4,180 Reviews
ADT Self Setup Home Security System Review (2025)
Smart Integration and DIY Home Security System
May 29, 2023
•
5 min
May 29, 2023
•
5 min
ADT Self Setup offers several features and highlights to meet its customers’ home security needs.
ADT Self Setup offers a simple DIY installation solution to its customers, with all the products being easy to set up to begin monitoring your home. You’ll build your own system and get the equipment that can help you maintain a secure environment.
ADT Self Setup's wireless sensors are easy to position inside your home, and they can provide the first line of defense by keeping watch over sensitive or vulnerable areas of your house. Door panel and window sensors detect movement at the doors and windows. Flood and temperature sensors detect water damage in your home due to frozen pipes or leaks.
With ADT Self Setup's free mobile app, you can monitor your home and control it from a distance. For example, if a pet trips the sensors, you can check your phone and dismiss the alarm once you’re satisfied there’s no threat.
ADT Self Setup's Extender + Chime device expands the WiFi range of the company’s outdoor wireless cameras. Plus, it can act as an indoor ringer for the Blue doorbell camera.
ADT Self Setup features a Smart Home Hub and Security system that manages all the sensors and cameras connected to your system. It costs $179.99 and comes with an integrated keypad to arm or disarm the alarm. The hub has a battery and cellular backup to keep your system running during power outages and internet disruptions.
The smart hub has a built-in alarm siren and speaker to ward off intruders, and you can control it with your smartphone.
To protect the outside of your house and interior, ADT Self Setup provides outdoor and indoor cameras, which record audio and video, take snapshots when motion is detected, and stream live video in 1080p HD. Since the products are wireless, you’ll need to recharge the battery packs by plugging them into an indoor outlet.
The ADT Self Setup doorbell camera enables you to know when someone is at your front door, and you can talk to them in real-time using the two-way audio feature. It also works as a doorbell and sends you notifications. All the cameras are for sale at $199.99.
A home security system needs life safety alarms, and ADT Self Setup offers a smoke detector at $39.99. As soon as fire or smoke is detected, you’ll receive an alert on your mobile app or the alarm will sound. The smoke detector doesn’t have a carbon monoxide (CO) detector, though.
The smart hub has a panic button, which you can hold for a few seconds to alert authorities during an emergency, but there’s no medical pendant support available.
ADT Self Setup provides many smart home security features by pairing its smart home hub with third-party devices, such as Google Nest Mini ($49.99), Google Nest Hub ($99.99), and Amazon’s Alexa. The smart home hub uses the Z-Wave wireless protocol, which enables control of lighting, locks, thermostats, and other devices.
You can issue instructions through Nest or Alexa and tell the smart home hub to arm or disarm the system or check the status of your DIY smart home security.
ADT Self Setup provides alerts through SMS, email, and push notifications. If an active alarm is triggered, you’ll receive a call from its monitoring station, and you’ll be prompted to provide the passcode you were given during activation. If they can’t reach you, they’ll try calling two of your contacts, and if there’s no response, they’ll dispatch the police.
The Panic button on the smart home hub or the silent alarm will bypass the monitoring station and contact the authorities directly. If the alarm went off accidentally, however, you can cancel it by typing the passcode on the keypad.
ADT Self Setup customers can choose to monitor their home security system on their own or select experts to handle it. The professional monitoring option offers the following.
The ADT Self Setup mobile app provides 24/7 remote access to your home security system. You can arm and disarm the system and add or change security codes through your smartphone. Moreover, you can check the sensors and cameras and speak to people through the two-way talk feature.
The app enables you to control other smart devices, such as lights and smart doors. Plus, you can get notifications from your smart home hub to stay informed about everything happening inside and around your home.
Once you install the ADT Self Setup mobile app, you can set push notifications in the settings. For both Android and iOS, check the settings in the notifications page and select the ADT Self Setup app. Check that the notifications are enabled. You’ll receive alerts if there’s an alarm event, when the system is armed/disarmed, or if a device or sensor has an issue.
Installing ADT Self Setup products is easy, taking a minimum of 20 minutes to complete. There are no installation fees and no technicians or heavy-duty tools needed. It’s a simple, easy-to-install DIY solution.
ADT Self Setup does not set any long-term contracts. Your relationship will be based on the month-by-month subscription to its packages and services. It has a one-year warranty on its items and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
When returning products, you’ll receive a label via email to return defective products, but you’ll have to pay the shipping fees. If you don’t return the faulty item, you’ll have to pay the company the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP).
ADT Self Setup offers live chat with a digital assistant as the first point of contact. We tested the response time and found that a human agent logged on immediately when the digital assistant couldn’t provide a solution. We tested the email response as well, and it took several hours to get an answer.
ADT also has support and customer service via phone, where agents are available 8am-12am ET Monday to Friday and 8am-9pm ET Saturday to Sunday. There’s a detailed knowledge base with clearly labeled topics and easy setup videos and guides. Furthermore, there are informative FAQs spread throughout the ADT Self Setup website.
ADT Self Setup Home Security Services Pricing
ADT Self Setup Home Security offers two monitoring plans: Self-monitoring and 24/7 professional monitoring. There are no installation fees since it is a DIY home security package. In addition, there are discounts available, for example, 35% off if you pay for the system and pro monitoring together.
| Professional 24/7 Monitoring | Self-Monitoring | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From $19.99 per month | $0 |
| Installation Fee | ||
| Mobile Access | ||
| Professional 24/7 Monitoring | ||
| Smart Home Integrations | ||
| Video Surveillance | ||
| Entry, Smoke, and CO Detection | ||
| Panic and Duress mode |
ADT Self Setup also bundles its DIY products and tools into four packages: Build Your Own System at $179.99, Starter System at $219.99, Starter Plus System at $299.99, and Premium at $419.99. Each package includes a base station—the smart home hub—plus a set of products designed to create a complete home security system.
Here’s a quick comparison chart that sets ADT Self Setup's services against other home security providers.
| ADT Self Setup | SimpliSafe | Ring | ADT | Cove | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Smart, DIY home security | DIY home security solutions | Remote monitoring | Professional installation and monitoring | Easy installation and customer service |
| Price per month | From $19.99 | From $9.99 | From $3 ($20 for professional monitoring) | From $28.99 | From $14.99 |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | 60 days | 30 days | Six months | 60 days |
| Warranty | One year | Three years | One year | Extended limited | Lifetime |
| Mobile | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS, Android |
ADT Self Setup and SimpliSafe both have a DIY approach to setting up a home security system. SimpliSafe offers 30 more days with their money-back guarantee and a three-year warranty versus one year for ADT Self Setup. Simplisafe has a slightly more expensive monitoring fee than ADT Self Setup, and its home automation is not at the same high level.
Ring has a better monitoring plan than ADT Self Setup and more camera options, but it has a higher base price for setting up its system. ADT Self Setup also doesn’t have Ring’s neighborhood watch approach, even though the feature is becoming popular.
ADT is the parent company of ADT Self Setup. However, ADT security offers a three-year contract and a professionally-installed system, whereas Blue by ADT is DIY. ADT also has an extensive monitoring network, but its monitoring fee is high.
Cove offers a lifetime warranty on its equipment, whereas ADT Self Setup only provides a one-year warranty. Furthermore, Cove’s professional monitoring costs less than ADT Self Setup's offerings. They both share some similarities: neither have contracts, and they are both DIY.
ADT Self Setup offers excellent features and solutions with its easy-to-install products and customizable options for building your own system. Its cameras can either be installed as part of a larger system or as standalone items. You’ll gain access to an extensive knowledge base and customer support to guide you as you set up your device.
Overall, if you’re looking for an affordable, DIY, and flexible home security system, ADT Self Setup is worth considering.
Frequently Asked QuestionsBarry is a veteran who has served as a front-line officer for 10 years. Responding to hundreds of residential burglary incidents during his career, he has built up a wealth of experience surveying crime scenes. Today he shares his knowledge by delivering crime prevention advice on publications such as Top10.com.
