Choosing The Best Fortress System For Your Needs

Here at Fortress Security Store, we offer you a variety of choices when shopping for a home security system. Sometimes there can be a lot of information to take in when comparing the different products we offer. In this week's blog post, we'll walk you through how to easily decide which Fortress security system will be the best fit for your needs.

• Features Comparison Table
• Should My System Notify Me When I'm Away From Home?
• Which Accessories Do I Need?
• "Build A System" or A Pre-Built Package?
• How Can I Save Even More?
• What Shipping Options Are Available?

Here is a features comparison table that you can use to quickly see, at a glance, what each of our systems offer. Below, we'll show you some helpful questions you can ask yourself to help you find the perfect system.

Should My System Notify Me When I'm Away From Home?

No Monitoring / Stand-Alone

Fortress has something for everyone. If you're looking for a basic alarm that will  simply make a loud noise from the built-in speaker whenever it's triggered, we recommend either the Safeguard Stand-Alone system or the Guardian Stand-Alone system. These are inexpensive devices that are quick and easy to set up. They are pre-programmed by our technicians so they're ready to use straight out of the box!

Self-Monitoring

All of our systems that are not Stand-Alone systems can be "self-monitored." In other words, you can cut out the middle man and program your Fortress security system to contact you directly in the event of an alarm. We know that some locations where our customers want to install security systems may not have access to a WiFi signal, or may not have a land line phone connection available. We have a few different methods that our systems can use to contact you.

• Wi-Fi connection (free mobile app for iPhone / Android) (Total Security WiFi and Ani)
• GSM SIM card / cellular connection (Total Security, Total Security WiFi and Vea 3G/4G GSM)
• Land line phone connection (S02, Ani, and Total Security WiFi)

As you can see from the table above, some of our systems have only one of these options available, while others have two, or all three options available.

If you choose a system that has more than one method of connection available, then if you connect it up in multiple ways, those methods will act as a backup to each other. For example, if you have a system with both a WiFi connection and a SIM card, and the WiFi signal goes down for some reason, the system will still be able to use the SIM card to notify you by calling or texting you over the cellular connection.

For a system using a WiFi connection or a land line connection, there are no contracts and no recurring charges from Fortress! If you activate the Fortress SIM Card Service, that's just $7.99 per month. 

With our self-monitored systems, you can program in multiple contact phone numbers, so if you can't answer the alarm, then it can also call others, like a spouse, neighbor, friends, and/or relatives.

You can also program a self-monitored system to contact your local police department, but in that case we recommend contacting the police department first. They may have some special policies for you to be aware of, or they may have a special phone number for you to use with your system.

24/7 Monitoring

Our Total Security WiFi System has the ability to work with third-party monitoring companies which can keep an eye on things for you day and night. The system would contact this third-party company, and then they may reach out to you, the police, or etc.

The 24/7 monitoring feature also requires a GSM SIM card, or a land line conneciton, or both.

In the future, Fortress Security Store plans to offfer our own 24/7 monitoring service, as well! If you haven't already done so, you can subscribe to our newsletter on our web site (at the bottom of the page), and then you'll be the first to know when we do start offering 24/7 monitoring from Fortress directly.

Which Accessories Do I Need?

Once we've decided on which system has the features that best fit your needs, then we can also take a look at what accessories we should add to the system. Each of our systems work with a number of different types of accessories, including magnetic door/window sensors, passive infrared motion detectors, smoke alarms, sirens, and more.

We recommend taking a moment to browse through our available accessories to get an idea for what kinds of things you'd like to include in your system. Descriptions of the accessories for each system can be found on that system's Features page. 

You can also take a peek at some of our pre-built packages, or "kits," to get an idea of what a typical system might look like. Here are the different packages available for the Total Security WiFi system, for example. It's a good idea to have a couple of different types of accessories backing each other up in your system, for maximum redundancy.

"Build A System" or A Pre-Built Package?

We offer pre-built packages for our systems which are bundled together to help you save money. If you know that you will make use of all of the items in a certain package, then you should add that package to your shopping cart and then add any other accessories you may need on top of that.

Alternatively, if the pre-built packages don't contain what you're looking for (or if you don't need all the accessories that are in that kit), then you can also choose the "Build A System" option on our site as well. This allows you to start with just the main panel for the system, and add only the accessories you need. This allows for ultimate flexibility when placing your order, so you know you're getting exactly what you need, with nothing that you don't need.

Either way, whether you choose a kit or the Build A System option, our technicians will pre-program everything together for you before we ship it out. That way, the first-time set up is quick and easy!

How Can I Save Even More?

That's a great question! We frequently have sales where we offer additional savings to our customers, either with a discount code or with instant savings on select items. You can check out our Deals page to see the current discounts available. We definitely recommend subscribing to our newsletter on our web site (at the bottom of the page) so that you'll know when the next deals are headed your way. Additionally, you'll receive a discount code in your email for 10% off your next order, just for subscribing!

What Shipping Options Are Available?

We offer FREE Ground Shipping (6-9 days) for all orders of $200 or more placed within the United States! We also have options for Expedited Shipping (2-3 days) and Rush Delivery (1-2 days). We also ask for 1-2 days of provisioning time before your order is shipped. Here are the full details of our shipping policy on our web site.

That's It! You're Ready For Checkout!

Now that you've added the items for your system into the Shopping Cart, you can quickly and easily place your order online with confidence! Do you have PayPal? You can check out using your PayPal account directly!

As always, if you have any questions about your order, you can contact our friendly Customer Support team for further assistance!