Most Effective Way to Cancel SimpliSafe Service

To cancel Monitoring, you need to call (they will need your safe word). SimpliSafe will terminate your service immediately. The company requires your voice so that they can ensure they unquestionably have your permission.

You can also have them remove the credit card on your account. That way, there would be no possible way to charge you.

^ Only thing is, there are a few reports that users were told of the cancellation but continued to be charged (don't know the true number of people who have had this issue, but I've seen many).  Apparently, one must babysit your credit card for at least one or two billing periods (if the first month after cancellation has not been charged, chances are, it was cancelled effectively, but any charges the first month and thereafter, you have to stay on top of them continuously until someone does their job, plus deal with chargebacks).  Good call, Shiherlis, on requesting they remove your credit card from the account.

If you want the easy button then I'd say call the CC issuer and ask them to block any further charges from SS.

When they can't charge the card I'm thinking SS will reach out to you.

In cases where there is a contract this really would not be the way to go because the contractual payments are still due. However, since monitoring is no contract, there is no issue in that regard.

Update on this:

I didn't have a chance to fully cancel service before Christmas due to a flooring replacement.

I've had a chance to think on things a little more, and here's what I might do instead.

My main issue now with my SimpliSafe system is no matter what I try to do, it's not successfully connecting to Wi-Fi. I keep getting "Connection Failed" even though it is connecting to 2.4 GHZ, I'm inserting the correct password, I have solid 2.4 GHZ wireless throughout my home, and other devices connect flawlessly to 2.4 GHZ. My ISP may be coming out to do some additional troubleshooting on my router due to my home phone, so I could have them look at it and ensure nothing on my router/WAP is preventing the SimpliSafe system to successfully connect to Wi-Fi, and if everything checks out clean, then it's basically a bust getting my SimpliSafe system connected to Wi-Fi.

Instead of canceling my service, I may downgrade my SimpliSafe plan from the Interactive plan to the Standard plan for $14.99/month instead of $24.99/month, saving myself $120/year. This way my SimpliSafe system can continue to run over cellular and function as a traditional security system I can arm and disarm with the keypad, plus I have a couple of keyfobs. That way I can eliminate the non-functional interactive apps and still have a low-cost monitored home security system and savings on my home owner's insurance, plus I won't lose the investment in my hardware. It would also reduce the need for me to contact support once these changes are made, so I wouldn't need to deal with SimpliSafe's horrendous, nonexistent support. It would also give me a path where if a better security system service came along, I could always cancel SimpliSafe in the future and transition to the new system without needing to jump into any new solutions at the moment, and also allowing me to get enough out of my current SimpliSafe hardware investment.

With the downgrade to the Standard plan, I'll need to give up my SimpliCam. I'll likely replace it with a third-party security camera that works independently of SimpliSafe so I have an additional level of protection outside of SimpliSafe. Once the camera is removed from my account, if anyone on here is interested in it, I'd be willing to part with it. I didn't pay anything for it (I received it free during the promo), so I'm not losing any investment on it.

I do have a handful of questions concerning these changes:

1. To change from the Interactive plan to the Standard plan, would I need to call into SimpliSafe, or can it be done via my control panel, email, or live chat? I'm just wondering which is the quickest path to handle it.

2. What would I need to do to remove my SimpliCam from my account, and would I also need to disable Visual Verification due to the removal of my SimpliCam?

3. Will I need to download and submit a new certificate to my home owner's insurance due to the plan change? I'm not seeing the plan type on the certificate itself, so it seems the one I've already filed should be OK.

Thanks again for your assistance! Even though the forum technology has major issues (no search functionality, etc.), the SimpliSafe users on this forum are better than SimpliSafe's own support!

1) To downgrade, you will need to call SS and provide the "safe" word.

2) I recall there is a "remove camera" button on the camera page in the app.  Removing the camera will remove the Visual Verification for that camera

3) No, the certificate is for the monitoring, not the interactive feature.  As long as you don't remove any listed sensor (water, smoke), there is no change to the certificate.

Remember that visual verification can reduce your dispatch time significantly (a verified dispatch is much higher priority than a standard alarm dispatch, which can be critical in departments which are overworked).  This can mean the difference between 10 minutes and a couple of hours is some jurisdictions.

