Vivint Home Security Review (2020)

So you have decided to make your home much more secure to get rid of all unwelcome visitors or to keep an eye on your home from anywhere.

Nowadays there is a lot of smart home security devices making it hard to know whats work for you and what's not.

That's why I decided to do a Home security Vivint Review one of the most popular smart home security and the best, in my opinion, to give you a deep look-on their product and making it easier for you to decide if it's good for you or not.     

Vivint has a large equipment option like doorbell cameras, indoor and outdoor cameras, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, Door and window sensors, motion sensors and other.   

I am going to show you the good and the bad in all of their smart gadgets from A to Z. 


So Let's jump right into it:

Table of Contents

• Vivint Outdoor Camera
• Vivint Indoor Camera
• Vivint Doorbell Camera
• Smart lock
• The Controller
• Burglary Detection
• Vivint smart home app
• Installing and Professional monitoring
• Monthly subscription plan and Contract rule
• Conclusion

Vivint Security Cameras

Vivint has 3 types of security cameras: outdoors and indoor camera and doorbell camera. we are going deep in all of them.  

Vivint Outdoor Camera

when it comes to kiping an eye outdoors your home I can say that Vivint outdoor cameras pro one of the best in the market.

Specs:

• IMAGE SENSOR: 4k Ultra HD with high dynamic range

• FIELD OF VIEW: 140°

• ZOOM: 3x HD Zoom, 10x Digital

• CLIP LENGTH: Event-based 10-90 seconds

• MICROPHONE: Two far-field mics with echo cancelling

• WEATHERPROOF RATING: IP 65 

• MAXIMUM VIDEO RESOLUTION: 1080p

• CONNECTIVITY: PoE, PLC & Wi-Fi bridge

• NIGHT VISION RANGE: 55’

• SPEAKER: 85dB

• SIZE: 2.8" w x 5.9" d

• STILL PHOTOGRAPHS: High-resolution digital colour photos saved to your mobile device.

Lets Deep more:

Features:

The First thing I have to take about is 

• Video quality: it has 4k video quality with HDR. So you really able to get down an incredible detail with whatever it seeing from cars dogs to license plates.

• Night vision: it has infrared LEDs to really make sure you're seeing what's taking place in the dark.

•  140-degree field of view: for all of  day and night vision,  so you're going to capture a lot of what's in outside 

Overall, I'm very impressed with the video quality in both day and night vision on the Vivint outdoor cam.

Another element is:

• The Smart sentry system: this system allows you to arm your Vivint outdoor camera and have it become a Proactive element in deterring crime.  

We don't want to be dealing with things after the fact. Fortunately, it will have LED light come on that's bright red, along with making a sound like a whistle to deter people that might be looking around your home.

Moving on from the smart sentry system to:

• 2-way audio(85db Speakers, two-far field mics with echo cancelling): which is also excellent you're able to hear anything going outside and able to sound loud and clear when you talk. 

   

Now that we've gone over your video and audio with your Vivint outdoor camera, we're going to say, "Where are you going to store that information?"

• Storage: With the Vivint, you can do either local or cloud storage, or a mix of both.

You can get the Vivint Smart Drive, which is one terabyte for $249.

You can go with something like the Vivint cloud storage plan, which is going to be $5 a month for 14 days of cloud storage. 

Those are some of your options for local and cloud storage with the Vivint outdoor cam.

• Smart platforms integration: The Vivint outdoor cam integrates with the two major Smart platforms, Amazon and Google.

You can use your voice to throw the video stream from your Vivint outdoor camera to your Google Chromecast, or your Amazon Echo Show.

You get beyond just looking at that video on your Smart panel or your mobile device, and can see it on the Smart displays or TVs throughout your home.

• The Downside👎: I have to say that I think it would benefit a lot from facial recognition technology. It can distinguish between people, animals and cars, for example, but it cannot tell who I am.

When you have the Smart Sentry feature enabled, that means that, when I take out my trash, I'm just sitting on my front stoop, it cannot recognize me.

