Have thought about a smart lock as we travel a fair bit but my husband is concerned that anything connected to the internet can be hacked. I'm about to install a new Qolsys IQ 4 alarm panel and self-monitor through Alarm.com. Currently don't have any z wave devices; but depending on what alarm.com plan I choose I understand that the Qolsys can act as my z wave hub. So my big question: would a z wave device connected through a Qolsys panel and controlled through alarm.com be less vulnerable to hacking than a regular wifi smart lock?

Someone keeps leaving trash in the street front of my place, which is about 30 feet from my house, and I'd like to find out who it is. Ideally, I'd be able to look back at footage to see who does it.

I rent, so it would be nice to have a system that's not intrusive and doesn't require altering the property that much. In other words, I'm thinking about wireless since I wouldn't need to staple wires from the outside going into my house, as my place gets some sunlight.

I wouldn't want to pay for something very expensive, but I'd also want a system that works well. Preferably, I'd rather not have to pay a subscription, but if it's necessary, that's sort of okay.

Can you please provide an outdoor camera system for my situation?

Any recommendations for a lte/4g security camera with motion alerts for outdoors? I'm installing it in an area of the property that doesn't get great wifi signal. Bonus if it has the power to charge with solar.

i have this. it mostly works fine, i am good with it. but the vid can be made better i think. after i set it up i have basically left it, but i do monitor it on my phone. what i am asking, what settings should i look at to make the vid smoother and what to do with them?

Amazon.com: REOLINK 8CH 5MP PoE Security Camera System, 4pcs 5MP Wired PoE IP Cameras Outdoor with Person Vehicle Detection, 4K 8CH NVR with 2TB HDD for 24-7 Recording, RLK8-410B4-5MP Black : Electronics

herky jerky = a car goes by, stops, then goes again 5-10-100' foot away, sometimes just disappears.

I have this old honeywell security system that was in my home when i purchased it. It works fine - there are wired sensors on all the doors, There are also 2 motions sensors that activate in the armed- away mode. The siren works and is very loud. Its not connected to any sort of monitoring service.

Can I connect this system to the internet and make it 'smart'? I'd like to add some wireless window sensors to it and be able to monitor/alerted if it goes off, arm/disarm on my phone if possible. It would be nice to open it up to home automations in Google/Nest or Smarthings ecosystem, (I have nest security and doorbell cams and nest protect smoke detectors), some other smart home sensors and lights, etc. ). Not sure what else I can do with it? Pics linked below

https://imgur.com/oMDUYrl

https://imgur.com/VhTy1MC

https://imgur.com/uTI9uGI

We did some construction at our home that involved removing of the roof to add an additional story. As part of this, all the wiring to our alarm system was removed and pulled back to facilitate the work.

Unfortunately, when they did this, they cut the ends of the wiring, which lost all of the marking I did for each sensor. I am beginning to tone out each line to try and figure out what is what. We also have additional wires that were pulled for the addition for both fire/security.

I wasn't very confident programming the Vista20p to begin with, but do have one alpha keypad.

At this point, I am pretty overwhelmed and not sure where to restart. I know I will need to keep toning out the lines to figure out what is what, but I am wondering if I need to get a different panel that is easier for me to reprogram.

Any recommendations, advice, or words of encouragement appreciated.

I have 4 sets of French doors in my backyard. The deadbolt bore isn't standard and I can't bore a bigger hole. Is there any brands besides schlage or kwikset that make deadbolt to fit 1.5 inch cross bore?

I need recommendations for a high-resolution vehicle camera to record nighttime vandalism to the sides and corners of a vehicle. I need something with video good enough to be admitted as evidence in court.

My vehicle (parked on the street--my only option) has been repeatedly vandalized--first as damage to the taillight and recently to the side mirror. The door camera isn't capturing it as I believe the perpetrator is on foot. The vehicle doesn't have an alarm, but maybe I should get one.

I'm thinking of installing a camera on that car and/or our other car parked nearby, in hopes of catching the vandal and reporting him to the police.

Thanks for any suggestions.

We are looking at a 9/16" thick Tempered Glass Storm Door.

I have seen the Sparkplug Ceramic Chip breaking Car Windows pretty easily.

So our question is how easy/hard would it be to break the 9/16" Tempered Glass Storm Door?

Thanks..

Hi all, we've had ADT before and liked it, so decided to get it again at our new place. The technician came out on 10/10 but couldn't install because the previous owner still hasn't cancelled their contract, so to make the most of the time, we reviewed pricing and hardware, and they had us sign the contract while we waited for the previous contract to be cancelled. They then came out yesterday to install. Last night we decided we don't want the secondary monitor and the Google nest hub, so we called this morning to send them back and get a refund. They told us that because we signed the contract on the 10th that we can't get a refund since it's been more than 3 days. But we got the hardware yesterday! They essentially screwed us over out of our 3-day window to change our minds about anything. The hardware is hundreds of dollars, and it's just clutter that I don't need. The main screen is enough for us. Is there anything we can do to get our money back here??

So, I need yo find a sensor and door closer combo. We have an issue with an exterior door, which swings outward, that people rush through and the current closing arm system isn't getting it closed all the way anymore.

Preferably, I would love to find a door closer that after a set delay starts closing the door and doesn't stop pulling the door closed until the sensor contact says it is closed, and maybe even increasing power to close the door until it is closed. We also need to prevent it from slamming shut and making a ton of noise. An electrical/hydraulic combination closer might be the best because it would need more pull on windy days. It would also be great if after 5-10 minutes, the sensor would make an audible alarm if the door was still not closed.

Now, I will state that I am a security guard and that this is a door at the business where I work, so it needs to look professional and cannot be a homemade concoction. I will not be the one making the purchase and this is an attempt to try an remedy the issue permanently.

Because some employees leave well after we (security) have left, it is a huge issue. I was asked by the building owner's representative if I might have a solution. I have spent hours looking online, but I don't think I have the correct terminology for what I am looking for. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.

Hi, I hope this is an appropriate sub to ask this in. Like I said above I got those plus 6 Wyze v2 indoor cameras all for $20. They all have the power supplies but the Zosi didn't come with the DVR. Their model numbers are ZG2322M. They have a wireless antenna but also the Ethernet looking connection on their cord, which I forget what it's called. Do I need to order a DVR for these or could I set them up over wifi to broadcast directly to my computer? I prefer PC anyways since I have a good system and a secondary PC I could use just for video recording with tons of redundant storage. Thanks!

Looking into any product that ideally would be z-wave/zigbee or any other wireless that could be triggered remotely. Want it to flash upon a trigger. Not finding anything so far wonder if anyone has such setup? Goal is to have any motion sensor trigger police-like lights on driveway. thanks

Shared this /homeowners and got no responses. I’m hoping maybe this thread is more appropriate?

Hello! Looking for home security system recommendations that has a central monitoring (alarms will trigger a call to police/fire/EMS).

I’m dissatisfied with our current provider (ADT) who has given us a faulty smoke alarm that goes offline ALL THE TIME and they apparently will not replace it even though it’s only been a year. I also hate the doorbell camera they provided us, which was prior to them partnering with Google. It has bad video, doesn’t record long enough, and the speaker works poorly so no one understands us when we talk with them.

On top of the smoke alarm and doorbell camera, we have window monitoring/alarms, door monitoring/alarms, yard cameras, and CO2 monitoring all connected to the central alarm panel. We also have the thermostat that is supposed to connect, but we haven’t switched it out. The tech refused to install it and said we had to hire and hvac guy and we never got around to it with our other projects that took priority after we moved it.

I want similar (or better) service, but I’d like feedback or reviews of other providers, and an idea of the expected costs for the monthly service monitoring fees. We bought the equipment upfront and pay just under $70/months now for the monitoring. (Where we live, the monitoring is necessary)

Looking for a (preferably small) camera without a subscription/ . Wireless too preferably.

Playback feature, live feed. Audio & video . . .

Any suggestions ? I heard bad things about ring and the one I have is TERRIBLE

Hi everyone! Purchased and set up the EOJO Starlight Window Camera, and I’m having connectivity issues. When I open the camera app, the wifi signal fluctuates anywhere from 0b/s to 31Kbps/s. It’s all over the place and it’s interfering with the video recording. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Cameras will be mounted on a pole on an external wall. They will be directly exposed to rain. It’s tropical weather where I’m at – hot and sunny and stormy sometimes.

I’ve read conflicting things on the internet. My local installers have been saying that bullet cameras are what they usually do for outdoors. But I’ve read that because they have more moving parts, they might be more prone to water damage. Also, the bullet shape is more vulnerable to being nudged. Turrets don’t have this vulnerability.

I have a DSC security panel and DSC keypads in my house. In my furnace room I have a CO detector and a smoke detector that appear to be wired in series. My alarm panel is showing a Furnace Rm smoke detector fault.

The 4 wires come from the panel (or somewhere else) go to the smoke detector and then there are four jumper wires going from the smoke detector to the CO detector - yellow and green for relay, plus red and black for power. The CO detector only has this one connection back to the smoke detector.

I replaced the smoke detector with a new model. This was a System Sensor 2012JA. The old unit said replace in 2027. The new model says replace in 2033 so they appear to have a 9-10 year lifespan.

The CO detector is a GE-250 Carbon Monoxide detector. It doesn't show a replacement date but when I replaced it years ago I put a label on it saying "Installed in Dec 2014". So it is now 10 years old and I can see in my Amazon order history that I bought it in October of 2014.

Is it possible that the fault is actually coming from the CO detector rather than the smoke detector, given that I just put in a brand new smoke detector? When these devices are connected in series can the system even differentiate between the CO detector and the smoke detector? How does it know that there is a fault? Because the circuit is closed rather than open? Or is there some other signal on the line that indicates the fault.

Could I check this by disconnecting the CO detector from the smoke detector? Would the alarm system know or care that there was no longer a CO detector?

Assuming that I need to replace the CO detector should I get another similar model, or just get a standalone CO detector that doesn't connect into my alarm system?

I know it’s a long shot…but I have 8 cam NVR system. One of the 8 cams does not have an option for infrared. Any one experienced this?

When we bought a house 5+ years ago, it came with a 2 camera surveillance system with a NVR Box.

Today the box stopped working and I'm looking for a way to still use the outdoor cameras since they are still working.

I managed to track the company: http://www.zeuscctv.com/index.html and these are the 2 cameras: http://www.zeuscctv.com/zecc101fllis.html

Is it possible to use the existing cameras and buy a more reliable NVR box/setup for it?

I contacted the company but I'm considering on getting a reliable replacement because of these 2 reason:

1. The web UI sucks. To access it, I need to have a browser that still allows flash.
2. The mobile App is not that better when trying to scrub/view the history, it's omega slow.

Thanks!

Hi all! ADT had repeatedly told me there was NO CONTRACT, and that they did not use them anymore knowing how much competition was out there. I had them install a system and I paid for that system and used it for one month and cancelled to which I was met with an 1200 dollar bill and a work order/contact signed by me on the tech’s iPad. I am absolutely sure he scrolled up so I couldn’t see the top portion that stated the THREE YEAR contract.

I am considering a class action. Has anyone experienced this? Or similar?

I installed 3” screws into my door strikes. I want to replace the strikes with the big double size strikes. By removing the 3” screws, should I just screwing them back in or do I need to fill them first so they have something to grab them?

Thanks all

So I'm really frustrated with ADT and looking for some advice. We were a first time home buyer through veterans united. We were supposed to get a deal for $0 install. So I sign up ad start getting calls like twice a week. That seemed a bit excessive but we scheduled a next day appointment and a guy comes by. He seems nice enough we talk about options and agreed to the $0 install plus I think $25 for an extra window alarm. We have a small house so 1 camera and window alarms is more than enough. He then tells us we have to sign a 1 year agreement to get active monitoring. I thought that was fair so we agreed. Signed the papers and here we are 1 year later. I get a notification that we will have to pay $135 as some kind of maintenance fee and that we actually signed a 2 year agreement. I haven't initiated any contact with them and I want to do this right because from what little I've read that ADT is a nightmare to cancel with. What's some advice before I start this process of canceling that will make this easier on me?

Hello. I currently have an arlo security system. I have this system because it’s easy to use/set up and easy to take down and reinstall as I just moved and will be moving again in 21 months. I just attained a detached garage and unfortunately the garage is too far away from my router to pick up a WiFi signal. So I am asking for suggestions on a high quality security system that does not require WiFi. Even a good trail camera that I can mount would work. There as so many options I don’t even know where to start. Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. I appreciate you.

The app never comes up, my alarm box couldn’t be disarmed, I had to open a door, alarm code wouldn’t shut it off. The siren wouldn’t shut off, it never dispatched to the service. I had to destroy the box as it it would not stop the siren.

Worst service ever.

Edit - ADT confirmed a back end nationwide outage on their end. I have a service technician appointment today to evaluate my hub (spoiler: it’s in pieces and I can’t wait to video chat with the idiot to show them) to get it replaced.

I found an unopened DMP XR150 fresh in it's original box at my local second had PC store for $75. I wired power, keypad and I was able to get into programing mode no problem. Do I need a specific subscription service account to get intrusion detection sent to something like a mobile device? Eventually I would like to have this system connected to certified emergency services but for testing is overkill.

I run a home video camera system with Blue Iris but the AI recognition notification isn't always reliable.

when i’ve been coming back to my dorm lately, i have been finding my door to my bedroom unlocked (everyone in the suite can unlock each other rooms unfortunately) and i want to get a camera to catch someone red handed. i want a security camera that can stream while i am gone, and i brought a wyze camera from my house, but unfortunately, the university’s wifi is stopping me from doing setting it up. uni wifi doesn’t require just a username and password to log in (the wyze app only asks for username and password , clearly meant for normal home wifi units and not school) where my school also requires us to enter in our student ID and email to log in. how should i go about this? any recs for cameras and/or equipment i will need?

I installed Kichler Smart Control Transformer and iOS app. I have tried to install the transformer via the app and it doesn’t work. All instructions were followed precisely and yet no lights.

Any advice? I might be doing something wrong?