"Very, very disappointed in this product. It did not work in my brand-new house and no one at X10 provided any real assistance in getting the system to work. It was a complete waste of time, money, and effort. The customer service was spotty at best. After I returned everything I was not provided a full refund. X10 is as bad as their commercials. I should have gone with my gut on this one and invested in a real system."

"Very disappointed in the service. Shipped wrong part for Vanguard video monitoring system. The USB tranceiver doesn't work on Windows Vista unless it was manufactured in October 2008 or later.
Spent money to ship tranceiver back. Have not received replacement and it has been more than a month since I bought the system.
Customer service is pleasant on the phone, but reps don't seem to know the products very well.
Will not purchase any more X-10 products. "

"Purchased the "high-end" Sentinel camera. Here's what I encountered:

-USB video adapter installer is a piece of crap. Keeps hanging on VendorCmdRW.dll Tried on 6 different XP Pro systems that I borrowed from work. Still couldn't get the video adapter recognized at all on my primary home system (XP Pro).
-Had to do manual force install on all.
-Cannot reboot when video adapter is plugged in. System hangs during reboot.
-Have to unplug video adapter to proceed and finish the reboot.
-Finally have to disable/enable in Device Manager to get it to work.
-It's apparent that thorough testing was NOT conducted on XP Professional systems.
-Computer grinds at 100% CPU whenever Sentinel is running, causing excessive heat and CPU burnout.
(Pentium M 1.73GHz w/512MB RAM and also AMD Athlon 64bit 3400+ 2.20GHz w/1GB RAM)
-Sentinel dies after apprx. 30 seconds when recording motion trigger when email option is selected.
(both XP and Home edition)
-If email option is not selected, then Sentinel dies after 30 secs when the SECOND motion trigger is activated.
-First hitting Tilt Up in Sentinel control causes camera to tilt down. Must then hit multiple tilt ups to get to prior position.
-Auto focus in Starlight mode really sucks (virtually non-existent).
-Application does not exit cleanly when closed after recording (get "Run a DLL as an App has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.")
-Apply button does not enable when configuring motion detector unless motion detector object is clicked on.
-Still image snapshot files that are saved do not have the correct time in filename. Certainly does not match time shown in video still snapshot!
-Cannot uninstall Sentinel software because of error: "Could not open INSTALL.LOG file"
-Unable to zoom outside of center field of vision, so camera had to be mounted at an odd angle
-6 ft power cord is a joke. Useless outdoors unless special wiring is installed. Was originally told 60ft, then 14 ft was standard when first purchased. (apologies came later).
-Multiple dead pixels on camera on arrival.

The camera is a great idea and adequate for normal use; however the software required to support is not ready for primetime and has not been adequately tested.

Tried to get technical information about the camera from X10 rep "Nakita" who doesn't know what she's talking about. Tried to tell me the camera has a 280 degree field of vision WITHOUT panning! (it's really 50 degrees, found out from another competent X10 rep -- yes there are several)

Tried to get software exchanged for Active Home Pro version which apparently works better, but Nakita refused and said I'd have to pay more (even though they're the same price -- she said the USB video adapter was more and included with Sentinel version -- not what the original sales person told me!). Asked to speak to her supervisor and she left me on hold for 30 minutes. Lousy and incompetent customer service from Nakita.
"

"Warning to all Canadians; Please be aware when buying this product THE COST of retuns of defective items to the canadian warehouse in Mississauga,Ontario it is your responsability
X10 does not cover the cost.
You going to be out-of-pocket
"

"I ordered the vangaurd system for 49.99 and have been trying to get the system to work since. I have spent hours on the phone trying to get them to setup like they said, seems the only thing they want to do is get you off the phone by saying that you can email them. I have emailed so many times I lost count and still have not gotten one in return. I have asked about sending this system back for a refund since no one can make it work and can not get a answer. Do not buy anything from X-10. All they do is take your money and nothing else."

"I wrote a previous review complimenting X10's products and customers service, Particulary that of my salesperson Zach. I am writing a new review to comment on the relentless unwanted email I have received from them ever since my purchase. I did not request further correspondence, to the contrary, I unchecked that box to avoid persistent emails. Will someone from X10 PLEASE take me off the email list!!!!
Also, I had a very simple question about mounting the door/window sensors and nobody there could answer my question as if they did not know anything about installing their product. As it turns out Zach and the equipment itself is all they have going for them."

"i bought a multi-camera system. had nothing but trouble.system interfered with my wirless computer.tried to get a return authorization.have not been able to get a reply from anyone.talked to Edola, talked Josh, said they would refer my request to their superviser. "

"I made a BIG mistake ordering the Robotic Camera Wireless Remote surveillance kit. They sent the wrong camera, then I talked to Claudia who said she would send me a RMA right away, didn't get one. Called again and talked to Mandy, got the RMA and a new link for the software because software doesn't load. Then called again and talked to Meia - she tried to help me get the software going, no such luck. Said a tech support person would call, no call. Called again and talked to Zack, he was very cold and did not respond to my complaints. Said he hears it all day long and couldn't care less. I wish I had known that prior to all this! Claudia had said the shipping label would be provided, but in the end, I had to pay to return their items that they sent in error. BIG headache, now let's see if they give me my $129.98 back! Doubt it!"

