I normally don't leave reviews, but after many months of ongoing issues, I feel it's important to share an honest and complete experience. Golden State Smart Systems installed a camera system at a multi-unit residential property in Castro Valley in February 2025. The initial installation went smoothly -- the on-site team, led by JR, appeared professional and efficient at the time. Unfortunately, since installation, we've experienced persistent and recurring issues with cameras going offline, often shortly after service visits. I've documented each issue and reached out repeatedly by email and phone over the course of several months. At one point, I was told there would be a $245 service/trip fee, despite the system being under a 6-year warranty and service agreement and the issues appearing to be related to installation or cabling. After I raised concerns and held off on posting a review, the company did come out and waived the fee (which should not have been proposed in the first place). However, the core issue remains unresolved. Since that visit, four additional cameras have gone offline, and it has now been over a month with no response to my latest requests for service. These cameras are in critical areas, and the continued downtime defeats the purpose of having a security system at all. While the technicians themselves have generally been courteous, the lack of communication, repeated failures, slow response times, and ongoing reliability issues have been extremely disappointing -- especially for a system that is supposed to be under long-term warranty and support. I truly wanted this partnership to work, but based on the continued outages and difficulty getting timely service, I cannot recommend Golden State Smart Systems for properties that require dependable security and responsive support. read more

I would not recommend Golden State Smart for your service needs. I requested a quote and felt pressured to pay a deposit before the company even confirmed whether the cameras could be installed at my property. Once it turned out that we couldn't move forward with the installation, communication completely broke down. David has been unresponsive and keeps giving me the runaround regarding my refund. I've also tried contacting the office multiple times, but no one answers the phone. With so many other camera companies available, I wouldn't recommend Golden State Smart. I was referred to them and initially had high hopes, but the experience has been very disappointing. David is a smooth salesman and very attentive before taking your money, but once the deposit is paid, customer service disappears. read more

David and his team did an amazing job. Over all friendly and Would definitely recommend them.

Installed cameras to my home and updated my security service , install was 45 minutes more then expected but still a great service & price

Wasn't considering adding cameras and upgrading alarm at all. But one of their reps came in and gave me a great deal. gotta say i'm pretty impressed how far cameras have came from 8 years ago. pretty satisfied so far read more

I only go to them for all my Alarm needs. My whole family uses them and I use them for my business.

Wanted to start by saying that I am very pleased that I was able to run into Golden State Smart. I had some old Costco cameras at my home and when they came to give me a quote it was a deal I could not refuse. They Installed everything and came on time. Want to thank Tim the technician for answering all my questions. And they also have amazing customer service. Would highly recommend them read more

What a wonderful team to work with. Moving forward I am going to only recommend GSS to my friends and family. They are extremely responsive and do a quality instal. Thank you so much for helping me upgrade my security system!!! read more

Thank you Golden State Smart for helping me and my family get a system that works. They had great customer service and they were very helpful when I had any questions. Would definitely recommend them to anyone wanting better cameras or alarm system. read more

This company is a complete scam tried to cancel my service after a 3 year term with then and it's impossible to reach then I reach out to David but got poor effort from his part to help . This so called business will scam you to join the contract and won't help if you decide to make changes . Wouldn't recommend it to no one read more

Got a good deal for 6 cameras with these guys. After a couple of weeks shopping around. I finally pulled the trigger and I'm glad I went with these guys. Install took a little longer than I anticipated but it got done and I'm pretty happy. Cameras are crystal clear and phone app works good. read more

They followed up and were able to terminate the contract. The manager personally called and assured that it will be taken care. Thanks!

Great service!!! Jr and Daniel came and installed alarm, sensors, and 3 cameras. Quality of products are wonderful and extremely exceeds the service I previously had with Xfinity(customer service and products). They explained what locations should be best for cameras. These guys did a phenomenal job and i wished i had ran across this business earlier instead of using Xfinity. Very grateful to have switched over to Golden State Smart. Thanks again guys!! read more

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If I could put a zero star I would!! can't ever get a hold of anyone. And when I did, they said they'd get back to me asap, it's been months and nothing! Just horrible. Made sure my family and friends who are also small business owners, know about this horrible company. read more

Horrible install wires where ran like a 2 year old did it. Installer fell threw my drywall roof leaving a huge hole and then left. I called them several times to fix it but have been srung on for months now..... read more

JR and his team is simply the best! Not only they upgraded my alarm system for a small cost, they installed everything super fast and efficient. They came on time, and was very respectful of our home during the installation. If you're thinking of getting or upgrading your home alarm system, call JR and his team at Golden State Smart! Their customer service is world class and their prices and rates are very reasonable. read more

They came and upgraded my cameras. I am very happy I decide to go with them and also want to thank David for answering all my questions and concerns. read more

I feel that games have been played with me by this company with their security service. I already had a system installed in my home and their salesman promised to add to it if I switched to their service. But they never did it. I called to remind them and they said it was not in writing. So much for a dishonest salesperson who did not write it into my contract. Then I had connector issues on doors and they never followed through with coming to take care of it. So my system has been compromised for about two years. I was told that I had a three year contract and could not get out without paying it in full. So I waited for my original contract to end and called. They said that I had already been automatically renewed and was stuck for another year. I called this year to make sure when my contract ended and put it on my calendar so that I cancelled in time. I was told October 15th. Now I am trying to cancel and they say it is March. What are they going to do? In March tell me it will be the next October? Guess I just need to call and cancel my credit card! read more

I have the same experience as Harry in his review. We had GSS install a security system in the summer of 2019. There were numerous problems but we were on the hook for 36 months, which was July 2022. I called them in July of 2021 to try and cancel-and actually talked to someone who said "I'll be sure to make note of that on your account to cancel it at the end of the contract". Life gets busy and I neglected to call them to CANCEL at that time and not only have been charged ever since but in the last six months they have been DOUBLE BILLING my checking account. BTW that is what they are counting on-endless auto payments with no one checking. Highway robbery. And they know that the amount of effort to file a claim against them will take WAY more time than most of us have. A fraudulent company indeed. And as others have said, good luck getting ahold of anyone via their phone number. No one answers, and they don't return calls. No one even answers when you push "1" to sign up for a new security system. I finally called my credit union and they are stopping payments, and refunding me the double billing from December. I'll bet I''ll hear from these scammers when the payment doesn't go through. If you are SMART, you will AVOID Golden State "Smart" at all costs. read more

They Came out about 1month ago.Free Ring camera for inside and installed the purchased ring outside. Gave mefree motion sensor for extra room..Thank you for follow up last year was tough for everyone!!!! Appreciate it. read more

If I could give less than 1 star I would , HORRIBLE service . They will only be attentive to you to get you to switch to them once you pay Goodluck ever getting a hold of them . Not only was our system NOT properly installed it wasn't even the correct one .and we were never able to access it to see playback video . We had an issue with an employee who was stealing but because we couldn't access our past days we called them to come help us . When we finally got through they assured they would come but didn't and started forwarding calls . We had to call our resentative with a completely different number for him to answer . Again I reminded him that I needed specific days and if they could come sooner because I didn't want to lose any information. He assured me it was holding five weeks and not to worry . When the technicians came they said it only holds only three weeks ( 21 days ) but if I wanted to upgrade its a bundle they can offer us . They tried to "fix the issue" by looking up YouTube videos on "how to " The service was NEVER even properly installed and through them not coming to help when asked because of the circumstances we lost valuable information that cost us a lot of money . To this day STILL NO ANSWER . Not from our salesguy/representative that set up everything or the company itself the 888 number just has you leave voice-mails SAVE YOUR MONEY STAY AWAY FROM THIS TRASH COMPANY !!! read more

Thank you Golden State Smart for securing my office! Russell stopped by and gave me a quote I couldn't refuse. He was friendly and responsive! read more

These people are awesome, great service everything works perfect. Was hesitant to switch over from my prior security company but they made it easy to say yes with the price difference and more value. Ariel helped me out any question I had, was answered. My home is secured. My family and I have peace of mind. Thank you!! read more

11 Eleven False Alarms in one year. The Company re uses your old equipment and if it fails you will be paying for the false alarm fees.

SCAM!! STAY AWAY!! JR guy signed up the service with us and when I closed the business AT October, 2019 and asking him to transfer the account to new owner who is going to move into same location. At beginning, everything is cool and keep saying no problem, he will take care of it. A month later, I received bill for November. I called him to find out why. He said that is final bill. Then I am still be charged for December and January, no answer! He is being avoiding my call. So I called from office phone, he picked up and said he did not see my call. Such lair. I just called 3 times from my cell about 5 minutes ago. I recorded the conversation. He claimed he did not know why they still charge me and will call his office to find out. Never call back! I called his office and tried to find out what is going on. The lady who answered the phone Megan is very rude and helpless. According to her, only JR can fix this and he has no supervisor above him that I can talk to. Finally I found out from Brinks Alarm system, that JR has never transferred the account. Instead, he open a new account with new owner by tricking her to put the new account under husband's name. SUCH SCAM!! So at this point, my account is still open and Brinks keep calling me for payments. I have no way to reach this JR guy or his company take responsibility or any solution or even proper call back!!! I have emailed Brinks twice with proof showing JR said will transfer account to new owner. But at this point, I don't know who to trust. Both Golden State Smart and Brinks just keep balls at each other and no one wants to take care of their customer!!! This is worst experience I ever had. read more

Love my new ring spotlight cameras!!!! Thanks Justin!!! Hope you already opened the wine bottle we gave you... you deserve it!!!

the most horrible experience... if u would like to get ripped off... go to this company.. no communication ... they took my $$$ and never finished the job!!!! they gave me the run around till i got tired of calling.... read more

I hired them to install cameras and a new storage unit, and I have been waiting for over 3 months for the job to be completed. They still have one of my camera, 2 of my elbow brackets, and one of the camera was installed so bad that I can see in between my walls through my outside wall. I have been reaching out to try and get an install date, and before they barely responded to get me an install date. To now they don't even return my calls, and the lead sales person doesn't even respond to my text messages. Do not go with them at all...you will severally regret it!!! read more

Golden State Smart - The hole behind the camera into my house. Not sealed in the slightest. Very Poor Installation. - Security Services Near Me - Castro Valley, California

This companies piece of shit never return phone calls never answered the phone customer service sucks I don't recommend this company find a different company read more

My name is Alfonso A. I am a business owner and I have nothing but negative experience with this company! Their customer rep. ANGEL OROZCO did NOT fulfill his promise. Angel Orozco (Golden State Smart) representative had promise to buy me out of my old alarm company provider if I signed a contract with Golden State Smart. They never sent me the check to pay my old security company. After several calls and complaints this company, Golden State Smart never sent me the check to pay the old security company. I had to pay out of my own pocket. Do NOT trust this company! This company is NOT reliable! This company is a disgrace to the security industry! read more

I wanted to start off by saying that Golden State Smart is the best local alarm company in the Bay Area. Not only did they make my equipment more up to date, they also made sure that my house was fully protected and secure. They have one of the most affordable prices I have seen in a long time. With that being said thank you Golden State smart and your team for helping me feel safe in my home. read more

This group did a very good job of estimating, installing and providing customer service. In addition, after carefully getting estimates and looking at camera quality ... This was the best way to go....commercial cameras that are pleasant to the eye with infrared for night and excellent vision on my phone and soon on my laptop! read more

I was helping my mom look into a new alarm system for our home when we stumbled upon golden state smart. We set up an appointment with David and he was extremely helpful and patient! We were able to get our new alarm system installed and he answered all of our questions. I would definitely recommend golden state smart to everyone, it was a very quick and easy process! read more

The sales rep Gilbert did a great job setting us with a new system. We had an older ADT systems for over 5 yrs. We got us a lower payment plus a free doorbell camera. Install took a little long but overall I'm pretty happy. read more

Great Customer Service . They go above and beyond and with covid they have your safety in mind masked and social distancing. Great Company Great security system . read more

worst company ... they came to my house and ripped me off... installed cheap equipment and never finished the installation.... i continued to contact them ... never got any response... David is the worst sales rep... not clear or ligit... total rip off scammers!!!! read more

JR San Juan, Regional Manager came to my house to switch company's because our contract was ending. I came to find out that I still have 14 months with my alarm company and I would have to pay the breach of contract with them. He scammed us, so he could steal clients for his company. Do not trust this guy or company. He does not have good intentions. read more

The crew was very professional and well cleaned. Daniel installed my cameras and did such an awesome job! I would highly recommend going to golden state smart and getting your cameras and alarms set up with them! Great people! read more

I had no alarm and was looking for one and a rep named david came to my door and gave me great advice and he did not try to up sell me he sold me what i needed and what I wanted. I really appreciate his tech Daniel he answered all my questions and taught me step by step on how to use my alarm thank you Golden State Smart. read more

Saw an ad on my Instagram feed and decided to call and ask about updating my old ADT system. Rep Angel came by for a free consultation and was able to lower our bill and got a free camera. My favorite thing is now I have an app to check my system out on my phone. Install was pushed back 4 days because their schedule was packed and it took 2 hours longer than what they said it would take but besides that I'm happy with my system. read more