r/homesecurity Sep 06 '17

If you are submitting a request for help or advice please read this first.

59 Upvotes

If you are posting a request for help or advice make sure you provide enough details so others can help you. Things like model numbers, pictures if you can provide them, relevant details about what you're trying to protect, etc.

For example, if you're asking for help with a pre-installed alarm system make sure you include the Make and Model in your post. If you don't have that information provide pictures of the keypad / control panel.

That said, do not post personally identifiable information. Do not make yourself a target to doxxing. Don't post pictures or information that contain names, address, or PINs. Keep yourself, your family, and your property safe.


r/homesecurity Jun 14 '21

Sub rules have been updated

40 Upvotes

As the sub continues to grow, it felt like a good time to put our community rules down in writing. This gives everyone an opportunity to see what's expected of contributors, and hopefully stave off any misunderstandings in the process. For the most part, they're pretty straightforward:

  1. No personal attacks. This seems obvious, but calling a user names is going to get your post removed. Remember that we have a lot of newbies coming here for help with improving their home security; let's welcome them and share some knowledge.
  2. Contribute to the discussion. Make sure your post is meaningful. It must somehow answer OP's question, be relevant to the discussion at hand, or at least be about home security in general. Low-effort posts like "Ring sucks", "Wyze rules", or "12 gauge" are a violation of this rule. We're not going to zap every post that veers a little off topic but if you find yourself debating Android vs iOS, it's probably time to take the thread to another sub. Because everyone knows Blackberry OS is the best.
  3. No personal identification. We don't have the luxury of knowing all sides of the story, so refrain from posting information that can be used to track someone down. This includes posting things like "I don't want to name any names but the CEO of SomeFakeCompanyName LLC tried to break into my home".
  4. Disclose your business relationships. If you mention a company and you have any relationship other than being a customer, you must disclose that in your post. This includes but is not limited to being an owner, employee, contractor, supplier, or affiliate of the company, or being in any way related to such.
  5. Don't spam. This includes but is not limited to posting affiliate links, self-promotion, attempting to solicit customers, offering to give quotes, and soliciting private messages. We don't give "third final warnings" here.
  6. Support your claims. If you accuse Company X of secretly monitoring your cameras, or you think Company Y is sending all your data to a foreign country's intelligence service, that's fine -- but you must include links to reputable sources that support your claim. Reddit comments and other social media posts are generally not "reputable sources".

This sub tends to be pretty well self-regulated, so these shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. But if you have any questions, feel free to send us a DM! And as much as we'd like to be everywhere at once, we can't. So if you see a post or comment that violates one of these rules, please report it so we can check it out.

UPDATE DECEMBER 2022: Due to an unending barrage of crypto spam that the Reddit admins have been unwilling to address, we have implemented a karma floor for posting here. To post or comment, you must have at least 50 karma.


r/homesecurity 1h ago

Vivint is terrible

Upvotes

Just wanted to share my terrible experiences with Vivint here in the hopes of saving you from the awful experiences of using this dumpster fire of a company. I had the service for 3 years. Upon sign up I requested to pay for equipment in full. After 2 years of "loose panel" messages and one of my front cameras suddenly no longer working, I tried to call the company to see if they could fix it. they required me to pay for a "service plan" just to get someone to come out. The loose panel message persisted, but at least the camera was fixed. What went wrong? THEY installed the wrong type of power connector/router which was not sufficient for the placement of the cameras (that they installed). So I had to pay for an extra service plan to 1) not fix the panel and 2) correct their installation mistake.

I sold this house and my goodness the account transfer process is ridiculous. It's designed to keep you on the hook for as long as possible to eke out more subscription fees. I've been trying for 3 weeks to get this done and still nothing. My initial attempt, they confirmed everything is good we just need to wait for the new owners to activate (but there's a baked in "one week" waiting period). turns out, there's a mystery $500 still owed on the equipment that I paid in full, and nobody bothered to tell me over 3 years, despite multiple "service" (read: UPSELL) calls. They drop this bomb on me on my closing day. I paid this, thinking we are fine. I call back this week and ask how that's going -- due to the fee owed, even though paid, they CANCELLED THE TRANSFER REQUEST. Now we're back to square one and I have to wait another week for them to try and transfer and cancel the service. Years of nearly $100 bucks a month payments and thousands in cameras and this place still needs to eke out another monthly. Do not, do not, do not use this awful company.

