Lowes Iris home security system?

[RossMAN]

I actually just had Xfinity Home installed. Works good so far, only major concern is if Comcast employees can spy on my home cameras that I added on.

How much was installation, what equipment did they install and what's the monthly fee?

 

[DCal430]

How much was installation, what equipment did they install and what's the monthly fee?

Installation cost me $399 +$70 + $100 = $570 total.

Monthly is $39 for 2 years than $49 for 1 more year.

The $399 includes 3 door or window sensors, 2 Cameras, 1 Thermostat, 2 wall plug controllers, and 1 motion sensor.

The $70 is for another door sensor, and the $100 is for a smoke/heat sensor.

The cameras do not record 24/7, but they can do 16 second recording when some events occur, or at specific time intervals.

I have 1 near the motion sensor that records when the system is armed and motion is detected.

I have 1 outside in the front door, if someone opens the front door it records their face. This happens regardless if the system is armed or not.

You can eliminate the thermostat and camera for $300 (So $99 for the basic system) and monitoring drops to $29 for 2 years then $39 for 1 year.

 

[kvallier]

Lowe's home iris system was an insecurity system. Bought it on June 6/2/13 and returned on 9/2/13 (you have 90 days to decide before you are out your money). I studied the system for about 6 months before buying it. In looking for reviews on it - I was not able to find many - this might have been a clue. I'll admit I am a sucker for the bells and whistles the Iris system does, but in the end the system was extremely glitchy and lost connection to the hub an average of about once a week. Went on vacation twice and the system kicked out on me both times - was not even able to monitor the house thru video camera and was not able to set the thermostat to cool down the house before coming back from vacation. Overall I was extremely dissatisfied with the product.

Here's the lowlights:

1) hub kicked out about every 7 - 10 days - firmware update in 8/13 did not resolve connectivity issues
2) tier 2 level support sounds official - this was nothing more than glorified counselors who would talk to you about how you 'felt' about the product - if they would even get back to you (you could not contact them directly - you had to be recommended by Tier 1 first responders)
3) tier 1 level support blue skied everything - really all they could do was view your account and talk you through how to reset the system.
4) the system would kick out on you while it was set - and you would not be notified until the hub was back up (usually reset by you)
5) spent countless hours resetting the hub, troubleshooting connectivity issues with various wireless devices such as the wireless camera and smart outlets
6) for $9.99 a month, if your home is broken into you will get a text - the price does not include any monitoring or alerting of authorities - you would have to do this yourself - assuming a) you would even get the text and b) your system was reliable and the break-in was legit and not another numerous false alarm from the hub dropping out.

Highlights: If you are lucky enough to get a reliable working hub (I guess they are out there according to Iris tech support) - the bells and whistles the system allows are neat. The price is reasonable also - again if you have a working hub.

Summary: I would have kept the system had Lowe's given it to me for free and said they would like me to troubleshoot the system for them. I am a former engineer - technically oriented mind - not your average user - I would easily say my expertise and observations of how my system performed trumped that of the level of the Tier 1 support.

Iris is supposedly a British owned company and Lowe's has thrown their name behind them.

I hope this helps others. It certainly would have helped me.

 

[kvallier]

I had the system for 3 months. The main hub locked up on me about an average of once a week - sometimes while the alarm was set. On paper it looks good, felt like I was a beta tester for the company. I'm not sure I would have even wanted the system had it been given to me. Perhaps there are good systems out there - I didn't have one.

 

[sdifox]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbM--4-z0cs

 

[Svnla]

I read about this system from Kiplinger Finance magazine and was about come here to ask if it is a good or bad system.

 

[mmntech]

The best home security money can buy.

Unfortunately, that's not my dog.

I've been thinking of setting up a security camera at the front door of my parents' place. My mom is afraid to open the door for people, which has caused them to miss quite a few packages.

 

[datalink7]

The best home security money can buy.

Unfortunately, that's not my dog.

I've been thinking of setting up a security camera at the front door of my parents' place. My mom is afraid to open the door for people, which has caused them to miss quite a few packages.

I came in to post something similar

Except, that IS my dog

 

[Midwayman]

OTOH my Micasaverde Vera Light is still working flawlessly. Plus no monthly fees.

 

[alkemyst]

alarmsystemstore.com did me well, monitoring is only like $9 a month and super responsive (they called last night to let me know a battery warning was reported).

 

[SandEagle]

34 responses and 10,000+ views. someone is playing with the numbers back there.

 

[LegendKiller]

Installation cost me $399 +$70 + $100 = $570 total.

Monthly is $39 for 2 years than $49 for 1 more year.

The $399 includes 3 door or window sensors, 2 Cameras, 1 Thermostat, 2 wall plug controllers, and 1 motion sensor.

The $70 is for another door sensor, and the $100 is for a smoke/heat sensor.

The cameras do not record 24/7, but they can do 16 second recording when some events occur, or at specific time intervals.

I have 1 near the motion sensor that records when the system is armed and motion is detected.

I have 1 outside in the front door, if someone opens the front door it records their face. This happens regardless if the system is armed or not.

You can eliminate the thermostat and camera for $300 (So $99 for the basic system) and monitoring drops to $29 for 2 years then $39 for 1 year.

1. Does the xfinity system have a cell backup?

2. Do you get to keep the equipment after the contract expires and can it be used in a different monitor?

3. How has it been thus far?

 

[jagec]

The best home security money can buy.
<dog>

You don't have to feed a shotgun.

I'm putting in a Swann 1080p system pretty soon...4 day/night cameras and a NVR. Looking at pictures online and reading up on peoples' experiences steered me away from Foscam and the like.

Still low-end by commercial standards, but it should work for my purposes.

 

[RossMAN]

34 responses and 10,000+ views. someone is playing with the numbers back there.

I'm guessing most the views are from search engines, searching Google for Lowes Iris this I found this thread on 2nd page.

 

[ManBearPig]

I'm guessing most the views are from search engines, searching Google for Lowes Iris this I found this thread on 2nd page.

Isn't google catered to the person that's using it though? Try searching on startpage, that's with no personalization.

 

[rudeguy]

Haha that's really cool. Totally something like that I was thinking, though with a cheaper camera. I'm thinking arduino + raspberry pi with wifi dongle, and probably a PTZ camera. I'd probably have to invest in a 3D printer if I want to start making robots though. Not a cheap hobby but would be fun.

check out sparkfun

They have a shit ton of DIY projects that I think you would get a nerd chubby over.