{"id":234,"date":"2020-03-08T13:36:02","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T13:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/?p=234"},"modified":"2020-03-08T13:40:48","modified_gmt":"2020-03-08T13:40:48","slug":"safe-as-houses-a-simplisafe-security-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/2020\/03\/08\/safe-as-houses-a-simplisafe-security-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Safe as houses: A SimpliSafe security review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hi everyone and thanks as always for checking out my blog. Today I\u2019ll be talking about something a little different and that\u2019s&nbsp;<strong>home security<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve lived in my house for about 18 months now and have never really thought further than the bog-standard burglar alarm. To tell you the truth, the alarm we were using was absolutely awful and would barely pick up any motion (for example, if we were downstairs and had forgot to turn the alarm of, the alarm itself wouldn\u2019t siren for a good 20 minutes!), but after a recent spate of burglaries in my area I decided to take a look at some more robust security systems that would make sure my home was safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I reached out to the team at <a href=\"https:\/\/simplisafe.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"SimpliSafe (opens in a new tab)\">SimpliSafe<\/a> and was thrilled when they offered to gift me a system in exchange for an honest review. Just for clarity, I was only asked to post once on Instagram but I decided to write this blog and create my IGTV about it off my own back as \u2013 spoiler &#8211; I really do think this system is amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-instagram aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tv\/B9UucGbnxp9\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In this post, I\u2019m going to be chatting about the process, the system and my experiences, so here goes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Placing the order<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First things first is placing your order. You can choose from one of the pre-designed systems based on the type and size of your home, or you can create a custom-built system yourself adding features you think would work for you and your security needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of our system, we received:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Base Station<\/li><li>Wireless Keypad<\/li><li>2 x SimpliCam security cameras<\/li><li>1 x siren (for outside the property)<\/li><li>2 x key fobs<\/li><li>3 x entry sensors<\/li><li>1 x motion sensor\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/60911946-C5B0-45C6-AD09-E88BA9B9F387-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/60911946-C5B0-45C6-AD09-E88BA9B9F387-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/60911946-C5B0-45C6-AD09-E88BA9B9F387-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/60911946-C5B0-45C6-AD09-E88BA9B9F387-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/60911946-C5B0-45C6-AD09-E88BA9B9F387-864x1536.jpg 864w, https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/60911946-C5B0-45C6-AD09-E88BA9B9F387-34x60.jpg 34w, https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/60911946-C5B0-45C6-AD09-E88BA9B9F387.jpg 1125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Initial Set Up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Set up really couldn\u2019t have been easier (see my IGTV!) \u2013 there\u2019s no hard wiring, no fussy set up and no fiddling around. After we\u2019d installed and turned on the Base Station and set up all the bits, the Wireless Keypad made set up super easy over the WiFi and before we knew it, we were set up on the app and good to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019d say from start to finish, the whole process from unboxing to having the home fully secure was around one hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Professional Monitoring<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of its service, SimpliSafe offers an optional, opt-in <a href=\"https:\/\/simplisafe.co.uk\/professional-alarm-monitoring\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"professional monitoring service (opens in a new tab)\">professional monitoring service<\/a>. This works as a monthly contract (but you can cancel at any time) and the monitoring service starts from \u00a312.99 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your home is armed in \u2018Away\u2019 mode and there\u2019s an intruder (picked up through the entry and motion sensors and\/or security cameras), a team member will call you straight away, make sure you\u2019re alright and stay on the line until you\u2019re safe. They\u2019ll also dispatch the police once they\u2019ve visually confirmed the incident (via the SimpliCam).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can\u2019t be reached on the phone (you provide the app with your preferred numbers and contacts in advance, so for our house it\u2019s me and my husband Guy), the SimplISafe team will dispatch a guard to your home to investigate so you don\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s also worth noting that although it is a contract, you\u2019re not tied into anything and can cancel or pause at any time. It\u2019s something I\u2019m definitely going to continue to use, but for some it may be a feature that you can just dip in and out of, for example if you\u2019re going on holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Aesthetics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, it is a security system and I&nbsp;<em>do<\/em>&nbsp;know it\u2019s not meant to look fancy, but I\u2019m really happy with the sleek and minimal design of the SimpliSafe kit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s recommended to keep the Base Station somewhere central (so you can hear any alerts) and we\u2019ve got ours in the living room and it doesn\u2019t look out of place. The same can be said about the entry and motion sensors \u2013 they\u2019re super discreet and barely noticeable!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"blob:http:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/bff7bad7-f35d-4edf-bf94-e5784d2500b9\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other Features<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The more I\u2019ve used the system and the app, the more I\u2019ve realised the SimpliSafe team have thought about&nbsp;<em>everything<\/em>. For example, I was pleasantly surprised to notice the option of the \u2018Duress Pin\u2019 \u2013 this is basically a fake pin that you can use if an intruder is in your home and forcing you to turn the alarm off. Entering your \u2018Duress\u2019 (fake) pin will immediately alert the monitoring system that something is wrong, and a guard will be dispatched to your home quickly to check that you\u2019re okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from the obvious benefits of home security, I also love the system for giving me that extra peace of mind whilst I\u2019m out and about. There\u2019s no more blind panics about whether or not I\u2019d shut the window \u2013 I can just refresh the app and see at a glance that everything at home is all okay.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Review<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you may have guessed, I absolutely love the system and have recommended it far and wide to family and friends already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, at first glance, it is expensive however I love the option of picking and choosing the bits and additions you need. You can also pick further bits up along the way (I\u2019ve added to my system since set up) and create something totally bespoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have any questions, drop me a DM and I\u2019ll be happy to answer, and if you\u2019ve got the SimpliSafe system at home, too, I\u2019d love to hear your thoughts!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alicia x&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hi everyone and thanks as always for checking out my blog. Today I\u2019ll be talking about something a little different and that\u2019s&nbsp;home security. I\u2019ve lived in my house for about 18 months now and have never really thought further than the bog-standard burglar alarm. To tell you the truth, the alarm we were using was absolutely awful and would barely pick up any motion (for example, if we were downstairs and had forgot to turn the alarm of, the alarm itself wouldn\u2019t siren for a good 20 minutes!), but after a recent spate of burglaries in my area I decided [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ub_ctt_via":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/A14EF787-6709-468A-BCAE-3365FD20E08D-scaled.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Alicia","author_link":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/g2h32hkx24\/"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/A14EF787-6709-468A-BCAE-3365FD20E08D-scaled.jpg",1920,2560,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/A14EF787-6709-468A-BCAE-3365FD20E08D-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/A14EF787-6709-468A-BCAE-3365FD20E08D-225x300.jpg",225,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/A14EF787-6709-468A-BCAE-3365FD20E08D-768x1024.jpg",768,1024,true],"large":["https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/A14EF787-6709-468A-BCAE-3365FD20E08D-768x1024.jpg",768,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/A14EF787-6709-468A-BCAE-3365FD20E08D-1152x1536.jpg",1152,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/A14EF787-6709-468A-BCAE-3365FD20E08D-1536x2048.jpg",1536,2048,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Alicia","author_link":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/g2h32hkx24\/"},"uagb_comment_info":3,"uagb_excerpt":"Hi everyone and thanks as always for checking out my blog. Today I\u2019ll be talking about something a little different and that\u2019s&nbsp;home security. I\u2019ve lived in my house for about 18 months now and have never really thought further than the bog-standard burglar alarm. To tell you the truth, the alarm we were using was&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241,"href":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions\/241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emeraldterrace.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}