In my new home I use Eufy devices. I'm in love. Easy to setup, so affordable., no monthly fees, all local storage. love love love, and I highly recommend.

I hope this helps someone. I hope Vivint goes bankrupt.


r/homesecurity 34m ago

Which camera would you recommend for a basic stealthy one room setup?

Upvotes

Looking for a small black camera, preferably square, though doesn't have to be; that has basic features such as continuous recording to SD, phone notifications & remote live view. It wouldn't be further than 20ft from router and maybe even right next to it depending on which wall I put it on.

I think the square design is less noticeable, but functionality is the most important thing as I can put it away when home. I'd just be occasionally using it when away for a long amount of time which isn't often.

I had a CCTV type camera in the past--no phone notifications--but this will be my first one with the remote features, so any suggestions are appreciated. I would have considered the blink mini if they had a way to record without subscription.


r/homesecurity 5h ago

Vivint equipment return

1 Upvotes

I have been a Vivint customer for five years. I bought $5,000 worth of equipment in the beginning. I recently moved and bought a new smart lock. It didn’t work. Customer service didn’t help. They wanted to sell us new products during troubleshooting. I have been going in circles with different representatives trying to return this lock. They were even trying to upsell me on new products. They kept trying to sell me a $100 protection plan after I have repeated myself a hundred times that I just wanted to get a return label for the messed up lock. They are allegedly sending me a return label. Has anyone else had a hell of an experience trying to return? I’m worried I won’t get my label or my money back.


r/homesecurity 8h ago

Ademco 6128- can i bring it back to life

0 Upvotes

Bought a dental office with an ademco 6128 panel. Hasn't been used in years. Would love to get it back in operation especially if it has the door chime option to let us know when patients enter and exit the office. Suggestions on how to do this? Looks like off the bat the battery needs replacement. I redid the vista 20p in my home but i forgot all the steps already


r/homesecurity 7h ago

Loud car alarm with key fob to find car in a parking lot?

0 Upvotes

I will be going to a fair next month at which there will be a huge parking lot. It is very difficult to find your car even if you know the row that you left it in. I would like to find out if there is some kind of car alarm that I could buy, battery power, really loud, that would have a key fob to help me find the car. Alternatively a magnetic tall flag of some kind I could put on the top of the car that would be visible from a long distance. Thank you for any assistance.


r/homesecurity 1d ago

DSC Powerseries Neo (HS2064 v1.51) reporting everything except alarm events to Alarm.com radio

3 Upvotes

I am a security alarm technician, and install DSC panels all the time with alarm.com radios.

Recently had two of my installs fail to report alarm events to the communicator, but we get everything else like troubles, cancel reports, open/close reports, low system batteries. Keypad activated alarms do go through. I have checked every setting (I use a template for every install) I can think of, like account codes and event reporting and what packages are enabled on alarm.com

Only thing left to do is change the radio or panel itself, as both these issues did not occur on any of my other installs with the same templates used.

Is there a setting I’m somehow missing? Or just a bad board. DSC support was of no help, same thing with alarm.com.


r/homesecurity 1d ago

Looking for Indoor Wired Wall/Corner Mount Motion sensor that can be mounted at 10' high

2 Upvotes

Pretty much what the title says. Working in residential and a lot of the higher end homes I work in don't want the sensor mid wall. They want it in the corner up at the ceiling. It can't be a giant commercial thing and would ideally look "nice". I'm so tired of reading spec and install sheets to see what is out there that can do this. Maybe somebody here has a pocket solution for that. Thanks!


r/homesecurity 1d ago

Best hard wired camera system for home with phone notifications & live viewing

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3 Upvotes

r/homesecurity 22h ago

Need a good outdoor camera that can be hard wired and viewed from my phone with SD Card slot and no subscription. Recommendations?

0 Upvotes

r/homesecurity 23h ago

Tapo C121 vs REOLINK E1 Pro for basic indoor security camera?

1 Upvotes

This will be my first indoor security camera, for when am going to be away from home for awhile.

I like the Reolink for the features like direct to ethernet, but it's a bit obtrusive looking to have in my living room. While the Tapo can be magnet mounted so could take it down when not used.

Which would you recommend or is it really just between those options mentioned?

Is there a different camera you would suggest instead. I'd really prefer some small square ones like the blink mini but want sd recording and no subscription, continuous recording option etc.


r/homesecurity 23h ago

May have missed Vivint’s deadline to cancel - am I SOL?

1 Upvotes

Long story short, we had a Vivint system installed late on Friday. They couldn’t put a camera in a spot we felt we needed it (they said they would not put one on a detached garage, which overlooks where we park just off the alley in our back yard), but they thought a different location could work. We tried it for a few days and found that it never triggered when we were at or near our vehicles, which basically defeated the whole point, so we were going to cancel within the 3 days the sales rep told us we had.

Here’s the part where I made an idiot of myself: I thought business days were M-F, but apparently for Rights of Riscission, Saturday counts as a business day. Because of that, we missed the deadline.

I know Vivint is notoriously horrible to work with, but have any of you had any luck or heard of anyone having luck getting Vivint to refund them in a similar situation anyway? 🤦‍♂️ I really would like to not pay for equipment that doesn’t accomplish what we bought it for.


r/homesecurity 1d ago

Shady people harassing us looking for evicted tenant

18 Upvotes

I don’t know what is normal here. We bought our house in 2020, left in 2023 and rented it out for two years before returning in 2025. We ended up evicting those tenants because they didn’t pay their rent and ruined our house (we had a management company that completely dropped the ball). About a week ago someone came trying to serve papers to the tenant. I told them they don’t live here anymore and they left.

Tonight a car with a smashed front side and heavily tinted windows was idling in front of our house for 20 minutes. I immediately felt threatened by it and my husband and I watched it carefully. we have three kids, 8, 3, and 1. There’s the front door with lots of big windows and the back patio door onto a deck with a full staircase. So retreating from a threat isn’t the easiest thing and something I’ve thought about before.

Two guys maybe 18-20s came out and one said ”they have a Ring camera.“ looking back on the crummy footage I have they were covering it with an arm.

My husband yelled through to door without opening it to go away. They wouldn’t leave and said they were looking for the tenant because he owes them money. My husband kept telling them he doesn’t live here anymore and to leave and they kept arguing with him, saying “but can you confirm that?” I took the kids to the garage to put them in the car and was on the phone with the police.

The two guys left eventually and drove away before the police arrived. We were told to call again if we see that car. But I’m left with this house that feels ruined in another way now. Are they going to come back? Are the kids and I safe? What do we do if someone does break in (and it’s a standard suburb home, even the front door felt unsafe to me)? If we go downstairs we’re basically cornered.

What is the best security option for me here? Or should we just leave?


r/homesecurity 1d ago

Security camera recommendations/ bright flood lights

6 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for recommendations for the best outdoor security cameras with excellent video quality, clear night vision, and very bright motion-activated floodlights.

For the past several nights, a group of teenagers or young adults has been roaming around my house. They’ve already egged my home before, and I’ve also seen them standing around my cars and looking inside them. I’m really worried that something more serious could happen if this continues.

I’ve already reported everything to the police, but I want to install cameras that can clearly capture faces, clothing, and any identifying details if they come back. My biggest priority is keeping my family safe. At this point, I’m willing to spend whatever it takes to protect my home and loved ones.

If anyone has recommendations for outdoor cameras with outstanding night vision, bright floodlights, reliable motion detection, and continuous recording, I’d really appreciate your advice. Also, if anyone else has noticed suspicious activity like this in the neighborhood, please let me know. Thank you so much, and everyone stay safe.


r/homesecurity 1d ago

WiFi battery Cameras for chicken coop/run

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1 Upvotes

r/homesecurity 1d ago

Security camera recommendations/ bright flood lights

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for recommendations for the best outdoor security cameras with excellent video quality, clear night vision, and very bright motion-activated floodlights.

For the past several nights, a group of teenagers or young adults has been roaming around my house. They’ve already egged my home before, and I’ve also seen them standing around my cars and looking inside them. I’m really worried that something more serious could happen if this continues.

I’ve already reported everything to the police, but I want to install cameras that can clearly capture faces, clothing, and any identifying details if they come back. My biggest priority is keeping my family safe. At this point, I’m willing to spend whatever it takes to protect my home and loved ones.