Therefore, it's going to continue to do the different things that Smart Sentry can do(as mentioned before). 

Questions:

1-Where do you put an outdoor security camera?

2-How many outdoor security cameras do I need?

3-How do I protect my security camera wireless?

You can understand more with this Video 👇👇

Vivint Indoor Camera

Vivint Ping Camera indoor camera security Lets see how good it is

Specs

• WEIGHT: 1.05 lbs

• AC ADAPTER Input: 100-240V @ 50-60Hz AC, 0.2AOutput: 12VDC, 1.5A

• VIDEO RESOLUTION: Full HD 1080p

• NIGHT VISION: 3 high-powered infrared LEDs (850nm)with IR cut filter

• CONNECTIVITY REQUIREMENTS: 1.5Mbps upload

• SIZE: 5.2” h x 3.2” d

• POWER USAGE: 12V 1.5A
• CAMERA LENS: 1/3”, 4-megapixel sensor

• FIELD OF VIEW:155° horizontal, 80° vertical

• AUDIO: Built-in speaker and microphone

Lets Deep more:

Features:

Starting with:

• Video quality: It got 1080P high-definition video which is what we like to see. We're not talking about any grainy 720. We've got the full 1080.

• 155-degree field of view: Which really allows us to capture what's in the room. We typically want to see, at the very least, 120, 130. They come through with a 155.

• The night vision: It has three infrared LED lights that give a high-quality night vision.

We definitely were very pleasantly surprised by how well we could see in the dark.
 

• Smart Detection: Smart motion detection activates 20-second Smart Clips when someone moves past Ping’s field of view when you’re away. Then watch on-demand from your mobile device or SkyControl panel whenever it's convenient.

• 2-Way Audio: you've got 2-way audio allowing you to talk to any possible intruders or just your children, your dog, and they can talk back.

• Storage: you get the local storage on devices within the Vivint security system, if not directly in the camera itself. And You get 14 days of cloud storage, which can be upgraded to 30 full days of cloud storage.

• Smart platforms integration: it integrates well with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. You don't have to worry about it working with your Nest. because  It's already ready to go or working with your Alexa Echo because it's set for that as well. 

• The Downside👎: Like the Vivint Outdoor Camera the indoor camera doesn't have facial recognition. 

Questions:

1-What is privacy mode?

2-How can I set up recording rules for my indoor camera?

3-Can I install a new camera or move my old one?

You can understand more with this Video 👇👇

Vivint Doorbell Camera

Another camera from Vivint is the Doorbell Camera Pro.

Specs

• WEIGHT: 3.8 oz

• CAMERA LENS:190° x 190° with 1:1 aspect ratio

• FIELD OF VIEW:180° vertical, 180° horizontalAUDIO SPEAKER VOLUME: 65 dB

• CONNECTIVITY: 2.4/5GHz 802.11 b/g/n/ac band Wi-Fi

• SIZE: 4.6 x 1.5 x 1.3 inches (118 x 37 x 33 mm)

• POWER USAGE: 12-24 DC, 16-24 AC, 1.0A min.

• VIDEO RESOLUTION: Up to 1080p with HDR

• NIGHT VISION: 2 high-powered infrared LEDs (850nm)

• MICROPHONE: Yes

• BANDWIDTH REQUIRED:1.5 Mbps upload

Features

• Video quality: Vivint did a great job you got up to 1080p video resolution with HDR

• 180° field of view: It has a 180-degree field of view, so it's capturing everything that's happening in front of your home.

• Night vision: It works really well. Although it has just 2 infrared LEDs.

 we didn't feel like we were losing out on capturing anything in the dark.

• 2-way audio: So you can have a nice engaging conversation with your visitors.

You may have some issues with lag depending on your WiFi strength and your connection, but when it comes to the actual quality of the audio, both the visitor and the visitee should experience no problems.

• Smart clips: What that does is Video recordings don’t stop until the action does.

They are saved for  14 days at $5 a month with Vivint. If you want to have 24/7 continuous live recording, you can do so with an investment in Vivint Smart Drive which is priced at $249.

