The Ultimate Guide to Using ADT Equipment After Cancellation
Cancelled ADT, or about to? Here is what keeps working without the service, what you lose, and what the contract says about who keeps the equipment.
If you just canceled your ADT service, you probably have a few questions about what will and won't keep working. I answer those below, plus whether you keep the equipment and whether ADT comes to take it back. And if you still want security monitoring, just not with ADT, I'll give you my recommendation for an alternative at the end.
Will My ADT Alarm Still Work If I Cancel?
Yes! If you cancel ADT you can still use your alarm system. You'll be able to arm and disarm the system and the siren will still sound when the alarm is tripped.
However, you won't have professional monitoring, so nobody will call the police department when the alarm goes off.
Here's a quick summary of what still works and what doesn't:
| Still Works After Cancellation | Stops Working After Cancellation |
|---|---|
| Siren still sounds when alarm is tripped | ADT no longer dispatches police |
| Door, window and motion sensors still detect activity | No more push notifications to your phone |
| Smoke and CO detectors still sound off locally | ADT no longer calls the fire department |
| Can still arm/disarm system with pin code | You lose access to the ADT app on your phone |
| Nest cameras, through the Google Home app | Can no longer control smart home devices from the app |
So does ADT work without monitoring? As a local alarm, yes. What you give up is the monitoring center that sees the alarm trip and calls the police, the fire department or an ambulance for you. The system becomes an ADT unmonitored alarm: just as loud as before, with nobody on the other end.
What about the Sensors, panel, And siren?
All of the sensors in your ADT system, the door and window sensors, motion sensors and glass break sensors, will continue to work after you cancel.
The glass break, motion and door sensors all keep reporting to the panel after you cancel. The panel is where you'll arm and disarm from now on.
You'll be able to arm and disarm your system the same way as before. You just have to go up to the panel and manually enter your pin code, the same code you used before.
If a sensor is tripped, the siren will still sound. This is still effective as a deterrent because most burglars won't stick around once they hear the siren.
The one habit you'll have to break is arming from your phone on the way out the door. After cancellation the keypad on the panel is the only way to arm and disarm, so it's back to punching in the code every time.
The equipment holds up, too. I've seen homes with ADT systems that are 10 plus years old and the sensors still work fine. The sensor batteries will need replacing eventually, which you can do yourself, but the hardware keeps going long after the subscription ends.
Do ADT Smoke And CO Detectors Work Without Service?
Yes, if you cancel ADT your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors will still sound off in your house. However, you don't get the service where ADT calls the fire department on your behalf.
That gap matters more here than it does for a break in. With service, a smoke alarm in the middle of the night gets a call to the fire department whether or not you wake up. Without it, the detector wakes you but the call is on you.
Can You Use ADT Cameras Without Service?
Yes, because ADT uses Nest cameras you can still access them through the Google Home app after you cancel.
The Nest cameras ADT installs live in the Google Home app, with or without an ADT subscription.
This is a big plus because companies like SimpliSafe and Vivint use proprietary cameras that stop working when you cancel.
The only exception is if you have an older ADT system that has ADT branded cameras. Those will no longer work after you cancel.
Day to day, not much changes. Even as a paying customer you watch the Nest feeds in the Google Home app, because the ADT app doesn't show them and the camera icon on the Command panel only works with ADT's older proprietary cameras. And since these are regular Nest cameras, you can keep adding more from Walmart, Amazon or wherever.
The one thing I'd plan on losing is the Nest Aware cloud storage. ADT bundles it into the $48.99 a month camera plan, and it's what gives you 30 days of video history. Nest Aware is $10 a month if you buy it from Google directly, so budget for that if you want the recording history to continue.
Does The ADT App Work Without A Subscription?
No. The ADT app does not work without an active subscription, and that goes for the older ADT Pulse app too.
Remote arming, alerts and smart home control in the ADT app all end with the subscription.
You won't be able to remotely arm/disarm your system, receive push notifications when the alarm is tripped, or control your smart home devices from the app.
Smart home devices still work, just not from the app.
This is the misconception I run into most. People assume that because the panel and sensors still work, the app should too. The app runs on ADT's service, so it ends the day the subscription does.
The devices themselves don't stop. A smart lock still locks, the lights still switch, the thermostat still runs. You control them at the device instead of from the ADT app.
If I Cancel ADT, Do I Keep The Equipment?
