Home security checklists

Contract checklist. Contract term in months. Auto-renewal length and the exact cancellation notice window and method. Early termination amount. Equipment owned, leased or financed. Every recurring charge — monitoring, cellular, cloud video storage. Activation fee, which Fixr puts at $25 to $100. Relocation terms. Who registers the alarm with the city, and confirmation once it is done.

Installation checklist. Contacts on every exterior door including the garage entry. Coverage on accessible ground-floor windows. Motion sensors placed to avoid pets and heat sources — ASU's research names pets among the leading false alarm causes. Panel with a communication path that survives an internet outage. Every sensor tripped and confirmed with the monitoring center in test mode. Codes set, with a separate code per person if supported, and the duress code explained.

Free hardening checklist. Lock every door and window every time — ASU reports about a third of burglaries involve unlocked entry through windows, basement openings or garage doors. Reinforce door frames and strike plates against forced entry, which accounts for about two-thirds. Cut back shrubs that block sightlines from the street. Light the approaches. Make the house look occupied; the research notes homes appearing occupied discourage attempts.

Away-from-home checklist. Hold or forward mail and packages. Put interior lights on varied timers. Have someone move a vehicle occasionally. Do not post travel plans publicly. Arm the system when you leave during the day, not just at night — roughly 60 percent of residential burglaries happen in daylight.

How to choose

Get the contract checklist answered in writing

Verbal answers from a salesperson do not survive a dispute. Every item should be findable in the agreement.

Test every sensor at handover

In test mode with the monitoring center on the line. Do not accept 'it's all set' without seeing each signal register.

Do the free measures first

Locks, frames, lighting and sightlines address the entry methods the research actually documents, and they cost almost nothing.

Arm the system in the daytime

Around 60 percent of residential burglaries occur during daylight hours in unoccupied homes. Night-only arming misses the main window.

Photograph valuables now

A photo inventory with model numbers, stored in the cloud, is what makes a theft claim straightforward.