Everything You Need to Know About Vivint Home Security System

Home security has become an essential part of designing and equipping your home. From simple security cameras to fully-integrated smart home security systems, your options are seemingly endless. One of the major players in the home security space is Vivint. Here’s a look at what you need to know about Vivint home security, including reviews and pricing information.

What is Vivint?

Founded in 1999 as APX Alarm, Vivint changed its name in 2011 when the company expanded beyond basic home security solutions into the smart home arena. Vivint was acquired by Blackstone Group in 2012 and has continued to expand both its customer base and its technological offerings since then. Today, Vivint home security has more than 1.4 million active customers in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. U.S. News & World Report named Vivint Smart Home the Best Full-Service Home Security and Automation Solution for 2020.

The Vivint home security model is simple. The basic Vivint Starter Kit provides a touchscreen control panel, two entry sensors, a water sensor, and a motion sensor. It also includes your choice of additional sensors valued at up to $100 total. You can then select add-ons from an extensive list of home security and smart home equipment on an à la carte basis.

Vivint offers financing at 0% interest if you sign up for a monitoring contract. When your equipment is paid off, or if you pay for it upfront, monitoring is available on a month-to-month, no-contract basis. Both basic and advanced security monitoring are available. All Vivint systems require professional installation.

Vivint notable features

• Vivint Smart Home App: Control not only your home security features but also your entire smart home, with custom actions and full remote access.
• Seamless Integration: Vivint home security integrates fully with a variety of popular smart home products and controllers
• Customization Options: Cameras? No problem. Do you prefer outdoor, doorbell, or motion-triggered indoor styles? Maybe you need smart locks, carbon monoxide detectors, or remote garage door control. Vivint lets you purchase what you need while skipping the things you don’t want.
• Cancellation Policy: If you need to cancel your service due to extenuating circumstances, just call the company. Especially generous policies apply to those in the military. Several options are also available in the event of a move.
• Look and Feel: The look and feel of Vivint’s home security equipment reflect the company’s status as a major player in smart home technology. Each piece of equipment is thoughtfully designed, elegantly sleek, and relatively unobtrusive.

Vivint packages and prices

Vivint pricing is straightforward. You build your equipment package (the Starter Kit costs $599) and then decide whether to pay for it upfront or finance it for 60 months at 0% interest. Then you simply pay your monthly monitoring fee, plus the monthly cost of any financed equipment.

Monitoring plans offered by Vivint:

Vivint Smart Security Service

• $29.99/mo.
• This basic package includes the SkyControl Panel and Vivint’s app, plus additional customized equipment options.
• Includes 24/7 professional monitoring
• No contract if you pay for equipment upfront, 60-month contract if financing equipment

Vivint Smart Home Service

• $39.99/mo. plus $5/mo. per camera
• This package includes the SkyControl Panel and Vivint’s app, plus additional customized equipment options.
• Includes 24/7 professional monitoring, along with video surveillance and local video storage
• No contract if you pay for equipment upfront, 60-month contract if financing equipment

*Prices as of 1/20/2019

Understanding Vivint pricing

Vivint pricing includes two components: equipment cost and monitoring fees. For a full quote, you’ll need an in-home assessment from a Vivint professional. According to U.S. News & World Report, the basic Vivint Starter Kit costs $599, while add-on equipment is available à la carte. U.S. News notes that add-on prices range from $50 for a smart sensor to $299 for an outdoor camera.  The average Vivint customer spends about $1,500 on equipment, which can be financed at zero interest for 60 months, according to U.S. News. 

Monitoring fees are $29.99 to $39.99 per month and are completely separate from equipment charges.

Vivint equipment

Customer ratings at Consumer Affairs and Trustpilot give Vivint high marks for advanced equipment and integration. According to reviews, the company’s products are high-tech yet user-friendly and integrate seamlessly into your existing smart home. Customers comment that the mobile app is robust and the equipment has a sleek, modern feel. High-tech HD cameras offer infrared night vision, and the system is highly customizable. Quality plays an important role in U.S. News & World Report’s decision to name Vivint Smart Home the Best Full-Service Home Security and Automation Solution for 2020.

Vivint home security system installation

All Vivint home security systems require professional installation. The installation fee is a one-time charge of $49 to $99, depending on exactly which equipment components you choose. A major advantage is that a Vivint home security expert will provide a free in-home consultation to help you design your system.

Vivint reviews

A 2018 J.D. Power study ranked Vivint Smart Home third in customer satisfaction among home security brands. Vivint got an 839 out of 1,000 customer satisfaction index rating, trailing closely behind Brinks Home Security (852) and AT&T Digital Life (847). 

Vivint has a 4-star rating across more than 14,000 Trustpilot reviews and a 4-star rating across more than 2,000 recent Consumer Affairs reviews. In Vivint reviews, customers consistently comment on the friendly and helpful customer service, breadth of customization options, and quality of the equipment. Some customers have noted that the cancellation process is difficult and sometimes requires more than one phone call. Also, depending on the issue, some Vivint reviews report being charged for service calls even when the Vivint equipment is faulty.

