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These are the top security systems that offer alternative alerting options. We personally tested each one, and here’s what we found.
Updated August 20, 2024
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Alerting users to break-ins, fires, and other life-threatening emergencies is one of the most important functions of a security system. To do that, most security systems use some forms of audible alarm. They use sirens, hubs, and smoke alarms that emit beeping sounds, and even smart speakers that can make voice-recorded announcements. Those types of alarms do little to nothing for folks with hearing loss.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t security systems that cater to the deaf community, though, especially now that we’re living in the golden age of technology. Innovative security systems have come up with ways to deliver alerts without relying on audible signals.
The good news is you don’t have to look far to find security systems with those components. Some of the most trusted names in the industry — the best security systems, so to speak — offer inclusive technology that can help keep all of us safe from home dangers. Without further ado, here are my top picks.
| Features | Vivint | ADT | SimpliSafe |
|---|---|---|---|
| SecureScore™ | 9.1 | 9.2 | 9.2 |
| Text-based alerting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automation | Yes | Yes | Limited |
| Strobe lights | Yes (via Spotlight Pro) | No | No |
| Monthly cost (for professional monitoring) | $40+ | $24.99+ | $19.99+ |
| Our hands-on review | Vivint review | ADT review | SimpliSafe review |
Vivint uses home automation and other types of advanced technology to boost home security for everyone, which is why I named it one of the best security systems for seniors. From cameras that can detect and actively deter trespassers to a smart hub that can orchestrate an entire smart-home system, Vivint has it all.
Having tested Vivint many times before, I know it’s one of the best security systems with home automation. You or your Vivint technician can program smart lights to turn on when your alarm system is triggered. You can even set them to turn a specific color if you have color-changing smart bulbs.
Vivint Smart Home Equipment
Vivint also now offers text-based alerts. I received a text alert when I accidentally tripped our door sensor. It said something like, “Vivint has received an alarm from your property. Click the link to let us know what to do,” followed by a link that opens a web app with the option to cancel or confirm the alarm. That’s a handy alternative to the control panel’s emergency two-way talk.
One of the newer options from Vivint is the Spotlight Pro attachment for the outdoor camera. Surprisingly, it can double as a strobe light. It requires the $400 Outdoor Camera Pro to work, so it may not be the most practical solution, but the 1,800-lumen outdoor spotlight could be powerful enough to alert you to nighttime break-ins, especially if placed outside your bedroom windows.
Pro Tip: For additional home security and safety tips for family members with hearing loss, low vision, or mobility issues, read our home security and safety accessibility guide.
Vivint takes a mostly proactive stance in keeping homes and homeowners safe. Vivint sensors detect intrusion. They report to Vivint’s monitoring centers and to the Vivint Smart Hub itself. In the event of an intrusion, the hub will sound its built-in siren. It’s 100 decibels, which is loud enough to both scare off burglars and alert your next-door neighbors. I received a noise complaint while testing Vivint; it’s all good now.
Vivint’s cameras are also designed to prevent crime, although they can be quite pricey. The indoor model and the video doorbell cost $250 apiece, while the outdoor camera costs $400. The Spotlight Pro accessory mentioned above costs another $250. Feature-wise, though, they offer advanced computer vision to detect lurkers and trespassers even before they reach your home. They also attempt to deter them using Smart Deter programmable lights and sound signals, which include the strobe light function.
Vivint’s home-automation features can also protect you. The Smart Hub can accommodate over 200 Z-Wave devices. You can take your pick, from smart locks to smart garage door openers. I personally had a smart lock and smart thermostat installed, and I was able to automate them using rules. I have a rule, for example, that unlocks the door and shuts off the vents when the smoke alarm detects smoke to make it easier to get out of the house in case of a fire. Those automation features are Vivint’s strongest points.
