5 ms·

Seems like a bad idea to me. But I'm someone who would never use or recommend ADT in the first place. People don't seem to realize... You can run your own serio

Seems like a bad idea to me. But I'm someone who would never use or recommend ADT in the first place. People don't seem to realize... You can run your own serious alarm system (DSC is a great brand) and then self-monitor with devices like the Envisalink. This integrates with Home Assistant too. All the awesome functionality for $0/mo.

waihtis 6y ago
You could build a lot of things yourself, but there is a limited scope of things people have the time and skills to build
overcast 6y ago
Dang, you must build your own homes, cars, and computers too! I bet you even raise your own livestock and sow your own fields! Everything you just said there would make 99.999999% of peoples eyes glaze over.
- dang 6y ago
  Please stop being an asshole in HN comments. You've done it more than once recently. We ban accounts that do that, and have had to warn you about this before. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of this site to heart, we'd be grateful.
  - overcast 6y ago
    I appreciate your patience in dealing with my sarcastic tone, and the amount of nonsense you must put with over the years. But please don't personally attack me with name calling. Like the guide says, "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." So thanks for bringing this to my attention, I will do better!
    - dang 6y ago
      I know it's highly open to interpretation, but when I make a remark like "please stop being an asshole in HN comments", I specifically phrase it that way to be a comment about behavior, not person. The choice of the word 'asshole' is not accidental, either—it's a degree more intense than 'jerk', and I use it when the comment and/or the prior history of the account seem to warrant a more intense signal. Sort of like a yellow card vs. a red card: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20jerk&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20asshole&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... I hear you that it wasn't helpful in this case and appreciate the even-keeled reaction!
ocdtrekkie 6y ago
If you want support/service/monitoring by someone not you, security companies do have a purpose. Depends on your situation though.
- MichaelApproved 6y ago
  And will home owners insurance give you the "security system discount" if it's not a professionally monitored system?
  - ocdtrekkie 6y ago
    Yes. Because I have that discount and I do not have a professionally monitored system. (Arguably, these discounts are things they trust you at your word for, but perhaps if they're not satisfied they're true during a claim, they might use it as a reason to not pay out.)
    - scurvy 6y ago
      All of the insurance companies I got quotes from make you list your alarm company and account number on the policy. Also, the discount is for central monitoring, not merely having a system. I'd reread your paperwork if I were you. It sounds like you could have falsified information, and effectively have no insurance.
  - scurvy 6y ago
    No, they require it to be centrally monitored, not user monitored. I just went through the process with 5 different insurance carriers for a new home.
marcinzm 6y ago
>All the awesome functionality for $0/mo. Except the time it took you to research, install, validate it's running, and do general upkeep. Also doesn't help you if you're on vacation with limited internet service.
- pc86 6y ago
  And most importantly, the fact that you have to respond even with your own monitoring. That's most of what you pay ADT for. If they get a ping, they call you. If they can't get in touch with you, they dispatch the relevant people. Yes you can set this up yourself (and spend a lot more on the hardware, which they generally give to you pretty cheaply or even "free" because you're signing a contract) but when you go hiking in the mountains and someone uses your Facebook posts as a cue that you're out of town, you're SOL. Don't get me wrong I love looking at all the home security stuff you can do, and it does indeed sound like a neat project. But you're really paying these companies for monitoring and automatic (human) response, not the security systems themselves.
  - marcinzm 6y ago
    > And most importantly, the fact that you have to respond even with your own monitoring. So true, my dad has a monitoring system he built and he constantly looks at his phone as a deer or bear or something triggers it. I'd imagine the lost productivity for people who depend on the flow for work would be immense.
- abstractbarista 6y ago
  Of course, a very good point. For me it's a hobby which I enjoy. In an area without Internet service, for me, it is common to miss calls as well. Plus, from personal experience, the security company will not notify law enforcement until they have called you to confirm it is not a false-positive alarm. In my case, before the alarm goes off due to a forced entry, I will have automatically received notifications with snapshots of people around my property. Even if the security company had called immediately, a response would take >10 minutes. So I just self-monitor. Overall, with home security you basically just want to be a more annoying, harder target than your closest neighbors. It's sad but true.
giancarlostoro 6y ago
On the other hand Wyze has most of the things security systems need available. They hinted towards much more affordable home security services. I rather just wait till their options available. All of the things you mention are kind of useless when you go on vacatiom out of the country or you are somewhere rural.
sukilot 6y ago
Since you enjoy it, you could set up a little did business helping people set it up. Call yourself BEU Security.
- scurvy 6y ago
  That's basically the premise behind Surety. Except Surety systems are centrally monitored after the DIY install and have tons of customization options.
scurvy 6y ago
Or setup your own system and monitor through alarm.com. That's who ADT uses for their Blue system. Yes, ADT uses alarm.com for their newest system.
- shitlord 6y ago
  I wonder what happens to Alarm.com. Do they get bought out by a competitor (possibly Apple), or will their revenue slowly dry up? The ALRM stock price dropped sharply right as this was announced. Alarm.com has built some of their own hardware, but their operation is obviously much smaller than Nest. Can they still compete?

