed me that I was suppose to call and tell them what "their" tech told me.  Ridiculous!  That was 3 weeks ago and it's still not cancelled.  Keep telling me one more step...one more paper to sign.  It is a never-ending nightmare!

(Added May 2/12) Called ahead of time before my contract ended I signed my contract when it was APX Alarm and told them I did not want to continue with the service sent a written letter signed by me 2 month in advanced and called two weeks later to see if they got this and was told everything was fine all I had to do is send one more payment sent payment 2 month later I keep getting bills after my contract has ended always had problems with my system sensors would never work right had to call in to get it running again every two weeks 20 min on the line. Every time I call these people will beat around the bush and were a bit pushy to try to get me in on another one of there systems. Do not buy from this Company.

(Added Apr 30/12) Called ahead of time before my contract ended and told them I did not want to continue with the service sent a written letter signed by me and called two weeks later to see if they got this and was told everything was fine all I had to do is send one more payment 2 month later I keep getting bills after my contract has ended always had problems with my system sensors would never work right had to call in to get it running just about every two weeks.Every time I call these people will beat around the bush and were a bit pushy to try to get me in on another one of there systems.

(Added Apr 24/12) Horrible, awful, painful, and just plain unprofessional. We have been trying unsucessfully for the past three months to cancel our service with Vivint due to us moving. Our first attempt wasn't even filed and we had spent over an hour on the phone with the representative. That was January 12. It is now April 4 and as of today they STILL haven't closed our account. We spent three hours yesterday faxing and filing the papers they demanded they have and today when we called to check the status they told us we had to wait 24 to 48 more hours for it to process. Mind you they have STILL taken their payment out and overdrawn our bank account 5 times in the past three and a half months. We asked about getting the money refunded and were very nastily told that we "had to wait a few more days then call back and they would determine whether or not they would give us our money back". Really?! I signed no timed contract that would inhibit a refund. They are the ONLY company I have ever dealt with who refuse to let you close or cancel your account without sending in tons of personal and confidential information. I wasn't aware that you needed copies of my childrens information to cancel my account. I am appalled by the "customer service" of this company and even more appalled by their business tactics. I will never do business with this company and I will continually tell others not to do so either.

(Added Apr 24/12) I have had Vivint for 6 months now for my Vacation home. LOVE IT. I rent it out and I have not had one problem with the system. The sales rep was great and the installer was great too. I can give the renters the code to unlock the door from anywhere in the world. When they leave I arm the system and change the code on the internet. No more lost keys and no wondering if they set the alarm or not.. Great system and very practical for ANY rental property!  Get VIVINT, I asked for a quote from ADT and they wouldn't over the phone. Vivint quoted me over the phone and surprisingly the quote was accurate!  At least look at their website www.vivintautomation.com

(Added Apr 16/12) When we first time signed up with Vivint we thought it was an excellent idea! My husband deploys frequently and I would feel more safe having this system protect me- since we do not have a landline phone.  However less than a year later-if we could financially afford to end our contract we would just to be DONE dealing with Vivint. They have the nicest customer care representatives but they have the WORST policies. The touch screen thermostat THEY put in our home constantly changes it's own temp. I called and nicely informed that this has been happening alot. Reset the thermostat and if it happens again call. It happened for awhile and we tried to ignore it. Then the touch screen stopped responding at the up arrow. We called and informed Vivint of the two issues now. And I was told they would be glad to come replace it for a copay of $50. This is the policy, after all I am getting the new device for free. I was already informed that the device was defective and that many people have this issue! Why should I have to pay $50 because they gave me(and many customers) a broken device? Well I was told I have to pay it for the agent who has to drive to my house and use up his time. Well he is employed by VIVINT, and VIVINT gave me a bad device, and VIVINT should pay for everything regarding this bad device. Plus we pay like $80 a month for Vivint...My husband is about to deploy- which involves alot of purchases and costs- we don't have $50 in the budget right now- part of being in the military and getting paid less than most every other job in the country. I wish I would have paid more attention to the contract. I can NOT wait to be done with Vivint.

(Added Apr 16/12) Very Very POOR Customer service.  Our wireless connection stopped working a month and 1/2 ago and they could not come out and fix it until 1 week after the report was made.  If you are going to go with this company please rethink your decision, customer service is suppose to be top priority but with this company it is not.

(Added Apr 9/12) I signed up for a 3 year contract with Vivint.  After fulfilling the contract I called to cancel and was advised that I had to submit cancellation in writing 30 days before the contract ended.  Since I wasn't aware of this they automatically renewed my contract for another year and I wasn't allowed to cancel until the year was finished...(read the whole review)

(Added Apr 3/12) We had an awful time with ADT but have had nothing but positive experiences with Vivint. A couple of years ago one of our neighbors had their house broken into so they wanted to install an alarm system. They asked us about Vivint and we gave them a positive report. They interviewed 3 separate alarm companies, Vivint, another national company, and a local company. The other two companies advised them that they didn't need to arm their basement door. That's the exact place where the burglar(s) gained access. Vivint told them they needed to arm the door. They went with Vivint. Vivint installed all the equipment free of charge, including the basement door! They feel much safer.

(Added Apr 2/12) I received a letter in the mail from Vivint stating that an automatic debit did not go through on my account for your services. I was certainly surprised to say the least. I cancelled the service back in June of 2011. After further review of my bank account I realized Vivint had been taking money out of my account after I had cancelled the service...(read the whole review)

(Added Mar 29/12) DO NOT USE VIVINT.  I have had the most horrendous time closing my account with this company.  They lost my notice on 2 occasions and attempted to charge my credit card incorrectly so many times that I finally had to cancel my card and request a new one.  I have never experienced such poor customer service with any other company.  I would not receommend using this service to anyone I know.  I am still getting calls months later by the billing department even though their "customer solutions" department tells me that my account is cancelled and that they will update my status so the billing department will not contact me anymore.  It is extremely frustrating and distracting.  Their phone calls every couple weeks literally ruin my whole day and inevitably lead to several minutes on hold waiting for the right department to verify my account is closed.  In fact, I have been on hold long enough to write this entire review.  BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY.

(Added Feb 28/12) When I signed up with this company, I provided a voided check so there would not be any mistake with billing. I never saw anything on my bank statement, but as my statements are somewhat confusing with only random seeming letters and numbers, I just assumed it was being withdrawn. Just over a year later, I get a call from my bank saying there was a problem with my account. When I called to find out what was going on, I was told that my Vivint bill was being charged to a college students account for this whole year. I had to go in and pay $800 in one lump sum to bring the other account current. When I called Vivint to tell them what had happened, the representative apologized and said he would do what he could to see if the company would help me out at all. I got the running statement showing the wrong account being charged and faxed it in. A few days later I got a call from another Vivint representative called me and again apologized. She told me that they would reimburse the $18 return check fee and oh, by the way, we owed another $117, for the last two months it took to get this problem solved. !?!? Would I be paying that ammount today? Ummm, no. I am very disappointed with the way I was treated by this company and will be cancelling my service the day my contract is up.

(Added Feb 28/12) I advice everyone not to use vivint, I promise you thier are other security systems out there with the exact same offer for more than half the price. I have had vivint for over a year now and realized i needed to make some cut backs on my finances. I found many different systems offering much better rates but to get out of the contract with vivint I must pay the remainder of my 42 month contract which comes out to be about 1500 dollars. So if you want to over pay for something and not be able to get out of it this is the system for you!!!

(Added Feb 20/12) Had Vivint for about 3 months now, System works great and has great features, like the camera and doorlock.  The thermostat feature is great as well- all this controlled from my phone.  I see alot of complaints here for contract issues and early cancellation... to me for all that you are getting up front essentially for free, you have to expect that they want you to maintain the account to recover their costs!

(Added Feb 20/12) This company should be put out of business. They con older citizens into buying alarms with their high preasure sales pitch.  They are well known for using white out and changing the length of the contract. I bought a one year contract, that became 42 months . Has anyone every heard of a 42 month contract?  I have a appointment with the Local DA on Tuesday Please would other people contact their law enforcement agencies they could be shut down

(Added Feb 20/12) I just want to tell anyone who is considering getting an alarm system,do not and I repeat do not go with vivint. They misrepresent their products, they are faulty and then they called and tell you that they have to replace this or that and then to add insult to injury they charge a service call fee. I purchase cameras and they don't work and they want to charge me another service fee for them to replace these cameras.They also never tell you up front that they will charge you an installation fee and lock you into a long term contract, I don't believe that the we should be lock in when they have done nothing but be dishonest.They also double billed me, that is why they want to do a bank draft. Again do not sign up with them.

(Added Feb 14/12) I almost got vivnt then waited, then called company on phone they refused me the plan the door to door salesman offered me. come to find out from a neighbor they make you pay for instalation by check up front then go cash your check and bring u back the money now you think you got it free but they copy your check and deduct it from your account later. i want to address the very few company employees who posted good things about the company on here saying they lasted 13 plus years and if they were scams they would not be around. well they used to be APEX but on verge of being shut down by the BBB so they restarted the company just recently under the new name vivnt and will soon have to change names again. i am glad i did not sign up with vivnt but instead went with the point security

(Added Feb 9/12) I haave read alot of reviews about different security companys. Every review had something negative about them. I talk to alot of VIVINT costumers and they all said wonderful things about the company. That was my deciding factor. I've had VIVINT for over 3 months now and the company is great. Everytime which was once I had a question the costumer service was great. No issue with billing. The tech who installed the system was very professional. He showed us how to use it and did not leave until we were comfortable with the system. I would tell friend about this company. They are great!!

(Added Jan 16/12) I agree with all the other comments about how horrible vivint security system is.  There customer service is awful.  We have been having trouble with a motion detector and everytime we call all they do is have us test this and that for like 20 minutes on the phone.  It has not even helped.  Its rididculous.  It is still not fixed.

(Added Jan 10/12) Vivint is a dishonest company and takes advantage of its customers.  They do not explain their contracts and charge people for service they no longer have.

(Added Jan 10/12) I would not recommend this company. The sales people they have could sell ice to an eskimo - DO NOT let this fool you. As soon as you sign on to that contract you are screwed. Their equipment breaks and they charge you for service fees to have their techs come fix them. In fact, they charge you fees for EVERYTHING and do not itemize them on their statements. For the installation appointment my tech never even showed up and despite multiple calls I had to reschedule my installation and when I did the tech complained when he got to my house about how late it was. He didn't even come with the right equipment and had to come back yet a third time. During which my brother discovered my system had the lowest passable connection (4 out of 30) and only after he grilled the tech about it did the tech put in something to boost the signal (to a whopping 6 out of 30). My thermostat chip broke 2 weeks after installation and I'm still waiting for them to fix it. I have complained several times about my service but they do not care at all. I'm so bummed I have to pay these thieves for years to come. You might as well just leave your doors open & unlocked at night instead of getting Vivint because you're going to get robbed either way.

(Added Dec 19/11) Vivint is terrible!!!!!!!!!!!! My thermostat and electronic control devices don't work in my house. I have had the service rep here several times and he cant fix anything. He has done everything possible to try fix, he's actually a really good guy, hard worker. He told me that I have to call Vivint customer service to figure out what to do, he can't do it for me, unfortunately. I called customer service today and the experience was HORRIBLE. I wanted the system solely for the thermostat and electronic control device, but of course, neither work. I told them I dont want the system anymore and they offered me $8 off a month to take out the thermostat and elec control devices. I told them that is BS and I don't need the security function of the system because I own three large dogs. I wanted the thermostat and electronic device mainly, but of course had to have the whole system to get that feature. Vivint then told me that they want to send a "LEAD" technician out to try and figure out the problem, even though I stated that the current service tech that has been here several times has already talked to the "LEAD" technician and he had no answers for our current tech. Funny part will be when the "LEAD" tech shows up next week, it will probably be the same tech we have always had. This company is a joke, don't go for the service. HORRIBLE customer experience. Don't even let them in your door. This whole security system bit is crap, any company if you ask me, just sad that I fell for it.

(Added Nov 29/11) VIVINT is a rip off we are paying $50.00 a month we own a home in Alaska we are military when we started our contract with APX we were told if we have orders to leave Alaska we can get out of the contract now that VIVINT is in charge we are told we can't we live in NC now in a rental they are telling us to transfer the service to the rental home we provided orders to them showing them we do not live in that home anymore in Alaska and that the military moved us they told us only way we can get out of the contract is if we lived on base no where in the contract does t state any of this, it is sad that your home securety company is scamming you the people that live in our home is alaska would love to maintain the service with the company but they refuse to let us out of the contract so I guess we are going to take a lawyer and settle it that way I WILL tell all of my friends to avoid APX or Vivint (whatever the name is now) and I will make sure that those two names go on the military black list( buissines that have a bad reputation by taking advantage of people) which forbids military to business with comapnies on  that list lets see how it is when you do not follow any of the acts in place to protect famalies that have no choice but to leave their home I got a system in that house to keep our belongings safe and our lifes safe I am not there anymore ....I hope this company will not get any business by any veteran or any military member anymore .

(Added Oct 27/11) Had Vivint for a couple of years while I had them I had breakins. Called them up and complained they said it was because my alarm wasn't set. Had the system that you could set with a smartphone, the phone system said that it was set only it wasn't. Had a camera installed by them only it never worked, had the company come out to check it out,then it worked while they were here after they left the camera stopped working. Got another security company and haven't had any breakins since.

(Added Oct 27/11) Vivint / APX Alarm, Well to say the least they are criminals the system will protect your house but not your pocketbook. I signed up with APX and lived in the house for 2 years after the system was installed. I signed a 3 year contract with them and had to move. when i moved they stated i needed to retain the service as i signed a three year deal. they would not take back the system they just wanted their money for the rest of the contract. Ok very mad but i did sign a 3 year contract. So after a very heated conversation with them i decided it was not worth the argument anymore and paid the balance for the remaining year roughly $600 and told them to cancel. now all most a year and a half later i get a bill at my new address saying they are going to send my outstanding balance to collections. the bill was for $200 (4 months) they state that since they did not receive a written cancellation notice they renewed my contract for 1 year. Ok it gets even better when i contacted them stating that i canceled this service they said ok so i would just need to pay for the remaining term of the 1 year extension ($600). they where unwilling to do anything about this. After threatening a law suit reporting them to BBB talking with almost all of their management staff they finally credited me for the one year extension but this took hours and action before they would do anything. They say they are a alarm company but all they do is steal!!!!!!!!

(Added Oct 27/11) Vivint Not recommended.  Better business complaint submitted by me due to unauthorized charges to my credit card.  Will be filling complaint with attorney general if not resolved as a company should not make charges to a credit card without approval.  Had the vivint system install a few month back but upgraded the service with automation items; door lock, thermostat, cameras and smoke detectors, full package.  Cameras work part time and the thermostat does not work at all.  The salesman required a check after installation for over $600 and the remainder was to be builed in three equal payments.  The company called several times wanting their money and was told to contact their salesman who I had already paid and who had the check.  They said they could not call the salesman but they could call me, how is that.  Told them I would pay bill after they credited account with the check or I would pay the remainder but the company charged my account the full amount.  Talked to  Rayn and Shanon and specified they were not authorized to make charges to my credit card but they charged my card over $800 without autorization.  I no longer have faith in if the system works or this company. I would recommend you not do business with this company.

(Added Oct 27/11) Dealing with Vivint has been an absolute nightmare. I have attempted to cancel several times, continuing to get the runaround until the contract window expired. (Vivint demands a cancelation letter 30 days prior to end of contract or they auto-renew.)  I sent 3.  One 4 months before the end of contract, one 30 days (which they claimed not to recieve) and another 2 weeks before end of contract as requested by Vivint when I called to verify the cancelation.  Vivint extended my contract for another year against my wishes, and every call winds up with me going from department to department, rep to rep, with all telling me that they have incomplete records of my past calls and that maybe someone else can help me. I am usually asked to call back again since the person I need to talk to is "out of the office". I have never been as displeased with a contract as I am with Vivint.  They are unethical, ruthless and unyielding. Looking at other reviews, they are apparently this way by design.

(Added Oct 21/11) BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE of Vivint! Its not a contract but a LOAN! If you default it will crush your credit. I asked the salesman if I could cancel if something came up and he bold faced lied to me. This company is VILE. I recently lost my job and when I called and explained my situation they told me that there is NO WAY to cancel my contract. I have to worry about getting financing for my oldest college expenses and if I default on this it wont happen. I even offered to pay a depreciation and a cancellation fee and still no is the only answer I recieved. I recently spoke to a friend from the USMC and when he tried to cancel his so he could deploy they hammered his credit. Patriotic of them eh? Avoid these people. Ive heard nothing but horror stories. Also I am writing a letter to my state attorney general. If you have had a similiar experience I suggest you do the same.

(Added Oct 14/11) We had our service installed in July 2011.... about 10 hours later we had a break in (have never been broken into EVER)!  My husband could see the intruder on his iphone and could tell that it was a Vivent employee by the bright orange t-shirt he was wearing... but low and behold the camera that was installed didn't record the break in...(read the whole review)

(Added Oct 14/11) This company should be put out of business.  1. I saw no cars from the suppose sale man should had been a warning sign.  2. Then the installment team showed up 10 mins after the sales man left should had been a warning sign...  3. The number of times this alarm sets and unsets itself.  should be a sign.  They go after older people on fixed incomes .. Shame on them

(Added Oct 14/11) We had a door to door salesman come from apx now vivant, we must have asked him 6 times if there was a contract, and he reassured and re-reassured us there is no contract.  After two years of paying and not really using the service we decided to cancel only to find out we are locked into a 39 month contract of 55 dollars a month!  We were floored!!!!!  We will NEVER EVER EVER buy from a door to door sales man again becuase of the LIES the Vivant company blatantly told us!!!!

(Added Oct 14/11) I truly am not being dramatic when I say to you that this is the worst company my family has ever done business with!  Grab a cup of coffee this is going to be one long journey that includes illegal business practices, lies, and deceit.  You see this begins in July and is still ongoing in October.  Quite some time don't ya think!  Let's begin with my purchase of the system.  Everything went great, in the first 12 hours that is...(read the whole review)

(Added Oct 3/11) Please! read your contract before Vivint salesman with the blue honest eyes passes it to be sign by you!!!!!!!he told us that we can cancel it anytime and my husband happily signed, I have been presented too. We actually never used it and after 3 years paying for nothing we decided to cancel contract but discovered that we have signed for 5 YEARS contract and have to go for almost two more years/ or we will have to pay outstanding balance and be free. Now after reading all bunch of negative reports here and in addition on "ripoff" website I feel awful and worry that we will not be able to get rid of them even if we will send our cancellation letter before 30 days prior to the contract will be finished. Vivint or former APX doesn't belong to BBB consumer rating system. We feel as we have been the victims of ugly CON affair and cannot do anything. Please, if somebody know how stop it or if we can do anything to stop this kind of practice let us know.

(Added Oct 3/11) Door to door salesman explained the alarm system to me and it all sounded quite good so we decided to go ahead and have it installed. The salesperson said that we would have 15 days as a trial run and if we didn't like it we could cancel with no penalty. All sounded good right? Well when we re-read the contract it stated we had 3 days to cancel.  The salesperson also said that it was about a dollar a day to have this alarm system.  So for $30 it seemed like a good value.  When he showed us what we had to pay it was $46/month.  Far from a dollar a day. Customer service was actually very nice and tried to get me to change my mind.  When Vivant sent me back our first months payment it was for $51.99!.  So I do not understand why a dollar a day or $46/month was mentioned.  I think the system is a good one and maybe I just had a really bad sales person.  I didn't care for the 3.5 year committemnt. Told customer service I would do it for a year but said they couldn't do that.

(Added Sep 27/11) I was satisfied with the company overall, until I had to do some repairs on the house and had to remove a back entry door for about a week. Firstly, they never send me the manual, so I didn't know how to disable the alarm system fr a week. Next, when I called them, they told me that the system can be put on standby, but after a while it went active and complained about the door, and when the door was put back in place, it didn't recognize the door anymore. Pretty bad experience with the customer service overall, people there don't know what they're talking about.

(Added Sep 27/11) BEWARE of this company!! We signed on to a 3 year contract originally with Apex (now Vivint). This last August, we finally hit the 3 year term and wanted to cancel our service. They said they would "review" our case to let us cancel service. We went back and forth about cancelling our contract. They said that we should've cancelled 30 days prior to our agreement being up. Now it's "too late", but they'll put in a request to cancel for next Aug. PLEASE AVOID THE COMPANY LIKE THE PLAGUE!! They will not let you cancel a fulfilled contract!! Contacting BBB and the attorney gernerl.

(Added Sep 23/11) Buyer beware!!! I bought this system from a door to door salesman and was initially impressed. I was trying to sell my home at the time and the salesman assured me that the system could be transferred to the new owner or I could get it installed in my new home for no extra fees. Unfortunately, the new owners did not want the system. However, when I moved I was told I'd have to pay an additional $99. I was so upset at that time, I tried their 'option' of convincing someone to pay $99 and take over the contract but was unsuccessful. With the payments on the required autopay, the payments kept going to the company even though I never got the system in my new home. Long story shortened... I've been paying for 2 years to this company FOR NO SERVICE! AND they still want me to pay off the rest of the contract!! I asked if they could credit me if I now got the system installed and they wouldn't even do that!!! That customer service is NO SERVICE AT ALL!! 3 years of nothing is what Ive paid for and they 'can't help me!!'

(Added Sep 23/11) Had a Vivint salesman in my neighborhood and thought I'd listen to his pitch. Hey, I don't want the guy blowing off the salesman who may be selling something that saves my family's life :) Anyways, I asked a thousand questions and liked everything I heard. He was able to back up everything he said. So, we replaced our ADT system with Vivint. First, when they unhooked the ADT system...I never got a call or anything from ADT that would make me think they were actually monitoring my system. Very weird right? I thought so too.  So far Vivant has been awesome. My crazy dogs have set of the motion sensor twice now and I have been called, texted and emailed all at the same time to make sure all is well. One of those times I missed the call and the police were at my house within 12 minutes. I was impressed. One other time, I didn't enter the security code in time to stop the alarm. 5 seconds later a Vivint rep was speaking through the speaker on the unit. Again I was impressed. Again, great service! Add to that that I can now control the temp settings in my home from my smart phone, even set a schedule for when I'm not home to have the heat or air off and kick on an hour before I leave work to get the house comfortable...very nice! To top it off, it's all wireless! An intruder can't simply cut the phone lines to disarm it because it works on cell phone technology. I'm sure no system out there including this one is full proof but this is about as close as I can get and gives good value. All in all, I'm very happy with the service, price and features of the system! Hope this review helps!

(Added Sep 20/11) These were very courteous and smart technicians who went above and beyond in getting our existing alarm system up and running again. (we had purchased a home with an alarm system that was not in use) Since activation we had two occasions when our alarm was tripped and within a minute or two we had a response from a Vivint representative. They have been prompt and polite each time we have communicated with them. We highly recommend Vivint.

(Added Sep 19/11) Vivint is refusing to cancel our home security even after I provided Official USAF PCS orders & supporting documents that Vivint requested...(read the whole review)

(Added Sep 17/11) We bought our system from a door-to-door salesman in early June of this year and thus far we love it!! The salesman was courteous, knowledgeable, and very professional.  We had an old system already in our home when we purchased it that was serviced by ADT.  Needless to say, when we bought the home, it was with the understanding that ADT would give us new equipment -not so.  We also had to change out a door because it had water damage and were told by ADT we would have to pay out almost $500 dollars to get a new sensor installed.  We also have pets and had the old motion-sensors that were not pet friendly, making the "away" function useless with ADT.  After paying for unusable service for 2 years, we were looking for a change -and VIVINT provided! Brand new equipment, including the ability to monitor our A/C and alarms away from home via cell -we are ecstatic with the service.  While it may seem a little more pricey than others, you cannot beat the prompt response of the service team when there are alarms or the ease of use.  Its also good to know that I am actually getting a service for which I am paying!

(Added Sep 17/11) i was just visited by a salesman and please be careful. he was trying to get me to sign a 3.5 year contract for a monthly service of $60 a month.  I told him that i would reaserch his company before i would agree and he told me the truth that vivinit used to be apx.  I told him that there was a lot of bad review about apx. he got up from my kitchen table and walked out without saying thank you or even shaking my hand. El Paso Texas be careful with these guys

(Added Sep 17/11) I have a vivint. monitored 2 gig alarm system. I have set my alarm off accidently multiple times by letting my dog out in middle of night to go pee. EVERY time the alarm went off and I deactivated it, the vivint. people came across the cellular 2 way system within 30 seconds to ask my user name and password to ensure we were safe. I love the fact I need no home phone line and they can still talk to me through the panel. I would recommend anyone to them. My family feels at ease with this company. I can't believe that I have even read one bad review!?! Great customer service too.

(Added Sep 17/11) I have been pleased with my Vivint system and their service.  I had it installed about two weeks ago and so far I've had no technical problems.  Now, I did have second thoughts about having the system after stewing over the length of the contract.  I decided to call Vivint customer service about it and they accommodated me by taking 6 months off the contract AND crediting my account for an additional 3 months.  The sales rep I spoke to was very courteous and seemingly glad to help me out.  There was an issue that arose from an installation goof on my thermostat.  When I called Vivint tech support, they called an HVAC technician in my area and the issue was resolved the same day (at no charge of course.)  I'm with the last reviewer in that it is the home owner's responsibility to go over the details and your concerns with the Vivint rep before signing the contract.

(Added Sep 17/11) Vivint sales rep (young lady )came to my house yesterday so we let her in to see what she had to offer . She first started off by saying my neighborhood had 3 break-ins within the last 3 weeks...(read the whole review)

(Added Aug 24/11) My parents, in their 70s, called me to let me know of a Vivent salesman in their home. I slide over unknowing to him as to who I am. Im adopted so I dont look like my parents. Salesman was completely professional and very knowledgeable of his product. He explained everything in the contract, answered all questions and even came back to inspect the work of the technicians who installed the system.  Being the speculative type, I set the alarm off on purpose. Literally before I could turn around I heard the voice on the speaker. Monitoring personnel was very nice and professional. So I waited an hour and did it again from a different location. Monitoring personnel was the exact same. Fast, professional and courteous.  The salesman gave us his personal cell number and after realizing that he forgot to give my parents their Medic Alert necklaces, drove back personally to give them to them. I then signed up immediately and did the same tests. Everything worked perfectly!!  Owning a company and in past did contract negotiations, let me educate those that use the word SCAM... it is YOUR job as the consumer to read the contract and ask questions. It is YOUR job to understand what you read. If you dont like the end result of the terms that YOU signed, then YOU didnt read the contract or ask questions therefore, YOU scammed YOURSELF! Maybe we just have better salesmen in NC!

(Added Aug 24/11) Please I want to warn everyone about VIVINT, it is the worse company I ever dealt with, the representatives are a bunch of liars. They will come to your house, make a lot of promises to have you switch over to their company, once everything is processed then they tell you they never mentioned such things. They worse thing they did was telling me that I was not allowed to cancel my service with them. In my opinion, Vivint is the worst company that ever existed. Anytime you see those guys with orange shirt representing Vivint coming to your house to talk about alarm system, please chase them away

(Added Aug 18/11) We love our Vivant system.  We had Pinnacle for a short time. What a waste!  Never have we felt safer.  Every thing works as we were explained.  We liked the medical alert necklace/braclet.  We read the reviews, many were very negative, but we did like what a lot of positive reviews.  We are so glad we did.

(Added Aug 18/11) I have been very please with Vivint. We bought the system when it was APX.  The sales person was great and the tech that installed the system was very helpful. The few times the alarm has went off they are on the intercom immediatly. The only thing I didn't like is buy from one company then change to someone else.  It doesn't give me the control to check it out, but happens with even the big companies. I was not pressured into buying and several of my neighbors also installed APX.

(Added Aug 18/11) APX (now Vivint) charges way too much (around $45.00) for monitoring.  Local companies here are charging around $15.00.  Their service is not worth paying three times the price.

(Added Aug 16/11) placed  system in sat ,it quit sat,told could not fix till mon,no one showed or called that appt was not being kept, said they would try to get some one late mon,never called back,kept us on hold fo 45 min ,using n up cell minutes ,then said maybe come by tuesday,,,,lies  still noone has showed ,don't use this company

(Added Aug 15/11) Wow a vivint sales guy came by today,,,lies after lies came out of his mouth , told me i can get free stuff and keep my alarm company, after he showed me the reciept it said i would owe 49 dollars to vivint,as well as my 30 i pay to metro..... same service, i grabed the paper work , and told him of his lies and he ran off ,,,,, DO NOT DO BIZ WITH THIS COMPANY.... GO WITH METRO OR ANY LOCAL Company..... YOUVE BEEN WARNED....................... YUMA AZ

(Added Aug 15/11) we just got them to install the system today. they went door to door and installed it within like thirty minutes of us signing the contract...it was at ten at night...:( i dont understand...

(Added Aug 15/11) The Vivint Salesman pressured my 91 year old father into buying their sub-par system and signing a four year contract.  He told them he needed to first speak to his adult son, but they were able to convince him to sign, and in the process, hand over a blank check when he could not reach me by phone.  I was lucky enough to cancel in the 3 day's that State of California requires them to offer and we closed his checking account.  Others in our town have not faired so well, though the city of Arcata has pulled their solicitors permit, so at least those residents will not longer be approached, but the rest of our state and county are at risk.  Meanwhile we got a local system installed for half the monthly fee.

(Added Aug 15/11) This is my first sytem and I love Vivint. I can monitor the house from my phone or work and have had no problems with the system. I think their fees are reasonable and I received many upgrades to the old system that was in my house prior to our purchasing it, and for free. Absoultely no complaints. I agree with the other commentor, alot of the negative comments are probably from people who don't even subsribe to Vivint.

(Added Aug 15/11) BEWARE!!!!! this company has you sign a three year contract after the first year they claim to send notification of cancellation 30 days prior to the end of original contract which in turn  an additional year is added to your contract with no prior consent from the customer. We tried cancelling and were told if you wish to cancel any time after that it will cost you a $400.00 cancellation fee, after speaking yo several of there representatives we could not come to a resolution.  Put simply you can not work with them. If you already have service with this company make sure to read your contract because they will keep on extending the original contract for additional years.  I will not recommend this company to anyone. From installation problems to this, it has been a horrible experience.

(Added Aug 15/11) Absolutely garbage. The installers damaged 3 of my appliances, I had to pay my own electrician to fix. They do not do service calls. The technicians missed appointments regularly. Customer service is not worth two pence. I am cancelling my service and demanding reimbursement.

(Added Aug 15/11) I love my system.  I was a little hesitant in getting my Vivint system because I had never heard of them, but now that I have the product in my house I have no doubt that this is the best system.  I had a local company, Gessler, for years and I thuoght it was a good system.  I love this system!!

(Added Aug 15/11) Beware. The systems vivint install will not be serviced or monitored by any national security company such as Adt or protection 1. Get vivint system installed and stuck with vivint or a smaller alarm company. Vivint has c- bbb score. If getting the thermostat same story. If need to service your air condition this stat isn't available. If using the iPhone remote control service vivint sells as option good luck trying to find out if door or window ismleft open. The sales reps really can't be blamed the one I spoke to was just doing what was told.

(Added Aug 15/11) A Vivint salesperson visited our home on July 30, 2011 and talked us into the 57.99 per month Energy Management system. This system included the following FREE items: 1 - Smart Thermostat, 1 - Cellular Go Control Panel, 3 - Door Sensors, 2 - Fire Detectors, 1 - Light Module, 2 - Glass Break Sensors and 12 Energy Efficient Light Bulbs....(read the whole review)

(Added Aug 14/11) I don't know what everyone's problem is with Vivint. My bill is what they said it would be. My cat triggered the alarm once and the cops came immediately! Everytime I test it, it works fine. I own my home so signing a contract is not a big deal. Every once in awhile they call me to upgrade my system but I don't and they don't harrass me about it. I don't know why people bother with reading reviews and investigating a company AFTER they sign a contract. I sat there and read reviews on my laptop on my back patio while the salesman did his job. You will find that every alarm company all have equally good and bad reviews! So then you simply choose the company with the best systems and rates or don't use an alarm company and get 2 big guard dogs!

(Added Aug 14/11) It was in 2010 when I had first bought my home. Unexpectedly, they had their sales people come to our home and offered a free home installation home security. The girl told me the alarm installment and equipment are free. She also included $1 a day fee for the alarm system. I thought to myself, "hey this is a great deal!" Not knowing everything she said was false. 5 days later, I came to realize it was not $1 a day and in fact its $49.99 a month! The system I have is not so great! When I come home and the alarm is on, it doesn't even go off. I really hate companies like this. All they do is lie and trap you into a 3 year contract!!!!

(Added Aug 13/11) Ive had service through this company "APEX/Vivint"for about a year and a half,my wife and bought a home and decided to go with apex,even after reding all the bad press from other states,I'm a geek and like new tech so we went with the Go control. the first install went we'll however within the first 3 monthes some of the window sensors had started comming off due to the heat,this might have bothered me if the tech who installed it hadn't told me upfront that the aluminum windows might give me trouble in the future,anyway I called APEX and the sent out a tech for free and he siliconed all the sencors in my house,they also came out to move my motion sensor because i didnt like its location. their costomer service has been great for me and i'm hard to please being that i'm a tech for Time Warner Cable and expect to get what i pay for... Within the first year I upgraded to the energy package,and i must say they are first rate company with a great staff and quality product.I just hope the price of cameras go down a bit so I can upgrade again....Hope this helped

(Added July 4/11) I have read through most of these reviews and am completely and utterly baffled at the intellect level of so many Americans. Can I give you all the most truthful and unbiased review of this company, Vivint? They have been in the security business for 13+ years and...(read the whole review)

(Added July 4/11) My husband and I got suckered into signing a contract with this company and we realized it quickly the next morning. They are very pushy and we should've pushed the guy out of the door. Well I didn't sleep well the night we had it installed so I did research the next morning. NOT GOOD REVIEWS!! I called them and told them I wanted to cancel (I still have till 6-2 to cancel) today. So I scanned my notification of cancellation and emailed  it to them. The lady I spoke with on the phone wanted to give me two free months of service and then make the contract from 42 months to 36. I said no I'm going back to ADT where my 3 year contract is up and I'm paying quarter to quarter. All the reviews I read say it's impossible to get out of your contract. I didn't even want to take the risk of when we move having to deal with them. The salesman knew up front we were only staying in this house 1 or 2 more years. Very shady people!! I think their way of doing business is unethical and the fact that they have impending government litigation against them says something. Please don't give into them. They tell you you have to make your decision on the spot. Not cool!!

(Added July 4/11) Vivint has been AMAZING!!!!! I have no complaints about anything! Somebody broke into my garage and my glass break detector set the alarm off and nothing was stolen. I love the touch screen cell unit and the 2 way voice response. Customer service has been great! I've recommended them to all my closest friends. GREAT COMPANY

(Added July 4/11) I've had a Vivint alarm for about six months now. It is the one with the Smart Thermostat. My savings on home heating has been almost exactly what the representative told me to expect. When I needed help to understand how to use parts of the system, the customer service people were great. I don't understand the negative reviews. The sales rep went over the contract with me and I have received exactly what I was promised.

(Added July 4/11) Keep in mind when looking for "reviews" on any company, people that are perfectly content with a product/company/service dont get online and state that they are happy with a company because its products and services work the way they're supposed to. Only people who have a bad experience get on and blab about it. I've had many horrible experiences with Verizon and at&t. Billing nightmares technical problems all sorts. My point is people companies are run by people and people make mistakes. Corrupt lying salesman are also to blame for many problems. However, a company is not just one person. And reading ten or twenty horror stories about any company would give you a little aprehention about going with a company. Bottom line folks, Vivint systems save peoples lives so do ADT,

(Added July 4/11) Good experience and great system.  It was so simple and easy to change out my old system that I was a bit skeptical about the offer.  After buying my home a few years ago, I activated the existing ADT system which covered the doors and motion.  This system worked fine until a contractor doing some home repais disconnected the system and broke into my home that night.  I had that system deactived and I hadn't used an alarm for a few months.  But when one of the Vivint sales people knocked at my door, I told him what had occured and he walked me through what had happened and explained how their new cellular system would fix that problem from happening again.  To my surprise the new system didn't cost me anything, and it was far nicer than the older one, plus I now have fire and glass protection.  I'm happy with my decision and really just glad I don't have to worry about my system or lack of system anymore.

(Added July 4/11) I was a paying customer of APX for two years. My home phone line was terminated and the current tenants were unaware that the alarm depended on the home line. The alarm system gave the appearance of operating (the device announced each time that the system was "armed"), so the bill was paid for 14 months ($600) before anyone in the home realized that there was no monitoring service!  Vivint never contacted my cell phone or that of my tenant when their system tests failed to make contact, and only sent a letter to my address 16 months(!) after the phone line was disconnected.  Vivint's response to their service failure been to cite the fine print on the BACK of the contract that the customer is supposed to call Vivint monthly(!) to test the alarm (no instructions provided on doing this in their manual), and has refused to cancel the balance of the contract (never mind refunding the $600 of free money they received). The representatives are trained consistently to play sugary sweet and voice their empathy for the customer's situation, but they are mandated to absolutely extract as much money as possible, under the guise of "making sure your home is still protected." They are aggressive and manipulative ... even tried to get me to agree to a thermostat monitoring service mid-dispute without disclosing up-front that this would entail a new fee. Three of the four representatives I talked to, as well as the Account Resolution manager herself, were unscrupulous, aggressive, rigid, deceptive and manipulative ... all delivered with a smile. I cannot un-recommend this company more strongly.

(Added July 4/11) We switched from current provider to vivint yesterday.  today we find that all our sensors are not working and that we have no alarm system.  after spending hours on the phone, no technician is going to come and properly install our system because it is their day off.  perhaps we should let burglars know not to come by today.  the sales rep lied about their quality and i strongly urge everyone not to use this system.

(Added July 4/11) I have had Vivint since my home was broken into 3 years ago. Everything works, it's exactly what they put on the paperwork and I have had a great customer service experience. For those of you yelling BUYER BEWARE- there is a contract, this is a scam.... Maybe you should have been a responsible consumer and read the paperwork. You all sound extremely unintellegent. Are you not adults? How is it a scam when they do what they say they will do? If the system goes off do they call the police? Wow, people just aren't very smart.

(Added July 4/11) My experience with VIVINT has been awful. My battery (that was supposed to last "several years" went bad in 2 and they charged me $50 to get it replaced...on their equipment so I can do business with them. If you are late on a payment (ok, I've been late, who hasn't) they call you 5-7 times per day. This is the WORST home alarm company that I have ever dealt with. I hope your experience is better.

(Added June 14/11) I have nothing but GOOD things to say about this company.  Not only is the technology better then the competition but the service has been great.  When we first got the alarm we were told something a little different then what was expected, however after years of experience in the retail world I had it in writting.  The company absolutely honoured what was offered without any problems.  When we moved the alarm company was great upgrading our system for free.  We understood the contract and knew what we were signing.  Like any contract, make sure you understand all your options before signing and get it in WRITING to protect yourself.  We've had a different providers in the past and trust me, it was a very unpleasent experience... if you think Vivant is bad, you should try out some of the other guys.

(Added June 14/11) Like many people have stated, a Vivint representative came to our door on a Saturday to sell us their services. I had been thinking about getting an alarm system and this sounded like a good deal to me. The salesman was very detailed in his explanations of what we were getting and what it would cost us. My husband had a lot of questions for him and the salesman answered all of them to his satisfaction. I read through the contract carefully and saw that it was a 36 month contract and at the end of that contract, it rolled over to a month to month contract. We felt pretty good about things until I started looking online to find out what other people had to say about Vivint. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach even as the equipment was being installed. Everything seemed okay, but I still didn’t feel good about the company. I looked carefully at what they said we were getting free and they listed door sensors, even though they used the existing door sensors and the dozen fluorescent light bulbs, which they said cost approx $45 a bulb (the same brand you could buy at the store).  By Sunday, my husband and I decided that we wanted out of the contract. As our salesperson stated, we filled out the part of the paperwork that said we wanted to cancel our contract. I also included a typed note just to make sure. I expected the company to be difficult about this and try and find a way to hold us in the contract even though we had done everything right because Vivint has gotten such bad publicity online. They received our letter and everything went very smoothly from there. We had a problem with the thermostat, which they sent someone to help with in a timely manner. They called us to set up an appointment to remove their equipment and they also reinstalled our original thermostat and put the old alarm panel up so that we didn’t have a hole in our wall. After they removed their equipment, we had a problem with our phone line (which ended up being unrelated to Vivint) and they had someone come out to check it for us, even after we had cancelled our contract and they had removed their equipment. We were not charged for this visit. The money we were charged for startup was refunded completely in a timely manner. I don’t regret cancelling my service, but I do feel that Vivint handled everything with our cancelation professionally and in a timely manner. My experience with them was much better than what I have read from anyone else. Maybe all the lawsuits and judgments against them have helped them clean up their business practices.

(Added June 14/11) Upon answering the door, I immediately said that I was not interested in whatever they were selling. The lead salesman (a younger gentleman was in training), said that he was not selling anything. He stated that they had installed the home efficiency systems for the developer (not true). After a few minutes of the "sales pitch" I said "I thought you weren't selling anything?". His reply was the he was not selling anything even though he had just finished telling me that the equipment was free and the service was $33/mo. I proceeded to tell him that I did not appreciate him lying to me but he continued to swear that he wasn't actually selling anything! It finally took the trainee intervening and thanking me for my time and urging the other to move on. I can only hope that the trainee learns something from this experience. If the sale man were a real salesman, he would have realized, at a minimum, as soon as I called him out on his lie that it was time to apologize and move on. I think I'm more angry about the fact that he took me away from my family over a lie more than anything. Stay as far away from this company as you can!

(Added June 14/11) We got the Vivint home automation system installed in our home in February and we absolutely LOVE IT!!! We read some reviews online when our neighbors got it earlier that week, but we quickly relized that most of the problems people had were trivial and the customers' fault for not reading the contract. We decided to give the salesman a chance when he stopped by since the price couldn't be beat by any other company for all the stuff they gave us (cameras, I-phone app, automatic thermostat and door locks, door and window sensors, etc). The young sales man was honest and very clear and professional. We got it installed and have called into customer support with a few questions since the installation and they are phenomenal (no wait time, clear English, very helpful- better than ADT (who we had before) and AT&T). We have been very impressed with Vivint and want others to know of our satisfaction as very careful consumers! Many of our friends and neighbors have Vivint and they are also very happy with the system. By the way, we live in a town in Texas with A LOT of  military families and one of our military friends was able to get out of his contract with Vivint with out any penalties when he was PCSed (transferred). Vivint is fantastic!

(Added June 14/11) We have Vivint and love them! Customer service is great and the salesman was very clear and honest with us. Much better than ADT! Can't beat their price for the quality of equipment either!

(Added June 11/11) I would just like to let anyone who might be thinking about signing a contract with this company or if you already have a contract with this company you need to be aware of the fine print. I had a 36 month contract with this company and was looking forward to the end. Well, when I called about the ending date of my contract which I thought was this month June 2011. I am told that it is actually May 2012. They had added another year to my contract because they hadn't recieved a written request for cancellation 30 days prior to my contract end date. The next payment won't be deducted until June 25th, but there is absolutely no way they can cancel my contract at this point because they had already signed me up for another year. This they claim is my fault and there is nothing they can do, therefore I am stuck with a security system which I no longer want or need and have to continue paying them for. They aren't doing anything illegal, but as far as I'm concerned it's unethical. I spoke to severeal of their employees, all of whom had a different story. They really need to educate their employees and get them all on the same page if they are going to continue scamming people. They just tell you it's all in the contract.Blah, blah, blah. My thinking on the matter is if they were a really good customer oriented company, they would contact you at the end of your contract and ask if you would like to continue your contract or not. I think they are banking on the idea that most of their customers aren't going to notice that little bit of fine print. And there ya go another year of money from some unsuspecting customer. All I know is their customer service leaves alot to be desired. Customer service should be their highest priority not whether or not they break the bank. One more thing, they hire the young people to do the hard work of selling this crap. They take advantage of them and don't make good on promises to them. Also these young kids don't remember to tell you everything either as far as the contract goes. Don't let yourself be taken. A security system that wrips you off is kind of defeating the purpose. You might as well just leave your door unlocked and let the thieves get ya it wouldn't be any different. Just be aware.

(Added June 10/11) We got our system this past weekend. I then have found this site and realized that most of the complaints have been about pushy salesmen and canceling contracts. I don't know about the completeness of the service nor do I think that it is right to lie, however, one needs to keep in mind that they don't have to sign the contracts. Some salesmen are pushy, but they are trying to earn a living as well. Even college students! Secondly, it seems that most reviewers did not read their contract. In the contract it states that they can change the monthly payments to a different price and that one needs to cancel in writing prior then 30 days or that they will renew the contract year to year. Reading contracts is a smart idea. Every company has problems that people don't like..this company is best for those who plan on staying in the same place.

(Added June 10/11) I was installed with Vivint on April 5th 2011. . . Since then I have set my alarm off twice by accident in opening the back door to water flowers in the back at night forgetting to disarm. . .  The response to the alarm was truly as the company claims. . . literally seconds went by once the 1 minute grace period to disarm expired and after a VERY loud alarm prior to me punching in the code a monitoring agent came over the two way voice on the panel and in a very loud and distinct voice asked if everything was OK. . . I confirmed that we were fine and it was a complete accident. . . After the rep disconnected, not only did my wife and I receive a text message alerting us of the "break-in" but I also received an email. . . and all of this was within seconds of the alarm sounding. I travel some for my job and am gone out of town for sometimes a week and I am so glad that VIVINT is there to protect and watch out for my family when I can't be there. notifications, remote access to my door locks, lighting throughout the home and my thermostat is well worth the $60 a month that I pay. . . . I LOVE vivint and would recommend their services to anyone!!

(Added June 9/11) Was able to tell the salesman when to back off & called him out on any sneaky tactics.  This is true of all salesmen.  Their job is to pay their bills.  Pay attention & speak up!  Their tech peopole were wonderful & very patient when explaining the system.  they are even coming back because I want to cutomize it more.  So far so good.  My hope is that we never have to use it...but evertime a door or window in my house opens the system tells me.  I like that since I am home alone most of the day.

(Added June 7/11) Love this system so much. I can check on my puppy dogs at home from my office (or anywhere else for that matter) from my iPad or smartphone!!!! The sales rep and the installer...I now call them my boys! I have given them several referrals and would love to buy a franchise.  A great product at a reasonable price!

(Added June 7/11) The company sucks. I would not advise anyone to sign a contract with this company. They could not program their own security alarm keyless remote. I was unprotected for approximately 3 months. After the fourth month I insisted that they fix the problem. Their response, "We will send a technician to your home, but it will cost you $49. I couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. Doesn't Vivint have a responsibility to assure customers that the equipment works. Let's get serious here, they could not program their own keyless remote.I  was once again referred to a tech on the phone, who had to call me back, but never do. If I was hard-up and hit the rock bottom, this is the only way I would ever consider doing business with Vivint again. My advice to you, stay clear of this company. The service is lousy.

(Added June 4/11) We had a Vivint representative knock on our door to offer their security services. He explained the plan, but I am not one to sign any contracts without doing some research on the company first. I also asked for a business card to contact him if we decided to sign up. At that point it was a take it or leave it offer, the rep said that if I didn't want to decide then and now, it would be a waste of time and that he would just move on to the next house. You would think a company interested in your business would be more flexible, or at least offer a business card. Sure enough I found several reviews on this company that confirmed that you need to do your homework first.

(Added June 4/11) Signed up with Vivint in June 2010. My husband was going to Afghanistan and wanted me to feel safe. Now he is back from Afghanistan and we had to sell our house to move near Ft. Bragg. Vivint will NOT suspend service until we move into another home, which could be 6 months from now. Whether they are monitoring your home or not, you WILL pay their monthly fee. And you WILL pay it for 39 months. This is a ridiculous contract and I wish I had been home when this was installed. When I finally get out from under this company I will never use it again and I will make sure everyone I know never uses them.

(Added June 4/11) I would strongly discourage any one consider an alarm from Vivint Alarms especially if you are military.  i purchase an alarm system from this contract 3 years ago and was forced into a five year contract.  I was assured I would be released from the contract if I was to move for the military.  For the last month I have been fighting to get my account turned off and it has been refused because I am not going to be living in government provided quarters.  Vivint has the worst customer relations I have ever seen.  Everytime I call to discuss a resolution I talk to a new person that has no clue on the account history.  As I stated before I strongly do not recommend using this horribly established company.  Todd Peterson, Vivint CEO should be personally and professionally embarrassed on how his business is operating.

(Added June 4/11) 1st problem: This company lied to me about a 60 month contract when I specifically asked. I never would have knowingly signed a contract that long given I would be moving. 2nd problem:  When I moved from my home to another state because my children are serving in the military in Afghanistan and I am carrying for their children,( thus helping to preserve our freedoms) there is no release from the contract. 3rd problem: I had to change bank accounts for the auto payment.  After sending them a check with new routing numbers and new phone number, they failed to successfully process the payments and have turned my account over to collections for non-payment.  I have tried unsuccessfully many times over the last several months to pay the past due account.  Now they want $200.00 more for collection fees for something of which I had no fault. 4th problem:  Disorganized - I have repeated the same story at least 10 times today.  I will never do business with them again.

(Added June 4/11) Have nothing bad to say about this company-great customer service, was not pressured to make purchase and system working great!

(Added June 4/11) I've had a Vivint alarm system now for 3 months. At first I didn't care to ever get an alarm but figured why not because the Vivint rep said the equipment was free and it's $58/month with the thermostat. He said I would save $50/month on my utility bill. I was probably an easy sell for him cause I was like whatever, I'll do it. I'm not saving $50/month like he said I would, BUT, I am saving about $25-$30 each month I've had it so far. Also I did have a break-in a few weeks ago and pretty much the alarm did the job. I was notified on my cell while at the grocery store that police were heading to my house due to the alarm being triggered from my side door and the monitoring people heard some kind of commotion going on inside.  I was pretty freaked out at first but as far as I know, my door frame was busted up a little but I haven't found that anything was taken from my house probably cause the siren and Vivint talking through the panel scared the person out of my house.  Anyway, the alarm works and of course I'm glad I was easily persuaded to get the Vivint alarm. I made fun of my brother cause I told him to get one too but he thought alarm systems were preposterous! Especially from a door-to-door salesman! Literally 3 days later he had a break-in and lost about $10,000+ worth of belongings, jewelry, iPad, money, etc. all cause he didn't want to spend an extra $50/month.

(Added June 4/11) Vivint, formerly APX, changed it's name because of so many complaints filed against it in the US and Canada.  The name change however, did not mean they changed their sales tactics or agressive customer service methods. No one has the time nor inclination to read every little piece of print on the contract, at the time of buying the service.  The sales rep lied when he said the contract was for 36 months as it is actually for 39 months.  He did not say that you had to then inform Vivint in writing within 30 days of the contract expiring, that you no longer wanted their services, or the contract would automatically be extended for another year. He did not say that they would call a private security company if an alarm was tripped accidentally, and then you would be billed for that visit. The company operates with the moral compass of an aluminum siding salesman from the 1950's.  Once they have your signature on paper, they suck you dry.

(Added June 4/11) I signed up with this company from a salesman that came to my door and I should never have even talked to him.  I was told that my monthly payments would be 49.99 but then I got something in the mail saying it would be 69.99 and I was unable to cancel because it came in the mail after the 3 day period that you get to cancel.  I feel as though I was swindled and the customer service sucks.  I called the day I got the letter in the mail which was less than a week after I signed up.  Then I found out that I was being charged for each item separately and not as a package as I was explained. Then I was told that the installation fee would come out of my account on the 20th of every month and the first payment came out today May 2nd so now my account is in the negative.  I do not recomend this company at all.

