Frontpoint Home Security Review

What’s Included with Frontpoint?

Okay, so Frontpoint’s monitoring subscriptions aren’t the most flexible, but when it comes to equipment, Frontpoint offers a lot of flexibility and scalability. Every Frontpoint system can have up to 80 sensors and over 200 smart home devices, making it a good security system for large homes. For comparison, SimpliSafe security systems can handle up to 100 devices and offer no smart home support besides Alexa and Google Home integrations.

You probably don’t need 80 sensors and 200 smart home devices. If you’re shopping around for your first home security system, we recommend starting with a basic package that includes up to seven devices. You can also add more if you need it. Frontpoint’s cheapest package only costs $69 but is valued at about $300. It includes:

• 1 hub
• 1 keypad
• 2 door/window sensors
• 1 set of yard sign and window decals

We used the starter bundle to build out our Frontpoint system. We bought one of almost all available equipment and racked up a bill over $700. That’s still a steal price in our opinion. Our Vivint package with almost the same components cost us nearly double – $1,250.

Still, $700 is a huge amount to pay upfront, so it made us happy to see a financing option. We’re currently four months into our $25+ per month, 36-month financing plan. As is the case with our ADT security system, we had to sign a 36-month contract and go through a credit check to get our Frontpoint equipment financed. Still not bad; at least Frontpoint’s equipment cost didn’t put a huge ding on our budget and we got really good equipment. Let’s talk about them next, starting with the hub.

Frontpoint Hub

Frontpoint isn’t winning product design awards with its hub, but it’s innovative at least. It has a separate hub and keypad setup, unlike the Alder system we tested that has a two-in-one hub and keypad.

The hub is the most important component because it’s what ties the system together and links it to the monitoring center. It’s responsible for communication, which is why some burglars look to destroy the security system hub when they break into a home. That’s easy to do for systems that use a two-in-one hub and keypad (i.e., control panel) because homeowners usually place it near the front door for easy access. With Frontpoint, we were able to keep the hub away from sight (it sits behind the router on the TV stand) and still place the separate keypad somewhere we can easily access it.

Keypad

So what do we think about the Frontpoint’s non-touch screen keypad? Well, we commend its straightforwardness. This is something anyone can use, from tech-whiz teenagers to tech-averse seniors. The controls are simple – just key-in your passcode and select whether to disarm the system or arm its home or away mode. There’s even a panic alarm function you could trigger by simultaneously pressing the star and number sign keys.

If we were to nitpick, it would be that Frontpoint’s keypad doesn’t offer the same functionality as a touch screen controller. When we’ve tested other systems, we use these panels to adjust the sensitivity of motion sensors, check out live feeds, and turn the lights down when we want to watch a movie. For Frontpoint, we had to use the app to perform these activities.

Don’t get us wrong, the Frontpoint app is great. But nothing beats the convenience of having a dedicated smart device controller near your front door. We recommend keeping an eye out for a sale on Frontpoint’s website. We’ve seen Frontpoint discount equipment by as much as 50-percent.

Door/ Window Sensor

Once you have the hub and keypad, the next step is to add sensors. Our $69 package included two of these door/window sensors, which we put on the front door and one of our street-facing windows. They detect opening and closing of doors, and will notify you and the monitoring center if your security system is armed.

Entry sensors are pretty simple, but they’re an effective way to protect your home’s entry points. That is, if you put up enough of them. We recommend placing entry sensors on every external door and window on the first floor of your house. It will work even on sliding glass doors, although if you want better aesthetics, you can opt for the recessed type. Instead of sticking to the door frame, recessed door sensors are bored into it and are essentially hidden from sight. Just note that you might have to break out the power drill to install it.

Motion Sensor

Motion sensors play a big part in home protection, but we much prefer them to have a low profile. Unfortunately, Frontpoint did not live up to that preference given the size of their motion sensors. It’s almost as big and bulky as the keypad. The shiny, white finish didn’t help either. It stood out against the beige backdrop.

However, it has a range of 30-by-35 feet, which is impressive. We put one in our living room, and it covered the entire space. The peripheral is 80 degrees, so you’ll want to put it on a corner wall.

We should also note that Frontpoint made our list of the best security systems for pet owners thanks largely to the motion sensor. It can ignore pets up to 40 pounds, helpful for when we sat for a friend’s cuddly poodle.

Glass Break Sensor

The glass break sensor is a listening device trained to identify the sound of breaking glass. Not every home needs a glass break sensor, though. If you have window grilles, for example, you’re probably better off with motion sensors or window sensors. However, if you have sliding glass doors or sliding windows, this is a nice piece of equipment to have.

Frontpoint’s glass break sensor has a 20-foot detection range. So, if you have a lot of windows, you might need a few to cover all your bases. We recommend putting them in the same room as the doors and windows you’re monitoring. Walls and closed doors can muffle the sound, which means the glass break sensor might not detect it.

Keychain Remote

We always opt for a keychain remote whenever possible because they’re just so convenient to use. It can arm and disarm the security system with just a press of a button; no passwords required. Frontpoint’s keychain remote looks ordinary, but it has an insanely long battery life (five to eight years). It also has two additional functions we don’t normally see. It can be programmed to trigger a home automation routine (e.g. unlock your smart lock) and it can be used as a panic button. Whenever we get home from work, we disarm Frontpoint and unlock our door with the keychain remote. It’s that convenient.

Of course, since it doesn’t require verification, you should always be mindful of who you give out a keychain remote to, especially kids who might be a little less aware of the consequences of losing it. And if you do decide to give a family member a keychain remote, make sure to discuss with them how to keep it safe.

Frontpoint Video Doorbell

While Frontpoint doesn’t make their own video doorbell, we did review the SkyBell Slim Line Video Doorbell which works with their system. There were things we loved about the doorbell, but there were also some we didn’t like.

For example, while we appreciated its ruggedness (it works in temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit) and fully wireless design, we didn’t like its low-resolution videos. At only 720p HD, it wasn’t the video quality we were looking for in a front door monitoring device. We also didn’t enjoy the bright light that came from the camera at night; we prefer cameras with infrared night vision.

Fortunately, the Skybell doorbell isn’t the only option. Frontpoint also offers a wired video doorbell from Alarm.com, a trusted manufacturer of home security equipment. The wired doorbell offers standard 1080p HD video quality, infrared night vision, and clear two-way audio. It also features a wide-angle field of view and improved daytime videos with HDR.

If you prefer a wireless doorbell camera, Frontpoint has one of those too. The features are almost identical to the wired option. Naturally, you’ll need to recharge the battery every six months or so. It also doesn’t work when temperatures drop below – 4 degrees, whereas the wired option will stay online when it’s down to – 58 degrees. But the wireless doorbell camera does come with 20 customizable tones. You have to pay for this separately with the wired one.

Regardless of which video doorbell you choose, you’ll get cloud video storage for up to 1,000 clips per month. Plus, you can access live streaming and two-way audio in the Frontpoint app. We used it to chat to our neighbor when they offered to collect a parcel for us when we weren’t home.

Yale Z-Wave Smart Lock

Another third-party item we bought with Frontpoint was a Z-Wave smart lock from Yale, a leading lock manufacturer. It was really convenient to be able to lock and unlock our doors remotely, whether that was as we got home from work or at night to make sure that everything was safe and secure.

The Yale Z-Wave smart lock also worked perfectly with Frontpoint’s geofencing feature. That was one of Frontpoint’s most unique features. In essence, the Frontpoint app on our phone constantly communicated our location with the hub. And then we got to set a virtual perimeter around our house so that when we enter or leave it, Fronpoint would trigger specific actions.

We programmed Frontpoint to lock our doors whenever we leave the geofenced area. (What can we say? We’re forgetful sometimes!) That way, we never have to wonder if we left the front door open. Not that we can’t lock/unlock the door remotely using the Frontpoint app, but it’s just more convenient to have the system do things for us automatically.

Indoor Camera

Finally, we got Frontpoint’s indoor camera, which fortunately had that clear, 1080p HD display we missed in the video doorbell, plus infrared night vision and two-way audio. The camera’s video quality was similar to video we’ve seen in Ring’s suite of cameras, all of which record in 1080p HD.

This made our camera way more hidden; most people who went into our house didn’t even notice it! Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t zoom in at all, and with a 113-degree field of view, it didn’t cover quite as much ground as we’d hoped.

Again, the camera had only motion detection, so we got a ton of false alarms, and the storage was the same free 1,000 clips. While we appreciated the camera’s video quality, audio, and night vision, it still fell a bit short of expectations when it came to AI.

Which Frontpoint Equipment To Buy

To help you decide which pieces of equipment to buy for your Frontpoint security system, here’s a simple table ranking the components we tested in terms of the security they provide, what they’re best used for, and whether they’re a must-have or unnecessary. We’re not going to include the Frontpoint Hub and keypad, as both are absolutely necessary for every Frontpoint system.

Almost every Frontpoint device we tested is a must-have for overall home security and protection, but of course, there’s the cost to factor in. A complete home security system with all those components is going to cost you several hundred dollars on top of the $49 monthly fee that we’ll discuss below.

The great thing about Frontpoint, though, is that it’s easily scalable. You can start with the basics – we recommend entry sensors for your front door, a couple of motion sensors near possible entry points, and glass break sensors for rooms with multiple glass doors or windows. If you feel like you need more, you can always purchase additional components and install them yourself. We’ll get to the installation process later on.

