September 9, 2021

Vivint Home Security

Sharing our Vivint home security and alarm system!

We live out in the country on 40 acres, and we love it! It’s quiet and peaceful, our view is gorgeous, no neighbors, and kids can run around and do whatever they want. Country living is great, but I have to admit, sometimes I do get paranoid. We had one instance while building where someone broke the garage side door to get into the house and stole some of our carpenter’s tools. That person never got caught, but if only we had cameras around! One thing that was a must for me in this house was to have a security and alarm system installed. I wanted that peace of mind while living out on 40 acres, so when Vivint reached out and I did my research of the company, it was an easy YES! You can find articles on Vivint’s rates and reviews here, here, and here.

smart hub

Here’s our Vivint smart hub where we can monitor all our cameras. The best part is that everything here we can access on the Vivint phone app too! Even when I’m not at home, I can see the camera footage, interact with visitors on our doorstep, and lock up and arm the security system.

Doorbell Camera

On the top of our list was a doorbell camera! I love how it records videos whenever it detects a person at the front door. When someone rings the doorbell, I’ll get a notification right away on my phone and my Apple watch. You can also talk to the person through the doorbell if you need to. I had to do that when I forgot my Peloton bike was getting delivered. They were at my doorstep, and here I was on my usual route to get my Caribou coffee after dropping off the kids at school. I told them I would be home right away. 😉

You might notice in the image below of our doorbell camera that it’s showing a red ring. I have the deter turned on which is a little motion activated whistle that lets strangers on my front porch know that they’re being watched. That stranger this time was me.

Ping Cameras

We have two ping cameras in the house, one in the kids’ loft and the other in the kitchen. If I wanted to run errands, I can see the view of the kitchen, living room, and kids’ loft from my phone. My kids can also talk to me using the ping camera by pushing the button on the top of the camera. This is great if your kids don’t have phones! Yes, my kids have used this just to tattle about something. Ha!

Door Sensors

We also have door sensors on all our outside doors and get notified when it’s opened. For example, if the front door is opened, we will hear “front door.” If the pool house door gets opened, we’ll hear “pool house door.” Our friends and family might think it’s annoying or aren’t used to it at first, but I really like it! I know when the kids go in and out from using the pool downstairs, I know when someone goes through the breezeway from the garage, and I know if someone is coming in from the front door.

There have been times when the kids would be at school and Nick had already left for work, and I thought I was by myself, but I would hear it say “interior garage door” which is the breezeway door. You should see my eyes…ha! Then I saw that it was Nick because he forgot something at home. We don’t hang out in the basement a lot, but when those doors do open, you can’t hear the notification downstairs. You can only hear it on the main level, so if there was an intruder, you’ll know right away!

OUTDOOR CAMERA PRO

Getting numerous outdoor cameras installed was very important to us since we live out in the country. Similar to the doorbell camera, it records when a person is detected. We have workers come to the house for landscaping, our pool, and the paintwork on the outside, so it’s nice to know who comes and goes on our property when we’re not home. With these outdoor cameras, I can talk with the person by pressing the mic button on the app or our smart hub. If it’s someone you know, you can communicate with them, and if it’s an intruder, you can tell them to leave. When the intruder ignores your request, you trigger the alarm and the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro’s siren extender goes off, too.

Installation

We got our Vivint home security and alarm set up in February, and here are some images from the install. These guys were so friendly and knowledgeable.

Conclusion

In addition to the products mentioned above, Vivint also offers a smart Thermostat, garage door control, smart locks, smart drive, water sensor, car guard, and lamp module. We are LOVING the products we currently have, and now I have the peace of mind living out in the country. There’s nothing better than feeling protected inside your home!