LifeShield is a solid option for budget-conscious homeowners looking for simple, effective home security with cheap monitoring. The company makes its own equipment in order to offer competitively priced security systems that you install yourself. The high starting costs and short warranty are disappointing but help keep this system affordable.
ADT acquired LifeShield in February 2019 in a move to bolster its self-installed security offerings. This acquisition is strikingly similar to Monitronics’ 2015 purchase of LiveWatch, now known as Brinks Home Security. LifeShield will operate as a separate division within ADT, led by LifeShield’s CEO, John Owens. As such, we will continue to maintain separate reviews for ADT and LifeShield until further notice.
This home security provider offers two 24/7 monitoring plans, which cost $19.99 or $24.99 a month. Regardless of which plan you choose, this is the lowest monthly monitoring price in our comparison. At the time of writing this review, the company is giving a free year of monitoring to new customers, but we don't include promotional offers in our scoring. LifeShield doesn't require a long-term contract and has no fees for early termination, something that's rare among the home security systems we've reviewed. For more information on the month-to-month contract offer by LifeShield, you can refer to the company’s Terms of Service here. As of the time of publishing this review, you can get the first month of monitoring free.
However, this also means you pay upfront for the equipment in your system. In fact, LifeShield's starting costs are higher than average at $199.15 for equipment, activation and preconfiguration. If you decide LifeShield isn't right for your needs, you can return your equipment within 30 days.
The company sets up your system before shipping it to you for installation, though the company also claims to offer professional installation in some regions. First, you set up the base station, which LifeShield calls L.O.U. (LifeShield’s Operating Unit), and connect it to one of four communications platforms: high-speed Internet, cellular signal, cellular text and landline phone. After setting up L.O.U., you simply place the other devices where they're needed.
If you need help with installation or have a problem with the system, you can contact support representatives via social media, live chat, phone or email. There's also an extensive selection of FAQs and tutorials. A one-year warranty helps you replace faulty equipment but is shorter than that of most home security systems.
LifeShield has three equipment packages with predetermined equipment, but also allows you to buy equipment a la carte based on your specific needs. You can choose equipment such as door and window sensors, motion detectors, keypad, touchpad control panels, keychain remotes and fire safety sensors that listen for smoke alarms. There's also a mobile app to remotely arm and disarm your system and you don’t have to pay extra to use it, unlike other providers. You can purchase other security devices to supplement your system, such as extra sensors to detect freezing, flooding and loud sounds like breaking glass.
LifeShield only offers security cameras on its most expensive package, but it charges less for video monitoring than competitors like Link Interactive and SimpliSafe. LifeShield has also improved its home automation offerings recently and can now connect with devices running Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT and Z-Wave Plus. The company doesn’t directly sell any smart home devices such as locks, thermostats and lighting controllers so you’ll have to provide your own, provided they’re compatible with the platforms listed above. LifeShield plans to release a video doorbell later this year, but hasn’t announced a specific release date.