"I dealt with L.R. today and she was great! Answered all my questions, helped me with my credit voucher, and helped me order what I needed. I have dealt with this company (X-10) now for a few months and have always dealt with a courteous employee. I will deal with them again in the future."

"29 Oct
Today I received my box from of X10 goodies and all is perfect. Although at first I thought X10 forgot my software, but I called and got Brett A. within 15 seconds of the phone ringing and he e-mailed me my link. Got into bed five minutes later with my laptop and whammo! The link is here for my downloadable software. Great job Brett A. and X10. Great service and product. After my initial set-up, I'll be buying more X10 for expansion. "

"I have been a customer of X10 for many years and generally have experienced GOOD assistance with the numerous items purchased requiring help. Unfortunately, my most recent purchase the "Vanguard" remote security system has proven to be a disaster and assistance has been no existent. As of this moment, I have sent numerous E-Mail requests for comments etc. and have not receives so much as a single comment or reply. In addition, I have called for assistance with assurance a return call would follow but non has. I remain confused with this behavior since it has not been my experience in the past. Could it be that the "Vanguard" program is not reliable and the remote surveillance process is not dependable? Should that be the case, simply state that so I can move in an alternative direction for the surveillance protection I require.
Thanks Bob Morton"

"Liars! Said the shipping would be free then added $10 at the very end. Said there would be no sales tax then added it at the very end after I entered my credit card info. I saw this and did not confirm the payment. THEY PROCESSED IT ANYWAY!
Well I've recived my order even though I asked for it to be canceled! They didn't even send me what I ordered AND what they sent didn't work! I should have read the other reviews BEFOR I ordered! Hope you,re reading this befor you ordered. Good Luck!"

"Lola A/V Sender, software, and media remote, AND two other items as a part of this special deal were offered for $49.99. This was ordered from an X10 web page on Wednesday morning, October 1, at 8:53 a.m. Lola, software (by email), and media remote arrived Saturday, October 4. The two additional items included in the special web page deal did not arrive. Called customer service and was told by Natalie there were not additional items included in what I ordered. Of course the web page offer showing what was supposed to be included is no longer available. If I remember correctly, one of the free additional items was to be a plug in module with antenna to receive X10 commands. Cannot remember what the other item was. I do remember the web page offer page listed the total cost of the items included in the offer and it was about $219. It appears X10 entices customers to order something with promises of additional free items and fails to fulfill an order, denying additional items were ever offered, with no way for a customer to prove they were since the special deal web page is cyber-history. Of course we all know they could produce the original special deal web page but then they would have to admit someone lied! Goodbye X10."

"Bad experience. Home Automation system came right away. First, I was not given the $15 credit I was to receive. Had to e-mail for that. Then I was not given the link for software. Had to call for that. Then I was not given registration code to make software work. Had to call for that. Product was to come with 2 year warranty but I only received one. When I called I was told not to worry because it was really 2 years. Still trying to figure that out.
Installed product with numerous problems. When you order, nowhere does it warn of line noise or phasing problems. I had a module that didn't work. I called and was told I needed to order a filter to eliminate line noise and that an electrician would have to install. I called back and asked to return and was asked if I wanted to troubleshoot. I explained that I didn't want to order filter and was told I didn't really need to but rather could be a transiever which would solve the problem. I then had one module installed and the switch hummed. No one knew what that was the case. Then I could turn lights off through the computer but could not get the computer timer to work. I recieved "hmmm..." over and over but no ideas as to what the problem was. I easily spent 15 hours on this if not more. I have officially given up and will return the system. Never again for me!"

"I ordered a three camera system (Low Light B/W, Color, & Wide Angle Color cameras) along with a four camera Ninja Pan & Tilt system. I already had a three B/W camera system that works fairly well when the mysterious interference that intermittantly plagues the system is quiet. (I wonder if the interference might be the X-10 wireless motion detectors on my security system, as I don't have a wireless router or cordless phone.) The Ninja bases came with a remote controller that had a glaring design flaw. That being the inability to turn off the active camera when changing from one "group" of four cameras to another "group". There is no "Off" button on the remote. The old camera remote had "On" and "Off" buttons for this very reason. Only one camera can be active(broadcasting) at a time.

Customer support seemed surprised by this and even tried to claim that the Ninja wasn't intended to control more than one "group" of cameras; however, the manual very clearly describes the procedure to change groups. The Tech support guy who later called about the problem seemed unconcerned that the remote won't work as stated in the manual and eventually suggested that I use both remotes. I don't know why the designers failed to include "Auto Off" in changing groups, as they did so when changing cameras within the group. I returned the cameras and the Ninja bases.

Regarding quality and failure rates, I could never get the low light B/W or the color camera to focus well enough to read numbers on a license plate at about twenty feet, although the wide angle color camera was better. All three cameras, including the "Low Light B/W", were useless in low light conditions, that is, at dusk and later with street and security lights on in the parking lot. Glare from the sun reflecting off any curved surface (windows, bumpers, or car roof) was problematic. One of the Ninja bases died the second day. It could braodcast the picture but could not Pan & Tilt.
I have quite a few X-10 products and they work well (under ideal conditions) considering that X-10 seems to be a marketing company, as evidenced by the lack of any real specifications for their products."