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AT&T Digital Life

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4.4

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: May 27th, 2022

AT&T Digital Life is a home security and automation service that is available to residents in 34 states. The company provides three comprehensive plans that start at $39.99 per month. AT&T customers are subject to credit approval prior to activation and must sign a two-year contract. Monitoring plans feature 24/7 professional monitoring service, remote access, and wireless equipment. Each available plan can be customized with additional equipment upgrades.

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The Good

  • Wireless Equipment and Communication
  • Remote Access on Any Device
  • Two-Year Contract
  • 14-Day Trial Period

Wireless Equipment and Communication

The wireless systems do not require home phone connection and feature 24/7 professional monitoring from trained dispatchers. When an alarm is triggered, customers immediately receive a text alert notifying them of the alarm event and emergency help is dispatched immediately to the home. If there is no answer, the company alerts emergency contacts provided by the customer.

The home security company provides homeowners with one home security package. Its Smart Security package offers a suite of features and security devices, including the following:

  • 24/7 professional monitoring
  • Free standard professional installation
  • Remote access via mobile app
  • Text and email alerts
  • Cellular backup
  • Indoor siren
  • Keypad
  • Motion sensor
  • 2 Recessed contact sensor
  • 4 Surface contact sensor

For this alarm system basic package, homeowners can expect to pay $39.99 as a monthly fee, or $849 upfront (12-month contract required, with early termination fees up to $640).

Remote Access on Any Device

AT&T Digital Life offers its own mobile app that customers can download and use on any device for remote access control of the home security system. Customers are able to set alerts as well as control home temperature, lighting, and small appliances. Digital Life also provides flood control, video surveillance, door lock access, and garage door control. An included warranty covers equipment repair and installation issues. Home security systems come with $700–$1,700 worth of equipment included in the available plans. 

Two-Year Contract

To work with AT&T Digital Life, you'll need to agree to a two-year contract. Many popular home security companies require a minimum of six months, so this is comparatively short. However, you may still be wary to commit to a long-term contract and would prefer to work with a month-to-month subscription fee, which some competitors offer.

14-Day Trial Period

You can try AT&T Digital Life for 14 days. If you return it within that time, you can get your money back.

This return policy is shorter than many competitors' trial periods, which typically last 30 days, but it's still a nice feature.

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The Bad

  • Early Termination Fee
  • Equipment Limitations
  • Numerous Consumer Complaints
  • Credit Approval Required
  • Mobile App Issues
  • Cost

Early Termination Fee

Customers who cancel services prior to contract expiration are responsible for up to $640 as an early termination penalty. According to the corporate website, customers may be subject to numerous other fees as well. Customers must pay an upfront fee that is based on plan selection and may be required to pay technician fees on equipment repairs.

Equipment Limitations

AT&T Digital Life appears to only offer select home security equipment options limited to the door/window sensor, keypad, motion detector, and siren. The company does not appear to offer a video doorbell camera, indoor/outdoor camera, and more. Customers will need to purchase these components separately before integrating them into their security system.

Numerous Consumer Complaints

Common complaints include poor installation procedures, high fees, and poor customer service from representatives. The company has also received a few governmental actions taken against them for privacy violations and charges for unauthorized services.

Credit Approval Required

New customers need to pass a background credit check in order to activate home security service. 

Mobile App Issues

The AT&T Digital Life app is meant to be a hub to arm or disarm your system, monitor security devices, and receive push notifications regarding security alerts. The app averages around 3 stars on the Google Play Store and iOS App Store. Customers complain of poor UI, login issues, and faulty notifications. Worst of all, customers complain that it is slow. When reporting information from home security devices, timeliness and accuracy matter. In order to improve its product, AT&T Digital Life should pay more attention to its app.

Cost

AT&T will charge $849.99 for equipment, and its monitoring starts at $39.99 per month. Many competitors offer these services for a fraction of the cost, so this price tag can be a significant detractor. AT&T Digital Life might only be worth its cost if you trust the brand and believe its service and quality are superior.

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The Bottom Line

AT&T Digital Life provides comprehensive home security and home automation options to customers across the United States. Monthly plans feature 24/7 professional monitoring, equipment and installation warranty, and mobile remote access; however, customers are required to pass a credit check, sign a two-year contract, and may be subject to expensive fees.

Read the AT&T Digital Life reviews below to see what customers have to say about the products and services. 

