SimpliSafe Review

SimpliSafe is a contract-free home security system that promises to help you protect your home from intruders. Here’s our SimpliSafe review.

What is SimpliSafe?

SimpliSafe is a multifunctional home security system that uses wireless sensors to safeguard your home. The system claims to protect your home in a comprehensive, user-friendly way. And, unlike traditional security systems, it doesn’t come with a contract.

SimpliSafe service plans start at $14.99 per month. You can choose a prebuilt package that comes complete with all the sensors you need. Or, you can also build your own system depending on the size of your home and your unique needs.

The security system doesn’t use video monitoring. Instead, it uses wireless technology to safeguard your home and its entrances.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at how SimpliSafe works.

SimpliSafe Features

-No Phone line Required: The security system uses its own cellular connection that can’t be cut or disrupted by intruders, so you’ll stay connected to the grid no matter what happens.

-Mobile Support: You can access your SimpliSafe security system from any smartphone or laptop

-24/7 Monitoring and Dispatch: SimpliSafe can instantly respond to intruders, providing 24/7 professional monitoring and police dispatch.

-Secret! Alerts: Keep track of certain drawers and cabinets in your home, including liquor cabinets, gun safes, medicine cabinets, file drawers, closets, and other parts of your home. You can set these alarms up as secret, so only you know when the alarms have been triggered.

-SMS Text & Email Alerts: Receive alerts directly to your phone via SMS or email.

-Smash Proof Protection: SimpliSafe will stay functional and alert the police even if an intruder smashes the keypad on your security system.

-Install On Your Own in Under 15 Minutes: SimpliSafe does not install your system for you. You must install it on your own. The system arrives pre-programmed to work instantly and you install the wireless sensors throughout your home.

-Power Outage Protection: The system runs on lithium batteries that last for five years, so your home won’t be undefended when the power goes out.

-Portable: You can easily uninstall the security system and transfer it to a new home or location.

-400 Foot Sensor Range: Sensors have a 400 foot range and can protect homes of any size.

-Smoke and Fire Detection: The SimpliSafe wireless sensors don’t just detect intruders – they also detect smoke and carbon monoxide.

-Reduce Homeowners Insurance By 20%: Like many security systems, SimpliSafe will reduce your homeowners insurance by 20% and is “trusted by all major insurance companies”.

-No Annual Contracts: SimpliSafe is famous for its lack of annual contracts. You pay month to month and are free to cancel or suspend your subscription at any time.

How to Setup SimpliSafe

SimpliSafe is famous for its setup process. So how exactly do you set it up?

You start by plugging in the base station, which serves as the brains of the system. That device is relatively large, but it doesn’t need to be plugged into your router (so you can store it wherever you like). Once the base station receives power, it will tell you how to set up each sensor in your kit.

Installing the sensors is straightforward: you pull a tab to activate the batteries, then choose a wall where you can stick it. After you set up your sensors, the menu will give you helpful tips on how to place them in the right spots.

SimpliSafe Pricing

SimpliSafe comes in a variety of different packages based on the size of your home and the number of access points to your home (like doors and windows).

-Home Defense Package: $199.99 (regular retail price $259.95) – Includes three entry sensors and one motion sensor.

-Ultimate Package: $539.85 – Includes burglary, fire, CO, freeze, and flood sensors (16 pieces in total)

-Master Package: $449.87 – Includes more sensors than the original package to “fully protect larger homes”

-Classic Package: $349.92 – Includes 9 pieces in total, including a 105dB siren

-Starter Package: $229.96 – Includes 5 pieces and is designed for smaller homes and condos

-Refurbished Systems: 25 to 30% off regular retail price

-Customized System: Customized pricing (starts with the three core components, then you can add parts to meet your home’s needs; the system is shipped to you pre-programmed)

All purchases also come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. You can request a refund and get 100% of your money back. SimpliSafe will even pay for your return shipping.

If you order SimpliSafe and find that there aren’t enough sensors to cover your home, then you can also add more sensors simply by ordering them individually through the company here. You can also return extra sensors for a refund if you find that you don’t need them.

The company also sells a variety of accessories, including Entry Sensors ($14.99), Motion Sensors ($29.99), Glassbreak Sensor ($34.99), Water Sensor ($19.99), and Freeze Sensor ($29.99).

You can also purchase a Panic Button ($19.99), a 105db Siren ($59.99), Smoke Detector ($29.99), CO Detector ($49.99), and an Extra Keypad ($69.99).

Or, tell the world that your home is protected by ordering Window Decals ($4.99 for a set of 5) or a Yard Sign ($3.99).

SimpliSafe Subscription Price

You can connect your SimpliSafe system to the emergency dispatch service at a price of $14.99 per month. Or, you can pay more for full interactivity. Here’s how the pricing breaks down:

Standard: $14.99 Per Month

-Cell uplink

Alert: $19.99 Per Month

-Cell uplink

-SMS/email alerts

Interactive: $24.99 Per Month

-Cell uplink

-SMS/email alerts

-Interactive control from any web-enabled device

What Do Customers Have to Say About SimpliSafe?

SimpliSafe is generally well-reviewed. Customers praise the system for its ability to be easily set up in any home. All equipment also comes with a 3 year warranty and dedicated cellular communication – so your security system doesn’t lost connectivity when your phone line drops out.

The month-to-month subscription is also priced at a reasonable rate and is much easier to cancel than other security services.

That being said, customers do have issues with things like the lack of home automation features, the lack of security cameras, and the expensive upfront equipment costs.

Some customers also expressed annoyance that SimpliSafe advertises features like mobile interactivity from any web-enabled device – but the company glosses over the fact that this service costs $24.99 per month.

Security researcher IOActive also released a groundbreaking report on SimpliSafe last week, claiming that the company’s system can be turned off from a distance up of to 200 yards away using “basic hardware and software, bought for between $50 and $250”. Attackers can also harvest customer PINs due to security loopholes with the SimpliSafe system.

Making things worse is that SimpliSafe uses a one-time programmable chip in its alarm, which means updates cannot be installed over the air. In other words, there’s no patch coming to protect SimpliSafe users.

SimpliSafe has released a statement on the issue, claiming that the hack described is “sophisticated and highly unlikely”. The hack involves purchasing specialized equipment and programming a chip by writing code. Then, the attacker has to be in close physical proximity to the security system. SimpliSafe also claims they have had no reports of anyone attempting this hack on any security system in the real world.

About SimpliSafe

SimpliSafe is a home security system used by hundreds of thousands of homeowners across America.

SimpiSafe, Inc. is based in Boston at the following address:

294 Washington Street Floor 9

Boston, MA 02108

The company was launched in 2006 and serves customers across America. In 2014, SimpliSafe received a $57 million investment from Sequoia. Ever since, they’ve expanded their marketing efforts across the region.