Technically according to the ADT contract, all equipment is owned by ADT, unless otherwise agreed to in writing.
But in practice you get to keep the equipment after you cancel.
The only time this doesn't apply is if you cancel within 3 days of signing up. ADT has a "3 day right to cancel" policy where you can return the equipment and get a full refund.
Page 6, paragraph 8 of my contract. The equipment is ADT's unless you agreed otherwise in writing, even if you paid for it upfront.
That's page 6, paragraph 8 of the contract. Equipment installed by ADT "shall be owned by ADT except as otherwise agreed in writing," while anything you owned before ADT showed up stays yours. That surprised me, because I paid around $900 upfront for my equipment. Paying for it and owning it turn out to be two different things in ADT's paperwork.
The same paragraph lets ADT make you the owner officially: it can waive its right to remove the equipment "by allowing me to make an additional payment" in an amount ADT sets when the contract ends. As far as I can tell that clause mostly sits unused, and ADT leaves everything where it is. The yard sign and window stickers stay ADT's property no matter what.
If you financed the equipment, the service is tied to the balance on it, so ask ADT for the remaining equipment balance when you cancel. Expect to settle that along with any termination charge.
Does ADT Remove Equipment After Cancellation?
When you sign up for ADT you agree that they have the right to "remove, disable or abandon" the equipment after you terminate the contract.
In practice ADT just leaves the equipment there.
"Abandon" is the word doing the work in that clause. ADT doesn't come out to repossess the panel, sensors and wiring when someone cancels, so the system keeps doing the local alarm job described above. If ADT ever did remove or disable something, the contract says you'd have to give them access, and they'd have no obligation to patch or repaint afterward. Disabled equipment can't be used "for any purpose." I haven't seen it come to that, but it's in there.
Do you have to return it? Outside the 3 day window, no. There's no return policy for a system you've had for a year and nothing to mail in. The one return process in the contract is the one below.
How To Return ADT Equipment
This only applies if you are cancelling within the 3 day right to cancel period. The instructions for returning the equipment are:
- Make the equipment available at your home
- OR ship the equipment back to ADT, at ADT's expense and risk, if ADT asks you to
If ADT doesn't pick up the equipment within 20 days of your "notice of cancellation" then you can keep it. You'll receive a refund of any payments within 10 business days of ADT receiving your notice of cancellation.
The Notice of Cancellation on page 10 of the contract covers the refund, the return and the 20 day pickup window.
You have 3 business days from the date you signed, and Saturdays count. To cancel inside that window, call 800.327.4348 or mail the Notice of Cancellation form to the sales office printed on it. Keep the equipment in "substantially as good condition as when received" until ADT collects it. If you don't make it available, or you agree to ship it back and never do, you're still on the hook for the whole agreement, so don't let the return slide.
Can You Convert ADT To Self-Monitoring?
An ADT system without monitoring just means that you can arm and disarm the system at the panel and the siren sounds when the alarm is tripped. That's it. You don't get an app or anything.
There are other ways to use your ADT unmonitored alarm. Most security companies can use existing ADT equipment, though not the panel or cameras. I have a whole article on using ADT equipment with another company.
If you want to try a different security company, I have a list of the best ADT alternatives. My top pick is Vivint. It's month to month if you pay for the equipment upfront, and professional monitoring starts at $29.99 a month.
Vivint can typically take over existing ADT sensors, while DIY systems like SimpliSafe and Cove can't use any of the ADT equipment. Either way, your Nest cameras stay yours through the Google Home app, which is more than I can say for Vivint's own cameras if you ever leave them. If what you want back is an app, alerts and someone to call the fire department, that's the route I'd take.
> > Vivint Promo: $0 Activation with Professional Installation or call (833) 606-2573
Can I remove ADT equipment myself?
Yes. If you want it removed you would need to do it yourself or hire a handyman, since ADT doesn't come out to remove old equipment after cancellation. If you have wired sensors I would leave them be, because they're inside the door frames and walls. If you take down the panel, unplug it and pull the backup battery too, or it will keep running for another 3 to 4 hours.
Will ADT buy back equipment?
No. Nothing in the ADT contract has ADT paying you for the equipment. The ownership clause runs the other way: ADT owns the installed equipment, and it can let you keep it in exchange for an additional payment from you, at an amount ADT sets when the contract ends. In practice ADT leaves the equipment in the home without asking for anything.
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