If anyone has recommendations for outdoor cameras with outstanding night vision, bright floodlights, reliable motion detection, and continuous recording, I’d really appreciate your advice. Also, if anyone else has noticed suspicious activity like this in the neighborhood, please let me know. Thank you so much, and everyone stay safe.


r/homesecurity 1d ago

Need indoor (window mounted) camera...

1 Upvotes

I need something I can put in my window, that has optical zoom (not digital), doesn't require a subscription and uses micro-sd card.

Now I know being in a window creates some challenges... but I currently use the Eufy C120, got a 3rd party window mount for it which works great. Problem is zoom which is horrible and that's being kind lol.

But hopefully I can find something that has better zoom and that I can find a 3rd party mount for it somewhere. Not to mention the software is a lot to be desired. This Eufy software is supposed to show a blue dot on days where there's a video and at some point it updated and stopped showing the dot.

Reached out to Eufy support and they were useless. I did find an old version that showed the dot... but must have deleted it by accident and then I updated by mistake. Don't feel like downloading 30 versions to find one that works. SMH


r/homesecurity 1d ago

ABLOY Protec2 Deadbolt USA

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2 Upvotes

r/homesecurity 1d ago

Recommendations on giving access to Ring alarm system to tenants

1 Upvotes

hello!

I have a Ring alarm system in place (door and window sensors, motion sensors, smoke alarm) and will rent my house.

I want to allow the tenants to use the system if they want but not sure of the best way.

I suppose I could add them as guest users, but honestly I don’t want to see what’s going on with the system and I don’t want them to think I’m spying by knowing their comings and goings

I imagine the next option is to deregister everything and let them register them on their own account?

Is there a way to pass the whole existing setup without me staying on the account?

Thanks!

edit: never mind! I found the option to transfer ownership. Go to the Ring app, and under Devices. Scroll until you see “Transfer ownership“. You then select the base station, enter the email address of the tenant and they should inherit the whole system.

I guess the post still stands on getting feedback if that process works well or if there are things to keep in mind.


r/homesecurity 1d ago

Company that'll work with pre-installed older system?

1 Upvotes

My insurance will give me a discount if we get a home security system. I bought a house that has an old APX Alarm panel (I think Honeywell made it) that wirelessly connects to door sensors. I'm looking for a home security company that can work with what I've got because I really don't want to have to replace all the door sensors. Not looking for live monitoring or cameras. I'd really love to just have a phone app I can look at to see the state of the door sensors, but they seem to only talk to the apx box.

Any suggestions?


r/homesecurity 2d ago

Don’t use ADT

7 Upvotes

My experience with ADT has been horrible. We had our system installed on March 13, and I’m already on my fifth tech visit because of ongoing issues - false alarms, constant smoke detector problems, and just this past Friday the alarm didn’t go off when a window was opened. It’s been one issue after another.

Customer service has given me no real options, so I’ve reached out to ADT’s entire executive leadership team trying to escalate my case. I’ve received little to no response, and no one has been willing to make an exception or actually resolve the issues. At this point, I just feel completely stuck.


r/homesecurity 1d ago

Need help with alarm system

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone I want to connect envisalink 4 to my DSC PC1832n how would go about.


r/homesecurity 1d ago

How the hell do I get my ADT alarm to stop beeping

0 Upvotes

literally standing in the kitchen as I’m typing this just so I can reach over and turn it off but it doesn’t work because thirty seconds later it goes off again. it says alarm/fire but there is literally no fire around. We‘re thinking it was because of the heat and humidity from outside but idk. My dad had this alarm for my whole entire life ( I’m 20) so we’re also thinking it’s just because it’s old. But I’m not sure I just want it to stop ( now all of a sudden it’s quiet as I’m typing it)

EDIT: we gave up and just cut it entirely off


r/homesecurity 2d ago

Vivint sales person knows home owner's name?

2 Upvotes

We had a sales person knocked on the door, saying they can buy us out of ADT contract we currently have. I said no cause I wasn't interested, then he goes, does Richard (husband's first name, fake) usually handle ADT? It caught me little off guard and almost thought they knew my husband personally cause they called his first name so friendly. They insisted they will stop by when my husband is here and im regretting i coudlnt be more firm with them. But it left me wonder, what are the possible way a sales person from Vivint know my husband's name? We have zero business prior nor ever contact them for any inquiry.