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Star Rating

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1.9

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52 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

8%

4 grade

12%

3 grade

4%

2 grade

10%

1 grade

67%

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Julie C Mitchell Sparrows Point, MD

We have been with AT&T digital life for some time now. Our main issues have always been the Battery dying way too soon on the system. Yesterday we called and said that we are getting Windows replaced. The person on the other line was trying to trouble shoot our issue. We said NO we need a tech to come out and replace our senors on our windows since we are getting new windows. They said it was going to be a 99.00 fee for them to send a tech. My husband said We have NEVER been charged a fee for them to come out and fix THEIR equipment. So he hung up with the Tech support and called AT&T where we bought our system. At&T informed us that they no longer own Digital Life. SMH.

4 years ago

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Lisa Melrose Park, IL

So had to change the battery on our back door & when we took the "thingy" off the door it completely fell apart. When I called customer service all she said was it'll take 3-5 business days to get the replacement "thingy"! So for 3-5 business days my back door has to be bypassed, meaning NO COVERAGE! So what happens if someone breaks in my back door within those 3-5 days??? It's HORRIBLE that we cannot even get an ENGLISH speaking agent that isn't reading off a script. They REFUSED to overnight me the replacement! Like they really didn't even UNDERSTAND the problem! THANK GOD I have BIG DOGS in my house to cover THEIR problem! It's a shame they charge $40 a month & won't even cover the overnight charge to insure that my house is protected! Looks like it's time for a switch!!!!!

5 years ago

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Deb T Hinsdale, IL

Had a problem with 2 sensors. Turns out 1 problem wasn’t a problem at all - simply a failure on their part to record a new sensor serial number in their records. Customer Service told me I needed a technician to come out to do the repair. Customer service recorded it as a need to have a battery replaced and then recorded it as a repair requiring a $100 charge. They did not advise me at the time of making the appointment that there would be a $100 charge. Technician arrives today and advise me of the charge. I called customer service and they refused to waive the charge even though they had told me the technician needed to be here. When I threatened to cancel service they told me that that was my choice and that they would support me on it. They put me through to a different person to cancel service and she was aghast to hear of the rudeness of the customer service representative and his supervisor. She also confirmed that the customer service representative who wrote up the order should’ve advised me of a possible charge of $100 if it was indeed found that the technician was not needed for the repair. The charge should not have been charged upfront. She gave me a credit for the inconvenience. This is the only thing that saved the day and did not make me cancel my services with DigitalLife.

5 years ago

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Susan H Strafford, NH

We've had the ATT Digital life system for about 2 years and there has not been any issue with it in that time as it was running as expected i.e. if the alarm went off then a call would come in to verify need each time if the alarm was tripped, and if there was no response and the passcode/ word was not provided then EMS were dispatched within 5 minutes and at my home in less than 10. Great no bumps. Awesome system! Throw in a power outage and loss of internet and there you have some issues! After several hours of trying to get the darn thing back on line it gets stuck in test mode and (wait for it!) the customer service rep as helpful as she tried to be was unable to give me ANY technician appointment any time in the near future telling me that there was an "error" message in looking at the schedule (an we are current on our bill/ never late, etc.) To make matters worse- I requested that the bill be prorated as a result of the system not working properly and our not getting any services that we are paying for (reasonable right?) No so fast... The customer service representative was not willing/ able to speak to it other than simply providing her "understanding" and would not provide a straight answer of "yes we'll have a supervisor contact you about that" or "no, I do not currently have the authority to authorize that presently, but will escalate the call" Something/ Anything? Nope Just an apology and her "understanding that I was upset" but no "yes we will make that happen since your service is inoperable (that makes sense)". The only "solution" is that I was given a three hour window for a supervisor to call me back to address (if possible): 1.) the faulty system not being able to go back on line and out of test mode; 2.)not able to schedule a time that a technician can come to service the system installed in my home literally at all; and 3.) ATT Digital Life inability/ unwillingness to pend/ prorate the bill until it is fixed that I will still have to pay the bill for a defunct service! So very sad to say since until now we've not had any issue, but when we do have our FIRST issue BOY is it an issue because nothing can be done to fix the problem because they cannot even schedule a technician to come out and reset the system, AND cannot provide a straight answer regarding prorating the bill. Pray that you do not have power outages in New England (good luck with that) with this system because if God forbid there is a power outage and your system is off line and there is a fire in hour home or burglary too bad for you... and not tech appointment to be had. By the way to be perfectly honest the customer service person EXPRESSED that she did try her best to be as helpful as possible all in a text and not in a live person phone call by the way. I wait with abated breath for the "supervisors call" and how he/she might be able/ willing to rectify the matter... I would expect better customer service for this especially since we have everything with ATT. Get with it ATT

5 years ago

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Robert McDonald

The customer is not very good. I questioned installation issues and the customer rep was very rude. Several of product that was installed was not as indicated from the sale people. I had to pay extra cost to have some installation corrected. I decided to keep the service until the contract expire

6 years ago