Home Alarm System - switching to ADT or another option

When I renovated I used an independent person to do our installation of a honeywell based alarm system.  For one year I had a contract with an independent monitoring service, but frankly I could never tell if the system was up and running correctly or not. Was thinking whether i should switch to another company and whether this is even possible or not.  I have seen homes with ADT and their hardware looks to be identical to the hardware I have, plus obviously all the wiring, etc., has been done. Is it possible to switch to another provider (whether a large or local org)? Who do people use in the Brooklyn area, and are my choices limited to essentially ADT or one or two other services?

sunspot19

in Alarm 13 years and 7 months ago

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ida.blankenship311 | 9 years and 11 months ago

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Agree with georgefell, you should call ADT. They definitely guide you better.

aldenprent | 11 years and 10 months ago

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The best way to say so is to actually call ADT for guidance. The other companies suggested here are also pretty good. I use Symetrix (Australia). It’s really good but I’m not sure if they offer their services in the US.

dancingirl | 13 years and 7 months ago

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housepoor | 13 years and 7 months ago

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In a related theme, I was wondering how people handle the dialers? Older systems (like mine) use a dialer which latches onto a phone line and calls into the central office (and presumably the number would need to be updated if I changed central office service providers). I’m told VOIP doesn’t always work for alarm systems and Verizon dial tone is more reliable than internet connection anyway. The alternative is a wireless connection, but the installation cost is pretty steep. Has anyone made the switch to wireless connection to a central office, can tell us what it cost, who they used, and if they are happy? Or has anyone figured out how to reliably link their VOIP system to an alarm? Thanks as always….

levicapland | 13 years and 7 months ago

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zeitlinj | 13 years and 7 months ago

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We use Sloman’s and like it a lot. They’re local (Long Island, I think). We met with someone from ADT but chose Sloman’s over them.

BeatingUpwind | 13 years and 7 months ago

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If you have a non-proprietary system you can switch to just about any monitoring company. Just keep trying different independents until you find one you like. Read reviews online to find good ones and to see what customers think of ADT.

jockdeboeraia | 13 years and 7 months ago

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Call ADT and ask them. I would guess some of it would have to be replaced.