I just received a letter from Swisscom announcing that Quing will be replaced by a new system which has more features and this time, it will be supported by Securitas, so it will become an active alarm system with intervention for some monthly fee.
The nice part is that Swisscom will replace all our hardware for free! Not sure if we will go for the Securitas option though.
Also, just like with Quing, they're already back-paddling with the offer - they've now removed the multi-sensor from the shop, for example.
In some ways, it's even worse than Quing: you don't get a home panel with a touch screen, so you need to take out your phone every time you want to turn on the lights. The home panel only works with 3G, which I don't have at home, so I won't be able to use the backup functionality - Quing also worked over EDGE.
Also, as opposed to competing products, they don't offer programmable remotes, they don't have light switches etc, which makes the whole thing obsolete before it's even been introduced.
I was one of the first Quing customers - and what Swisscom has been showing is a complete disaster from A-Z. It beats me how the leading telecommunications company can be this unprofessional. I've since had a proper alarm system installed in my home (one where the police show up automatically) and have switched to RWE Smarthome for home automation - I'm happy with both.
How much does your new alarm system cost? Any tips from your evaluation benchmark?
Monthly costs for the alarm center is around 25 Fr. - the same as for Quing, but they'll notify the police immediately. The backup system uses a SIM card, so you'll need a prepaid card in that one. One-time costs of about 20 Fr.
If you get a wired one installed, that'll set you back about 5-7k.
No matter the option you choose, it's not cheap, that's for sure, but it's proven to work, unlike Quing etc. We live in a detached house, for apartments, costs would be considerably lower.
The basic decision you need to make is wireless vs. wired. From a dependability point of view, most wireless systems are just as dependable as wired ones - and sometimes even more secure as you can add motion sensors etc. wherever you want / need. The only downside with wireless ones are the batteries in the sensors which need to be changed every 2-3 years (costs about 200 Fr. for all the batteries, they aren't cheap). Radiation-wise, the wireless systems are negligible - they only send out signals when a window is opened, for example, and the signal last about 10 ms.
Wired ones are more expensive to install, but you don't have the battery changes.
And, what happens if the police turns up and it's a false alarm - do you have to pay something?
A small local one called Siedler (Frauenfeld). They only service Thurgau.
First time the police turn up it's free, second time it's 200, then 400 etc. to make it short: don't cause false alarms :-) we've had the system for almost 2 years and have had lots of false alarms, all caused by ourselves (mainly opened the window without turning off the night alarm, once a toast burnt in the toaster and caused a fire alarm), so we could stop the alarm process. Never had a false alarm with us not being home, fortunately.