SimpliSafe Wireless Home Security System Review

What is SimpliSafe?

SimpliSafe is a wireless home security system that is exceptionally simple to install, use, and monitor. It protects your home and family from thieves, vandals, vagrants, and other unauthorized access. The company burst onto the home security scene in 2006 and became an almost instant success as an alternative to the high-priced system offered by home protection companies like ADT.

In a very short period, they have revolutionized the home security industry. As soon as the security system hit the market, professional critics and private consumers immediately heralded the many advantages of SimpliSafe over traditional home security systems. Current users enthusiastically recommend it to their family, friends, and associates.

Equipment and Optional Features

All packages contain a base station that powers the system and communicates all the sensors. The base station is plugged into an ordinary electrical outlet and has backup power if the electricity goes out. It also contains an eighty-five-decibel siren that will go off if an intruder enters and a SIM card that lets you and SimpliSafe (if you choose this option) monitor everything through cellular service. The base station also has lights to tell you if everything is functioning correctly.

Every package comes with a keypad. If you have a large home or want an extra one upstairs or near a second exit, such as your attached garage or backdoor, additional keypads can be ordered easily and added to the system. Long-lasting lithium batteries power keypads and sensors, so no wires are required. The equipment will continue functioning even if the electricity goes out.

With the most basic package (starter system), you also get one entry and motion sensor. You can put an entry sensor on your door to alert you to forced entry, and one motion sensor will alert you if someone is moving around inside that shouldn’t be there. You also get a keychain remote. This starter package works well for most apartments or small condos.

For larger places, you can choose one of the other four packages that include more entry sensors, extra motion sensors, an extra siren, and other add-ons, including extra remotes, a panic button (great for the nightstand), smoke detector, water sensor (flood sensor), carbon monoxide detector, and a freeze sensor. You can also order any equipment in this home security arsenal à la carte to get exactly what you need.

Environmental sensors are also provided for flooding, fire, carbon monoxide, and freezing temperatures. Some additional bells and whistles are also included —and unlike the “extras” other companies give you, you’ll find these extras highly desirable.

Optional Monitoring Service

Unlike traditional home security systems, the monitoring service is optional (no more mandatory service contracts) and affordable. For about $15 per month, you can have SimpliSafe monitor all your sensors. Please note there is no additional charge if you have extra sensors. If one goes off, they will call you immediately (to ensure you didn’t accidentally trip it). If they cannot reach you, or you cannot provide the “safe word” you chose when you set up the system, they will contact the police, fire department, or other emergency services as needed.

Advantages Of SimpliSafe Over Traditional Home Security Systems

1. Affordability

Traditionally, home security systems have been largely the domain of the upper-middle class and the wealthy. This is because the price, usually thousands of dollars, was simply too exorbitant for most homeowners. This is especially true given the economy we’ve experienced over the last few decades. Many homeowners who were lured in with cheap start-up costs damaged their credit when they defaulted on their contracts after realizing the true cost incurred by those mandatory service contracts that require a high fee month after month.

Simpli Safe is comparatively affordable. The equipment costs $229 to $539, depending on your chosen package. You can start with a more basic package and then easily expand as needed by adding more equipment piece by piece. You can also save even more by purchasing refurbished equipment. Furthermore, the monthly monitoring service (optional) runs only about $15 monthly. There are no setup and installation fees because it is easy for anyone, even a technophobe, to set up the system.

2. Easy To Install

Since there are no wires to install, the setup of the SimpliSafe system is super easy. You quite literally plug in the base and set up the sensors! They have self-adhering peel-off stickers on the back, or you can screw them in. You can also modify how the system is set up, such as adjusting the volume of the siren or renaming the sensors through the intuitive cellphone app. There are also easy-to-follow online tutorials that you can watch before you start.

3. Eliminate the Middlemen and Save Money

No more pushy salespeople and installers hoping to make a huge commission off an over-priced home security product that doesn’t even give you what you need! Installers usually get to keep all or most of the installation fees. They also get residual income from those long-term mandatory service contracts. This is partly why the prices of traditional systems are so incredibly high.

4. Long-Range Sensors

SimpliSafe sensors are designed to work up to four hundred feet from the base station! This system lets you completely protect even a very large home.

5. Easy To Customize

It is easy to assemble a custom package if one of the pre-set packages isn’t quite what you need. For example, if you have a small house with many windows, you may need fewer motion sensors but more glass break sensors, fewer entry sensors, and more motion sensors. You can also easily expand your set-up to beef up your security or add security as you add on to your home. You may want to add extra smoke detectors if you have a basement apartment with a small second kitchen.

6. No Damage To Your Home

Traditional home security systems require an invasive and potentially destructive procedure to install. Numerous holes are drilled into your walls through which wires are installed. Not only does this damage the facade of your walls, your paint, and/or wall coverings, but it can also easily damage your insulation, electrical wiring, and the stability of your walls. This invasive procedure can introduce mold spores into places that were previously protected! Worse, perhaps, if you decide to change your security system, those old wires have to be removed, and that is a costly proposition, not to mention all the damage repeated yet again.