Vivint Smart Hub and Ping Indoor Camera
I loved Vivint’s accessibility features, but it may not be the most practical option. That’s because of the cost, particularly for equipment. Don’t get me wrong — Vivint is worth the money. It’s just that if you go with Vivint, you may have to invest a hefty sum. Besides the cameras, most of Vivint’s equipment costs more than the same equipment from DIY companies like SimpliSafe (another good option for people with hearing loss that we’ll discuss below).
The good news is you won’t have to buy everything up front. Vivint installed my $1,200 system for a $199 installation fee, plus the first month’s professional monitoring cost. I’m currently paying off the equipment through monthly installments — about $25 per month over 60 months. The trade-off is that I also had to sign a 60-month contract with Vivint, during which I must keep paying the monthly monitoring fee or face a hefty penalty. You can read all about the cost-related aspects of Vivint in our Vivint pricing guide.
| Monitoring Options | Professional only |
|---|---|
| Installation | Professional |
| Smart Platform Integration | Alexa and Google Home |
| Equipment Cost | From $599.99 |
| Monthly Monitoring Cost | From $39 |
| Contract Length | 48 to 60 months |
ADT has long been making security systems accessible to all types of people, and the latest version of its system incorporates smart features to boost security. It’s not just ADT’s technology that I liked, but also the overall service — especially when it comes to professional monitoring. My ADT system is being monitored by nine ADT centers with full contingencies: backup generators and communication in the monitoring facilities, and battery and cellular backup in my control panel. (ADT is one of the best cellular security systems I tested.)
ADT’s monitoring response procedure includes System Monitoring and Response Technology (SMART) built around the ADT Alarm Messenger web app. It’s similar to Vivint’s text alerts, but it incorporates a group messaging system so you can communicate with family members. When I received an alert while in the office, for instance, the Alarm Messenger looped me in with my spouse, who was at home at the time. That makes ADT’s alert messaging platform a little better than that of Vivint.
Preparing to arm my ADT system before heading out for lunch.
I also had the pleasure of testing ADT’s home-automation functions since I bought an ADT Video and Smart Home package, but it’s not as customizable as Vivint. It didn’t let me control my smart lights from the control panel, nor did it let me create automation rules from there. It was all app-based. Still, I was able to make an automation rule that turns on the bedroom lights in case of a break-in.
ADT offers protection through a combination of sensors and security cameras backed by one of the best professional monitoring services we’ve ever tested. ADT sensors — the entry sensors, glass-break sensors, and motion sensors, as well as environmental alarms like smoke detectors and gas-leak sensors — are all linked to ADT’s monitoring centers for 24/7 monitoring. The security cameras, on the other hand, provide around-the-clock visual access to your home’s key areas, but they’re not monitored by ADT.
One aspect I like is that ADT’s monitoring agents can use security camera footage to verify alerts in case of a suspected intrusion. The industry term for that is “video verification.” It can help speed up police response, but it also helps ensure you get the help you need even if ADT fails to contact you. If you fail to notice the Alarm Messenger notification, for example, ADT will still send police dispatch if the monitoring agent sees a break-in in progress.
ADT’s cameras are from Google Nest, and they’re some of the most high-tech security cameras I’ve tested. You can learn more in our Google Nest Cam review, but the long and short of it is they can distinguish people, animals, and vehicles, and they can identify familiar faces.
Pro Tip: To maximize the usefulness of your security cameras and improve the chances of them catching intruders in the act, make sure to place them strategically around your house. ADT’s installation experts will identify the best placement for your home, but it also pays for you to know what those areas are. Learn more in our security camera placement guide.
Installing the ADT Outdoor Camera on my back porch
Like Vivint, ADT takes a more traditional approach to home security. The company now offers a DIY system in the form of ADT Self Setup (you can read our ADT Self Setup review for more information), but ADT’s primary security solution still requires professional installation and professional monitoring with at least a three-year contract. ADT’s installation service costs $99 to $199 depending on the size of the system being installed, while monitoring costs $24.99 to $34.99 depending on features. (More details in my ADT pricing guide.)
