Smart Home Reviews
September 21, 2022
ADT is very well-known across the globe, which is no surprise given its history. ADT was started in 1874 (yes….1874) in Baltimore, MD. ADT stood for “American District Telegraph”. As its name suggests, the original alarms were telegraph-based. ADT has grown to a global company with locations all around the world.
With them being such a large company, they have their own monitoring centers around the globe. While in-house monitoring may be a downside for other companies, it is a plus for ADT. They have an easily recognizable brand, and continue providing service to millions worldwide.
ADT has 12 monitoring centers across North America. They provide service to roughly 6 million customers and maintain their reputation as a trustworthy security company. It is worth noting that although ADT has lots of monitoring centers, their response time remains one of the highest, around a 45 second average response time. This is very slow compared to other companies, and is a major flaw in their service.
ADT recently began working with Google to sell and install Google smart home devices. They have a rather simple touchscreen panel that doesn’t quite offer all that a user wants. The system can be controlled from their app (like most providers) and you can view your cameras from your phone (as long as you are paying the additional fees required). Overall, the equipment is basic and doesn’t quite keep up with other smart home providers’ equipment, not to mention they don’t even offer a lot of the equipment commonly found with others.
As with many large companies, ADT’s customer service isn’t what you would hope for. They are known to be unhelpful and strict with all of their policies such as cancelling. They aren’t as personable as some smaller companies. Expect long wait times and uninterested customer service representatives when calling in.
On top of this, it feels like a machine transaction when working with ADT. They have such a large client base that they don’t give the attention that consumers want. For example, many companies offer free equipment upgrades as well as other perks, but ADT seems to be more of just a vending machine for security.
ADT allows for flexible payment options. You can buy your equipment upfront and then pay the monthly monitoring, or you can pay for it monthly in a package. However, there are lots of “hidden fees” in their service if you want all of the features. This results in it being a bit more expensive than others.
You don’t quite get all that you want out of a smart home system with ADT. So, if you are looking for plain/basic security equipment, this equipment does the job, but it still costs you what you would pay for more advanced equipment.
We give ADT a 7/10 for their service. The monitoring is slow, but they are a reputable company, but, they are more of a plain security provider than an innovative smart home provider. You have to rely on your phone for any of the smart home equipment, and don’t get many of the perks offered with other providers.