Recommendation: Avoid doing business w/First Alarm. Add this one star review to all the others about this business. I don't believe I've ever written a 1-star review before. My company paid a significant upfront sum to bring in First Alarm to handle our residential security system. From the outset, there were issues with sensors not working. Any request to get these small issues, most of which should have been addressed during the initial setup, were met with "that will cost you" responses. Eventually, we needed to sell our house. As we called each service provider (e.g. Comcast, AT&T, PG&E, Cal Water, etc.) to turn off our service, all handled it seamlessly and without charge. Except First Alarm. First Alarm charged us for more than a year of unused service (over $1K) even though we were not going to be living in the house (so there would be no cost to them) and my company had paid for all the upfront work. I called and wrote asking First Alarm to reconsider in light of the situation. They said "no" at every turn and decided yet another dissatisfied customer was worth the extra revenue. Buyer beware. read more

I have had First Alarm providing service for the church that I serve as a deacon for a number of years. I have been pleased with their service. The last technicians who came, Efren and Ramsey, were courteous and professional. I recommend them. read more

Ramon (Sales) and Tom & Michael (Tech) are an incredible team. Ramon's professionalism and attentiveness aligned goals, technology and timeline requirements. Tom led the implementation and we greatly appreciated his hyper-detailed oriented approach during the installation period. He and Michael make a great team and we're greatly to have the opportunity to work with them! read more

We requested service due to an internal power issue. Michael the tech wasn't just on time; he was 10 minutes early. Super professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and extremely helpful. Michael fixed our problem quickly. We could not ask for a better person to work with. Grateful. read more

Tom and Michael did a great job installing everything. They were very knowledgeable and professional. Highly recommend them!

Tom Yau and Michael Castaneda were both highly skilled and very attentive to our needs as they replaced part of our system and integrated it with part of our existing system so that it all worked as on completely integrated system that could be monitored by First Alarm. We are thrilled with the results. read more

I've been with First Alarm for over 20 years. I manage several large properties and have come to rely on First Alarm for all of our security needs. They offer great service, response time and service technicians, particularly TY. His knowledge, expertise, ability to solve problems; both small and large is fantastic. He's always ready to help and his communication skills are great. To reiterate, First Alarm has been a great resource and vendor and TY is and has been and will continue to be a great service technician. read more

Tom Bao arrived promptly and repaired the security system. He was very efficient and professional. His work was outstanding. it has never been better. Thank you, First Alarm and Tom. Most sincerely, Joe and Liz Houston. read more

Michael Castaneda arrived promptly and was quick to assess the problem and explore possible solutions. He was able to get our system working within 10 minutes of arrival, but was not able to restore the connection to the siren as the wires had been chewed through by rats between two joists and not physically accessible. He offered to come back if I am unable to fix it myself which will require movement of several heating ducts. Overall, I was very pleased with Michael's service. read more

Michael Castaneda and Luhan Nguyen recently came to our hospital to provide service, and their work was excellent from start to finish. They were both very respectful, professional, and friendly throughout the entire visit, which made the experience smooth and stress-free. They quickly identified the issue that required attention and were able to resolve it promptly and efficiently. Their knowledge, positive attitude, and willingness to help truly stood out, and their level of customer service reflected a high standard of professionalism. We greatly appreciate their support and the quality of work they provided. read more

Like being nickled and dimed for every little thing? Like companies that have extremely outdated technology? And do you like companies that will threaten you with collections before you even get the first bill? Then First Alarm is the company for you! I'd been a customer for over 8 yrs and they were great until about 3 years ago, and went downhill fast. They charged a ton of money to change one batter in one sensor (told me I couldn't do that myself, found out that was a lie). A short while ago, they told me I had to do a 5G upgrade on my system. Why do I need that AND a land line? Why do I need both? No one could explain that, but said I could sign ANOTHER 2 yr contract and pay only $99 for the upgrade, or pay $250 with no contract. So I went out and bought a whole new system that I can take with me if I move, installed myself very easily and quickly, and monthly cost is less than half than First Alarm. And they can send you communication specific to you and your location. First Alarm doesn't seem to know that Microsoft Word can do that! I'd run far and fast away from this company. read more

First Alarm is first rate, look no further! They have provided excellent service for decades now. I felt compelled to leave a review. Their technicians are on point. Tony Beal in particular has gone above and beyond for us here in Hollister. And the branch manager Joffre Longoria has been really helpful over the years. Knowledgeable and for very competitive prices, these guys are 1st for a reason! read more

If you're planning on using First Alarm for your private or business security, STOP! If your HOA has hired First Alarm for your property's security (like mine did), ADVOCATE FOR A CHANGE. We pay this company a premium for "24 Hour" security through our HOA dues, yet I have seen them fewer then 10 times in the nine months that I have lived at my home. Their response to requests is lackadaisical at best and negligent at worst. I am, as I write, waiting for a response (non emergency) to a request that I put in over a half hour ago. My next course of action is to demand that my Board either provide more oversight of this very expensive service, or seek a new contractor. I would advise you all to do the same if you're already stuck with this poor excuse for a security company. Pathetic. read more

First Alarm - Security Systems Near Me - San Jose, California

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BEWARE! First Alarm messed up our billings for many, many months. They have lots of turn over. They sold equipment that was defunct in an unusually short period of time and then tried to sell us on "upgrades." They could no longer provide the service that was in a 5 year contract and then when we said we would have to part ways then, they tried to claim we had to stay in the rest of the 5 year term. Terrible business decision, would never work with them again. read more

To the nice "officer" who drives around Aptos in the middle of the night pissing people off. Thanks for the "Warning" note you left on my car A-hole. I was really happy to find it under my wiper blade after you had my car towed last night. Funny how I had no time to read the warning note in the 30 minutes it took from you writing it and the tow truck stealing my vehicle away. I guess you didn't know I was a guest when I parked in a guest parking spot. You deserve a raise since you got my friend's car too... oh boy! a Two-fer - Two cars side by side and you got us both. I hope the guys at the tow yard bought you a drink for your jackpot find. It must be nice helping your buddies at Speed of Light make a quick $773 in an hour from one phone call. That's just great - first offense gets my car towed - on a Sunday morning in the middle of the night. I bet your mom is proud of her little officer. read more

We were required by the site to hire this company for security for our wedding. They are terrible! #1: They have bad customer service; they do not return calls in a timely manner (sometimes not at all). When put on hold, they either forget about you or mistake you for another call. The receptionist was rude and unhelpful when I had a billing issue, she wouldn't even leave a note for the bookkeeper. #2: They try to up-sell; we only needed 1 guard but they tried to get us to hire 2. It required 4 phone calls to figure this out. #3: THEY NEVER SHOWED UP FOR OUR EVENT! :( They told us to "call if no one showed up"- um, it was our wedding day, we had a few other things on our minds. It's THEIR job to make sure their guy shows up to jobs. It also took 3 days to get our refund. I hope I never have the misfortune to work with them again. read more

We had First Alarm for years and I can't say enough about them. We leased our equipment and when there was a problem they were always very helpful. Can't say enough about how wonderful they are as far as having a security system and not having to worry about leaving the house knowing it was safe to do so. Best, Judi Azzarello I wrote this review in regards to the service we received. But with us leaving the area and going through customer service to cancel it, Jodi has been the rudest person I have dealt with in a long time. She first told me that she was the only one in the office so I needed to bear with her in regards to contacting the new owner of our house. Then when I asked her about the billing for the month after we left, she informed me that per the contract we had to give them a 30 day notice. Our mistake but then insinuated that because we didn't give the new owner our code so that he could learn how to work the alarm that he more than likely was not going to keep the equipment. We thought that First Alarm would go over and show the new owner how it worked and then have him put in a new code (we weren't even told to give him our code). I really talked very highly of First Alarm with the new owner and thought he was really interested in keeping it. This is what we get after years of having their service. All because of someone in customer service it has left us not feeling so good about the company. read more

The absolute worst customer service I've ever had to deal with from Top management to service reps. After 5 years I decided to switch and now I pay the same price for a whole year of monitoring as I was paying per quarter. Try Cintas - I have no regrets. read more

This is the worst security company ever!! I am a paid member of 24 hour fitness. I parked my car in its parking lot and after workout I left with friend in his car on drive. While I came back after couple of hours, I saw that "First Alarm Security" company got "specialty towing" company to tow my car!! It does not stop there!! The car is still in parking lot and that guy has just pulled my car on his monster truck. When I asked him, what are you doing? Its my car, I am a member of this club, Is it illegal to park my car here? He says, Sir I do not know. I was called by "First Alarm Security" company to tow this car away. Now if you want me to pull this car down you will have to pay $ 200. If not, you will have to come to the yard and pay $ 550. I have no other option but to give my hard earned money to get my car back!!! (Fuckers!!) When I asked this gentleman, who gave you permission/called you tow my car away? He says *******FIRST ALARM SECURITY********. I took number of security guard who got my car towed away and spoke with her. I asked, Mam I see that you authorized some one to tow away my car. I see a sticker that you put on my car saying "This vehicle is unauthorized to park here. .." So what defines an authorized vehicle. I am a paid member of this club. Would that make it an authorized vehicle? She had no answer!! She kept on repeating, I can not do anything at this point. If you need your car back, call this number and get it back. So, lesson learned. There are better fitness centers, use them. I have cancelled my membership. And will make sure that I do not hire First Alarm Security company when its in my power. read more

Recently I had an issue with my alarm system. Not only was the service department very helpful but she was able to send a technician out right away. Needless to say my faith and confidence in alarm companies has been restored, and my satisfaction needs were well met. read more

Upsell and no interest in install without buying their monitoring service. Then, you get locked into a 3 year contract. Only reason I contacted them was because it came recommended by Honeywell as a local installer. Was looking to upgrade an existing system, interaction was basically, "either sign up for a 3 year monitoring service or we won't come out for an install. It's $250 per hour for a technician visit" (before you even buy anything). Companies like this will eventually go out of business as more home automation and self-monitoring security systems come of age. Move with the crowd or get left behind. Don't support this dying business. read more

First alarm handles our video security cameras and alarm monitoring. We recently upgraded some equipment and their technicians were professional, neat and did a great job. I would highly recommend them. read more

My old burgerler alarm system started to malfuction causing false alarms. I called severl alarm contractors that were licenced to install alarm systems in the town . I asked each contractor if they would check the old system to see if it could be repaird and if it was not repairable if I could get an estmate for a new system . Of all the companys I called only First Alarm www.firstalarm.com 650-556-1111 said they would be willing to check my old system ,and came to my to look at what needed to be done .The other comranies never called back . I want to thank Jerrmy ,what anice guy,my system works great .I recomend First Alarm to anyone needing an alarm read more

I have used First Alarm for years and have had great service. We are completely satisfied. I would recommend FA!