Vivint Smart Home

I was missing a few things apparently (an indoor camera and a glass break sensor, that I can remember) that I assume the previous owner took when they moved. I was disappointed to find out it would be an extra charge to get any of those items replaced, especially since I’m a new customer and already paid $90 something for the first month as a set up charge - shouldn’t I be given a few things to start up with Vivint? I just didn’t realize I would be paying for an install/activation ($90 something) and on top of that would have to pay $200 for window sensors (hard pass - that’s what I pay my HOA each month) and even more for cameras and glass break sensors. I thought that all would be included with the $90 charge because that’s what my parents said they got when they started with Vivint.

He also did not help me change my door code (and I forgot to ask to be fair) so... I don’t know, I guess I’ll have to call Vivint about how to do that along with what to do for an indoor camera since now I just have one at my front door and that’s the only security I have which, living alone, I’m not feeling great about that. The only reason I gave 4 stars is because the guy told me his pay would be reduced for anything lower and I’m not mad at him so that’s not fair of me to inadvertently do that to him - I’m mad at the Vivint company for not setting me up as a first time buyer with everything my parents were set up with as first time buyers. It’s not like you’re losing money on me by giving me a camera to put in my house or a glass break sensor. Or even - idk - window sensors on any of the literal 4 windows I have in my condo. Anyway, I’m probably yelling into the wind but maybe this helps y’all in the future to have better customer care.

BTW: I have one qualm. There is a question on the exit survey that implies a customer would end up paying again for something of which the full purchase price was submitted. AB explained what should happen next, so I am not worried, but the requirement to reply YES/NO made that a tense moment. I of course replied “NO”, but your system should allow for data transfer from the onset of the purchase journey. If I purchase equipment on full, a question should not come up that says something to the effect that “you will be charged the full amount” again. Trivial matter, but important to mention, nonetheless. In any case, kudos to the install guy Arthur B.! I learned a great deal about the process and the technology involved. Would love to add more parts/pieces to my Vivint home security puzzle…will probably get more people on board from the fam, too. Those are BIG facts!

Second, we were told our package would include the saved recordings which would enable us to rewind to anytime of the day. After the first day the system was put in, we noticed we were unable to look back at recordings. Our technician had to come back a second day to finish installing equipment which we then asked why we were unable to rewind and look back on the 24 hour surveillance. Neff then informed us that it was an add on that would cost more, when we were under the impression that it was already included in the package we discussed and agreed to.

We then asked Chris about it and he came over to the house to discuss our concerns. He told me that my wife must have heard it incorrectly which I didn’t appreciate at all because I heard exactly what she was told because I was there as well. I then proceeded to over hear him tell our technician “we were the only customers he has had that misinterpreted what he said” while my wife and I stepped away to discuss if we wanted to add the extra cost to our bill. At that time Chris called his manager and was told to let the tech deal with it because it was going to take 40 minutes. Chris then left and had Neff deal with it which caused him to continue working later than we were told, which was estimated to be around 2 hours. My wife and I both had work the next day, but understood Neff was just doing his job.

I’m very displeased with your salesman Chris ** due to the misinformation and then putting the blame on my wife and I for not understanding what he was selling us. I would take a better look at who you are sending out to represent your company. The only reason we are giving 4 stars is because of our technician, Neff who worked tirelessly and diligently to make sure we were happy with the products and also 4 stars because of the quality of the equipment.

The only "con" to me, was the high pressure to switch. It's like they would not take "no" for an answer. Also, they were out of stickers for our doors so I still need to call for those. Lastly, the guy that sold us the system envisioned the hub going on our living room wall so we could always see who was walking up to our door but the installer said he could not put it there due to the configuration of wood and outlet in the wall so it's inconveniently located in our laundry room. This means we have to get out our phone, turn it on, open the app, wait for it to load, wait for the cameras to load, etc. before we can actually see who's at the door. This takes longer than expected!! But overall, it's a good system and I'd recommend it to a friend.

I did some research for the wife and compared Vivint to other house systems like SimpliSafe, Ring, Nest, and Comcast. Of course there are much cheaper options, but I’m more of a person for quality. I’d rather spend a little extra to get something higher quality that will last. I was considering Nest as my go to system until the Vivint Rep showed up, and honestly for the equipment build out, the cost would be close in price for a Nest system and either I’d be stuck installing it, or pay a gross amount of money to have a Nest Pro come install it. The Vivint rep hooked me up with no activation fees and no installation fees and they installed everything that day. The only thing I paid for upfront was the first month of monitoring and equipment (read below for how equipment costs work into the monthly bill).

Working in IT, I already know the vulnerabilities of WiFi based alarm systems like SimpliSafe, so I am not comfortable with those. If your ISP has a service interruption, or your modem goes down, or router goes down, or power goes out, or if you don’t have well configured WiFi security that can be hacked; then those WiFi based systems are extremely vulnerable. That means multiple points of failure. Granted those might be rare occurrences, but you only need it to happen once.

I wanted a system with a cellular chip on its own network with a battery backup, and Vivint is exactly that, but it has a second chip for a second service provider as a secondary service connection backup too, plus they run a fully encrypted system to reduce the risk of getting hacked, which I thoroughly like. So if power goes out, my system won’t go down, or if Verizon cellular services go down, then the cellular chip will switch to AT&T service (or whatever cellular networks the chips connect to), that’s extremely comforting that my house will stay protected longer with less room for error. Another big pro for Vivint is, the company is entirely US based, and they don’t sell your information supposedly, so that’s very nice. They monitor everything here, make equipment here, and provide support from here in the US, no outsourced call centers!

When it comes to equipment quality, I’ve had Ring previously and I feel like the picture quality of the doorbell is lacking, where Vivint is a full 4K quality system and much more clear. Other systems like Ring and Nest only have 3 year warranties on their products, Vivint is a lifetime warranty. So all of this encompassing really sold me on the system.

There’s also another big perk for those who can’t afford expensive systems upfront, you don’t have to pay for all of the equipment upfront! You can pay for it in your monthly bill over the course of 5 years. So for those on a budget, it helps spread out that cost. I figured with 0% interest, you really can’t get a better option, so why not go ahead and do that. Once equipment is paid off, it’s yours and still retains that lifetime warranty, and it’s all still functional even if you disconnect service and don’t want your house monitored, so if you’re moving you can take it all with you! They set you up with autopay too starting day one, so you don’t even have to worry about remembering to pay your bill.

Vivint has really stepped up to the plate and has taken out all of the difficulties involved with setting up a security system and converting your home into a smart home. Honestly, they’ve developed one heck of business model that eliminates all the problems and has a well developed, well rounded, completely guaranteed product that I am extremely impressed with.

Worried about difficulty of use? The Vivint system isn’t too complicated to use. No more difficult than your smart phone honestly. So if you can utilize that well, you can manage the Vivint system. Vivint also connects into existing smart devices in your house, connect your lights with Z Wave switches, it connects with Nest thermostats, connects with echo dots or echo shows, connects to your smart phone and is fully controlled by your smart phone as well as whatever other smart devices you connected! Want a smart door lock? Yep, they have that too.

So far I haven’t had any issues with the system, but then again I’m only on day 2. So you and I both might agree this review is premature. If anything goes wrong though, they do have a 30 day cancellation policy, so you can cut all service and have it all removed if you end up disliking the system. But I’m confident in the product so far. I’m happy with the purchase and think it will serve us well for years to come.