Re: RELIABLE LATE-TO-OPEN AUTOMATED DEVICE FOR TEXT/ EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS TO CUSTOMER

[mleuck <m.leuck@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 11:09:48 PM UTC-5, Jim Davis wrote:
> On Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 9:33:54 PM UTC-4, mleuck wrote:
> >=20
> > Go Alarm.com and SEM cell module for the Vista, you will not be sorry
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> REALLY?
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> I don't use alarm dot com because when it first was introduced it didn't =
get good reviews. I just checked again at your recommendation and this is w=
hat I found.=20
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> Are you sure it's OK? Doesn't sound like it from the sound of these revie=
ws.
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> These reviews are all from end users not installation companies.
> =20
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> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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> Yolanda
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> May 4th, 2019 =20
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> i usually don=E2=80=99t write reviews. This company is horrible. We got t=
his alarm system for our newly built home in November 2017. The first few m=
onths the alarm system worked great so we thought. We started to have probl=
ems with our doorbell camera. It wasn=E2=80=99t working on our app on our p=
hones. Called the monitoring company and had to keep resetting the camera..=
 For the last 5 months kept having the same problem. My husband called the =
company and found out the main panel had went out. The company sent out a n=
ew panel when it arrived via U.P.S. It was the wrong panel. Company sent ou=
t circuit boards this time not the panel. My husband had to replace the cir=
cuit boards himself. Come to find out Alarm .com do not have any technician=
s in the field to fix the alarm system if it goes out. He had to call the t=
echnical support number and they will walk you through how to fix the probl=
em. After spending 3 hours on the phone via video chat with them , he final=
ly got the system working. I found the whole ordeal frustrating and on top =
of that our home wasn=E2=80=99t being monitored for all those months that t=
he panel was down. So we were paying for months of monitoring that wasn=E2=
=80=99t working. The monitoring company refuse to refund or credit our acco=
unt for those months.
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Skybell makes the doorbell, hardly Alarm.com's fault, this is a WiFi issue

Bad panel? same...blaming the wrong equipment


> I have many Alexa apps. This is designed by an idiot. So, I would expect =
the idiot to improve after 2 years. Nope. The idiot is still the same old i=
diot.=20
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> If this is what they do when they are making their daily impression,I jus=
t really don=E2=80=99t know whether to expect them to actually do anything.=
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> These guys were put here by my home automation company. And because of al=
arm.vom, I don=E2=80=99t think good things about them either.

Alexa is made by Amazon...

> Alarm.com is the worst company I ever dealt with. When they sale the syst=
em to you they don=E2=80=99t tell you everything. Example: The door bell ca=
mera only lets you get 1000 clips a month and it stops recording and you ha=
ve to pay for more clips. But when I first got it I got unlimited clips. Th=
eir camera is no good some times it would not have no sound or picture and =
they tried to blame it on my internet but my internet connection was fine. =
My system just goes off by itself and you keep calling for service and no o=
ne comes to fix it. They tell you a tech is coming and they never show up. =
But they want your money but don=E2=80=99t give you no service.

He's not dealing with Alarm.com, all they make is the cellular module, As f=
ar as the number of clips yes if you are saving that many a month it can ge=
t expensive

The camera issue is likely Wifi, I've had no issues unless it's a WiFi prob=
lem and I've beta tested their stuff for years, cameras are made by Vivotek=
 one of the largest camera manufacturers in the world, as far as fixing it =
that is the responsibility of the guys installing the equipment, namely the=
 security alarm dealer

> I=E2=80=99ve had alarm.com for about three years now. It=E2=80=99s junk. =
My system frequently encounters issues where the alarm.com web site and mob=
ile app simply stop responding to commands. For example, sending the comman=
d to turn on and off lights, unlock or lock doors simply fails today. On th=
eir web site and mobile app, they show the command being received. Unfortua=
ntely, that doesn=E2=80=99t tell you whether or not the command succeeded a=
s I found out the hard way (the commands are silently failing). The interfa=
ce definitely has significant room for improvement and debugging and fixing=
 the system should not require the service provider to come out. Remeber, t=
his is an automated solution! Reliability is a huge disappointment as these=
 issues occur REPEATEDLY every 4 to 6 months. I=E2=80=99m ditching this pie=
ce of junk for a better alternative that is reliable.

Never seen that issue sorry=20

> Our family is currently protected by Alarm.com it=E2=80=99s been over a y=
ear; however, whenever you need technical support if something happens to y=
our system is a very Big Hassle! Our problem has not been solved. We were t=
old a tech can come May 13th and we would have to pay the tech $50 an hour.=
 The saddest part about this is our problem is simple. We changed our Wi-fi=
 password. So our equipment only needs to be updated to the new password. W=
e=E2=80=99re called numerous of times. After holding 25-30 mins a friendIy =
tech answers ask for all your info, ask you the problem, place you on hold,=
 and the call is dropped. We=E2=80=99ve never missed a payment or ever been=
 late. I came on here not to recommend this company but they don=E2=80=99t =
have this option. I=E2=80=99m sure it=E2=80=99s many other people who will =
not recommend this company and stuck in their contract like us. (JGilmore)

Again his issue is with the dealer of the security system who I assume also=
 installed the cameras, and he admitted changing the WiFi password

Alarm.com makes the cellular module, why he think's he's talking to Alarm.c=
om is beyond me, they don't deal with customer's directly

> Absolutely the worst customer service that I have dealt with. The technic=
ians (if they can even be called that) are rude and unhelpful. They hang up=
 the phone in the middle of troubleshooting when they are clueless as to wh=
at to do.

