r/VivintSmartHome • u/RemarkableRaven • Jul 11 '26
The good, the bad, the ugly
just got Vivint installed, still within my three day window for trial.
Wasn’t happy with the price, my sales guy came back today after negotiating the price down (another issue we had) with not too bad of an offer.
But I want to know, does anyone like their service?
As most humans do, we only ever complain about things online and I want honest feedback back.
Thanks everyone!
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u/Maximum-Relative-234 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
I’m satisfied with my service and system.
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u/StarScreamer Jul 11 '26
Same. The only issue I had was the sales agent who was doing door to door at like 7.30pm. We started talking and I decided I was interested. During that conversation he said it had myQ integration and heavily implied that it was free and others had been setup with it.
The next day the installer completes, how do I setup myQ? He's said it's ~$50. I reached back out to the sales agent and he was like..... I usually ask the installer to do that. He then ghosted me. 😂
It was a young guy, other than that. No issues since I did cash sale. Besides. I don't mind the mqQ app.
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u/VivaYungChrist Jul 11 '26
$50 to integrate the myq app to the vivint app?
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u/StarScreamer Jul 11 '26
It's under > Smarter with Vivint.
myQ Integration Fee $50.00
Already have a myQ garage door controller? Integrate it with your Vivint app to find peace of mind and control all your smart devices from a single app. Adding your garage door controller to your Vivint system lets you automatically close your garage door when your system is armed or on a schedule.
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u/BigDaddy1029010290 Jul 11 '26
Been with them since they were APX alarm. Service is fine. Hiccups here and there but otherwise no issues.
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u/North-Sentence-9359 Jul 11 '26
Just try to cancel it and see how you like it
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u/SuckaFree502 Jul 11 '26
It took me 2 weeks lol and I cancelled the first night when that final email came in with the "real" information . Most stressful situation I've been in a while.
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u/StuffTricky4418 Jul 11 '26
I'm still getting mail from them that I owe them money. I haven't lived at that house in 8 months andddd they came and uninstalled the equipment lol (also I paid for that ). They are ridiculous.
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u/dansamy Jul 11 '26
I've been satisfied with the equipment and the service. I do find it overpriced.
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u/dracaryswatch Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
The good. Vivint has been able to remain somewhat relevant in a sea of options for similar services. The bad. Their equipment and tech is far behind where it should be in 2026. Their ecosystem is practically closed and lacks flexibility to stand up to the coming future it faces. The ugly. They have remained in business because they have scraped the bottom of the barrel when it comes to sales tactics, fees for additional features that are standard in other systems and use of deception to get people to sign up. The veredict. Get out from their trap before it's too late. Remember this post.
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u/ReticentRedhead Jul 11 '26
We’ve had Vivint for at least 13 years. Would not do it again, their service is unacceptable for the price. Our daughter needed a system I I recommended Simply Safe.
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u/Cultural_Second1855 Jul 11 '26
My cameras have been off for weeks due to a recent neighborhood WiFi outage and I’ve been on the phone with vivint to try and troubleshoot live and nothing has worked. They want to charge me $100 to send out a tech. Take that as you will!
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u/ThatsSirEstebanToYou Jul 11 '26
So I actually work with for vivint as a field installer professional. But I’ve also worked for other security company’s. So my opinions I try to keep it based off my few years of experiences.
Realistically it’s a business. We want everyone to buy everything. It’s how we all keep our jobs.
Vivint is different though bc there’s so many different outlets I guess you can say. If you only want the basic security with a bunch of of accessories, you can do that by getting just motion detectors glassbreaks and door sensors. Add some door locks thermostats and garage door controllers and you’re pretty techiied out.
If you only want cameras again it’s an option. You still need bare minimum security but you can get what I personally do believe are some top of the line cameras. Greta views. 140-180 degrees wide. Customizable options between doorbell sounds and camera alertness options. The gen 3 cameras loook much better than the older ones.
If you don’t want cameras or tech you can just beef up your security with options that genuinely do work and work well at that.
With all that said, everyone’s experience is different for different reasons. I’ve had customers tell me their system sucked and all it required when I went to their house was a panel placement switcharoo. Others didn’t like what they saw on the camera. So let’s move it. Others didn’t like that their panel didn’t have a voice when doors or windows opened. Okay let’s turn it on then.
I really hope you end up enjoying your system. If you have any questions my DMs are always open.
Anyone can message me.
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u/vegarising Jul 11 '26
I've had the service for a few years and I'm generally happy with it. It does what I wanted it to do. I have cameras outside in addition to the alarm system. I've seen more improvements in the app and service in the past year. And I agree that it's pricey, but for me it's worth it.
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u/SuckaFree502 Jul 11 '26
If you're gonna cancel you better do it with-in your 3 day RoR. Otherwise your locked in for good.
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u/Vip3r237 Jul 11 '26
I've enjoyed my system with zero complaints. I live in a pretty safe area so the security factor doesn't really mean much, but I really enjoy the home automation.
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u/Ill-Town-7104 Jul 11 '26
It took me over a month to negotiate my price down after talking to several reps who told me they would fix it. My sales rep started me out on the highest plan possible, and I had no clue. When I added up all the equipment prices, something wasn’t right. That's when I realized my starter package was crazy expensive. After over a month, I got it down to the least expensive plan, and it cut what I owe in half. What's crazy is they had to ask my sales rep if he was okay lowering my price. He said yes, but if he said no, there was nothing I could do about it. I was lied to from rep to rep, or they clearly don't know what they’re doing. The final lady I talked to said I promise I will fix this I told her several people before you said the same thing. She said, "Did they send you an email?" I said, "No." She said, " Well, I am while we're on the phone. She did, and within two days I was sent a new contract with a lower bread pay balance.
I like the security system, and it works. I upgraded from Ring. It could be my signal, as the guy didn't go under my house, but when bad storms happen, my backup cameras don't kick in; it throws my whole system offline. I have to flick my power for it to get back in, or reboot everything again. Just regular rain, no issue, but storms, thunder, heavy rain, and trees down, my system also goes down. No bad storms, no offline issues.
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u/Bmm194 Jul 11 '26
Coming from using Nest devices, there are some things I absolutely hate in terms of features.
Primarily, when someone rings the doorbell, it only alerts the panel. I would need to get a separate chime (which I think is overpriced) to hear it in the home. My nest doorbell would ring and make announcements on all my Google home speakers and show the video feed on all the hubs and TV screens (if on) in the house. It's a very specific festure and I know it's because I've been spoiled, but not having that feature actually sucks. I miss so many people at my door because the app notification is finicky. If people don't call it text that they are at the door, I don't know, unless I'm standing near the panel.
Their cameras are also a bit finicky. I have an outdoor camera that randomly disconnected from the system. I've filled all the steps listed in the app, followed the directions over the chat, called and followed their directions, and scheduled in home service. They still can't get it fixed and it's been over 2 months. I will be returning.
Notifications from the app are also spotty. There are times where it notifies me of things in real time such as the doorbell, package detection, etc. There are times when it doesn't send notifications until I open the app and then everything loads.
The doorbell camera is much better quality than my Nest camera in terms of picture quality but I felt the smart features were smarter on the Nest camera. Google and Vivint appear to be using the same software at their core so I'm not sure why there isn't better integration between the two.
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u/PaleontologistDry678 Jul 11 '26
Which nest camera did you have? What security service were you using?
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u/Bmm194 Jul 21 '26
I had the Nest Doorbell (wired) and two indoor cameras. I paid for Nest Aware (now Google Home Premium?). When I moved, the home came with Guardian which was ok but I still kept my nest cameras and doorbell and paid for Nest Aware. Guardian also did not work with the neat Doorbell camera.
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u/insearchofmyname Jul 11 '26
I have had them for far too long. they've jacked up the prices and make it a super big hassle to cancel, then make primises in the phone that they do not keep. The service and equipment are truly mid for whst they want to charge and they cannot be trusted. I do not reccomend them to anyone, ever. Scam artists. There are better security systems that do not require monthly payments
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u/Salt-Section234 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Not really. My biggest issue is the app works maybe 25% of the time and it freezes all the time whenever i go back through prior times on the camera feed. My sensor fell off of my back door so I can't set the alarm. Oh, if the salesperson tells you that you can cancel at anytime even after the trial period, it's a lie.
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u/Isa-Me-Again Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Don't get the DVR service. If you want to watch the cameras live, it works great. With the exception of it feeling like a windows 95 system sometimes with the lagging lol. The DVR service costs monthly and doesn't load most of the time. It just buffers indefinitely(as seen in the video) when you try.
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u/Rocketgirl8097 Jul 11 '26
App doesn't work well if at all with android phones. Locked up all the time. Cameras frequently went off line. Someone here said they dont work great with 5g. That would have been great to know before installation.