• Smart platforms integration: It does integrate with Amazon and Google's virtual assistants.

• Package Delivery Notifications: It has Advanced camera analytics detect and notify you of people and packages on your doorstep. 

kiping in mind that it has: 

• smart visitor detection: It helps you to cut down unnecessary motion events. 

Most of the doorbell cameras going to tell you everything like a car goes by or a doge ....exe. 

 With person detection, you know it was a person who came within the vicinity of your front door, which is really useful to cut down unnecessary motion events.

• The Downside👎: The Vivint video doorbell is only available to those with a Vivint subscription. This is not a standalone doorbell.

Questions:

1-Do doorbell cameras record all the time?

2-How does the doorbell camera work?

3-How does a doorbell camera improve my home security?

4-How does a doorbell camera make me more productive?

You can understand more with this Video 👇👇

Quick Recap:

So in this Vivint home security review until now we have seen:

Vivint security camera the outdoor and indoor camera and the doorbell camera.

All of them have so many:

•  positive points: Like a large field of view, good video quality and nice night vision 

And less:

• negative points: Wich was that the outdoor and indoor cameras don't have facial recognition. And the doorbell is only available to those with a Vivint subscription.

Smart lock

Now we come to the lock of your door .vivint Dedicated for that the Kwikset Smart Lock.

So, What's make the lock Smart?

Basically, its capability of unlocking you home without using keys like using a Keycode or opening it remotely.

The smart-lock able to connect your WIFI which makes you able to control it from your keypad or smart device throw the app.

Whats makes the Kwikset Smart Lock Better?

To answer that we need to see its features:

Features

• keyCode: The idea here is that your door is always open (Sort of).

basically, it gives you the ability to create up to 30 different code for your welcome visitors (Family, House and pets seters...exe).

Keep in mind that you can assign it to a specific person. so you know whos is inside your house And when they arrived.

• Alert and notification: you can get alerts and notification when the door left open or unlocked.

or wondering when someone uses an access key to get inside.    

which I think is so useful to get rid of that worry (did I locked the door or not).

• Mobile Lock Access: you can open your door from your device and without the need to be inside your home.   

  

• The Downside👎: When it comes to the downside I really couldn't think in any. 

You can understand more with this Video 👇👇

The Controller

Vivint Smart Hub is a single touchscreen that laws you to control everything from one location.

Specs:

• POWER USAGE: 12 VDC / 1.5A; backup battery powers device for at least 24 hours

• AUDIO: Built-in speaker and microphone, supporting 2-way voice

• CONNECTIVITY RADIOS: WiFi, Z-Wave, 345 MHz

• SIZE: 5.7” h x 8.1” w x 0.9” d

• TOUCH SCREEN: 7" with 1024 x 600 resolution and capacitive multi-touch

• SIREN LEVEL: 100dB

• CONNECTIVITY:Dual-band 802.11 b/g/n WiFiLTE cellular module

Note: product protection plan gives you Free replacement for defective hardware if subscribing to a Vivint service plan (may require a separate site visit fee).

Features

• The Display: The Vivint Smart Hub comes with a 7-inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution.

It's not a huge Display but it makes it easy to control your smart devices. and give a good view of your Vivint cameras.

kiping in mind that you have an HD display so you are going to watch all of your video cameras with good quality.    

• 2-Way Audio(Speaker and Mic): that means that you can have a normal conversation with your visitors at your front door or emergency responses. 

another use of it which I find very useful is that you can hear what's going on when you are watching you Vivint video camera live.

• Central Control Hub: One control dashboard for your entire smart home.

• LTE cellular connection: This featured gives you a strong signal to keep it connected with your smart devices even when your WIFI signal goes out.

this is a really important thing, especially that your smart hub encrypts smart home signals, keeping you safe from online security breaches.

• Backup Battery: Simply you don't have to worry when your power goes out.

•  Siren alarm: The Smart Hub features a 100-Db siren alarm that sounds when there is an emergency.