Same as the others, Does Napco Starlink tech support troubleshoot WiFi issu=
es with customers? nope neither does AlarmNet, Tellular or Uplink
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> I NEVER write reviews!! BUT I can=E2=80=99t say this enough!!! DO NOT PUR=
CHASE ALARM.COM!!!! Do not!!! They tell you what you want to hear but after=
 it=E2=80=99s installled and they have your payment you are stuck with a ho=
rable system. It can=E2=80=99t pick up a 250lb man walking in your house bu=
t it picks up and sends you 215 messages during the night because the wind =
is blowing a tree branch. Can=E2=80=99t pick up a person on camera unless i=
t=E2=80=99s right in front of the camera? Costumer service =E2=80=A6horribl=
e, can=E2=80=99t get the first guy that told you all the lies to come back =
out. Please research better! I wished we had!!

Alarm.com makes the cellular communicator not the security system and they =
don't directly deal with customers, my guess is his camera placement is lou=
sy

> Do not do business with this company! They contract their work out and se=
em to not care how their contractors handle business. Twice I=E2=80=99ve ha=
d connection problems and could not receive a call back for two months, so =
now I have a new router and have done what the app ask to do to connect new=
 router no luck and again their contractor has left me hanging going on 3 m=
onths, do not do business with Total Connect in Modesto CA., and I get no h=
elp from Alarm.com they listen to my complaint then nicely say they have no=
thing they can do it=E2=80=99s the contract company that I cannot get in co=
ntact with that I need to talk with.

Alarm.com is cellular, his problem is with WiFi and the alarm installer, th=
ey are a 3rd party and do not deal with customer's directly much like Napco=
, Uplink, Telular etc

I show Total Connect is closed? might be the problem

> we have contacted brinks about a bill they said we owed 278 dollars first=
 they said the tech put in a new camera witch he did not he just reconnecte=
d existing cameras, then they said he was here for 4 hours he was here unde=
r an hour they said after they talked to the tech we were responsible for t=
he bill I don=E2=80=99t have a problem paying for services but not paying f=
or something that was not done now they wont even call us back

Alarm.com makes the cellular communicator, might help to know how his exist=
ing cameras were connected

> I have owned a few Alarm.com system and related products for about 6 mont=
hs now. I have had two devices fail and the system requires constant troubl=
eshooting. This thing is not worth the price nor the time to keep working.

What "devices" failed? The security system? cameras? not specified, the onl=
y thing Alarm.com is responsible for is the cellular communicator

> Won=E2=80=99t help at all. Told them my home has been without security an=
d they haven=E2=80=99t responded. It=E2=80=99s been over 10 days. Don=E2=80=
=99t buy this. Get simplisafe instead. They expect you to read the fine pri=
nt as your are locked in for 3 years! They don=E2=80=99t tell you that at a=
ll. It=E2=80=99s seriously insane.

How has it been without security? Did the cellular module fail? more like t=
he security system

Simplisafe is crap imho, low grade equipment compared to even the cheapest =
stuff a normal security company installs

> This has to be the worst company I have ever had the displeasure of deali=
ng with. From customer service to the actual installation. Every time I cal=
l, they reroute me to another department and it wasn=E2=80=99t until this l=
ast time I called when I had the initial person who answers stay on the pho=
ne with me until they =E2=80=9Cresolved the issue,=E2=80=9D which in the en=
d never was resolved anyhow even now 30 days after the call. It has been an=
 ongoing issue for almost a year. They claim that they only have one expert=
 on the West Coast to help with installation. They also have sent the exper=
t who doesn=E2=80=99t complete the work and lies about the work that has be=
en completed in his work orders. I am so fed up and I actively shopping for=
 another company so when my contract ends in April I will lose them. I am f=
ed up with them and their customer service and overall product.

They are having issues with the security company not Alarm.com

> Have outdoor cameras that record periodically. It will record a snowflake=
 but it wont record a human walking in the yard. I=E2=80=99ve had 5 differe=
nt tech support agents and one tech on site and they still cant figure out =
the problem. They said I can pay another $85 to bring another tech out and =
$60 for each additional hour. Camera are under warranty by the manufacturer=
 but that cant give me new cameras unless another tech says they are malfun=
ctioning. The other solution I got was that they can send me new different =
brands of cameras but they will have to extend my contract by 19 months. If=
 I want to cancel then I would have to pay thousands to get out of the cont=
ract. Whatt a crock of you know what. This is the worst company ever. Bette=
r off going with another company. 100% dissatisfied!!!!!

