CPI Security Reviews

CPI Security Overview

CPI Security Systems, Inc. has been around since 1991. And from what we can tell, they’ve been growing steadily over the years. The company’s headquarters is in Charlotte, North Carolina.1

Note that CPI Security was named The Security Provider of the Year in 2019 by SDM Magazine.2 So, although they may not be as relevant as today’s home security startups (the “new guard” that’s sweeping the market like Ring and SimpliSafe), CPI still might be a force to be reckoned with. That said, in all of our research about the company, we didn’t come away with any definitive facts or figures that truly stood out. What you see is what you get with CPI.

What we do know is that the equipment and services CPI Security offers have evolved throughout the company’s existence, keeping up with the latest in technology.

In the early to mid-2010s, CPI had a rather simple offering of home security equipment centered around an analog control panel. When its competitors switched to touchscreen panels and started offering smart home features, so did CPI. First, it switched to the inTouch control panel, a tablet-like device with touchscreen controls, and then it added home automation and other smart features to its most luxurious monitoring packages.

That tells us that CPI Security is capable of keeping up with times, and even though it’s not as hip as the new guards we mentioned earlier, the technology it offers is far from obsolete.

CPI Security Cost Breakdown

CPI’s pricing actually threw us for a loop. We were excited when we heard their monitoring starts at $29.99 per month. So, we called in, and after going through a consultation and a credit check (yep!), we were told that the $29.99 monthly monitoring was only for their no-frills Essentials package. Still, anything under $30 per month is darn cheap in our book. After all, the industry average is closer to $40 per month for 24-7 professional monitoring.

Now, don’t get too excited just yet, as you’ll still need to purchase the equipment that keeps the bad guys at bay. With CPI Security, equipment runs $500 or more depending on the package. That said, we can all-but-guarantee their premium package — with security cameras and keyless door lock — costs upward of $1,000. So be prepared for the ol’ sticker shock. Compared to systems like SimpliSafe or Frontpoint, CPI Security is expensive. Here are the package options:

CPI Security Packages

Of course, you can also customize a system from the ground up, which is something we really like about CPI Security. Also, we were happy to hear that all CPI Security packages include their touchscreen InTouch™ Smart Hub. Well, every package except for the Essentials option, which comes with a more basic wireless control panel.

The inTouch Smart Hub is an interesting choice for a control panel. It has many great features – for instance, it has battery backup, a selfie camera that captures failed disarming attempts, and two-way audio for communication. It’s also surprisingly light and slim, not like the boxy control panels you might be used to.

Unfortunately, CPI Security isn’t transparent about their costs, as prices are nowhere to be found on their site. We had to call in for a quote, and only then did we find out that the cheapest package (Essentials) isn’t for us. We were disappointed about that fact, but also that we had to make a call to learn about it.

That said, if you do call in and find that the equipment is too expensive, CPI Security offers 0% financing over 36-60 months with the CPI Smart Pay Program.3 Even still, we found that these home security systems are not best for folks on a tight budget.

Hands-On Experience with CPI Security

Getting Started

The sign-up process for CPI Security was fairly straightforward. First, we spoke with a sales rep on the phone to learn about our options. Then we chose an equipment package (we went with the Edge package) and a monitoring plan. At $49.99 per month, the monitoring plan wasn’t cheap, but that’s the going rate for security + video + home automation these days.

Now, remember how we mentioned that CPI Security only has limited availability? Well, here’s something to chew on. If you don’t live in the following 12 states, then you’re out of luck, as CPI only offers service in these areas:

• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Georgia
• Tennessee
• Alabama
• Mississippi
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Virginia
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Delaware

Another thing to keep in mind is that CPI Security doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee. In our experience, we’re used to decent offers here — like 30-day or, 60-day money-back guarantees. The well-established security company ADT actually offers a 6-month, money-back guarantee! Knowing that a company stands behind its products helps to instill trust. Alas, CPI doesn’t guarantee anything.

Installation

We like options, and it’s nice to at least have the option for DIY setup. So, we were somewhat disappointed to learn that CPI Security requires professional installation. That said, we’ve almost come to expect it with top brands like ADT and Vivint. Just know that you’ll have to schedule a date and time for a CPI technician to visit your home and get your system up and running.5

Depending on the system and how many devices you purchase, installation can take anywhere between 30 minutes and a couple of hours. So just be prepared. One nice thing about professional installation, though, is that the system is more likely to be installed correctly the first time around. Why break a sweat if you don’t need to? We live by that motto.

Daily Use and Performance

We found that CPI’s equipment was surprisingly well-made — especially compared to the low-end DIY systems out there. They are also somewhat inconspicuous. They didn’t stand out at all against our white walls, which is good for two reasons: It makes them harder to spot for burglars, and it’s less of an eye-sore for us.

We had some gripes with the entry sensors and motion sensors, though. The entry sensors were tricky to pair with the control panel when we reconfigured the system. They refused to reconnect even though they were connected just a few moments ago. And the motion sensors? They were a bit “trigger happy” or oversensitive. They’d sound the alarm for things like pets and even our robot vacuums. Those aside, we actually liked the equipment. Don’t worry, we’ll dig into our experience with the cameras in just a bit.

