New 24/7 Monitoring Service ($4.99/mo) works w/ SmartThings

Hey SmartThings community,

As an avid SmartThings user myself I found a deficiency in not having a solid 24/7 monitoring solution for my smart home…so I invented one.

This upstart provides a new kind of 24/7 security monitoring for smart homes that integrates with SmartThings in the US.

Its been reviewed by 911 dispatch operators and found preferable to ADT and other security systems because it connects 1st party (you) and second party (friends and family) to 911 rather than a paid person from a security company.

Anyway, we’re looking for Beta testers and anyone interested in trying out the product.

Visit: https://www.sheriff.link/ today and let me know what you guys think.

Thanks,

B

1 Like

It’s an interesting idea, and different people have different needs and priorities with regard to security systems. I’m sure there will be some smart things users who will consider it.

For me, personally, it doesn’t meet my minimum requirements because the communication to the monitoring center is cloud-based and requires operating power and Internet. Basically it’s just using the notification field in SHM. One of my minimum requirements is that communications to the monitoring center use cellular on battery, so they work even if the Internet and local power are down.

There’s also the issue that it’s doing Robocalls to 911. As the website correctly notes:

You will need to confirm with your local police dispatch center that based on your local laws it is acceptible for them to receive auto-calls. This feature can be completely disabled.

I’m really surprised at the claim that 911 dispatchers saw this as preferable to ADT. For one thing, ADT is almost always authorized to call fire as well as police, and this particular system is more likely to only be authorized for intrusion calls as there’s no way the system can be UL listed as described. My guess is instead that a few 911 dispatchers who were interviewed preferred a particular feature of the system, namely that the homeowner is more likely to be calling for themselves. But I don’t see any survey of a large group of 911 dispatchers selecting this system as a whole versus ADT’s. The Robocalls alone are likely to downgrade it. So it’s technically true, but it leaves a misleading impression. As many people know from these forums, I hate this kind of advertising, so I’m sure I’m overreacting. But I still think it’s worth mentioning.

I do see the value in being able to be patched through to local dispatch if that’s legal in your jurisdiction. So, like I said, I do see some community members being interested in the service. It’s just not a good fit for me. And I’d like to see them improve their advertising with regard to their comparison claims.

2 Likes

Thanks JD, I appreciate the feedback. We’re definitely looking into next phases to enable ways to have monitoring if your system’s power or connection is cut, and technically there are options now, but we’ll keep everyone posted going forward.

As for the ADT comment, it was specifically referring to police dispatch, and not fire. A lot of different areas have different 911 setups. Some don’t mind getting a robocall, because they have playback systems that are easy to review these type of calls, others who are more heavily tasked, don’t have time for robocalls, but Sheriff Link prefers users to use Trusted Contacts. Trusted Contacts and the RP (you) are who dispatch operators prefer to talk to. We’re working to complete our 911 operator survey and tabulate that data for the public to illustrate the comparison to ADT. The overwhelming feedback we’ve received from the operators we’ve surveyed is that security companies are not given the same priority as RPs and friends/family of RPs during a 911 call.

Hopefully, in the future we’ll find a way to meet all your needs, and appeal to users such as yourself, but I hope you’re right that there are some in the community that are currently interested in this solution.

Thanks for your feedback.

Love to hear any other feedback…

1 Like

The only value for me would be the magic UL listing such that I can get an insurance discount. Most providers seem to charge what would be 80% of the discount per year making it not worth the hassle for me.

1 Like

By connecting your trusted contacts with local dipatch they can provide the info dispatch needs to send help.

If you can’t get spelling correct on your website, why should I trust your product for Emergencies?

3 Likes

“When you press “1” you immedately get connected to the local dispatch setup for your account. No matter where you are, if you can receive a phone call on, you can connect to your local dispatch through Sheriff Link.”

Proofreader needed, just like my local newspaper…

2 Likes

Awesome. Thanks for the free proof reading :wink:

3 Likes

I think its a great idea. UL listing should be your next step.

As for it requiring a network connection. Place your hub and ISP modem on an UPS. Done.

Is there a contract to sign or is it month-to-month?

No contracts. :slight_smile:

1 Like

@Trub02: You can setup a primary phone and secondary phone to receive alarms simultaneously. If the primary and secondary don’t answer, then, if you have trusted contacts, they’ll be contacted next, etc.

1 Like

Not if Internet is down on your block. In fact, this one won’t work unless SmartThing’s notifications are working, which requires both your Internet and SmartThings’ cloud to be working.

As far as UL listing, I think it unlikely for the service as described.