The equipment does not require any modification to set up in your home. There’s no drilling or wiring! Also, no permits are required, no matter how strict a jurisdiction you live in.

7. No Annual Contract

The hidden fees incurred by installing most traditional home security systems kill most people when they buy one for their home. These companies often lure people in by offering a low (or even “free”) installation and then lock you into a mandatory long-term service contract that will cost you thousands of dollars! Plus, there’s no way to get out of this contract even if you are unhappy with their service or decide to sell your home and move away.

8. No Landline Needed

One of the biggest drawbacks of a traditional home security system is it often runs on traditional hard-wired landlines. Thieves and vandals know this and often simply cut the line before they begin helping themselves to your valuables and or ravishing your home. Cellphones don’t use hard wires, so there’s no line to cut. This in and of itself is your first deterrent to crime when using SimpliSafe.

9. It Works Well For Rentals Too

In almost all cases, you could never install a traditional home security system in an apartment or home rental! The landlord would never allow you to cause damage to their property by drilling holes in the wall. You also wouldn’t want to invest so much in a property you are renting. Setting up the security system does not require any modification to the property, and you can very simply take the system with you when you move. This is a great security system for renters.

10. Secret Alerts

This is one of the best features. You can receive secret alerts via email or text messages when someone enters a certain zone where you have hidden a secret sensor, but it will not sound the alarm! You can use these secret alerts on gun cabinets, liquor cabinets, medicine cabinets, poison cabinets, file cabinets, desk drawers, home offices, or anywhere else you don’t want your children, babysitters, house sitters, pet sitters, dog walkers, service people, roommates, house guests, snoopy family members, or anyone else accessing.

Secret alerts give you added protection and peace of mind that your children are truly kept away from guns and other dangers. You can also use these to keep tabs on when they are coming home from school and if they leave again. Secret alerts help you know who you can and cannot trust. They may even help you know who you must fire, such as a dog walker who enters your confidential papers! If your private information is compromised, you’ll at least know about it and be able to take the needed steps to protect yourself.

11. Free phone apps Put You In Control From Anywhere

Take your cellphone with you and use the special cellphone app (free) to monitor all your sensors. The app can also turn sensors on and off.

12. Works Even During Power Outages

With the backup power in the base and the lithium battery in the sensors, you and your family will still be protected during a storm if the power is lost or interrupted. This is an important feature because cutting the power to the house will not leave it unprotected.

What the Press Has To Say About This Product

The press coverage has been overwhelmingly positive. In November 2015, PC Magazine said, “If you want to secure and monitor your home from afar without spending a bundle, there’s much to like about the versatile and easy-to-use DIY SimpliSafe Home Security System.”

Fortune Magazine compared SimpliSafe to ADT as a David versus Goliath story, with David winning by a lot! Good Housekeeping, the New York Times, and Fox News have all been equally complimentary.

The online professional reviews about SimpliSafe have also been glowing. Amazon reviewers consistently rate the product very high, with seventy-six percent of more than six-thousand people giving it a 5-star rating! Social media circles have been abuzz with favorable comments about this security system for years. SimpliSafe also earned CNET’s coveted Editor’s Choice Award CNET, stating the package was “comprehensive and yet also remarkably user-friendly…thoughtfully designed for better, smarter home security…outstanding value.”

“All the bells and whistles for a lot less money.” – The New York Times

Where To Buy the SimpliSafe Wireless Security System

You can buy the complete system and extra equipment directly from the SimpliSafe.com website or purchase components from Amazon. In addition, the equipment can be purchased online at Best Buy, and then you can pick them up at your local Best Buy store. The completely wireless home security system is expected to be sold in retail stores relatively soon. The company recently received an investment of $57 million from Sequoia Capital, a well-known venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley. This should help them keep up with demand and expand distribution into more retail locations nationwide.

Most alarm companies charge as much as $50 monthly for monitoring services. SimpliSafe’s standard program is only $14.99 per month.

• No long-term contracts
• No commitments
• No hidden fees
• The right to cancel or change plans at any time
• Plans as low as $14.95 per month
• 24/7 Professional Monitoring services
• Free shipping
• 60-Day Complete Money-Back Guarantee

Call 1-888-902-8195 if you prefer to speak with a representative.

With the SimpliSafe alarm, you get far more value than you’d get in a traditional home security system at less than half the money — and you don’t even need a contract. It is easy to understand why this solution quickly upstages the long-time “giants” of the home security business like ADT (American District Telegraph Company). Yes, ADT was originally a telegraph company founded in 1874 that only later moved into the home security business.

In conclusion, the SimpliSafe system is a well-designed, high-quality home security solution. If you’re tired of long-term contracts and high fees, this do-it-yourself package is for you.

Disclaimer: This SimpliSafe review was completed independently and was not sanctioned or paid for by the company. All opinions expressed in this Simply Safe review are those of eInvestigator.com and do not constitute an endorsement of the product.

Please comment below if you have questions about the SimpliSafe wireless security system. You can also learn about other Home Security Systems.