Vivint Smart Home

Do-it-yourself smart home security systems are great for frugal homeowners who want to save money by monitoring their homes themselves, but these systems leave it up to you to take action when an alarm is triggered. They don't check in to see if everything is OK when your smoke alarm goes off or when your front door alarm is tripped, and they don't call the local authorities. For that kind of response, you need a subscription-based service like the one that comes with the Vivint Smart Home security system. With Vivint you get around-the-clock home monitoring with an incredibly swift response when an alarm goes off, as well as a variety of optional home automation services, all of which can be controlled from a smartphone, a PC, and a 7-inch touch-screen control panel.

Vivint Smart Home systems and components aren't cheap, but once you decide on a plan you don't have to lift a finger; Vivint technicians come to your house, install everything, and give you a comprehensive tour of how it all works. That all adds up to our Editors' Choice for home security systems.

Plans

When you order a Vivint system, you purchase whatever hardware you need such as door/window sensors, motion sensors, cameras, and thermostats. A $599 Vivint Starter Kit comes with a Smart Hub, a pair of door/window sensors, one motion sensor, and one water sensor. You also get a $100 credit toward additional components.

The Vivint service plan is $39.99 per month and gives you 24/7 professional monitoring and full use of the mobile app, including alert notifications. It also lets you control home automation devices such as door locks, doorbell cams, and thermostats, and it provides support for Amazon Alexa and Google Home voice commands. Other benefits of the service plan include 14 days of recorded video storage for clips of up to 90 seconds in length, 30 days of continuous storage with the purchase of a Vivint Smart Drive ($249), 24/7 online and telephone technical support, in-home technician services, and an expanded equipment warranty.

A Vivint service plan isn't mandatory, but without it you’ll have to monitor the system yourself and forgo use of the mobile app as well as remote access to the system and 24/7 tech support.

Components

Additional component prices are a bit higher than what you get from the competition. Door/window sensors go for $50 each, while Protect America charges $39 per sensor and Brinks Home Security charges $29 per sensor. A Vivint glass-break detector will set you back $100, while Protect America charges $99 and Brinks Home Security charges $79. Vivint’s price of $169.99 for its Element Thermostat is right in line with what Brinks charges for an IQ Thermostat ($170).

The Vivint Ping Camera ($199.99) is unique in that it can initiate two-way communication using a call button that sends a notification to users that are connected to the system. That feature worked well in testing, and the camera also delivers excellent day and night video, supports event-triggered recording, and interacts with other smart home devices.

The Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro ($299 plus installation) is an outdoor security cam that not only lets you see what's happening outside, but uses Vivint's Smart Sentry technology to let intruders know that they are under surveillance. The camera also provides clean two-way audio and works well with other installed Vivint components.

One of our favorite smart doorbells, the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro ($249 plus installation) also uses Smart Sentry technology to deter package thieves and offers stunning HDR video quality with an ultra-wide viewing angle.

The Smart Hub is the Vivint Smart Home's nerve center. It has a 7-inch full color touch screen that makes it easy to lock and unlock doors, view live and recorded video, adjust heating and cooling temperatures, and activate emergency services including Panic and Burglary alarms that go straight to the local police department. The panel also lets you assign and edit user codes, adjust alarm volumes, tweak camera settings, arm or disarm the system, and run diagnostics. However, you can't change the sound of the alarms, which can be problematic. More on that later. The hub uses several types of wireless technologies including Wi-Fi, RF, and Z-Wave to control cameras, sensors, door locks, and more.

App and Performance

You can control the Vivint system remotely using the free Android and iOS apps, and from a PC using the web console. With the mobile app, the home screen displays how many doors and windows are currently open and which doors are unlocked. It also contains a big button for arming and disarming the system and buttons for locking and unlocking your doors. Using the task bar at the bottom of the screen you can access the thermostat to view the current temperature, turn the heating cooling system on and off, set vacation modes, and create a heating/cooling schedule for weekdays and weekends.

