Sentry Alert

I am very disappointed with Sentry. It has been 10 years since I had my service installed. Last year I called about some of my entry points that were not connecting to my key pad. I was told that my batteries needed to be replaced. Batteries were replaced, I paid, problem still existed. I was told I needed a new Keypad. They installed, I paid, problem still existed. They then told me that I needed all new sensors in order for it to read to the new keypad, which would cost roughly $ 1000 dollars. I told them I was not able to do it at that time.
One year later, the cost is now over $ 2700…are you kidding? I’m going with a new company and a new alarm system with monitoring that won’t nickel and dime me to death. Unsatisfied customer.

Been with these guys for several years. I like that they are a local, smaller company as that’s where I want to spend my money. They will be upgrading our system to the most current cellular technology. The president of the company, Dave, called me to assure me that my business is appreciated. He’s a very reasonable and professional guy and I am happy to continue with his company for our home security.

Today I made a simple mistake. That could have resulted in a real mess. But good fortune was shining upon us as we had the smoke alarm as part of our security system. I had left a double boiler on the stove when I went out to pick up my wife. When we arrived back home. The fire department was at the house and the small fire had been put out. The fire personnel stated that had they not arrived for another five/​ten minutes and we would have needed a new back wall to our house. We are thankful to Sentry Alert for being aware when I was not. We give thanks.

We’ve had Sentry Alert services for the past 12 years – 11 in SF and now 1 year in Sonoma. They are tops! From the salesperson to the installer to the phone reps, they are always professional and competent. We’ve had several service appointments at our new home due to remodeling, etc., and the appointment scheduler has consistently been able to send a tech within a reasonable time frame. I want to make special mention of technician Kris, who is not only competent and knowledgable, but a professional pleasure to work with. I don’t think it gets any better. Thank you, Sentry Alert!

I wanted to use a local security service and after researching and reading various reviews, including Unilocal, I decided to try Sentry. What a mistake that has turned out to be. From the sales person who was next to incompetent to the security cameras that were installed that simply don’t work, this has been one of the worst consumer experiences I can remember.
I was upsold the idea of hard wiring the cameras because «you don’t want to log on to your computer, phone or ipad and not be able to see what is going on». The security «video» cameras basically take a grainy picture every 2 – 3 minutes and I need to constantly log on just to get that accomplished. I would never recommend this service to anyone and in fact will be finding another service to replace this inept video security company.
Please don’t waste your time or hard earned money with Sentry Alert!

A poor choice for home security. We inherited them when we bought our house and service was initially very strong. Through the years it has deteriorated significantly and we are now in the process of changing providers. Their monitoring practices are sloppy. Several times they have allowed people to NOT give the required password when they tripped the alarm (dog walker, child care, mother in law, house guest). They also don’t seem to have a fixed monitoring location as several times I have gotten calls from someone on their cell phone which just seems wrong They wanted to charge me $ 400 for a new keypad even though we have been clients for over 10 years. For that amount, I’ll get state of the art somewhere else thanks.

This is the first service call we’ve needed since the alarm system was installed almost 3 years ago, and the problem was just low batteries in a couple of the sensors. I called the office yesterday and they scheduled an appointment for between 11:00 and 1:00 today. The technician who came out, Dean, was on-​time, friendly, efficient, and showed my how to do the replacements myself next time (it’s very easy). I just wish the system hadn’t woken us up at 5am with the low battery notification!

Just to update that the management did go out of their way to discuss the problem. But by then I switched to another provider. It is entirely possible that out of the two times I needed assistance I got the wrong guy on the wrong day with the wrong problem. But I think it is important that my review stay the same though as all their other reviews are stellar. I want people to know that the good service they are paying for by paying extra on the system and paying for service calls may not always come though.

Just a quick shout-​out saying how much I appreciate Sentry Alert. We’ve had them for 12 years and the are friendly, responsive, and have supremely competent staff. Price are quite fair, and customer service fantastic.

I’m moving to a new home and had a desire for some home security equipment that was a bit more than a «standard offering.» After reaching out to several other companies who would only nod, smile and keep trying to sell me their stock package, I finally found Sentry Alert. I first touched base with Jeff who was more than willing to speak with me about my needs despite the fact that I was calling at 5pm on the Friday of a holiday weekend. He then connected me with David who promptly called me to verify my needs, provide some valuable advice, and deliver a quote for what I really wanted (not just some stock package). After dealing with several alarm companies that had little idea how to provide good customer service, working with Sentry Alert was a breath of fresh air. I highly recommend giving them a call.

Always good service from these folks. I did research because my parents’ competitive (big-​name) alarm company is deficient in so many ways.
In the 15 yrs or so I’ve used Sentry for our commercial office building, I think I might have only seen one nominal price increase. We’ve never had an emergency that required an alert being sent to them, but when one of us (including me!) inadvertently sets off the alarm, they have been quick to call and patient while we stumbled trying to remember the verbal password. Great local company.

The service is good. But they are inflexible when it comes to working out contract disputes. I suppose I’d expect it from a major cell phone company, but I was hoping for something different when dealing with a small, local company.

We have had a great history with Sentry Alert in SF and the east bay. They actually installed systems in a number of my family members’ homes growing up, so they were my first thought when it came to arming my husband and my house in SF. They even transitioned us from our old to new house without any fanfare! They’re incredibly responsible, thorough — all around fantastic.

So far we have had an excellent experience with Sentry. We had the system installed a couple of weeks ago. The installer Kris was professional and seemed like he knew what he was doing. The sales person Marie came to our house later to explain the controls. One time already we accidentally set it off. The dispatcher answered right away when we called but still made sure we we ok. All in all, we a happy to have chosen Sentry.

I recently bought a house and wanted somebody other than ADT for my home security; because of of some experiences I have had with ADT @ my job; and I decided to go for a smaller local company. They arrived and installed my equipment on time, were professional, set everything up, cleaned up after themselves, etc. They also stayed stayed @ the shop one day 15 minutes past closing, to wait for me, because I was on my way to pick something up there and was delayed due to traffic.
I would recommend Sentry Alert to anybody needing alarm system services.

Sentry Alert is a small, local alarm business that’s been around a while. They don’t have tons of billboards promising to make thievery a lost art, and the USPS doesn’t stuff your mailbox full of their advertisements. That’s probably why they’re small, and part of why I like them.
Once, when I needed to call them (which isn’t often), a polite, friendly voice came on the line after about zero rings. Naturally, I waited to hear the options so that I’d know whether to press one, two, or three. It took me a second to realize that I was talking with a real person, and that I needed to say something.
I found them to be competent, honest, and non-​pushy. Can’t think of a reason to blot out any stars, so I’ll leave it at five.

Roller coaster experience with this company. Contacted them due to excellent ratings on Unilocal.Got an appointment the next day with a salesman. He was 2 hours late but did call a couple of times to explain the delay. Super nice guy and slightly better pricing than my old company. Problem is he was a nice guy with poor follow through which is kind of strange given the reputation of the alarm co. world as being super aggressive. Don’t know which way I would rather have it but working with Sentry definitely was a frustrating experience to the point that after giving him the benefit-​of-​the-​doubt, the pattern of inaction left me unsurprised. Not exactly what one would hope for in an alarm company.
During a lull waiting to get information back from them, I did finally decide to go with a different company which I could easily rave about. Still, after finally getting the info on a separate video system we had been concurrently talking about, I did still want to get that part with Sentry. I set up an appointment only to have him no show/​no call. When I called him over an hour later, he said since I was no longer getting the alarm system with them, they would not do the video system. You know, that would be fine. I understand that. What I don’t understand is the lack of courtesy to call and cancel. Not good for a security company where communication and customer service should be a priority.
This company is not one I would want to take a ride with.

I own a locksmith business, and I know how important it is to have your house secure.
Since all I work on are the locks, I searched long and hard for a good and reliable Alarm Company.
After going through my channels, I heard from many people that this family owned business has the best ratting in the whole Bay Area. So I called them to have someone come out to give me an estimate.
Dan came out, showed up right on time, was very personable and professional. I could tell right away that he has been doing this for quite a while and that he know what he’s talking about. He offered to upgrade my old existing system for practically nothing (no charge for labor at all). After getting quotes from several companies, I decided that Sentry Alert is by far my first choice and started the service.
Now, over a month in, I can definitely say that they are masters of their trade! Good customer service and quick responses to all of my testing — don’t tell them I tested it on purpose ;)
I highly recommend this company to anyone who needs a security system in their house or business, and it’s a great way to support a small, local business.
I also think that Unilocal does not do them justice and can’t understand how they have so few reviews, when I myself asked several people I know with their services and they are all 100% satisfied.

Sentry Alert is a must-​have for ALL Bay Area families. When you call, you get a live person immediately! With Bay Alarm, you have to «press 2 if you are having an alarm». I like speaking with a live, courteous, knowledgeable person.
We purchased a home with an ADT alarm and after being hounded with ADT advertisements in our mail, I wanted to search for a reputible, local, company with great reviews.
Sentry Alert is family-​owned and operated and has been in business for over 35 years! And I know why, they are simply awesome!
Their technician came to my home and although the ADT system kind of worked, it was so bizarre and made no sense for my needs. The technician installed a new panel (was able to use all existing alarms on my doors and windows) and gave great suggestions on additional devices. ADT did not alarm the main front window so the technician quickly added that. We also added an noise detector to detect glass breaking.
I love that my family is safe and we can arm the system while we are home. I feel confident that my home is protected while we are away. I REALLY like that our keypad has panics for fire and police and that we have small keychains that turn the alarm on and off and also have panic buttons, too.
Whatever you do, contact Sentry Alert. With your first phone call, you will know why they are so highly rated with
, Angie’s list, Berkeley Parents Network, etc.

We got a new place and had to put an alarm system in. The system was pre-​wired but an alarm company needed to be selected.
I started to do my research. I had heard of ADT & Bay alarm but that was it. Unilocal didn’t have any good info. I finally found some decent ratings at Consumers Checkbook (
).
Article seem to be free:
Ratings of the vendors requires you to subscribe (it’s worth it, many vendors just aren’t reviewed enough on Unilocal)
I highly recommend reading their article on alarm systems and installers before you pick a vendor. In their survey, only two companies receive good ratings: Sentry & Redwood Security. I called both to come out.
Redwood security was very good as well. My only beef is that Martin didn’t really listen to what I wanted and proposed a system that I thought was unnecessary. He however was very straightforward and honest and I’m sure they would have done great work
Dan from Sentry called me back and we finally setup a time to meet. Dan is a no-​nonsense kind of guy, and you get the sense that he won’t BS you and won’t tell you a lie. I enjoyed his straight-​talk and pragmatic approach and signed up.
On the install day, Dean came, and we had a great experience with him. He was willing to let me tag along on the install, pester him with questions, and he still got his work done. He was able to figure out how to deal with a nicked wire and came up with another solution that worked great for me. He was able to tell me a bit about a system called Xanboo that lets you access the system over the web (why don’t all these systems let you access them via the web and connect to your home wifi?)
The company that did the wiring came out and I wasn’t thrilled with them. Mostly because english wasn’t their primary language, so communication was difficult, and they didn’t show for my first appointment with them. I learned from them they used a system call «Ademco» from Honeywell. Honeywell seems to make all the systems, and I believe Ademco is the system ADT uses. Sentry uses Honeywell as well, but their «first alert» line. in theory you can change the monitoring company you use later if you want to save money.
You do have to sign a multi-​year agreement, which I’m not thrilled about, but it seems like that’s the business model with everyone. I’m also not sold on how much benefit these systems provide, but we’ll find out.
I don’t think Sentry is the least expensive option from a monitoring perspective, but I got great service, they are responsive to email, and they do seem to be aware of the new products available in the security market, and I don’t think these guys will lie to you.