Austin S. from Monroe, GA

Was it easy to install the system yourself?

After installing my own system, I would say it was surprisingly easy. The Alarm Grid website was very helpful in that it describes every product in great detail. If I ever had a question about a product or was unsure of something, I called Alarm Grid’s phenomenal customer service or tech support, and they were able to help me out and answer my questions. Also, Honeywell’s product manuals are pretty much step-by-step instructions, so it was really easy to wire and program everything.

How did you end up selecting Alarm Grid from all the companies you looked at?

I stumbled onto Alarm Grid while searching for monitoring companies online, and I am glad I did. For one, Alarm Grid allows me to build my own system, the way I want it, with the equipment I want. This gives me peace of mind, since I know it is done right. Also, since I am somewhat tech savvy, I really enjoyed the challenge to install, wire, and program my own alarm system. The other reason why I chose Alarm Grid over other companies is that Alarm Grid’s monitoring is much more affordable and their customer support is very helpful. Most companies don’t even have a customer support.

Does our monitoring make you feel safer?

I feel a lot saver as a result of Alarm Grid monitoring my house. Since I installed the system myself, I know it is done right, and I know that my system is working properly now. I didn’t have that same feeling of security with my old system. There were a lot of faults, and if I ever lost power, the system was dead right away. Now I do not have those problems anymore. The system has really proven itself now that it’s “properly” installed.

Did Alarm Grid save you any money?

By installing my own system I have saved at least $5,000 dollars. Since my garage is a separate building from the house on my property, I used to have to pay double the amount in monitoring costs. But Alarm Grid helped me figure out how to connect the garage to the system in my house. Now that I pay only one monitoring bill a month, and with Alarm Grids very affordable monitoring costs, I am continuing to save a lot of money each month.

Did you use any of Alarm Grid's other resources?

I used Alarm Grid’s YouTube channel quite often. They have a video series on there where Sterling is wiring up a Vista-21 IP. This video series answered a lot of my questions when I was wiring up my own system. Alarm Grid is adding more and more videos to their YouTube channel as new products become available. If you every have a question about something, nine times out of ten, there is a video on their YouTube channel that will answer your question.

What do you like most about your system?

There are a lot of different aspects that I really enjoy about my new system. I really enjoyed the challenge of installing the system by myself. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and not at all intimidating. I love the touch screen keypads that I have. They look really modern and stylish, and are a lot of fun to play with. Now that all my zones have descriptors and names, I don’t have to find my zone list every time to figure out which zone went off. Thanks to Alarm Grid, my life is so much easier now.

How does Alarm Grid's monitoring and system compare to your old system and service?

I did have a system before, but it was not at all reliable. Every time we had a power outage, the alarm would go off, and there was no way to turn it off, since none of the keypads would respond. The only way was to disconnect all power form the system. To this day I have no idea what the installer messed up. My previous monitoring company was not reliable. Sometimes I would accidentally set off an alarm, and the old monitoring company would call 3 days later telling me that they received an alarm signal. It was getting worse and worse. And to top it off, we had a thunder storm in the summer of 2014, and lightning struck the phone line and fried my old alarm panel. It was like someone above gave me a sign it was time to get to work, and I was glad it happened. When I replace the old panel with my new panel, I figured out that I was royally ripped off by the installer of my old system. The wiring was a complete nightmare; you would not believe what he did. Half the zones were not even wired up at all, and the grounding wire was not there either. After spending about a week tracing all the wires and labeling all the zones, I was ready to install the new panel.

Long back story made very long, the point is, thanks to Alarm Grid’s grade A customer support, I was able to install my new system the way it was meant to be done. My new system works perfectly. I have not yet come across any of the problems I used to have with my old system.

Why should other people consider Alarm Grid?

I recommend Alarm Grid to everyone who asks me about my system. After what I have been through with my old system, I would recommend each of you to check your system and check the wiring. If you think it has not been done properly, or you are unsure of how to use your system, sit down and look into Alarm Grid. I guarantee it will be worth your time and money. You should not be afraid or intimidated by your alarm system. It is there to protect you, your family, and your home. It is very important that you know how to use it and that you are aware of all of your systems capabilities. I learned that my system can do a whole lot more than just arm and disarm.

What do you think of Total Connect?

When I got my new system I made some upgrade to the existing system. I now have Total Connect 2.0, and I enjoy using it. I have set it up so that I receive a text message every time someone arms or disarms the system, and I also receive messages if there is a problem with a zone, such as low battery, or tampering with the system. Total Connect 2.0 gives me a lot more control over my system, and peace of mind, because I can arm and disarm my system from literally anywhere in the world. And if I ever go somewhere, and I forgot to arm my system, I can easily do that from my phone.

Do you have a customer service story you'd like to share?

I had an incredible outstanding experience with Alarm Grid’s customer service and tech support. They were able to answer any and all of my questions that I had while I was installing and programming my system. Also, their business hours are great. Because they work until 9:00pm, anyone who has a day job can still work with Alarm Grid. When I called in, I often spoke to Sterling. He was very accommodating and did his very best to help me out in every way possible. I don’t think I would have been able to do this without all of his help.

A big thank you to the whole Alarm Grid Team!