But I had also ordered a new set top box so he would have done that, except he advised that in my setup the new set too box wasn't advisable so he left after telling me all of the coax wiring is wired wrong and not properly grounded and could cause a fire

So after he leaves my app tell em someone is coming at 2pm

The first tech had come at 12

So I figure a second tech must have been dispatched for the alarm system install

I called support and they agreed

So 2 o clock comes and goes and now the app says they are running late so I call again

Come to find out there was no second tech coming

And they want to reschedule me for an install durign the week.

I politely declined stating that I wasn't willing to take off work and throw away another day waiting for an install that never happens

:s all seems very shoddy

So I went to best buy and bought a ring alarm

It was 199 and came with a free Amazon echo dot

I need more contact sensors but I'm ok with how it is for now. I'm on the second floor so it's unlikely someone will come in through a window.

The echo dot was nice because I have an echo plus and I use it to control my lights..the echo is in the bedroom and not the dot is in my kitchen where it joins the living room.

So now I have voice control throughout my apartment

In another month or so I'll add cameras

I recommend ring if you need an alarm..the professional monitoring is only 100 / year

How do you get it to control lights and things? I assume you have to rewire the switches

No

The echo plus has a bult in z-wave smart hub

You just buy compatible smart light bulbs and swap your old ones out for those

Philips Hue White A19 60W Equivalent LED Smart Bulb Starter Kit (4 A19 White Bulbs and 1 Hub Compatible with Amazon Alexa Apple HomeKit and Google Assistant) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07354SP1C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dzOSCbWYHMNQK

But if you have an echo plus then you don't need the hub

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Hue-Equivalent-Compatible-Assistant/dp/B073SSK6P8/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?adgrpid=66015200639&hvadid=338562830872&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9007369&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13801489482432594972&hvtargid=kwd-44175898474&keywords=philips+hue&qid=1555203723&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Those are the bulbs I have. But you could use the first link to get the bulbs and the hub for five bucks more. That's a good deal..then you can use an app on your phone to contorl the lights

Oh that's not as much work as I thought it would be

I use the Alexa built in hub to control them so I can use voice control

Can it accidentally misinterpret things said in the background? I think I read something about that sometimes

Well you have to say "Alexa"

Then it waits for a command

So if I say "turn off the kitchen lights" it does nothing

Some people said it can respond to Alex as well

But if I say "Alexa, turn off the kitchen lights" then it turns them off.

Which is somewhat more of a common name if said on TV and such

I had an echo for a long time. I didn't have any issues like that.

It might be fun to have one in the bedroom. 'Alexa, turn off the lights and play white noise'

Yeah it's convenient

It's also the best alarm clock

Loud

It's pretty good for music too even though it's not stereo, though you can pair two of them for stereo.

My favorite feature of the smart lights is being able to change the brightness and turn them off and on when I'm not home