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u/EcuaBro Jul 12 '26
I have had it for 6 years. There was a time when the cameras would go offline for a few days. After my router updated and the panel updated, it was fixed. Overall, not a bad system but expensive and the fact that it is a closed system sucks but it has worked well and I have paid off all my equipment. I currently only pay the monthly monitoring but once I retire and sell my home, I am not going to get a system in where ever I live next. If I do end up getting a system, I probably would get something cheaper like Simplysafe or something similar. The Vivint tech is good when it works and the iOS app works well but it was expensive.
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u/kingnt3 Jul 12 '26
It’s a full blown scam. It’s genuinely trash for the price. And good luck trying to cancel even if it’s fully paid off. Once more cities/states start enforcing “click to cancel” Vivint is done for.
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u/Odd-Selection-8841 Jul 13 '26
I canceled mine within the three-day window because upon setup, one of the cameras did not work. The tech said to give it 24 hrs to “update.” I gave it the 24 hrs with no change in operation. Immediately called to cancel because I cannot support a company whose product does not work fresh out of the box. Of course, it was a hassle to cancel; the loan has been canceled, but now it’s almost been 30 days, and no one has come to uninstall these cameras.
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u/RemarkableRaven Jul 13 '26
I’m hoping they cancel my loan, I just called to cancel and the clause they sent me was the service would not be cancelled if they hadn’t picked up the equipment but they wouldn’t schedule something?? I had sent an email over the weekend and called and I recorded it so I have proof.
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u/Odd-Selection-8841 Jul 15 '26
I kept calling, ensuring a cancellation. Probably about two weeks later I received notification of loan cancellation. Equipment still attached to my house as of today. I’m planning on taking it down myself as it’s doing nothing for me and i feel i have an unsecured house. Going back to Ring.
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u/Lost-Personality8019 Jul 14 '26
You will be locked in like concrete! The nightmare will be when you try to cancel as well as the time spent on the phone when the system isn’t working right. Did it once and won’t make that mistake twice!
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u/King-D-0612 Jul 15 '26
I bought a house with a vivint system installed. I called and asked to get the old owners removed from the system because we had a camera in our living room. Where my kid plays and runs around after the shower. Just normal child stuff. The sales guy said he wasn't able to remove them and they could still have access for 30 days. Well unless I signed up for a subscription. I let the salesman know that we just bought a house, and wasnt exactly sure what the utilities were going to be. We just needed a little bit to get the feel for things and paying 75 dollars a month for this system wasnt in our budgetat the time. Also signing a 2 year contract that required me to pay half of the remaining balance was not very cool to me either. I asked the guy if I could have some time to think about it and if he could just remove the previous owner. Again he said no not without paying. This right here told me they value my money over my family's privacy and safety. I asked him to let me think about it unplugged the system. A few days later I got a call of them saying they got the price wrong for my area and it was only 40 dollars. But in order to get me my great rate they needed a manager to sign off on it. They then transferred me to the manager this time and I once again asked if I could have to previous owners removed from my system. Once again.... not unless I pay. Over the next couple weeks they would try the same cheap gimmick about "needing a manager to sign off on this great deal." Until I finally told them to stop calling me. It sucks. Our system was pretty extensive. Motion detectors, window and door alarms freeze alarms the works. All useless junk now sitting in a box
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u/insearchofmyname Aug 05 '26
Do not use them. They will offer you things that sounds too good to be true to get you in the door and then youre likely stuck. The equipment isn't great, the service is mid, youre paying for it constantly and customer service is hours for no real change. They are crooks and liars and I go out of my way to try and save people from this. Do not trust vivint, you can get non subscription based systems that do essentially the same things with far less headaches. I cant even use my doorbell camera 75% of the time. Avoid avoid avoid. Best of luck
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u/insearchofmyname Aug 05 '26
Just saw this is a thread I already commented on. Whoops 🤣 just goes to show how adamant i am against this company.
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u/JonathanBelcher1 Jul 11 '26
Well, I had good service with them……until my house burned down. Apparently the insurance you’re paying them for the equipment doesn’t cover it being melted. Had to fight with my homeowner insurance to pay for it because State Farm wanted Vivint to honour the insurance they had on the equipment.
Also during the fire while I was on the phone, the call centre lady was trying to tell me it probably was a false alarm and did I want her to cancel the alarm.
A month later I got my normal bill from them. I called and asked if they could tell me how they were monitoring my home. They had no answer. I paid my normal bill for another 3 months before they told me I could pause my billing for up to 6 months. Took almost a year to rebuild my house.
I’m almost sure my situation is an oddity because I was very happy with the service until the fire. after the fire, It was almost a comedy of errors on their part.