Cove FAQ

Cove delivers the basics at a price you can afford—and its flexible policies put customers first.

Below, we’ve answered frequently asked questions about Cove to help you decide if it’s right for you. If you want to know what we think about this brand after years of testing, head over to our Cove Home Security review.

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Like most security systems, Cove triggers an alarm when its sensors detect activity in your home—as long as you arm the system first. After sounding an alarm, the system sends you a Cove InstaText message to check if you need help—or so you can report a false alarm. After confirming your request for help (or if you don't respond at all), the Cove professional monitoring center sends an emergency response to your home.

Unlike most security systems, Cove offers RapidSOS services, which sends your information directly to 911 responders rather than relaying it over the phone. This means you get help faster after an alarm event.

Cove does not require a credit check if you pay up front for your equipment. Cove calls this option the Value Plan. But there is a credit check if you choose to finance your equipment costs throughout a three-year contract—Cove calls this option the Economy Plan.

The Cove Basic monitoring plan covers equipment with a one-year warranty, while Cove Plus includes a lifetime warranty for all Cove equipment.

Only Cove's security cameras require a Wi-Fi connection to send video over the internet. Other Cove devices connect to the Cove Panel, which uses a cellular connection to talk to the monitoring station and doesn’t connect to your Wi-Fi network.

Cove doesn't have a self-monitoring option. Its equipment won't work unless you pay for a monitoring plan.

There's no contract if you pay up front for your equipment. Still, Cove has a three-year contract if you choose to finance your equipment instead.

Cove's costs depend on the monitoring plan you choose and whether you finance your equipment:

• Cove Basic costs $17.99 a month.
• Cove Plus costs $27.99 a month.
• Financing your equipment through a Cove Economy Plan adds $10 to your monthly fee.

You can take your Cove equipment with you when you move. Just uninstall it from your old home, install it in your new home, and update your account details with your new address.

Most power outages won't affect Cove's sensors since they use batteries and the control panel's backup battery lasts up to 24 hours. Since the panel uses a cellular radio, it stays connected to the monitoring center until the battery dies or your power comes back on.

You own your Cove equipment after paying it off. If you choose to finance your equipment through a contract, you must pay it off before canceling your monitoring plan.

Cove primarily sells its equipment using a DIY install model. It also offers optional professional installation for $79 when you buy a system. Learn more about installing a Cove security system yourself.

Cove sells contact sensors, motion detectors, glass-break sensors, flood sensors, and smoke and carbon monoxide sensors. It doesn’t support any other kinds of sensors at this time.

The Cove Touch Alarm Panel has a built-in siren that sounds when something triggers your alarm.

Cove's security cameras support both cloud storage and local storage via a microSD card.

• Cove Plus monitoring supports unlimited cameras with one day of cloud storage.
• Cove Cloud+ allows you to save up to 30 days of video clips in the cloud. It costs $2.99 a month per camera.
• Insert a microSD card (up to 32 GB) into your Cove camera to store video without a monthly fee.

You can perform a hard reset of your Cove panel by unplugging the battery.

According to Cove, you need upload speeds of at least 2 Mbps per camera. So if you have four cameras, you need an upload speed of 8 Mbps—and that's on top of requirements for any other devices connected to your home network.

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You can use the Cove app on Android and iOS smartphones if you subscribe to the Cove Plus monitoring plan to control your security system. The app isn't available for Cove Basic customers.

You can add more users from the Cove app as long as you have "Master User" admin access. Added users can be master users with the same administrative controls or app users without them.

Cove doesn’t sell smart home devices. It sells only sensors, security cameras, and alarm system accessories.

Cove is compatible with Google Assistant^† and Amazon Alexa voice controls, which allow you to arm, disarm, and check the status of your Cove system. Cove doesn't offer any other smart home functionality—you need to rely on Google and Amazon for controlling smart devices alongside your Cove system.

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