Thanks for the info. I'll call them this week. While I'd rather use Visual Verification, my issue is the SS system is flat refusing to connect to Wi-Fi, so I have no way to keep the camera online. I wish I could, but it's simply not working. I'll show it to my ISP when they come out tomorrow just in case they have any other options I can try (since they cloud manage my network), but I'm not expecting it to work.

More than likely something on your WiFi/router or ISP preventing the camera function.

Use the hotspot feature on your phone as a test to eliminate the home network as a variable?

I had my ISP re-check the Wi-Fi router, and everything checked out clean there. They even had me walk with them through all of the settings to check everything, then re-attempt a connection. Still nothing. So the issue is with SS.

When I called into SS support, they didn't care about attempting any further troubleshooting (they could care less about resolving any technical issues I had), so I went ahead and had them bump me down to the $14.99/month standard plan, and I had the Camera removed with Visual Verification disabled (so I have a spare SimpliCam if anyone wants one). The system is arming/disarming OK over cellular (as long as I don't plugin a Verizon Network Extender), and the keypad and my keyfobs work OK. It's not the extra flash I had with the interactive plan, but since SS doesn't want to attempt to resolve my issues with the interactive stuff, I can cut it all out, run it as a more traditional home security system, and save $120/year. It's been a better balance than a flat out cancellation, as it still gives me fully monitored protection, my full homeowner's insurance discount, I lose nothing in hardware costs, and I save $120/year. If something better comes along later, then with no contract, I could always switch to a different solution later, but I'm in no rush to need to find something else.

For a replacement camera, I'm going to get a solution that works with my iCloud account over iCloud Secure Video. That way I'll still have a camera, and since I already pay for an iCloud storage plan that supports Secure Video, no extra monthly cost for me. That'll also give me another level of protection outside of SS so I'm not having to put all of my trust eggs in one basket.

SS has changed for the worse.  I've been a loyal customer for 5 yrs and recommended  the system to others because of the flexibility they offered regarding monitoring contracts.  In fact, according to the company founders,  their mission was to provide a flexible system for renters as they themselves were while studying at Yale.

Now, the customer has to jump  through hoops to make any changes, specifically call and wait on the phone to talk to a "knowledgeable" agent to correct settings due to misleading advertising. Case in point, their literature says to go to simplisafe.com/activate  in order to activate monitoring, and that the $24.99 service is due to your downloading the "mobile app".  Well,  that is not the case.  If  after you receive the system you login to your account via the pc browser, - e.g. just to change the names of the sensors - the system automatically activates monitoring!  Since when a  browser on a desktop is a "mobile app"?  and where do they say the activation would be automatic?  

After talking to an agent I found out that "interacting" with your account via the website triggers activation. That if you want to avoid that interaction you should use the keypad terminal.  Imagine trying to change phone numbers and names and other settings via a keypad!  Ridiculous. It's all about forcing people into a more expensive monitoring contract.

It's a shame that SS is walking away from what made them successful and resorting to deceptive marketing techniques to make a buck.

If after you receive the system you login to your account via the pc browser, - e.g. just to change the names of the sensors - the system automatically activates monitoring! Since when a browser on a desktop is a "mobile app"? and where do they say the activation would be automatic?

After talking to an agent I found out that "interacting" with your account via the website triggers activation. That if you want to avoid that interaction you should use the keypad terminal.

Wow. Going on seven years as a customer, and this is very surprising to read that this is how things now work. If this is the way the company is currently/alternatively activating systems, I am sure many are beginning activation without intent. I, for one, am someone who likes to learn the ins and outs of online accounts before commitment by being thorough. So presently, I would have accidentally activated monitoring just by performing due diligence and learning how to use the system before going live.

This is indeed troubling, a bit ADT-ish in nature.  Will now head over to the Help Center and suggest another new article. Sigh

Update: Searched the help center. While there are articles on monitoring plans and how to activate, there is nothing on "automatic opt-ins".  I have requested one be added and for forthcoming disclosures on the website.

On January 9th, 2020 parkernathan says:
Once the camera is removed from my account, if anyone on here is interested in it, I'd be willing to part with it.

I would take the cam. Be glad to pay shipping and toss in for a sixer of your fave brew or whatever.