Tapping the camera icon takes you to a screen where you can view live video from each camera and see clips from recorded events such as motion detection or when someone rings the doorbell, and the Devices icon takes you to a page where you can turn wall outlets and light switches on and off.

If you have a Vivint Car Guard installed in one or more vehicles, you’ll see a Cars icon that takes you to a screen where you can view information on each car such as battery and fuel levels, mechanical issues, and trip maps. The Activity icon takes you to a screen where you can view information such as which windows are open and which doors are unlocked, and there’s a running history of events such as door openings and closings, motion detection, and car trip start and end times. Motion-triggered video clips can be viewed here as well.

The Settings (gear) icon is where you go to configure sensors, enable notifications, and create rules.  For example, you can have lights turn on and off at specific times or when an event occurs, have your doors lock or unlock automatically at a certain time or as a result of an event, and have the cameras record video when an alarm is triggered. You can use any of the numerous preset rules or you can create your own.

You don't get quite as much control with the web app as you do with the mobile app: You can't lock and unlock doors or configure the thermostat, nor can you use the video doorbell's push-to-talk feature. However, you can view live and recorded video, arm and disarm the system, create custom rules, and view activities and notifications.

The system performed admirably for home automation tasks. It never failed to manually lock or unlock doors, and the thermostat followed my weekday and weekend heating schedules without issue. I created custom rules to have the system lock all of my doors at 11:00 p.m. daily and turn off my living room lights at 11:30 p.m. and it followed those rules without fail.

Vivint's home security performance is equally impressive. The window and door sensors worked perfectly in testing, as did the motion detectors. The system followed my rules to have lights turn on when a camera detected motion, and when a door was opened after a certain time of day I received a notification. Live video from the doorbell camera is crisp, with rich colors and sharp black-and-white night vision out to around 15 feet. Recorded video quality is also top-notch. The interior and exterior cameras also deliver excellent day and night video.

I unwittingly put Vivint's emergency response prowess to the test, which it passed with flying colors. While heating up a slice of pizza, a chunk of cheese landed on the heating element in my toaster oven, filling the kitchen with smoke and triggering the smoke alarm. I was out in the backyard and could hear what sounded like birds chirping; it was loud, but it took a minute or two to figure out it was the alarm (I had no idea what it was supposed to sound like). I ran inside, turned off the oven, and turned on the house fan. But before I could enter my code on the control panel, a Vivint representative called and informed me that the fire department had been notified since I failed to answer their first call and did not enter my code in time. Sure enough, a fire truck and the fire chief pulled up a few minutes later. The response time from the initial alarm to the fire department's arrival was less than 10 minutes.

This brings me to my only real performance gripe. The smoke alarm, while loud, doesn't really sound like a smoke alarm. I'd much prefer the annoying beep or the shrill siren that I normally associate with an urgent alarm. As of now there is no way to change the sound of the alarm, but Vivint may add custom sirens in a future update.

Conclusions

With Vivint Smart Home, you get a full-blown home security system that is constantly being monitored, and a comprehensive home automation solution you can control from just about anywhere, including cameras with Smart Sentry and a device to monitor your car. Granted, you can save a lot of money in monthly subscription fees with a fully DIY home security system like the Wyze Sense Starter Kit, but that means you're responsible for the installation, maintenance, and monitoring, and you must contact your local police or fire department when an event occurs. As with most fully monitored home security services, the Vivint Smart Home system isn't cheap. But if you want the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your home is secure and protected 24-7, it's money well spent.

Vivint Smart Home Specs

Upfront Costs	Start at $99
Monthly Fees	Start at $39.99
Professional Installation Required	Yes
Monitoring Contract Required	No
Environmental Sensors	Yes
Cellular Backup	Yes
Power Outage Backup	Yes
Z-Wave/ZigBee	Yes
IFTTT Support	No
Voice Assistant Compatibility	Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant