@grobbins I believe the monitoring is $15/month no contract.

@canuk @grobbins Does the system work at all without a Subscription?

@kssandefur Yes it works without the monitoring, but it just makes alarm noises and doesn’t contact the police or SimpliSafe.

@grobbins They have three plan levels for monitoring, at 50¢/day, 83¢/day, and $1.17/day (although it is billed monthly). My last bill was $24.99.

@Hanky it has a built-in cell phone connection. The new model has that and WiFi. I’ve been eying these for a while because unlike ADT they don’t trap you into a 4 year contract. You don’t even have to buy the monitoring, the alarm will just sound, but seems like monitoring is why you’d get one.

@ruouttaurmind how is it the same people can get multiple irk when most of us can never get a single one?

@jayman007 @ruouttaurmind they have a defect that both makes them not sleep at night and also slam the f5 key around midnight. Your cost/benefit analysis has to be off to invest time in it.

It’s basically a form off gambling. But it’s fun to watch. And dream one day you might get in on buying a ticket.

@jayman007 Workin’ it from the right side of the country probably helps. It’s only 9PM for me when it’s time for the mehdnight rollout. Plus, as @unksol suggested, no annoying social life to obstruct my efforts.

@ruouttaurmind Have you set them up? How well do they work for you?

@Kerig3 They’re still in their respective boxes sitting on my desk waiting for my motivation to exceed my plan for listing them on eBay.

@ruouttaurmind

@ruouttaurmind I don’t have a social life. Annoying or otherwise. Just don’t have that dedication. I’ve tried since woot and still nada

@unksol I much prefer my anti-social life.

@jayman007 @ruouttaurmind @unksol I think you’re working it from the left side of the country.

@rpstrong

Workin’ it from the right proper side of the country probably helps.

There. Better.

@unksol You can adjust the motion sensors on mine to not detect small animals (we didn’t). They may have a more sophisticated system now.

We have a parakeet in a cage in an area with a motion sensor and he does not set it off. We don’t have dogs or cats.

@andyw I’m pretty sure parakeets are not a concern. Although if you have or have seen a 50+lb parakeet I would very much like to see it also.

@unksol you flip the motion detector upside down so they don’t cover the floor, just waist or however high and up.

@andyw @unksol
A one OUNCE parakeet is annoying af…I’d be eating the 800 ounce one very early on I reckon.

@andyw @thebigtverberg I said I’d like to see it not have it. Now you have me wondering what parakeet tastes like.

@andyw @thebigtverberg @unksol

/giphy tastes like chicken

@andyw @thebigtverberg @unksol Sort of like bald eagle, but with a bit of spotted owl tossed in.

(Answered by a friend.)

@unksol My elderly, sedentary 10# cat set off the motion sensors so many times I had to turn them off. See the other comment about checking with law enforcement about the fee for false alarms Their marketing is untrue, and their employees are creepy stalkers watching your video feed … defended & enabled by management, so escalating concerns does no good. Best of luck to anyone who buys in, it’s a huge NOPE from me.

@unksol And is it compatible with a Boston Dynamics Spot armed with, say, an airsoft pistol?

@rpstrong @unksol At that point, I don’t think you really need an alarm system. Those things are terrifying without a weapon.

@j4yx0r @rpstrong @unksol WOW…, that’s too reminiscent of the Black Box episode…Scares the crap out of me!

@j4yx0r @rpstrong @unksol Doh… Black Mirror…

@andyw @thebigtverberg @unksol
Assuming one that size didn’t eat you first. Dinosaurs have a rep for being a bit bloodthirsty.

@andyw @mbimeh @unksol
Fair enough…unless birds scale up in very strange way, a regular sized parakeet is about a foot tall, and about one once. Therefore a fifty pounder would be somewhere around 600 feet tall…Somehow that doesn’t make sense to me, but the thought is completely horrifying.

@awk Radio Shack used to sell them-maybe they still do, but we have the Simplisafe system.

@andyw @awk You can buy similar signs at the big-box home improvement stores along with window stickers. Most times this is enough of a deterrent, unless you flaunt your wealth through the outward appearance if your home. My home screams “nothing but trash inside” so I’m good.

@andyw @awk I don’t think radio sushi sells anything anymore…

@andyw @awk @Kerig3 Tape a hand written note by the door that says
Guests, please call my cell phone before you use your key! Another false alarm and the police will charge me $400!

Optionally: include a phone number.

If you are at a parade, festival, rally, or whatever, and you see bored police officers, ask them what the local fines are for false alarms. Explain to them that you just bought an alarm system off the internet, and you want to know how expensive your $15 per month monitoring fee might really be.

Cross off the $400 and put in the real fine for a fifth false alarm.

@awk @hamjudo @Kerig3 I think in a total of about three years between our previous house and our present one, we have had one truly false alarm. They call you and if you think it is false, you can tell them not to call the police. Actually, with the false one, we got home before the police got there (!) and carefully checked before going in and then called the police to cancel. They should have come anyway (how did they know I was not the burglar), but they didn’t.

One we thought was false, was not truly false-we had left a door unlocked and it blew open. The police came and checked around before we got home.

@awk if you want a yard sign…https://www.safetysign.com/products/4244/private-property-if-you-can-read-this-you-are-in-range-signs

@andyw @awk @hamjudo @Kerig3 if you install it in a shitty way where it keeps going off you deserve that fine. You are choosing to waste their time. The first time it happens no big deal. When it happens over and over and over because you are too lazy to fix your system and are causing issues for everyone else you should be fined

And why didn’t you just give them the code

@awk @hamjudo @Kerig3 @unksol The alarm was installed correctly-hence no further false alarms. We told them to call the police because we were not home and thought it could be real. All alarms are susceptible to an occasional false report. I agree that we should not waste their time or expose them to unnecessary risks.

@andyw @awk @Kerig3 @unksol “And why didn’t you just give them the code”…

There is no code. I was suggesting a more believable “we have an alarm system” sign.

@manjar This is an old system (but newer than mine) and it is fine.

@manjar Also note that the last I checked, the old version is not compatible with the new version’s sensors. So I would suggest verifying and keeping this in mind when deciding to purchase.

@sp3ar we haven’t found one with speakers and bluetooth capability.

@dam091 Let me fix that GIF…

@Kerig3 YES!

/giphy thank you

C’mon, Michael Scott!

@dam091

@hamjudo You can head down to the courthouse right now and get that straightened out.

@hamjudo They sell extra fobs. We almost never use ours, except that the master one is used to change settings, etc., on our system.

@brandon Last I checked, notifications were part of their monthly service plan. You can use it as a local alarm without notifications at no extra cost. Also note that if you set it up to auto-notify emergency services, many cities/counties require a permit (some with fee.) Check your local ordinances first.

@brandon @qwurpy More people should see this. So, they don’t turn on CDMA/GSM unless you pay a fee? Their copy does not mention that.

@brandon @j4yx0r If you want something more than a siren that goes off inside your house you have to select a monthly plan.

https://simplisafe.com/choose-monitoring2?inline=true&width=300&height=210#cellular-connection-m

They don’t explain it very well on the website but they have two service plans. One is very basic which gives you the cellular connection to monitoring centers. The more expensive plan gives you remote access, arm/disarm and notifications.

I believe a Ring security system might offer people more and better options for less money monthly but I don’t exactly remember their prices/options but I would suggest comparing before buying.

@brandon You do not have to have it monitor your system. In that case, just the alarm rings. The basic monitoring is $15 a month and they notify you and the police. There is no long-term contract, just month to month. On ours, the connection is cellular, but they pay for it and it is seamless to you.

@Shagbert I had a bluetooth-connected toothbrush once that sent the time of brushing to their display. Pretty useless, but I bet they still sell them.

@andyw @Shagbert when did meh sell those?

@chienfou @Shagbert The toothbrush was not a Meh purchase, it was a Costco item.

@andyw @Shagbert … OH… I just knew it HAD to be a meh item…

@chienfou @Shagbert It does sound like a Meh item, and if it had a phone dock and speaker, it would sound even more like one!-But, it was a regular old Costco item.

@fleamarketadict Wwe have smoke and CO detectors that are monitored. Check their site to see what they have for this version, but I suspect hey have these.

@MKarell well just for starters this system doesn’t have any cameras

@unksol Oh, ok. Well then, that sounds just fine. Go ahead & support/enable a company with misogynist/creepy stalker corporate culture. Good luck with your new system.

@MKarell @unksol You’re right. We should just take your word for it and boycott this company based solely on the anecdote of a random, anonymous internet user. In fact, meh should drop them all together based on your comment. Thank you for your service!

@dam091 @unksol Well that would be pretty stupid. Why on earth do you want to do that?? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at what random anonymous internet users want … or the absurd crap they assume about me.

TL;DR Watch your back with SimpliSafe … do some research. Use common sense.

And don’t listen to trolls putting words in others’ mouths.