Can anyone inform me of any less expensive options other than Brinks Home Security?
We have a couple of monitors that won't connect on a wireless basis and have been told
by Brinks that we need new monitors, but the Company will not provide new monitors without extending
our service contract by a long period of time. We have one working monitor, so the system is useable, but
not ideal. These types of contracts are horrible and I certainly don't want to extend the contract to make it longer. Canceling the contract at this time would cost over $500.00. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

We have Brinks. They miss installed all of our monitors when they coded them into the panel. Front door opens and it thinks it is a glass break. Back door opens and the system thinks the smoke detector is going off. It renders the system unusable. My father in law set off the alarm when we were out of town by opening a door and they sent the fire department.

We are not under contract and have complained for 2 years about the setup. They offered the same fix every time when we were under contract. They will send someone out for $500 plus materials to fix the system. Once our contract ended, they offered to fix it for free for a three year contract.

Another vote for Smith Thompson.

We pay like $70 every quarter for monitoring and can monitor, arm, and disarm from our phone. There may be some upfront costs for equipment and installation, but you're going to pay that no matter who you go with. Between this house and our old one, we've been with them for about 15 years and have zero complaints. We set the alarm off once a month to test it, and they're always quick to call.

For cameras and other fancy stuff, just buy that and do it yourself. If you're in the Apple ecosystem, there are tons of things that integrate with HomeKit (cameras, light switches, bulbs, locks, thermostat, etc), or you can look at Smartthings (what I use). Understanding how to use automations and setting scenes will take some time, but once you get it, you'll wonder how you lived without it.

I never have to wonder if my doors are locked, if we left a light on, or if we forgot to close the garage. Also, I can set up automations for lights and stuff to go on and off when we're not home so it looks like we're home to a passerby. It's also great coming home at night and being able to click a button on my phone and several lights both inside and outside come on so we don't walk around in the dark or enter a dark house. IMO, this should be your primary focus with alarm monitoring being the last resort when someone comes in.

I appreciate the replies and I would be interested in Smith Thompson, but I called them this morning and their services are not available here in Victoria. They service DFW, Austin, SA, Houston and the big metro areas. Any other companies out there?