1 Like

Well, what if cell service is taken down? Or your land line service is down? Or zombies? Or ADT has an outage? Or…

You see? Cant go through life on what if’s.

To be fair ADT (and its ilk) are not very important to a 911 operator.

(P.S. I love this) :slight_smile:

I presume Sheriff Link spends more money on legal advisors and liability insurance than actual services.

This is an extremely difficult service to run properly and there’s no shortage of lawyers ready to sue when things don’t go well.

As an engineer, you can’t go through a day without what if’s. :wink:

It’s not about perfection. It’s about probabilities, and knowing the level of risk.

UL, for example, is very specific about where there has to be redundancy and exactly what level of communication risk meets their minimum standard. They have dozens, maybe over 100 pages of standard specifications just on this area.

Each individual person has their own set of requirements for what gives them peace of mind, so it’s not that any one standard is better than another. But even so, many of the risks can be quantified as probabilities, and that’s a factor you can consider against your own risk/benefit formula.

1 Like

I wouldnt go as far - what if ST is playing up again and you get charged for false alarms …

You get called first, and can disarm the alarm before it goes any further.

How many of you using SmartThings have 24/7 monitoring of any kind in the first place?

I do, but not with smartthings. I use a security system with a monthly fee. Like most people, I like everything about it except the fee, which I feel is a little high for the value I get.

On the other hand, I’ve had it for over 10 years, there’ve only been two false alarms in that time period, and we have used it for multiple medical emergencies over the same time period, including ambulances dispatched to the house twice and neighbors notified to assist at least two more times, one of which then resulted in an emergency room visit.

We’ve also had kitchen cooking result in the smoke alarms going off a couple of times, and each time The security system behaved as expected.

So I have pretty high confidence that its performance meets both my requirements and my expectations.

I registered on SmartThings for this post, :slight_smile:

I’m not an ST owner yet but i’ve been following closely for about 6 months… Getting down to brass tax, I LOVE the ability to call trusted friends and family should the phone not be answered, I would also add a duress phrase or a duress password if your in trouble and are required to answer the phone, if you live in a house, your going to have 15-20 seconds to react, if your in a 640sqft apartment however, your going to have less than 5 seconds, to either lock yourself away, stand ground or answer the phone. By that time awoken out of slumber, your brain will be going through a chemical dump and you’ll barely be able to answer your telephone (I’m a victim of a home invasion in MD)

As I give this suggestion I still find this service without worth for me, I’m an engineer as well, i’ve been planning out my home automation for about 8 months now and have settled with ST. I like Layering security, finding services that integrate with each other but still function if one goes down for redundancy.

Abode for Security, + Echo + SmartThings, IFTTT into all three, 3 IP Camera’s into AngelCam If SmartThings trips notification, but if both Abode and ST trip we’ve got a real issue.

Once I arm abode via GeoFence or App/Echo Ifttt will automatically arm SHM, turn lights off run routines ect

Looking at a service like Abode “you should really look into integrating with them” they are incredible. They may be late to the game but from reviews and feedback i’ve seen in research they are one of the best bangs for your buck.

I used to be a 911 dispatcher, I never received a robocall but let me tell you i’d much rather talk to a person and get as much information as possible rather than a robot. Many agencies will only allow 2 false alarms a year before they start charging you and some won’t even send police unless you can verify through camera that there’s someone in the home

If you could provide expand to a service that could serve as a standard where all 911, police dispatchers can plug into if a alarm goes off…

For example…

Alarm… Front door trip, streaming camera 15 seconds transfers to Sheriff, Link is made, RoboSystem sends link along with the call to dispatch, sharable with law enforcement, 15 second camera clip, Motion Sensor Camera Image along with any information about sensors tripping. You sir would make A LOT of money doing that, remember me when you do :slight_smile: Abode already does this…

OR the link is sent to you and you become the middle man sharing if the trip is legit or not. I think 4.99$ a month isn’t enough, you could easily charge 10-15 dollars a month. Which is mountains ahead Frontpoint ADT ect…

Being in emergencies on an ambulance for over a year plus countless crazy road rage situations, I’ve found in this day and age, saying “HEY SIRI CALL 911 ON SPEAKER” is the most reliable form of receiving dispatch once a threat is shown to me or the alarm goes off.

I can do it with the phone 5 feet from me, without touching the phone and without looking at it… When you live in an apt with only 5 seconds to unlock the safe during a chem dump, you will need all of them to get your protection out, defend yourself then call for help after.

Good start in your product! I hope it expands more than you ever imagined!

I think this service would suffice someone who’s spent thousands early adopting rather than someone who hasn’t jumped in the boat yet :slight_smile:

4 Likes