home security review
We do this by extensively researching user reviews at retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot and Lowe's. When we test, we borrow some of the DIY security systems from their manufacturers and buy others. Although we may reach out for technical support or for clarification on a particular feature, the companies have no input on our testing practices and we don’t share our results or rankings with them before publishing our reviews. As we researched this topic and security systems in general, we reached out to Jamie Vos, vice president of the Electronic Security Association ESA for his thoughts on DIY systems. He emphasized professional monitoring for security systems: “If you
receive a text
alert, you may not be in a condition to respond and you may not hear an alarm. At that point, you have lost valuable response time, whereas a professional monitoring station can automatically alert first responders. ”We also contacted Kirk MacDowell, a board member with the Security Industry Association SIA and president of MacGuard Security Advisors Inc. He said a security system can act as a central heartbeat in the home. “Devices such as locks that can be opened remotely, home light control and thermostats that can raise or lower temperature are all tied into one convenient app and then tied into the alarm, making the operation seamless. ”How we tested DIY home automated systems For each new DIY security system, we test in two areas: user experience and ease of installation. These help build a picture of a system's effectiveness and how it affects you.
Make sure to bookmark our Amazon Prime Day guide for the latest coverageSamsung has launched its own budget wireless security camera. The 1080p Samsung SmartThings Cam $90 connects via Wi Fi, but is controlled via the Samsung SmartThings app, so you can link it easily to other devices connected to the SmartThings smart home hub. Stay tuned for our review. Nest is rolling out an update to its security cameras that will prevent original camera owners from being able to access the feeds from cameras they've sold. As uncovered by Wirecutter, Nest cameras that had been connected to the Wink smart hub through Works With Nest were still accessible to the original owner, even after the camera had been reset to its factory settings. If you purchased a used Nest cam, you should make sure it's on the latest firmware version, which will fix this issue.