Self Monitoring setup help please

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drhiii
Posts:7
Joined:Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:39 pm
Self Monitoring setup help please

Post by drhiii » Sat Mar 20, 2021 8:45 pm

This is going to sound a bit nuts, but I am trying to figure out what is possible and what isn’t. I purchased a water sensor. I kept reading about self monitor. So, I go to install the water sensor via the OOMA mobile app and all it gives me are plans to purchase.

Soooo, is there such a thing as self monitoring where a sensor such as a door or water sensor sends a push notification? Like an email, SMS or similar? Without having to pay extra for a plan?

Or, please tell me what I am missing?? All I want to do is install a water sensor and two door sensors. We work out of the home so are here 99.9999% of the time so not really enthused about paying for a plan when we are here.

Look forward to being properly educated. Thank you

lsitongia
Posts:12
Joined:Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:26 pm

Re: Self Monitoring setup help please

Post by lsitongia » Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:43 pm

Me, too. How do you get the "Monitor Plan", which is free?

I've had the first generation telo for 10 years. I just upgraded to Premier plan and bought the latest telo. I got the free water monitor with it. There sure is a lot of confusion with all this. I didn't see anything about a monthly fee for the water monitor. But yes, that's what the iOS app tells me, apparently. The website differs. I had a lot of trouble with the new telo, with information about what it is (says A03 on the bottom, but support chat said it's a "regular telo". The shipping sheet says I got an upgrade from telo to telo3. Support chat wouldn't say it was a telo3. Wouldn't say why it blinks blue and red constantly (well, said it was the network, but the network is solid here).

Anyway, when we find out how to configure the phone app with the free Monitor plan, I will get through yet another mystery of the Ooma service...

lsitongia
Posts:12
Joined:Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:26 pm

Re: Self Monitoring setup help please

Post by lsitongia » Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:03 am

The Ooma website says you can move between subscription tiers at any time, so what do you do, sign up for the free trial and then move to self monitoring later? Does anyone know if the self monitoring tier is available when you change tiers?

lsitongia
Posts:12
Joined:Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:26 pm

Re: Self Monitoring setup help please

Post by lsitongia » Thu Apr 01, 2021 12:37 pm

I signed up via my iPad for the free trial. I then paired my water leak sensor. Then, I see there is no way to change plans from the app. But, the web portal for Ooma provides a way to "change subscription". The only option is to cancel! Even then, it will not cancel. It just sits there spinning. Sounds to me that Ooma has trouble with managing this security service. The experience is not friendly. If I get this cancelled, I will post what happens next.

I'm wondering if the "monitoring" plan is simply what it does by default when you don't pay for a plan. That would be good. However, there doesn't appear to be a way to pair the sensor without a paid account?

lsitongia
Posts:12
Joined:Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:26 pm

Re: Self Monitoring setup help please

Post by lsitongia » Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:28 pm

I chatted with support and was told that I need to phone support. I phoned support, and was told that the free trial of home security would automatically switch to free monitor when it expires. They didn't sound convincing, so I asked to cancel the free trial immediately, after they said that the default without a plan *is* the free monitoring plan. Sure enough, after rebooting the telo, the phone app still shows the state of the sensor and so I believe I'm now on the free plan.

sbrammer
Posts:15
Joined:Sat Apr 04, 2020 11:04 am

Re: Self Monitoring setup help please

Post by sbrammer » Fri Sep 10, 2021 11:22 am

I have used the free self monitoring plan for the last four years without any issues. When I bought the home security starter kit, which inckuded the white Telo and several sensors, I downloaded the Ooma home security app on my iPad and installed\synced all of my sensors from there, including a water sensirm which I bought just over a year ago.

jafriede
Posts:15
Joined:Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:22 am

Re: Self Monitoring setup help please

Post by jafriede » Tue Dec 07, 2021 6:48 pm

I just bought a water sensor and went to set it up today with the intention of "self monitoring". I see there is no choice in the app as several have stated here. i called support and the guy told me in about an hour self monitoring would show up as an option but it hasn't. i have been an Ooma customer for many years but this just seems really shady. Does anyone have a definitive answer on this? If not I guess I will just return the sensor rather than play games.

Robek
Posts:230
Joined:Thu Sep 26, 2019 6:56 pm

Re: Self Monitoring setup help please

Post by Robek » Sat Dec 11, 2021 2:26 pm

I don't have a definitive answer, but I noticed that the My Ooma 'Store' web page filters out services that I already have, (like Premiere, or an international plan). When I subscribe to a service, it disappears from the 'Store' page, and shows up in the 'Account/Services' page. That makes some sense; if I can't buy a service that I already bought, then why bother showing it? It was a little confusing at first, but certainly not "shady".

Perhaps the Home Security app does the same thing, when showing available plans. You can't switch to your already active plan, so the app wouldn't list it as an option. Does the My Ooma 'Account/Services' page (or mobile app) show what your current plan is? If not, then maybe they should work on fixing the app, web page, and any supporting documentation, to make that more clear.

lsitongia
Posts:12
Joined:Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:26 pm

Re: Self Monitoring setup help please

Post by lsitongia » Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:44 am

My login to my.ooma.com does not show my home security plan in the Account>Services section.

The Home Security tab in the website is just advertising. There's no information there about my water leak sensor or plan.

There's nothing in the website that would indicate that I have any of this. The only way to see it is through the Home Security mobile app. The Ooma mobile app doesn't know anything about it.

I can't find anything anywhere that says which Home Security plan I have. I assume that I have no plan and the default monitoring is enabled, which is what I want. I check my bank account for charges.

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