I will say that's its load enough everyone in the house will hear it.

But what I like the most about the alarm that's it always tracks what's going on around your house for example if there is a tornado warning, your Smart Hub will alert you.

• One-touch access to emergency services: If there is an emergency you can call right from the Smart Hub. 

the panic button will put you in contact with Vivint central monitoring station or you can use the specific emergency and fire icons to call for an ambulance or fire department.

• The Downside👎: For me, I really wish if the screen was bigger. Don't get me wrong 7-ich is good but I'm feeling it could be better by making it a little bit bigger.

Questions:

1-What is a smart hub?

2-How does a smart home hub work?

3-Is a smart hub necessary?


You can understand more with this Video 👇👇

Burglary Detection

This device is a burglary sensor and motion detection device. 

For me, it's just a normal motion detection that gives you alerts if a window or door breached while your system armed you will receive an alert through your smart hub and Vivint smart home app.

Vivint smart home app

this app gonna be the bridge between your home and your smart device which makes you able to control you home even without your smart home and without the need to be at your home.

This app rated 4.6 stars at Google Play Store.

Features

let's start with:

• Be At Home Even When You're Out: It means that you can watch all of your videos camera from your smart device and you can talk through it and opening and locking the door.

For example: talking to a visitor from your doorbell camera when you are not home and unlock the door for delivery people, then lock the door behind them.

• Alerts and notification: You will get all the alerts and notification to your mobile device so you always know your home is safe.

• Vivint playback: You can access 30 days of 24/7 of video storage from the app.

• Family plan: You can create Individual accounts for everyone in the family.so you can create permission and decide a limit to each one of them.

Quick Recap:

In this Home Security Vivint Review:

We hed see Vivint video camera indoor outdoor and doorbell camera.

We also talked about the controller and the smart lock, the burglary detected and the Vivint smart home security app.

• The controller and the app: Basically do the same job which is controlling and managing your Security System.

• The burglary detected: Which is a device gives you alerts if a window or door breached while your system armed.

• The smart lock: Allows you to open the door without keys also you can open it while you are not in your home. 

Installing and Professional monitoring 

• installing: Vivint doesn't allow any do-it-yourself in this process.

When you first have your phone call ordering the system from Vivint, they will go ahead and schedule your guy to come in and set it up because you don't have any of the products on you.

Now, the good part of that is that you know that every piece works before the technician leaves your home. 

You just have to make sure you're at the house.

• Professional Monitoring: You've got a team of experts at your disposal to make sure that your home is protected. In the case of any event, you will know about it.

The proper authorities can be dispatched to your home. On top of that, with Vivint, you're getting cellular connection as a backup to every element of this system.

You can give them a call from this number:844.337.2246

Monthly subscription plan and Contract rule

• monthly subscription plan: They go for between $29.99 and $49.99. That would be the Smart Home Service, and the Smart Home Video Service.

• Contract rules: Vivint offers a 60-month and a 42-month package. That means 5 years or three and a half years for all you humanities majors out there. 

You're going to want to be very careful when looking at the contract terms for your Vivint Home Security System.

For example, if they come and install the system in your home you may only have three days of write of rescission to basically cancel that contract.

Be very careful when looking at your contract to see what your options are when it comes to cancellation and installation.

You can give them a call from this number:844.337.2246

Conclusion

In general, the Vivint home security system did a great job. I find it a really good system with all of its features.

Does it good for everyone? the answer is NO. If you think of getting a simple security system then Vivint may not be an option for you because  Vivint equipment prices start at $599.99. without forgetting monthly services.

In this Vivint home security review we covered the following:

1-Vivint Outdoor Camera

2-Vivint Indoor Camera

3-Vivint Doorbell Camera

4-Kwikset Smart Lock

5-Vivint Smart Hub

6-Burglary Detection

7-Vivint smart home app

8-installing

9-professional monitoring

10-monthly subscription plan

11-contract rules with Vivint

Let me know what you think about Vivint in the comment below.