10-31-2015, 08:15 PM
Glad you asked - I was just thinking I needed to post an update.
Set up was super simple, although it's definitely much easier with two people to work out the bugs.
I think the menu system on the basic panel needs work and it only ships with a short user guide; I'd prefer a full on detailed description of everything. There was one setting I wanted to change and couldn't fit in anywhere, including all the materials on their site. I posted on their Facebook page about it and they called me a few hours later. They couldn't get a hold of me or the wife, so they just changed the setting remotely. I really appreciate how quickly they resolved the issue, but it's a bit assumptive (and creepy) to change it remotely based on a Facebook post... given I didn't actually ask them to. It took a phone call to get them to email me a full user manual; one I couldn't find in 10 min of searching on their website. I'll take service like this every day of the week over most companies, but it was a weird experience.
The system got its first real test when we were out of town over the last week. I went through every setting on their website and customized it. My favorite setting is the geofences, by far. I have the system set to notify my wife and I via text if the system is armed/disarmed and we're both more than five miles from the house. This resulted in us getting notifications when our pet sitters entered the house (via their own code). I trust them, or I wouldn't give them access to our house, but it's nice to know when/if they're entering the house. I also set it to you notify us immediately is there's a glass break, regardless of system status. We accidentally confirmed this worked when my wife slammed the front door.
Lastly, the history section of the app is GREATLY appreciated. We arrived home from the airport at 2 am to find the (barred) portal hole on our front door ajar and strange lights on in the house. This caused some alarm, even though I figured it was our pet sitters leaving lights on and the portal swinging open when they slammed the door shut. Before my key entered the lock, I pulled up the app and confirmed there were no "events" since our pet sitters entered the house two days earlier. This allayed most of my concern and I entered what was... thankfully... an empty and untouched house.
I think their monthly fee is pretty high, but my frame of reference was basic ADT service five years ago. After my experiences to date, I'm happy to pay it. Next time we get a electrician or handyman in the house, I'm thinking about running a line to install a camera at the front door, and maybe back. I like the idea of the wife being able to see who's at the door from the bedroom when I'm out of town. That'll push the monthly fee up $5, but I can then add a thermostat for just the price of the equipment (e.g. Nest).
...and no, I'm not worried about randos seeing my details. IMO, it's even better insurance than putting the decals on my windows.
Set up was super simple, although it's definitely much easier with two people to work out the bugs.
I think the menu system on the basic panel needs work and it only ships with a short user guide; I'd prefer a full on detailed description of everything. There was one setting I wanted to change and couldn't fit in anywhere, including all the materials on their site. I posted on their Facebook page about it and they called me a few hours later. They couldn't get a hold of me or the wife, so they just changed the setting remotely. I really appreciate how quickly they resolved the issue, but it's a bit assumptive (and creepy) to change it remotely based on a Facebook post... given I didn't actually ask them to. It took a phone call to get them to email me a full user manual; one I couldn't find in 10 min of searching on their website. I'll take service like this every day of the week over most companies, but it was a weird experience.
The system got its first real test when we were out of town over the last week. I went through every setting on their website and customized it. My favorite setting is the geofences, by far. I have the system set to notify my wife and I via text if the system is armed/disarmed and we're both more than five miles from the house. This resulted in us getting notifications when our pet sitters entered the house (via their own code). I trust them, or I wouldn't give them access to our house, but it's nice to know when/if they're entering the house. I also set it to you notify us immediately is there's a glass break, regardless of system status. We accidentally confirmed this worked when my wife slammed the front door.
Lastly, the history section of the app is GREATLY appreciated. We arrived home from the airport at 2 am to find the (barred) portal hole on our front door ajar and strange lights on in the house. This caused some alarm, even though I figured it was our pet sitters leaving lights on and the portal swinging open when they slammed the door shut. Before my key entered the lock, I pulled up the app and confirmed there were no "events" since our pet sitters entered the house two days earlier. This allayed most of my concern and I entered what was... thankfully... an empty and untouched house.
I think their monthly fee is pretty high, but my frame of reference was basic ADT service five years ago. After my experiences to date, I'm happy to pay it. Next time we get a electrician or handyman in the house, I'm thinking about running a line to install a camera at the front door, and maybe back. I like the idea of the wife being able to see who's at the door from the bedroom when I'm out of town. That'll push the monthly fee up $5, but I can then add a thermostat for just the price of the equipment (e.g. Nest).
...and no, I'm not worried about randos seeing my details. IMO, it's even better insurance than putting the decals on my windows.
'76 911S | '14 328xi | '17 GTI | In memoriam: '08 848, '85 944
"Here, at last, is the cure for texting while driving. The millions of deaths which occur every year due to the iPhone’s ability to stream the Kim K/Ray-J video in 4G could all be avoided, every last one of them, if the government issued everyone a Seventies 911 and made sure they always left the house five minutes later than they’d wanted to. It would help if it could be made to rain as well. Full attention on the road. Guaranteed." -Jack Baruth
"Here, at last, is the cure for texting while driving. The millions of deaths which occur every year due to the iPhone’s ability to stream the Kim K/Ray-J video in 4G could all be avoided, every last one of them, if the government issued everyone a Seventies 911 and made sure they always left the house five minutes later than they’d wanted to. It would help if it could be made to rain as well. Full attention on the road. Guaranteed." -Jack Baruth