Sounds like the cameras are working fine he/she doesn't have detection wind=
ows set up properly, a common mistake, not the fault of Alarm.com
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> CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE, THERE IS NONE, TO MANY FALSE ALARMS, I GET CHARGED=
 FOR FALSE ALARMS STUCK IN A CONTRACT DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY

Fault with the security system not the cellular communicator
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> Terrible customer service, the salesman came to my house and told me I am=
 not signing any sort of contract and if after 6 months I want to cancel my=
 service then I am allowed to, do after about a year of service I decided t=
o get rid of the security system and come to find out I signed a 5 year con=
tract and under any circumstances I am not allowed to cancel my contract

Issue with the security system not the cellular communicator
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> I ordered a video doorbell through my alarm company, Brinks. The installa=
tion was through a contractor working with Brinks. However, he contacted AL=
arm.com for service. Before installation I contacted the contractor with so=
me questions one of them was if the doorbell was 720 or 1080. I was told 10=
80. Great. After installation and checking the box I find it=E2=80=99s an o=
bsolete 720. I=E2=80=99ve had the doorbell one week and no one will cancel =
this out of date doorbell. I am very upset. I have been with Moni/Brinks fo=
r years. I will be looking for a new company.

Alarm.com rebrands the Skybell doorbell, it is only capable of 720P not 108=
0P like the standard Skybell, this is to reduce bandwidth usage, it's not "=
obsolete" tech

Sounds like the salesman gave him wrong information

> Alarm.com controller functionality is very slow for automation, very limi=
ted in feature flexibility, planning on buying a new Z-Wave controller to h=
andle the automation features for everything except alarm. Sad but true.
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> Example, have a scene created to turn off all indoor lights=E2=80=A6 it t=
ake close to 30 seconds and more to turn off the lights after button pushed=
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> I want a trigger for locking the door based upon exiting the geofence=E2=
=80=A6 not even possible.=20
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> Vera Lite is much more flexible and actually responsive to feature reques=
ts=E2=80=A6 Alarm.com is completely non-responsive.=20

Sounds like an internet connection issue, if the commands are being sent vi=
a cellular they might be slower however not that slow

Locking the door by Geofence is possible, I've had one doing it on a test s=
ystem ever since they added that feature several years ago

> I have had alarm.com equipment for a few weeks now and overall enjoy but =
haven=E2=80=99t had to utilize it much on the security cameras front, howev=
er, I will say that the fact that you can=E2=80=99t clear up space on false=
 movements that count towards your 1000 recordings a month is a terrible fe=
ature. My system was installed by 5pm one day, by 5am the next day I was to=
ld my 1000 clip limit was up for the month? Now I don=E2=80=99t get notific=
ations if something is actually going on for the rest of the month. Haven=
=E2=80=99t had to use the storage recorder yet to know how easy or difficul=
t it is to use.

The cameras by themselves are not intended as a DVR replacement constantly =
recording, they are intended for recording sporadic clips. Napco's Wifi cam=
eras work the same way

Alarm.com does sell (to dealers) an SVR that can do constant recording, he =
doesn't have his detection windows set up properly and his cameras are cons=
tantly sending clips to the cloud

> I have an outdoor camera. A spider got on the camera and it recorded all =
night long. I got an e-mail that all of my recording time was used this mon=
th, even though I went to the website and deleted all the video recordings.=
 I was advised the camera will start recording next month or I can pay more=
 money and purchase more recording time this month. Seems pretty pathetic t=
o me. I would not recommend an outdoor camera from alarm.com to anyone=E2=
=80=A6run the other way.

Issue #1 a spider got on the camera, not the camera's fault

Issue #2 Alarm.com charges clip storage and data bandwidth used sending the=
 images to Alarm.com, that's why deleting the clips has no effect

> Had new Windows installed and needed some window security check, Kurt cam=
e by and was very nice and very knowledgable did a great job and everything=
 is working fine, thank you Kurt.

Security system issue apparently fixed not Alarm.com cellular module

 > The cost per month is high for just basic camera compared to other compa=
nies. For installation I paid a lot too. I wanted to get the video instead =
of the camera that just takes pictures but was told that is $250 and $5 MOR=
E per month. Ridiculous. I do have a good contact guy that answers when I c=
all and we needed some sensors replaced they came out and did that. Nice gu=
y that installs.

Camera that just takes pictures? Unless they are talking about the Image Se=
nsor all Alarm.com cameras are video only although you can take a picture f=
rom the video file

You might want to figure out just what Alarm.com does before posting this s=
tuff. They sell a 3rd party cellular communicator, rebrand cameras and door=
bells

They don't sell security systems or do monitoring, deal with WiFi issues, s=
et monitoring and installation prices or directly deal with the customers=
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I've been dealing with them since they started in the early 2000's, imo the=
y are far superior to any cellular communicator including Napco, AlarmNet, =
Telular or Uplink