As far as the controls go, we think you’ll like the touchscreen control panel and mobile app. Remember, all their packages (except the base Essentials package) come with the touchscreen InTouch™ panel. It’s a sleek way to arm and disarm your system, view your live video feed, and automate your home with smart features.

As for the app, it’s nice to have control of your system from anywhere using your smartphone.6 We were able to access all the features the inTouch™ panel offers, but from the convenience of our phone. However, we think the interface could use some work. It’s definitely not as sleek or easy to use as, say, Ring Alarm’s mobile app or Frontpoint’s app.

One gripe we have with the app is that it’s unnecessarily difficult to navigate. It was easy enough to use to arm and disarm the system, but when we wanted to really dig in and personalize the system – for example, to set up different notification sounds for different types of alerts so we know when it’s urgent to check our phones – things got complicated real fast.

It’s also worth mentioning that CPI Security has a web app, which you can access from a browser. Compared to the smartphone app, the web app offers more functionality and a wider scope of customizations, but its major limitation is that it works best with a desktop or laptop. We found little to no use for the web app because of that.

And what about the 24-7 professional monitoring? Well, one look at the CPI Security website, and you’ll see they really hype-up their monitoring center. Sure, it’s award-winning. And yes, it’s a UL-listed facility with a TMA 5-Diamond Certification.7 But aren’t most of them? We wanted to know how CPI Security performed in real-world situations. So, we simulated some break-in and package theft scenarios to find out!

Overall, we experienced lackluster response times of about 40 seconds (pretty anticlimactic, right?). However, the video doorbell worked decently. In our fake package theft scenario, it picked up our movement as soon as we walked into frame. We also liked that all CPI cameras offer 1080p HD video and night vision, offering clear footage day and night.

Customer Service

You’ll see that CPI Security offers three main ways to get in touch: phone, online chat, and email. We’ve seen user complaints regarding customer service. Again, we like to get in the trenches and find out for ourselves. Well, what we found was average to less-than-average customer service.

Although CPI’s call center is open 24-7, our wait times varied, but it sure wasn’t fast. One time, we were on the phone for more than 10 minutes. And the online chat function seemed impersonal. It felt like we were chatting with a bot – and maybe we were – because the answers were generic even when we tried to squeeze out more specific replies.

There is a Customer Care Help Center tab on their website, but it only has a few resources, none of which we found helpful. It got us wondering how CPI Security earned itself an A+ BBB rating.8 We’d give them a B+ in this category.

Features and Technology

In terms of features, CPI Security meets standard monitoring practices with several unique functions. In order of importance, here’s how we would rank the monitoring features from the Edge package, the one we tested and the one with the most functionality.

1. 24-7 Professional Monitoring — Around-the-clock security and environmental monitoring by highly-trained agents located across the nation.
2. Video Surveillance — CPI’s video monitoring can help to secure the outside and inside of your home.
3. IVAN Technology — Intelligent Video Activity Notifications (IVAN) will send smart alerts that distinguish between people, pets, and cars.
4. InTouch™ App — You can receive instant alerts and monitor your home from pretty much anywhere in the world using CPI Security’s mobile app.
5. No False Alarm Guarantee — Alarm and video verification helps to ensure emergency responders aren’t dispatched unless necessary.
6. Environmental Monitoring — CPI offers a heat rise indicator, a smoke detector, and a carbon monoxide detector.
7. Smart Home Automation — Control your lights, garage door, thermostat, and keyless door lock, as well as create custom scenes.
8. Voice Control — CPI works with Amazon Alexa and Sonos One for hands-free voice control.

CPI Security Cameras

Of all the different components offered by CPI Security, we actually liked the security cameras the most. We purchased an indoor and outdoor camera to see how they measured up against other security cameras on the market. And we were pleasantly surprised. CPI’s four-camera options include:

InTouch 180™ Indoor Camera

InTouch™ HD Indoor Camera

InTouch™ HD Outdoor Camera

InTouch™ Doorbell Camera

They offered everything from 1080p HD video quality and night vision to Pinch & Zoom, low-light recording, motion detection, live video streaming, and a few other nifty features. We also had access to 30-day video storage with their Stream Video Recorder (SVR) service, but that’ll cost you extra.

Equipment Options

CPI Security has a pretty decent lineup of equipment. However, the company doesn’t list prices for the add-ons and upgrades anywhere on their site. We think a little more transparency here would be nice. Here’s a helpful chart listing all of CPI’s offerings:

CPI Security Equipment

Final Words and Recommendations

We tip our hats to CPI Security for a few things, like their video surveillance features and their lineup of InTouch™ devices. We really liked IVAN, which was kind of like an AI feature that distinguished different types of motion that the cameras captured to reduce false alarms and improve alerts. Overall, the CPI’s security cameras didn’t bother us a lot with irrelevant notifications.

But that’s about it. Compared to many of the top home security systems today, we think CPI is too expensive and a little too rigid with their professional installation policy. Also, if you don’t happen to live in the handful of states we listed above, then you simply cannot get CPI Security. And that’s a huge limitation.

With that said, it might be a good fit for some folks. For instance, if you live in the south and want access to decent home security + video + home automation (and you don’t mind paying $500 or more for equipment), then CPI just might fit the bill. All things considered, we weren’t all that impressed with CPI Security. We recommend looking into more affordable options on the market that are just as good, if not better.

CPI Security FAQs