Another thing to note, which I noticed during my latest round of ADT testing, is that the built-in siren in the control panel isn’t very loud. It’s 85 decibels; I could barely hear it from my bedroom. If your goal is to alert your neighbors so they can call for help on your behalf or check on you, you’re better off with a siren that’s at least 100 decibels. Vivint’s Smart Hub and SimpliSafe’s base station are good examples.
Pro Tip: Fostering a good relationship with your neighbors can help keep your home and community safe. From simple acts such as taking in mail when you’re on vacation to letting you know if they see suspicious activity, your neighbors can help you out a lot. You can do the same for them too. Learn how to build a safer community for you and your neighbors.
| Equipment cost | Packages starting at $269 |
|---|---|
| Monitoring options | Professional |
| Monitoring cost | Starting at $29.99 per month |
| Contract length | Starting at 36 months |
| Installation options | Professional or DIY |
| Smart platform integration | Alexa and Google Home |
SimpliSafe is a leading DIY security system. I’ve known it best for its wireless equipment that installs in 30 minutes or less. (My personal best installing SimpliSafe is 22 minutes, but it’s not a race. Take your time and make sure everything is installed properly.) SimpliSafe can also be flexible for users. Unlike ADT and Vivint, you can self-monitor SimpliSafe without monthly fees — great if you’re on a budget — although we strongly recommend going with the Fast Protect professional monitoring plan if you or someone you live with has hearing loss. You’ll see why in a minute.
Remember Fast Protect? We recommend it because of its newly added feature, Alarm Text. It sends text alerts for emergencies, which you can reply to directly to cancel or confirm. It’s slightly better than Vivint because it can send texts to multiple primary contacts, but it lacks ADT’s group messaging system. SimpliSafe’s Alarm Text is purely SMS-based, though, unlike Vivint and ADT, which both link to web apps. Even if your internet isn’t working, you can still respond to SimpliSafe alerts.
A sampling of SimpliSafe equipment on my dining room table.
Unfortunately, that’s the only alternative alerting option from SimpliSafe. Other than Alarm Texts, SimpliSafe uses sirens, phone calls, and app alerts to notify users. SimpliSafe’s siren is pretty loud, though, and you can buy weather-resistant auxiliary sirens you can place outdoors for extra coverage. The built-in and auxiliary sirens are all 105 decibels. They’re the loudest of the three systems I tested, so SimpliSafe is what I recommend to people who have only partial hearing loss.
Tip: SimpliSafe is also a good security system for self-monitoring because of its loud siren. If you’re self-monitoring SimpliSafe, make sure to put sirens on every floor of your house and on the exterior — not only to alert your family and your neighbors, but also to scare away intruders.
SimpliSafe security systems are actually very simple. They lack Vivint’s advanced automation features and ADT’s highly sophisticated monitoring service, but they have one feature that neither of my two other picks offer. It’s called Live Guard Protection, and it’s exclusively for the new Smart Alarm indoor camera (which is newer than the SimpliCam I reviewed).
The Smart Alarm is a wireless indoor camera equipped with AI that can distinguish people from other moving objects. In short, it has person detection. But that’s not the best thing about this camera. With Fast Protect monitoring ($24.99 per month), SimpliSafe will link it to its monitoring center for Live Guard Protection. If it detects a person while armed, it will sound its 80-decibel built-in siren and a SimpliSafe specialist will speak through its speakers to tell the intruder that the police are en route.
That’s on top of 24/7 monitoring for all other SimpliSafe security and safety sensors, including video verification for non-Smart Alarm cameras. SimpliSafe offers another wired indoor camera, a battery-powered outdoor camera (see my SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera review), and a hardwired doorbell. Live Guard Protection is available only for the Smart Alarm, but SimpliSafe will cover all bases inside and outside your home.
SimpliSafe Outdoor Camera on Garage
SimpliSafe is easily one of the most affordable systems I’ve tested, but the downside is you may have to pay for the equipment in full up front or sign up for a shorter financing term than Vivint or ADT. Those two offer equipment financing up to 60 months. SimpliSafe’s financing partner, Affirm, offers terms only up to 24 months. It’s a good thing SimpliSafe packages are affordable.