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Pros and cons of Vivint

Advantages of Vivint home security include package customization, technology, equipment financing, and customer service. Disadvantages include equipment pricing, lack of DIY installation ability, and difficulty canceling contracts.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much does Vivint cost?

A starter equipment package costs $599, with add-ons increasing the average equipment bill to around $1,500. Financing is available at 0% interest. Monitoring plans starting at $29.99/mo. are sold separately.

2. Can you get professional monitoring with Vivint?

All Vivint home security systems have professional monitoring. There is no option to purchase the equipment without a monitoring package.

3. How much does professional monitoring with Vivint cost?

The monthly monitoring fee is $29.99 to $39.99, plus $5 per camera.

4. Is DIY installation available?

All Vivint home security systems require professional installation.

5. How much does professional installation cost?

According to U.S. News & World Report, Vivint professional installation is a one-time fee of $49 to $99, depending on equipment.

6. Does Vivint require a contract?

No monthly contract is required if you pay for your equipment upfront. If your equipment is financed, you must sign a 60-month contract.

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These days, parents have a variety of tech and tools to help with bedtime routines. From sound machines and meditation recordings to aromatherapy and story time, these gadgets can help parents with children get their little ones to sleep. 

But for some children consumed by worry and anxiety, those options aren’t quite good enough to get to help them get to sleep and stay asleep. Studies show that 7.1% of children aged 3-17 years of age (approximately 4.4 million) have diagnosed anxiety. For those children plagued with concerns about the welfare of themselves and their families, feeling safe and secure can make a big difference. 

Our experts put together tips to weave elements of safety and security into your daily nighttime routine as a way to ease causes of bedtime anxiety, so you and your child get the best night’s sleep possible. 

Children need to feel safe and secure before going to bed 

Lack of sleep causes children to feel cranky, irritable, and can even lead to depression.  Sleepless nights can also contribute to physical symptoms, such as headaches and stomach aches. We all want good sleep for our children, so what’s getting in the way?

According to the Alaska Sleep Education Center, there are many sources of anxiety that prevent children from falling or staying asleep. Experts say that many of those symptoms revolve around the child’s developmental stage. 

“Toddlers and preschoolers haven’t yet learned the difference between reality and make-believe,” writes Julia Higginson of the Alaska Sleep Education Center. This explains why smaller children will describe their fear of monsters and mythical creatures as a reason why they can’t sleep; they believe them to be real. 

School-aged children who know the difference still struggle because of their imaginations. Often, fears movies, books, and other media can spawn their fears. Those inputs can create scenarios where fiction becomes reality. That, coupled with the fact that school-aged children are beginning to learn that scary things happen in the world, means they recognize those things can happen to them or their family members while sleeping. 

Managing anxiety with children: How to create a positive bedtime routine

If these are some of the reasons for your child’s fears at bedtime, there’s good news. The bedtime routine you create for your child helps them know they are safe and secure — and thereby reduces the causes of bedtime anxiety. When children share control over their feeling of security in their surrounding environment and have a consistent routine to promote their safety, they develop a sense of calm necessary for sleep. They also develop the feeling of security that helps them return to sleep if it’s disrupted. 

How to design security into your child’s bedtime routine 

Let your child know the value of taking safety and security measures in the home

Help your child understand it’s a good thing to take safety and security measures. Let them see you map out a security plan for when unexpected things happen. It will make them feel reassured when you acknowledge there are precautions in place if something goes wrong. You’re sending the message that they’re safe, because, as the adult, you have already done the work both to secure the home and prevent unexpected dangers. This preparation helps the child recognize the parent is the first buffer to their worry. 

Consider explaining general safety to your child. Discuss things like the fastest path out of the house from their bedrooms, how to get outside through their bedroom windows, and the importance of defining a meet-up place in case of an emergency. 

The goal is to offer control and confidence, not layer on fear, so maintain an upbeat tone when speaking with your child. Frequently remind your child that even with these precautions, the chances of dangerous things to happen while they’re sleeping are markedly low. 

Tips and tricks to incorporate safety in your child’s bedroom routine

Make sleep a family priority and stay consistent

Talk often with your child about how important sleep is for the family, both for the adults and the children. Explain to them that, with their help, your family will be making bedtime rituals a part of each evening without waiver. All children — especially children with anxiety — operate optimally when they know their routine. The steps you take leading to bed can provide a smooth path to sleep. 

Children model what they see from their parents, so conducting the bedtime routine with them is helpful. 

Be mindful of every part of your child’s bedtime routine. Schedule out your shared nightly ritual to include time for both the home security measures and other needs — like grooming (baths, brushing teeth, combing hair) and calming tactics (reading, singing, tickling). 

Talk to your child about what safety means to them

When parents are tired and ready for their child’s day to be over, it can be easy to listen to their fears with only a portion of attention, then disregard the fear with, “That will never happen. Don’t be silly. Go back to bed.” 

The truth is, most kids don’t want to lay awake; they simply cannot get to sleep with unsettling thoughts about their safety. 

Try not to rush your child away from their fears or hastily guess what they might be. Instead, listen to them, so you know exactly what you’re dealing with. Depending upon your child’s age, level of imagination, and exposure to news events, they could be experiencing some fears at bedtime that a talk about security can help. Help your child identify which fears are real threats and which are made up.

Displaying patience and empathy will allow your child to name their safety worries specifically. This will help when it is time to introduce conversations around the security measures your family is taking. The important thing is not to be afraid to talk openly with your anxious child. 

Dr. Mona Potter is the medical director of the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program and McLean Child and Adolescent Outpatient Services. She says one of the techniques she often uses in cognitive behavior therapy is, “to practice ‘detective-thinking’ to catch, check, and change anxious thoughts.”

She says she also encourages children “to approach, rather than avoid, anxiety-provoking triggers.” 

This means children are having anxious thoughts in the first place, requiring open conversations between parents and children about their fears.

Create a routine with your home security system to make your child feel secure

As part of the bedtime routine, provide a security walk-through for your child. Have them follow your own nightly routine involving locking all windows and doors, activating the home security system, securing any automated systems like the Nest Smart Home, a camera system, or a doorbell camera, and leaving the outdoor security floodlight on. Even let them do the locking/arming systems themselves, so they get the feel of it. 

It is a good idea to have a conversation about the importance of the alarm system and how it does its job. Be sure to include that keeping the alarm system’s code private is crucial and that it’s not to be shared with anyone outside the family.

You may also want to let your child suggest what they want to do to help secure the home. If they have an additional ritual or two to add to the nightly security walk-through, it will be helpful for them to offer their contributions.

The walk-through, which shows your child how secure and prepared your home is, is meant to give children with anxiety a sense of control and understanding over their circumstances, not ignite more fear. If you sense increased anxiety from your child during the security walk-through, redirect and try other ways to acknowledge and manage fears.

Provide a safe and calming bedroom space

Ensure the bedroom you’ve chosen for your child is a calming place. 

Make sure your child’s room is clear of external stimuli that could disrupt their sleep. A motion-activated flood light near the window, for instance, would invite more anxiety if it’s triggered in the night by a neighbor’s cat. 

Some ideas that can help extinguish bedtime fears are to incorporate silliness and playfulness in your discussion with your child. You can use dramatic play, draw and talk about the irrational fear, and imagine the perceived threat with outlandish features, like roller skates or a pink unicorn horn. Try not to make it a habit to check under the bed or in the closet frequently, as this can feed into ongoing paranoia. 

Another idea is to externalize the worry by “giving it away.” In Guatemala, there’s a tradition of instructing children to give their worries to little dolls called “worry dolls: or “trouble dolls.” According to Childrens MD, parents teach children to have a conversation with their dolls before bedtime, telling the dolls their worries, then they tuck them beneath their pillow. The dolls are supposed to then worry for the child while the child sleeps peacefully. Perhaps teach your child to “give away” their worries to an inanimate object, such as a stuffed animal or a doll you already own.

Books can also help children to process their concerns, so consider finding books to read at bedtime that have themes around comfort and security. Also, consider putting a night light in their bedroom that will stay on through the night.  

Finally, remind the child how close the parent’s room is if there’s an urgent need.

Regardless of what kind of home security system you use, general safety and security is a must

Be sure to check the locks on your windows and doors. Be aware of where your fire and carbon monoxide alarms are, and keep them operational. If you don’t have a security system, making this investment could be an added benefit. 

The advantage of a routine

A child’s sense of ownership is important

“[Responsibility] is about an attitude, the idea of taking action and being proud of doing it, not just always having your mom and dad do it for you,” says Alex Barzi, a licensed clinical psychologist and co-host of the talk show “About Our Kids” on Sirius Doctor Radio. 

A child’s sense of ownership, responsibility, and control over the home’s safety and security will give them an attitude of confidence, thereby reducing nighttime anxiety. Allowing the child to perform the bedtime security walk-through and inviting them to add input in the routine helps instill this confidence. 

In giving the child a sense of ownership, you will also eliminate the nightly power struggles that are apt to occur when a child has no say. When a child has ownership and a role in the bedtime routine, they’re less likely to buck at the system they helped to create.

Routines help parents create a positive connection to their child

Children learn to look forward to the things they enjoy, and they will know that the bedtime routine is enjoyable, since they’re part of it. You’ll also find that since the bedtime routine is consistent each night, there will be more time for caring, natural interactions because all the guesswork is removed.

It’s helpful to create a healthy idea of what “secure” means

Now that you’ve opened up the lines of communication about fears and introduced the topic of home security to your child, you’ve developed an easy habit of talking about tough things. You’ve addressed each of their concerns with an open mind and an empathetic attitude, and this will serve your family well. 

Get to sleep, and stay asleep

Sleep is essential to the entire family unit, and your child will experience greater success in getting to sleep and staying asleep when they know their home is safe and secure.

Speak openly to your child about fear and help them separate the irrational fears from the rational ones. Develop a consistent bedtime routine complete with a security component, and decrease anxiety before bedtime. 

Having a security walk-through included in your nightly bedtime routine gives your children with anxiety a sense of control over their safety. This both teaches them the skills they will eventually need to know and helps them take a role in overcoming their anxiety in the present.

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