TL;DR
Vivint's standard contract is 60 months (5 years) with an ETF equal to 100% of your remaining monitoring payments — the highest in the industry. On a $44.99/month plan with 36 months left, that is roughly $1,620. Unlike ADT, Vivint's equipment is typically financed through a separate third-party lender, meaning you can owe money to two different companies even after you stop monitoring service. There are four legitimate exit paths: the 3-day cooling-off window (in-home and door-to-door sales only), a verified move outside the service area, military relocation under SCRA, and a documented service-failure dispute. None of them are fast, but each is legally real.
Vivint's contracts have two layers that most customers do not fully understand at signing:
Layer 1: The monitoring agreement with Vivint Smart Home, typically 60 months. This is the contract you are trying to cancel. ETF = 100% of remaining monthly payments.
Layer 2: The equipment financing agreement — a separate installment loan, usually with Citizen One Bank or Fortiva Retail Credit. This is an independent debt with its own interest rate (0–9.99% APR depending on credit), repayment schedule, and lender. Canceling your Vivint monitoring agreement does NOT cancel this loan.
The practical consequence: if you cancel Vivint monitoring and still owe 24 months on a $60/month equipment loan, you now have no security service but a $1,440 loan you must continue repaying. Many customers do not discover this separation until they call to cancel.
Run your Vivint contract through the Contract Analyzer to confirm the exact terms on your specific agreement before taking any action.
Federal FTC rules give you 3 business days to rescind any contract signed at your home, including Vivint contracts sold by door-to-door representatives or in-home consultants. Vivint is one of the largest door-to-door security sellers in the country — this applies to a significant portion of their customer base.
To use it: send written cancellation notice to the address on the contract, postmarked or hand-delivered within 3 business days of signing. Use certified mail and keep the receipt. Both the monitoring agreement and the equipment financing agreement are typically rescindable together within this window if sold as part of the same in-home transaction.
Vivint is required to give you a written Notice of Right to Cancel at signing. If they did not provide it — or if you did not receive it in writing — the cancellation window may legally extend beyond 3 days. State this explicitly in your cancellation notice if applicable.
Vivint's contract includes a relocation clause, but it is narrower than most customers expect. The process works like this:
1. Submit a written service transfer request to your new address. Vivint will first attempt to transfer monitoring to the new location.
2. If Vivint cannot service your new address (rural area, outside coverage zone, or unavailable territory), they are required to release you from the monitoring contract without ETF.
3. If Vivint can service your new address, they will attempt to transfer — and you cannot use this path to exit. You would need to either transfer service or pursue a separate negotiation.
Document every communication in writing. Send written notice of your move date, your new address, and a formal request for a service availability determination. Save all correspondence, including any confirmation that service is unavailable.
Active-duty military members who receive orders relocating them more than 35 miles from the contract address are protected under the federal SCRA. Vivint cannot charge an ETF under these circumstances. Provide a copy of your military orders to Vivint in writing. This applies to both the monitoring agreement and, in some circumstances, the equipment financing agreement — though the equipment lender may require a separate SCRA request.
If Vivint failed to deliver contracted services — monitoring center outages, persistent false-alarm dispatches they refused to address, unresolved equipment defects — you may have grounds to argue that Vivint breached the contract first. This is the hardest path but not impossible.
Build a written record before you file anything: dates, alarm event IDs, support ticket numbers, email threads, technician visit logs, and any documented instances where monitoring failed to respond. Send a formal written dispute to Vivint customer service and certified mail to their corporate address in Provo, Utah. Request a release from the contract without ETF. If Vivint does not respond substantively within 30 days, escalate to your state's Attorney General consumer protection division.
If you are trying to cancel Vivint monitoring and you financed equipment, you need to address both agreements on separate tracks:
1. Do not stop paying the equipment loan. It is a third-party debt. Vivint's monitoring dispute has no effect on it. Missed payments hit your credit and can result in collections regardless of your monitoring cancellation status.
2. Identify your lender — Citizen One, Fortiva, or another financing partner listed on your equipment agreement. This is a separate document from your Vivint monitoring contract.
3. Get the payoff amount from the lender directly. Equipment loans are sometimes negotiable for a lump-sum discounted payoff, especially after you have been a customer for 12+ months.
4. The equipment is yours once the loan is paid off. Vivint cannot retrieve financed equipment after cancellation of the monitoring agreement.
1. Calculate the monitoring ETF — know the exact dollar amount before calling.
2. Analyze your contract — identify your financing terms, exit clauses, and which path applies.
3. Locate your equipment lender — find the name, contact number, and account number for the separate financing company.
4. Choose your exit path — cooling-off window, move clause, SCRA, or service-failure dispute.
5. Send written notice by certified mail. Keep every receipt and confirmation number.
6. Get cancellation confirmation in writing — email confirmation plus certified mail receipt, not just a verbal from a phone agent.
7. Continue equipment loan payments until that agreement is separately resolved in writing.
Free tools that pair with this guide:
This is education, not legal advice. SecurityCompass HQ is independent and earns affiliate commissions from some recommended providers but does not accept payment to alter rankings or hide fees. Editorial methodology.
Free tools that pair with this guide
SecurityCompassHQ is independent. We earn affiliate commissions from some recommended providers but never accept payment to alter rankings or hide fees. Editorial methodology.
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