ADT Home Security Review 2024: Tested and Rated
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ADT is a home security provider that offers self-setup and professionally installed alarm systems and cameras. The company’s long-term contracts can feel restrictive, but the benefits may be worth it for customers who want professional installation, a monitored home security system and a household name.
ADT has been operating for more than 150 years, making it one of the most well-known names in home security. The company has transitioned from more traditional home security equipment to newer technology by collaborating with Google Nest for cameras and video doorbells.
We tested ADT home security equipment and found the system to be functional and user-friendly to set up, though integrating the equipment with Nest products was complicated.
Overall, ADT products are expensive for what you get compared to other providers, especially the self-setup system, but the company’s tried-and-true professional monitoring makes their pro-install system a good pick.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Owns six U.S.-based professional monitoring centers, leading to fast alarm response times. | Required monthly monitoring fees for all plans, ranging from one month to three to five years. Monitoring fees are high compared to other providers. |
Integrates directly with Google Nest devices and can connect with Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control. | Had a security breach in 2020 that affected customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX area. |
Deciding factors | |
---|---|
One-time costs | About $195 for basic equipment. |
Monthly fees | $24.99 and up. |
Installation | Professional install and self-setup options. Pro installed systems start at $499 with a required monitoring contract starting at $24.99 per month. |
Video monitoring | Self-setup:
Pro install:
|
Contract | 36-month minimum for professionally installed system; 24 months in California. |
How does ADT work?
To purchase an ADT system, you visit the company’s website and select a package. The company will mail your equipment.
Pro install
If you choose professional installation, you’ll schedule an appointment for an ADT technician to come to your home and set up the equipment. Appointments are usually available within three days. A professionally installed ADT system will run from a control panel wired into your wall and come with a required professional monitoring contract, typically three years, starting at $45.99 per month.
Self-setup
If you choose self-setup, you’ll follow the instructions in the included setup guide and control your system through a smart hub device. If you need extra help, you can consult the ADT virtual assistant feature on the app. Self-setup systems require at least one month of professional monitoring, starting at $24.99 per month. After the first month, you can call ADT to downgrade to free self-monitoring.
How much does ADT cost?
ADT offers six home security system packages; three are self-setup packages and three are pro-install packages. We found that the company often runs promotions, typically discounting self-setup packages by up to 25% with a required one-month-minimum professional monitoring plan. Sometimes it also discounts professionally installed packages (or includes a free video doorbell) with the purchase of a several-year contract. The prices below are list prices.
Self-Setup
Package | Price | What you get |
---|---|---|
Build Your Own | $194.98 | Smart home hub, door/window sensor and app. |
Starter | $389.96 | Everything in Build Your Own package plus one more sensor (two total) and a Google Nest doorbell. |
Premium | $744.92 | Everything in Starter package plus an indoor camera, outdoor camera, smoke detector and water/temperature sensor. |
Pro-Install
Package | Price | What you get |
---|---|---|
Build Your Own | $499.99 |
|
Smart Home | $778.00 |
|
Video and Smart Home | $1,586.00 |
|
Our experience with ADT
We tested ADT’s Self-Setup Build Your Own package, which comes with one month of required professional monitoring.
What we liked
Easy device setup
The hub had very clear setup instructions, and the devices in a kit come pre-connected so that once you set up the hub, the accessory items (such as a door sensor) are already visible in the ADT app. We just had to pull the battery tab to activate the sensor, which flashed a blue LED light and triggered a two-tone chime noise on the hub. It didn’t take long for the app and hub to connect to Wi-Fi, and there’s not a complicated Wi-Fi setup like some other providers.
Test mode
With a professional monitoring plan, your system will be in “Test mode” for the first seven days so that you can practice triggering alarms without the monitoring center contacting emergency services. We found this feature helpful in testing out the system. Several other providers have a similar feature. With ADT, you can switch to test mode anytime in-app for up to 24 hours.
Easy to arm and disarm
We were able to arm and disarm our system with a custom four-digit passcode in the app or on the hub keypad. With a professional monitoring plan, we could also generate a unique verbal passcode to speak to ADT agents in case of an alarm event to verify our identity, which other professionally monitored systems also have (SimpliSafe calls this a “Safeword”).
Customization
In the ADT app settings, you can set up Alexa or Google Assistant integration, add users, customize alert tones and timing, and add “rules” to automate your home. For example, you can set your system to automatically arm at 10 p.m. every night.
Compared to other providers, the ADT app is very simple; there are only these settings, the buttons to arm and disarm the system and an event history.
Customer service
Each time we contacted customer service during our testing (to inquire about shipment delays, to verify pricing information and to disable professional monitoring after our testing period), we got through to ADT customer service on the phone very quickly, and the agents were helpful, friendly and professional.
What we didn’t like
Multiple apps needed for Nest integration
Google Nest’s security products can integrate with ADT products — but we found the process frustrating. Google Nest cameras and doorbells require both the Google Home app and the Nest app to access video recordings with a Nest Aware subscription. To integrate an ADT alarm system with Nest cameras, you need to connect all three apps. This took almost an hour of attempts and a lot of online help page research, and we were eventually unable to get Google Nest device access in the ADT app.
We had to log into each account several times and enable device sharing in each app. It was also unclear which app or device should be used primarily to control the system.
We were, however, able to connect our Nest Hub with the ADT hub and alarm system, arm and disarm the system from the Nest Hub, and view the ADT devices in the Google Home App.
Some Nest devices aren’t supported
ADT alarm systems integrate with some Nest cameras (mostly newer models) but not all: they won’t connect with the Google Nest Cam Indoor or Outdoor, the Google Nest Hello, or Nest Cam IQ cameras.
When Nest Secure, Google’s own home security line, was discontinued in April 2024, former users were given a credit to replace their systems with ADT alarm equipment, but some were likely unable to connect their older-model Nest cameras (which weren’t discontinued) to their new ADT systems.
Sensor install
ADT’s door sensors come with an adhesive on the back. Like other providers’ sensors, they sometimes take off wall paint when removed.
The magnet part of the door sensor, which sticks onto the moving part of the door to trigger an alarm when it’s opened, had a slim, vertical shape without much surface area to stick onto the door. When we tapped the sensor, it fell off, lost its stick and was hard to reattach.
Shipping and packaging
We had some issues with delivery, which we didn’t have with any other provider we tested. The products were shipped via FedEx, and while the label was marked as created the day after the order, the package didn’t register as “On the way” until 10 days later. It's unclear if the problem was due to ADT or FedEx, but the package was unable to deliver and required a pickup.
Separately, the packaging was a bit excessive for the quantity of items included. Our kit only came with one sensor and the hub, but was shipped in a fairly large box. The package contained a smaller box for “sensors and accessories” that was much bigger than the small sensor inside it.
Alternatives to ADT
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