Unfortunately, right now SimpliSafe home security systems are available for sale only in the US. But the SimpliSafe website has a place for you to let the company know that you want to see its system available in Canada.
You might. Alarm permit requirements vary from city to city in Canada, depending on regulations for police response and false alarms. Because there’s no universal requirement, we recommend contacting your city for details about false alarm fines and municipal alarm permit registration.
It can. Only two of the home security companies we recommend (Think Protection and ADT) are available in every province. Another difference location can make is the type of professional monitoring connection that’s available in your area.
Most security companies use cellular monitoring, which uses the same type of connection as a cellphone. This is the most reliable type of monitoring because there are no wires to cut and connections remain active during a power outage. That’s good news.
The bad news is that cellular connections aren’t available in all areas. Rural locations, and areas near mountains, canyons, or the ocean can get spotty (or no) cellular service.
If you live in an area like that, it makes reliable professional monitoring harder to come by. In that case, you should look for broadband or landline monitoring. But broadband monitoring relies on an active Wi-Fi network, which might be tricky in the same areas that struggle with cellular connections.
If your home gets limited cellular coverage, it’s worth it to seek out a home security option that offers alternatives like landline or broadband monitoring. Just one of the home security systems on our list, ADT, offers both broadband and landline monitoring.
There’s a lot of buzz about cloud storage when it comes to home security, but it’s not a primary feature of any of our best home security systems in Canada. That can seem confusing, but the simple answer is that cloud storage is most common (and most useful) in reference to security cameras.
Because not all home security systems include cameras, we don’t emphasize cloud storage in our reviews of whole-home security systems. But we do make it a priority when it comes to finding a quality home security camera. And there can be concerns about the true security and privacy of information stored in a cloud.
All the companies and equipment that we recommend that use cloud storage take extreme measures to ensure the security of information saved in the cloud. But some security companies, like our number-one pick, Vivint, prefer encrypted local storage to the cloud.
Overall, cloud storage is a secure and convenient option—particularly for video storage. But we recommend that you fully research the benefits and risks before making a decision for your family.