I was a first time homeowner looking for a security system to buy. I ended up going with SimpliSafe and after two years, it has been the worst decision of my life. The cameras are constantly disconnecting, and you can never get them to reconnect without resetting the entire camera, even the doorbell camera disconnects this security system was by far the worst purchase of my entire life.
I recently purchased a home that had Simpli-Safe installed in it. I thought, may as well just give it a fair shot. After 5 months I can clearly state you are better off spending extra money avoiding this company all together. The cameras don’t provide accurate video when you need it, the monitoring services are insanely expensive and do a terrible job at deescalating false alarms. I had a crash in my front yard 10 seconds after my doorbell camera was pressed. The video cuts out right before the wreck happens and doesn’t start working until the wreck is over.
There is no backup, no where to see the actual full video it’s just frozen for that time period. I use Google Fiber internet which is very reliable in my area.
Customer service:
This really takes the cake for the worst experience. I was transferred 20 times and called 5-7 times after being hung up on or just disconnected. I wasn’t even being rude at first, I just wanted the video as I feel the cops charged the wrong driver with the fault. Instead I have nothing but a video of before and after.
LOOK ELSEWHERE - BE WARNED
I wanted to share my experience after two years with SimpliSafe, mostly as a heads-up for anyone else feeling stuck in their subscription loop or considering them for a new home.
The Setup
Two years ago, we dropped about £500 on the full kit—motion sensors, entry sensors, and cameras (indoor and outdoor). We signed up for the full monitoring plan, which eventually hit £29.99/month.
The Camera Issue
The outdoor cameras have been a constant headache. Frequent connection issues and lag meant they never performed as well as much cheaper alternatives (like Blink). When I raised this, the support team just kept looping me back to "technical troubleshooting" rather than acknowledging the hardware's limitations.
The "Hidden" Tiers
This is what really annoyed me: SimpliSafe makes it nearly impossible to find their lower-tier plans. If you look at their site, you see the premium monitored options. It wasn't until I did some digging (and used AI to cross-reference their actual terms) that I discovered:
The Self-Monitoring Plan: Significantly cheaper but buried.
The Free Tier: Basic functionality, but they act like it doesn't exist.
The Cancellation Gauntlet
When I finally called to cancel, I had to fight through a scripted maze:
• The "Technical" Diversion: The first agent tried to force me into more troubleshooting to "fix" the cameras so I wouldn't cancel.
• The Discount Carrot: Once they realised I was leaving, they suddenly found a 20% discount, which then magically became a 50% discount.
• The "Immediate Loss" Threat: The agent told me that if I cancelled today, I’d lose all access immediately, even though I have 10 days left in the billing cycle. It felt like a desperate attempt to protect their retention stats by making me call back later.
The Verdict
I’ve officially cancelled, and honestly, it’s a relief. We're moving to a hybrid approach—likely using Amazon/Blink for cloud storage which is around £8/month and offers local storage options.
SimpliSafe's business model seems less about security and more about aggressive subscription retention. If you're looking for a fair, competitive price without being grilled for 20 minutes just to leave, I’d look elsewhere.
Saving £30/month feels great.
Has anyone noticed the only way to cancel Simplisafe is calling? Yet... It doesn't cancel?
I've called thrice, cancelled thrice, disputed half a dozen charges, chat botted, I cannot cancel. I thought Biden made it illegal to require call to cancel.
I've disputed charges for nearly a year. It's giving consumer fraud
It was really easy for me to sign up for simplisafe, just a couple of clicks and I was ready to go.
However they make it very hard to cancel. I tried to cancel in the ap, but just got a message that they would call me. (Of course call me to try to talk me out of canceling)
After a few days i did not get a call, so i tried to cancel again in the app. About 2 weeks later simplisafe finally left a voice mail.
I then called the number on the voice mail, and waited in their answering queue for some period of time.. Someone finally answered, took all my information to confirme it was me. They then said they had to transfer me to someone else. After another wait this second person then had to confirm it was me again. Finally he then asked me several times why I wanted to cancel. I did not feel i had to tell him why and did notm
I think that was really poor customer service, and actually think we should have a law that companies need to make canceling a subscription as easy as signing up.
My suggestion to anyone is to not use this company
Woke up to over 100 notifications at 4am, then I stopped on its own. 12 hours later, it’s starting again
We have had a SimpliSafe system for a few years now. A couple weeks ago I noticed that when the alarm is set in Away mode and I come inside the keypad does not prompt for a PIN or start the countdown on the alarm until we close the door.
Anyone know why this is happening or how to fix it? I can’t believe this is an intentional feature since all a thief would need to do to bypass the alarm is leave the door open.
How many other customers got this notification today?
I’ve had two Base Station replacements in the past because of this issue. I tried to tell them there was an issue over a year ago and they convinced me it was my local cell service who was to blame. We’ve been using T-Mobile Backup Internet as an alternative. Hopefully with the replacement, we won’t need at anymore.
So when you buy a system they give a discount on the monitoring with a month free, no contract. What happens if you cancel the monitoring? Do they bill you for the equipment discounts that you got for having monitoring?
Hey r/SimpliSafe!
I didn't want you all to miss out on this, so wanted to make sure I shared it here directly.
SimpliSafe is casting real customers for our upcoming TV commercials! If SimpliSafe helps protect what matters most in your home and you have a story worth sharing, I'd love for you to throw your name in.
You can submit your story by Friday, May 8th for a chance to be selected. If it's a fit, our team will reach out with next steps. And if your story ends up in the commercial, you'll receive 12 months of free professional monitoring as a thank you. Just want to be upfront that not everyone will be selected, but every submission is appreciated.
Best of luck to everyone who enters!
-Jordan
(I'll be back Monday to answer your questions regarding this post)
Been fighting setup for 2+ hours. Please help.
Base station will finally connect to Wi-Fi and then app soon after drops the connection to base station and set up is aborted.
On dedicated 2.4 Wi-Fi channel. Android phone connected to same 2.4 Wi-Fi channel.
Removed ! from WiFi password. Only special character is &.
Please help. Thanks