I was also disappointed by SimpliSafe’s apparent lack of home-automation features. It doesn’t integrate with a lot of other smart-home products, so you can’t make it turn on lights during emergencies like you can with ADT and Vivint. It’s a solid, straightforward security system with good-quality equipment and a reliable monitoring service, but it doesn’t offer advanced features like the ones you can get from other top-shelf security systems.
| Equipment cost | Packages starting at $249.96 |
|---|---|
| Monitoring options | Professional or DIY |
| Monitoring cost | From $19.99 |
| Contract length | Monthly |
| Installation options | Professional or DIY |
| Smart platform integration | Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Watch |
Vivint, ADT, and SimpliSafe are the security systems I’ve personally tested and recommend for people who are deaf or have hearing loss, but they’re far from the only systems that can work. If you’re looking for other options, here are some of my runners-up:
From Anthony Travaglia, retired police officer and home security expert
Security systems are only one part of the solution if you want to make your home safer for you and your family members. If you or a family member you live with has hearing loss, consider using these additional security measures.
If you or a family member has hearing loss, there are certain precautions to take to ensure their safety and security. Not all security systems offer those precautions, but a lot of them do. In my experience, Vivint, ADT, and SimpliSafe offer the best solutions. They provide alternative alerting options, have advanced protection features, and offer professional monitoring services you can count on in times of emergency.
As always, though, it’s best to choose a security system based on your personal security needs. A lot of systems now offer accessibility features for users with hearing loss, so take a look at the best security systems I’ve tested for more options. You can also consult our security system buying guide for more information on how to choose the best security system for your home, your family, and yourself.
Home security systems for individuals who are deaf or have hearing loss are similar to security systems for the hearing, but audible features have been changed to fit the needs of deaf customers. Here are some common features:
Online management provides a way to monitor and control your home security system without having to use your voice. An online-management tool gives deaf customers the power to manage their home’s protection.
A strobe light is an important element of home security systems for deaf customers. Strobe lights can be installed anywhere in the home to provide a visual alert that the security system has been triggered.
With automated security devices, your home security system can be controlled remotely through an app that you access on your phone, tablet, or computer. You can also arm and disarm many systems with a keychain remote control.
Entry sensors are the first line of defense of home security, since they protect the entryways of your home. That makes them an essential part of your home security system, because they let you and the monitoring center know if an intruder has entered your home. They’re especially important for deaf customers.
You can customize your security system to send you email notifications when your alarm is triggered. The email will describe the event that triggered the alarm and allow you to dismiss or confirm the alarm. This type of notification is an important option for deaf customers who want to avoid phone calls.
Motion detectors serve as a backup for entryway sensors. They use infrared technology to sense movement in your home. You can program them to detect movement at different distances (short-range or long-range) depending on the needs of your home.
You can customize your home security system to send you mobile notifications when your alarm is triggered. Mobile notifications come in the form of a text message with a description of the event. That allows you to communicate with the monitoring professionals from your phone no matter where you are. It also provides a great alternative to unwanted phone calls.
The control panel is where the magic happens. Everything in your security system runs through the control panel, which is often mounted on the wall beside a main entrance. The control panel allows you to arm and disarm your home’s security, communicate with the monitoring center, and program equipment on your system. Multiple control panels can be installed in large or multilevel homes to ensure that one is never too far away.
Indoor and outdoor cameras are an indispensable part of home security if you are deaf, because they allow you to see your home whether you’re in another state or just another room. With cameras, you can easily identify what triggered your alarm system so you know whether it was a false alarm. An installation expert, like those at ADT, can help you decide the best placement for your indoor and outdoor cameras to provide your family with seamless surveillance when you need it most.
Accessibility.com (2022). Service Animals for the Deaf.
https://www.accessibility.com/blog/service-animals-series-service-animals-for-the-deaf
World Health Organization. (2024). Deafness and hearing loss.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss
