What Is Bay Alarm?

Who is Bay Alarm?

Bay Alarm was founded in 1946. It started out as your typical mom and pop company: it's family-run and locally operated. Over the past 70 years, however, it has grown to become California's most popular alarm company. To this day, it remains an independently owned and operated alarm company, but it has expanded its coverage outside California. It now serves three states: California, Arizona, and Washington.

Bay Alarm also advanced when it comes to equipment. For them, gone are the days of analog keypads and hardwired security systems. Bay Alarm's equipment offering includes a touchscreen control panel and wireless sensors. It now even offers an app that you can use to remotely control your security system.

Why They’re Different

What makes Bay Alarm different isn't what it offers, but the type of service they are able to provide thanks to their strong local presence. Bay Alarm was built in California, and as such, its employees and the management itself live and work in the very place that they protect. They have local knowledge of the areas they serve, which gives them the ability to personalize their offers to the customer's needs.

Also, because most areas covered by Bay Alarm are only a short drive from their headquarters, Bay Alarm offers 24-hour emergency repairs. If a component of your security system needs to be fixed, you won't need to wait for days for a technician to come; Bay Alarm can immediately send one to your house.

As a local company, Bay Alarm also gives back to the community. They are known to provide support to local community and outreach organizations, law enforcement agencies, and even education organizations. If you sign up to a Bay Alarm monitoring plan, in a way, you're helping your local community.

Who’s It For?

Bay Alarm is geared toward homeowners currently residing in California, Arizona, and Washington. However, with a three-year contract, it’s best for those with longer term security needs. Also, if you have any plans to move in the near future, we recommend choosing an alarm company with national coverage instead. If you move out of Bay Alarm's service area while still under contract, they might charge you a hefty early termination fee.

Key Features & Tech:

• 24/7 Professional Monitoring
• Smartphone Access
• Home Automation
• Cameras

24/7 Professional Monitoring

Professional monitoring comes standard with any Bay Alarm security system. Bay Alarm can monitor for fire, burglary, and medical emergencies. Its monitoring centers, which are located in North California and Sacramento, hold a Five Diamond Certification from The Monitoring Association, is approved for fire alarm monitoring by Factory Mutual, and is certified as Underwriters Laboratories Listed.

Smartphone Access

Smartphone access is another standard feature. The Bay Alarm Connect app, powered by Honeywell, lets you access, modify, and control your security system wherever you are as long as you have access to the internet. The iOS version of the app holds a stellar 4.5/5 stars rating, while the Android version holds a slightly lower 3.7/5 stars rating.

Home Automation

Using the same app and with the help of home automation products sold by Bay Alarm, you can remotely control your lights, locks, and thermostat. You can even create entire scenarios that happen automatically, like an "Away" scene that turns all your lights off, locks your doors, and turns down your thermostat at once when you leave your house. You can also tie home automation into your security system, turning on lights automatically, when your sensors detect a possible intrusion.

Cameras

Bay Alarm also offers indoor and outdoor home security cameras as well as a video doorbell. You can monitor your cameras using the smartphone app. The app allows you to watch live feed coming from your cameras to check on your house or to verify an alert. The cameras also record videos of events.

Monitoring Options

As Bay Alarm uses in-home sales reps, finding the true cost of service is difficult without a visit. Through research, we’ve gathered that monitoring starts at $30 per month with a 36-month contract. Also, they charge an installation fee, which depends on what you want them to install. A basic installation of a control panel, two door/window sensors, and a motion sensor will run around $300. One Yelper shares that he paid $200 for the installation of a control panel, motion sensor, and keypad.¹

To gain a deeper understanding of the costs associated to using Bay Alarm, check out the article we've put together about Bay Alarm's plans, deals, and promotions.

Hardware & Technology

Bay Alarm offers a comprehensive suite of security system hardware devices and technology, but the most notable is the Honeywell Touch control panel. It's the brain behind the entire system. It connects with all your sensors and even smart home devices and offers intuitive control using the built-in touchscreen interface. Using the keypad, you can arm or disarm your system, manage users, change codes, and even check your home security cameras. It also shows you a local report so you can plan your activities before leaving the house.

Aside from the touchscreen panel, Bay Alarm offers:

• Door/Window Sensors
• Motion Sensors
• Glass Break Sensors
• Key Fobs
• SkyBell Doorbell Cameras
• Smoke/Heat Sensor
• Carbon Monoxide Sensor
• Smart Light Modules
• Z-Wave Smart Locks
• Indoor Cameras
• Outdoor Cameras

For more information about Bay Alarm's equipment and key features, check out our full Bay Alarm review.

Customer Experience

As a local company, Bay Alarm is able to provide a highly personalized customer experience, including a 24-hour emergency repair service. If your system needs immediate repair, Bay Alarm can send a technician to your home right away. This is possible because most of Bay Alarm's customers live within a few hours drive from their main office. The only catch is that tech visits will cost you.

If you need help that doesn't require a tech visit, such as simple troubleshooting, you can call up the customer support hotline. You may also log into your account using Bay Alarm's website to access premium support.

Monitoring Facilities

Bay Alarm's primary monitoring center is located in Northern California, but recently, they've established a second monitoring station in Sacramento. Both stations are equipped with backup generators in case of power outages. The monitoring centers are also linked and fully equipped for redundancy. For example, if there's a natural disaster in California that prevents the monitoring center there from operating, the Sacramento office will take over.