Kidde Smart Smoke Detector, WiFi, Alexa Compatible Device, Hardwired w/Battery Backup, Voice & App Alerts

I have been looking for a smart smoke detector that isn't Nest for almost 2 years. I refuse to buy google products. This is the first one I have found that works. Setup was easy, I am sort of handy with electrial though. I replaced an 8 year old hard wired First Alert brand smoke detector. Undid the wire connectors and found I already had a neutral wire there. I am not sure that is normal or I just got lucky. I hooked up the new harness and walked through the instructions to download their app and add the smoke detector. So far this is just what I wanted and the price was good too. Only thing better would be if Kidde had built Home Assistant integration. But it looks like the Home Assistant community is working on that. I had previously bought a OneLink smart smoke detector. That is completely useless as a smart device. It only integrates with Apple HomeKit, which itself is a PITA to use. The onlink app is terrible. If you are comparing these 2 products and deciding, The Kidde device is far and away better. A couple days ago this smoke detector went off. I got an alert on my phone. Exactly what I wanted! It was a false alarm, someone was cooking in the kitchen and making more smoke than normal, but I was impressed. I just bought one of their water detectors to sit by my water heater.

🚨 I hate to make this kind of post, but we’ve had terrible luck with our #KiddeFireSafety smoke alarms. They’re hard-wired and Wi-Fi enabled—no dead batteries, no wiring issues—and yet they keep going off for no reason at all. At first, we replaced a few units. Then we replaced every single one throughout the house—even the ones we had just replaced—and the problem continues. When we called Kidde’s technical support, they told us to disconnect every alarm every three months and clean them with an air can before plugging them back in. Honestly, no one should have to do that for something this critical. We’ve been startled awake at 2, 3, 4, even 5 a.m.—hearts pounding, jumping out of bed in a panic, running through every room yelling at each other over the loud noise to communicate while trying to figure out where the “fire” is. In those moments, you don’t think—you are in pure fear mode. You’re checking the kitchen, the attic, the garage, every corner, trying to find the danger that doesn’t exist. And then it happens again. And again. Today, while we were at an event, our phones started alerting us that our house was on fire (it wasn’t). We rushed home—and the alarms had gone off five times in a row for absolutely no reason. We have tried to be patient but this has been going on for over a year now. These alarms have given us no peace of mind at all—only constant worry, exhaustion, and wasted money. Something that’s supposed to protect your home shouldn’t make you afraid to sleep through the night. #KiddeSmokeAlarm #FireAlarmFail #HomeSafety #KiddeFireSafety #kiddealarms #kiddesmokedetector #DontBuyKidde

When installing this detector in a system that has a hybrid 5 ghz and 2.4 ghz network using a single SSID (that's not separated, google nest mesh network in my case), it's virtually impossible to set it up using an android device. Incredibly frustrating. Setting it up via iOS/iPad OS was the solution as I was able to get it to pair to the network using my backup device. Works great once you get it connected, but I've had this issue with other 2.4ghz only devices in the past so I knew to try the iPad.

Honestly can’t say enough bad things about this brand of smoke detector. I spent a good amount of money to install these throughout my house. I even had wiring installed for them. I was excited to have a smart home smoke and CO detector that would protect my house. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Since we got them we have had countless false alarms, which usually come very late in the night. When they do come, the app cannot be used to silence them because it hallucinates too much smoke. On more than one occasion they even woke my sleeping toddler who was terrified. I tried everything. I bought compressed air and cleaned them out. I even replaced them with new ones. Same thing. It’s not the unit, it’s the faulty manufacturing. I called tech support and their solution was to unplug them from the wall and just use on battery mode (which defeats the whole purpose of the wired smart ones but I was desperate). That did reduce the false alarm frequency so they only now happen every now and then rather than EVERY WEEK but it’s insane that it still happens. I’ve never been so disappointed with a product. I have also had a similar problem with the non smart wired kidde detectors at my rental property. Stay away from kidde at all costs!

Not much to say about a smoke alarm effectiveness or quality until it's actually needed. I am posting a review on the condition it was received, connectivity and the app. First of all, I ordered 4 of these alarms. All four came in a generic bulk purchase brown cardboard box. No big deal, Home Depot sells theirs in those bulk packages for the cheaper cost. However, at first blush I was suspicious of the alarm being counterfeit or something until I went to Home Depot and found the bulk packaging. So, that's just an FYI. The price was definitely better than Home Depot so all is forgiven there. The alarms were a replacement to older Kidde hardwired models that required a battery (from 2013) and these newer models fit easily into the existing 3 prong wire and mounting plate. I love that the new models have a 10 year lithium battery! No more low battery chirps in the middle of the night! My house has 12' high ceilings and getting on a ladder is almost impossible for me as a senior not to mention they tend to go off in the middle of the night. No more going out to the garage, dragging in the heavy ladder and risk climbing that tall thing when awaken suddenly at 2am. Now, mind you, I changed the batteries every year at the same time to avoid this but those darn things also have an end of life alarm. I just recently found that out when my old alarm chirped waking me up when all was well and quiet in the house. It took me a while and some reading in the wee hours to find that the alarm was just dying and needed to be changed completely. The smart alarms have flawless connectivity to the Kidde app where I can easily monitor their behavior. I can hush the alarm, test it and even connect to Alexa. No more ladders! At least for 10 years provided Kidde lives up to it's 10 year battery longevity claim. In case you forget when you activated the alarm, the app has a countdown feature that tells you when it's end of life is so you can be prepared to replace without the chirp. The app also sends notifications so if you aren't home it will send you a "critical" notification/text/email so you will always know if there is a problem. I have cameras in my home and Alexa guard so I will know if it's a false alarm or a fire. Either way, the app will let you hush the alarm or allow you to call 911 immediately. So far, I'm very happy I got the new model. Your alarms will have an end of life eventually and I strongly recommend the newer smart technology to replace them. As for the alarm detection sensitivity or false alarm problems..well I don't have a comment on those thank goodness! And I'd like to keep it that way. OH! and by the way...when you are cooking...no worry if you accidentally burn something and set off the smoke alarm. It happens. Just use the app to hush the alarm from your smart phone.