waihtis 6y ago

You could build a lot of things yourself, but there is a limited scope of things people have the time and skills to build

overcast 6y ago

Dang, you must build your own homes, cars, and computers too! I bet you even raise your own livestock and sow your own fields! Everything you just said there would make 99.999999% of peoples eyes glaze over.

dang 6y ago
Please stop being an asshole in HN comments. You've done it more than once recently. We ban accounts that do that, and have had to warn you about this before. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of this site to heart, we'd be grateful.
- overcast 6y ago
  I appreciate your patience in dealing with my sarcastic tone, and the amount of nonsense you must put with over the years. But please don't personally attack me with name calling. Like the guide says, "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." So thanks for bringing this to my attention, I will do better!
  - dang 6y ago
    I know it's highly open to interpretation, but when I make a remark like "please stop being an asshole in HN comments", I specifically phrase it that way to be a comment about behavior, not person. The choice of the word 'asshole' is not accidental, either—it's a degree more intense than 'jerk', and I use it when the comment and/or the prior history of the account seem to warrant a more intense signal. Sort of like a yellow card vs. a red card: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20jerk&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20asshole&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... I hear you that it wasn't helpful in this case and appreciate the even-keeled reaction!

ocdtrekkie 6y ago

If you want support/service/monitoring by someone not you, security companies do have a purpose. Depends on your situation though.

MichaelApproved 6y ago
And will home owners insurance give you the "security system discount" if it's not a professionally monitored system?
- ocdtrekkie 6y ago
  Yes. Because I have that discount and I do not have a professionally monitored system. (Arguably, these discounts are things they trust you at your word for, but perhaps if they're not satisfied they're true during a claim, they might use it as a reason to not pay out.)
  - scurvy 6y ago
    All of the insurance companies I got quotes from make you list your alarm company and account number on the policy. Also, the discount is for central monitoring, not merely having a system. I'd reread your paperwork if I were you. It sounds like you could have falsified information, and effectively have no insurance.
- scurvy 6y ago
  No, they require it to be centrally monitored, not user monitored. I just went through the process with 5 different insurance carriers for a new home.

marcinzm 6y ago

>All the awesome functionality for $0/mo. Except the time it took you to research, install, validate it's running, and do general upkeep. Also doesn't help you if you're on vacation with limited internet service.

pc86 6y ago
And most importantly, the fact that you have to respond even with your own monitoring. That's most of what you pay ADT for. If they get a ping, they call you. If they can't get in touch with you, they dispatch the relevant people. Yes you can set this up yourself (and spend a lot more on the hardware, which they generally give to you pretty cheaply or even "free" because you're signing a contract) but when you go hiking in the mountains and someone uses your Facebook posts as a cue that you're out of town, you're SOL. Don't get me wrong I love looking at all the home security stuff you can do, and it does indeed sound like a neat project. But you're really paying these companies for monitoring and automatic (human) response, not the security systems themselves.
- marcinzm 6y ago
  > And most importantly, the fact that you have to respond even with your own monitoring. So true, my dad has a monitoring system he built and he constantly looks at his phone as a deer or bear or something triggers it. I'd imagine the lost productivity for people who depend on the flow for work would be immense.
abstractbarista 6y ago
Of course, a very good point. For me it's a hobby which I enjoy. In an area without Internet service, for me, it is common to miss calls as well. Plus, from personal experience, the security company will not notify law enforcement until they have called you to confirm it is not a false-positive alarm. In my case, before the alarm goes off due to a forced entry, I will have automatically received notifications with snapshots of people around my property. Even if the security company had called immediately, a response would take >10 minutes. So I just self-monitor. Overall, with home security you basically just want to be a more annoying, harder target than your closest neighbors. It's sad but true.

giancarlostoro 6y ago

On the other hand Wyze has most of the things security systems need available. They hinted towards much more affordable home security services. I rather just wait till their options available. All of the things you mention are kind of useless when you go on vacatiom out of the country or you are somewhere rural.

sukilot 6y ago

Since you enjoy it, you could set up a little did business helping people set it up. Call yourself BEU Security.

scurvy 6y ago
That's basically the premise behind Surety. Except Surety systems are centrally monitored after the DIY install and have tons of customization options.

scurvy 6y ago

Or setup your own system and monitor through alarm.com. That's who ADT uses for their Blue system. Yes, ADT uses alarm.com for their newest system.

shitlord 6y ago
I wonder what happens to Alarm.com. Do they get bought out by a competitor (possibly Apple), or will their revenue slowly dry up? The ALRM stock price dropped sharply right as this was announced. Alarm.com has built some of their own hardware, but their operation is obviously much smaller than Nest. Can they still compete?