(Added June 4/11) I have had an alarm system with APX now Vivint since 2/10.  Since then with the the upgraded energy management package I have saved money monthly with my utility bill.  Though I have not had any issues with service or product I can not give my opinion on that sense.  I can tell you that every time I have talked to a Vivint representative it has been a positive experience for me.  Each time my alarm has gone of (most times my fault) a vivint representative contacted immediately and everything was resolved.  I would definitely recommend vivint to anyone.  They do have a contract, so I recommend you read through it, our salesmen explained it in detail to me and I knew what I was getting in to.  I can't express how much the new system they gave me has made my life simpler and gave me peace of mind with the ability to set me alarm with my phone and adjust the temperature in my house.

(Added June 4/11) Purchase a home which already had an alarm installed and paid for. Vivint provided service to the previous homeowner. Even though the alarm was fully paid for and was already out of contract, they would not give me access to the system/codes. They changed the factory default install codes and refused to give me these to me. A spoke to a supervisor who said "they would be happy to service my account or get another company who can install their own panel." Dont make the mistake of going with this company. Also, after checking around they are way overpriced.

(Added June 4/11) A couple weeks ago, a man tried to break in my home. The alarm went off, and within minutes police were there and arrested the man. I felt very safe knowing I have an excellent alarm system protecting my home, as I never thought anyone would actually try breaking in, but I wanted to be prepared just in case. My neighborhood is not typically known for crime, however, a few other homes were broken into by a group related to the thief who was caught in my home, and they lost thousands of dollars worth of personal items that cannot be replaced. The alarm system is easy to monitor and control, I activate it through my cell phone. Compared to other alarm systems I looked up before purchasing this one, it is less expensive and offers more. I'm glad I have protection for my home and my family.

(Added June 4/11) Do not go with this business. Their sales people do not take no for an answer and try to scare you by naming off recent "burglaries" in your neighborhood. They try to tell you that you're getting a great deal because you're not paying for the equipment. Unfortunately we were suckered and went with them. A few weeks later we were clued in to their way of doing business. We got a quote from a competitor who was $15 cheaper per month, and offered smoke detector coverage on top of security. Lastly we have accidently tripped our alarm a couple of times and no one has been on the other end to check and see if everything is ok.

(Added May 3/11) I would not recommend this company to anyone. Although the service has been good, it works fine, the billing department is a joke. I have been with this company for 3 years. I guess I did not read the fine print, because when I went to cancel my service with 26 days left on the contract they told me they needed 30 days and that I would be forced to be with them for another year. Four days late cost me $600 dollars and I didn't even know I was late. Ive never heard of a 1 year renewal, Month to month understandable. They offered to lower my bill 10% for the next year. What a joke. Buyer beware

(Added May 3/11) I thought the sales tactics were exceptionally high-pressure -- take this deal now or forget it.  The only thing that made me go with them is I had been thinking about adding a smoke alarm to my alarm system, but my current system wanted to much for it.  With Apx, since I was already wired, they used all my existing plus threw in the smoke alarm, a glass breaker, and a panic necklace free. After signing with them and coming on line to read the reviews I got a sick feeling in my stomach. After being with them for 3 years, I must honestly say that I have no complaints. Even though...(Read the Whole Review)

(Added May 3/11) I had a vivint guy come to my door 2 weeks ago. He asked if we wanted to update our alarm and I asked him what the update was. We invited him in after admitting we didn't really have an alarm but just a sign. He was upfront about the price to have it monitored and to activate the system. I'm not really comfortable with long term contracts so when the vivint rep told me about the conditions I was impressed with how honest he was about it, which gained my trust. I read the whole thing and asked questions for about 30 mins. In the end I had it installed and am very happy I did. It was obviously a sales presentation but we had wanted a system anyway and this was the best deal for our money had we found. We had a good experience with the technician that put it in as well. I love the app for my phone too!

(Added May 3/11) I signed a 3 year contract and they AUTO RENEW YEARLY after the initial agreed contract roping you into more money.  The sales guys verbally say one thing as the contract says another READ THE SMALL PRINT.  The customer service is vague and misleading.  The alarm systems are anything but high tech they wont do the whole house every door and window but make you sign up and then tell you its hundreds of dollars more to put cheap plastic sensors on all the windows and doors.  BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY THEY ARE A SCAM!!!

(Added May 3/11) Run - don't walk away from this company.  I unknowingly signed a 60 month contract without being told verbally by the salesman.  They tell me that I did a phone survey at the time of install and part of that survey was telling me about this 60 month contract.  I have not heard this conversation yet, but it certainly wasn't a highlighted part of their sales speach.  I would guess most folks would have declined their service if this had been properly pointed out.

(Added March 18/11) I bought my system 3 years ago. My wife was home and I wasn't. She called me for my approval. I told him I have a big house with many openings. He said he would do all openings for free if we signed up. When I got home he stated it was to many and would have to charge for a couple and some he wouldn't do because a motion sensor would cover them. We purchased the system and I later realized that the motion sensor wasn't on when we were home, so there were 6 windows not covered. Today I went to change systems as my 3 years are now over. APX told me I had to pay an entire year because I didn't write them a letter 3 weeks ago. I know legally they can collect this but buyer beware if your thinking about using these guys. My new company has the same 3 year contract but then renews month to month,not year to year. In the end they gave me a 10% discount. I'm not happy.

(Added March 9/11) Word to the wise: Do not sign with this company or you will be....(read the whole review)

(Added March 9/11) We just realized our system has not been monitored for....(read the whole review)

(Added March 9/11) I got Vivint system installed on Feb-21-2010.  I am happy with the way system is working, and the facilities like the ability to control the system from a computer or mobile device.  However, I had an issue with their billing. During the initial setup process, I requested them to bill me on 1st of every month, because thats when I take care of all my bills at home. I had paid one month's bill in advance during installation. However, I came to know on Feb-27th when I talked to their customer service, that I was going to be charged one month's service charge on 1st. Basically, I was being charged 1 month's charge for just a week of usage. I tried talking to them, but their response was "Thats how we bill". Finally, I was forced to change my billing date from 1st of every month to 21st of every month, so that I wont be charged that extra.

(Added March 8/11) Not pleased with Vivint at all, they told me that I would never pay anything to have someone come out and service the account. Today I tried to get a technician to come look at some faulty equipment and they told me they would charge me $49! I told them that I was told by the service representative that I would have free service and was referred to my contract. Even my contract states that the service fee is only $35. So they are trying to get an extra $15 with absolutely NO LEGAL precedent. Very upset.

(Added March 8/11) This company is absolutely horrible! They called me and asked me about my security system. Because I live in downtown Denver, I agreed. I was told I could cancel at anytime (November 2010), especially if I did not care for the system or use it. Remind you that at the time I did business with this company they went by the name of APX Alarms. Apparently, they recently changed their name. I guess I should have done my homework considering over 1400 complaints filed with the BBB and to top it off they have goverment actions pending against them. Well, I have to move out of state to take care of my ill mother and when I went to cancel they advised me that I would have to pay off the *five* year contract or find someone else to take over the contract. My house is on the market and I cannot force the person who will own it to take over a contract. Are you kidding me?! I'm moving half way across the country and these people *told* me I could cancel anytime.  To make matters worse, they never advised me of being required to carry an alarm permit through the city. As a result, when I had an actual break-in, the police refused to respond, my house was destroyed, and this company will not take any responsibility for it!  Do *not* go with this company. They are worse than ADT!

(Added Feb 10/11) I have my alarm for little over a year, my experiences have all been good. On the rare occassion that the alarm has been activated or power failure I have been contacted in minutes by the monitoring staff.  I have not had cause to contact customer services regarding billing.  I didn't feel pressured into signing the contract and was happy with the amount for the monthly service that was guarenteed not to increase for three years.  Installation was fast and up and running on the same day as signing the contract.  I have no complaints and no plans to change my provider.

Reviews for APX (Vivint's former name) can be found here.