Frontpoint Review: Video Edition

If you’re more of a visual learner, check out our video review below to see Frontpoint in action. You’ll also see some of its cool features, like voice control integration, at work.

Was Frontpoint Easy to Install?

Frontpoint is a wireless security system that you can install yourself. That means there are no installation fees. But is it easy to install?

First of all, Frontpoint puts a premium on customer service, and one of the things we liked was they had a support team in place to assist new customers in installing their systems. They were easy to reach, and they helped make sure we were installing and testing the system correctly.

All in all, it took us less than an hour to set up everything, including the Frontpoint security cameras and the video doorbell that we had bought. That’s not our record time — we had DIY systems that were up and running in 30 minutes or less — but it’s pretty good for a system as sophisticated as Frontpoint.

Overall, the setup was very simple, not requiring drilling or nails, and once the system was up, it worked without a hiccup. It was also easy to integrate it with voice assistants, allowing for remote control. You don’t need to be a security expert like us to install Frontpoint; it’s designed to be as painless as possible, with wireless, peel-and-stick sensors and pre-programmed devices. Out of the box, the sensors were ready to connect to the hub. We just pulled the battery tab to turn them on, and voila! That’s why Frontpoint is one of the best DIY home security systems.

That said, Frontpoint also works with third-party home automation devices, particularly those that use Z-Wave as their wireless standard. If you’re planning to integrate Z-Wave smart devices with Frontpoint, you may have to do a bit of research to learn how to pair the specific devices that you own. The pairing process is generally easy, but some third-party devices require additional steps.

How Frontpoint Fit Into Our Smart Home

Being as into our smart home as we are, we were very pleased to see that Frontpiont worked really well with Alexa1 and Google Assistant. Here’s how we commanded Frontpoint with each voice assistant.

Alexa

Using Alexa, we were able to arm and disarm our security system, check its status, and control connected devices like smart locks, smart thermostats, and smart lighting. We didn’t have quite as many automation options with Frontpoint as we did when we reviewed Vivint’s security system, as Vivint is a more robust system that can pair with a greater number of third-party devices like smart locks and smart speakers. But we were pleased that we could still use Alexa to record video with our Frontpoint indoor camera.

Google Assistant

Integrating Frontpoint with our Google ecosystem was a tad more arduous. After failing to find the Frontpoint action on Google, we finally figured out that we had to download the Alarm.com action instead, then log in with our Frontpoint credentials. From there, we could ask Google to tell Alarm.com to arm our system, check its status, and control smart lights, locks, and thermostats.

Frontpoint’s Security Packages and Monthly Monitoring Plans

Frontpoint offers some of the most customizable equipment packages on the market. Not only can you create a custom package or add equipment to one of Frontpoint’s ready-made packages, but you can also add equipment to an existing Frontpoint system without hassle thanks to its DIY setup.

If you’re only getting started, though, Frontpoint offers two packages that you can use as foundation for your custom security system: the Essential Home Security System and Total Home Security System.

Each of those packages include a Frontpoint Hub and a keypad, and they also come with varying numbers and types of components. We’ve made this table to show you what each package includes, as well as their total cost.

Once you have a foundation, you can build out your system by adding components. Frontpoint offers a great number of options — we counted 22 different pieces of equipment — from security and hazard sensors to security cameras and smart home equipment.

We recommend mapping your house out before proceeding to the part where you select additional components, and make sure you get all the sensors and cameras you need. For example, it’s a good idea to place an entry sensor on every first-floor door and window.

Of course, you can always order additional hardware from Frontpoint if it turns out that you need more, but buying everything you need upfront means you’ll get the 25-percent discount for all of your components. For instance, the outdoor camera which normally costs $200 is now only $149.99 thanks to the discount. Don’t miss out on this chance to save!

Monitoring and Fees Breakdown for Frontpoint

Professional monitoring is required with a Frontpoint system, and the catch is, there’s only one Frontpoint monitoring plan and it costs $49.99 per month. Whether you’re a renter with just a couple of entry sensors and motion sensors or living in a mansion with dozens of Frontpoint devices, you’ll pay $49.99 per month.

It’s not off-the-charts expensive (we’ve seen companies charge $60 per month), but it’s a bit unfair for those looking for something simple and affordable. If that’s you, there are other options like SimpliSafe and Cove. You can read our SimpliSafe pricing breakdown and our guide to Cove’s pricing for more details.

Back to Frontpoint. Its simplified single-plan structure works best for those looking for an affordable smart security system, as its best features include smartphone access, app alerts, home automation, live feed streaming, and cloud video storage. Having all those for $49.99 per month is a steal. Not to mention, every Frontpoint system is 100-percent cellular, meaning they don’t need internet access to operate. Even during power outages, Frontpoint can protect your home thanks to the hub’s battery backup.

Check out this breakdown of Frontpoint’s features below: