I use wired Nest Detects with a Starling hub to integrate them into HomeKit to trigger automations. Motion turns on lights in the hall at night, smoke or carbon monoxide turns on all lights in the house and turns off the fans, appliances, and HVAC. It’s a great all-in-one sensor package that’s baked into your house already. Would love to replace them with Owls eventually.
This is my exact setup as well. Owl is nice but about $80 more expensive than the nest one, plus i use nest door locks/doorbell/thermostat so i'll probably just keep my current setup.
The world needs more Homekit-compatible smoke / CO detectors. Let's hope Owl is able to resolve and update their products to ensure they are dependable, and also that more suppliers provide offerings in this space.
Dude. Great, honest, review as usual. You’d think that this product space would be a reasonably easy one for manufacturers to ‘get right’. Yet no one has been able to. I know most people are not going to do it, but I’ve been very happy with the DIY solution I created… A $20 relay from Amazon. It’s wired into my existing Interconnected Smoke Alarm system (as if it’s just another detector), and the relay’s output is monitored by the GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi running my HomeBridge client. HomeBridge then brings the Alarm into HomeKit. It’s not a solution that I believe is for ‘the masses’, but it’s a really simple setup for the DIY’ers. Thanks as always for the upload!
@@jonathanfitz2041 Yep, I just added a Nest Smoke Detector this weekend. I just don't like it requires wifi for interconnect vs using the wired Interconnect. Simple install and setup. I had a little glitch connecting to my google account the first try, but after that its been smooth sailing. After a couple of weeks I'm sure I'll start replacing my others with the same.
@@chuckhemsburg6974 there shouldn't be any issue with Nest protect wireless interconnect. It doesn't use your home wifi. It creates a dedicated mesh network between all the nest protect devices only.
Finally!!!! I was looking for a HomeKit smoke detector so I can replace my google nest protects that are expiring soon. I am willing to work with a company that has good support and hopefully will send out high quality firmware updates. I will be purchasing and supporting them. If we want more we need to support companies who are trying to help us with products like this. I am willing to support them based on your customer support interactions. Good review as always Shane!
Thanks for the heads up about the Homekit Q Code issue. That's pretty important. It seems that a warning for the loss of AC power would have saved a lot of trouble shooting time. I do love the physical microphone button. I think any device with a microphone should have some kind of physical button that opens the microphone circuit to disable it. I'm using Nest/Google Protects in both of my homes. While I do not like Google as a company that's run by megalomaniacs, the Nest smoke/carbon monoxide detectors are very reliable. Thanks to when Nest was a stand alone company. One way to test Carbon Monoxide detectors is to remove them and bring them near car/truck exhaust. That'll do it.
It also appeared that the "dumb" smart detector was much faster on detecting smoke than the Owl smoke detector. It would be nice if you could somehow test for CO detections. But I realize that you would have to have a special set up to do that with. Just curious on how well that detector works since the smoke detector part seemed to not be very responsive; at least from what I saw in the video.
I have two Aqara smart smoke detectors and a Homepod in five rooms. Aqara smoke detector allows you to make automations. Turns on lights and turns off electrical appliances. The negative is that the smoke detector does not have a cable, only a battery that lasts a long time according to the manufacturer.
WHY WHY WHY are smart safety device so expensive?!?! These devices have a limited life span and have to be replaced every 7-10 years. Someone actually tried to sell me an expired Google Nest Protect. I can see 150%-200% of the price of a dumb one. 400%-500% is lunacy.
Great, honest review! I would actually love a product like this, but if I’m going to be putting a device into my smoke alarm system, it needs to be 100% rock solid. I actually think the HomePod’s that listen for alarm sounds is a smarter choice - keep the primary detection and alert system _simple_ and dependable, and layer on a remote notification system in a way that won’t interfere with it. It’s just too bad they didn’t integrate the HomePod sensor into the Home app (like they already do with the HomePod temp sensors 🤦♂️
I agree. I thought that Apple once said we'll be able to create automations based on this HomePod sound detection (similar is possible on the iPhone). So who knows, maybe one day we'll get a nice little update that allows it. It would be nice.
Nice review, but one thing that confuses me is why there aren't more relatively simple HomeKit devices like smoke detectors and simple floodlights. Seems like everyone wants to make fancy light strips which I have no use for.
I have Nest Detects thru Starling Hub and it works great. My question, Why didn't your Homepods go off and give you notifications thru Homekit when you first tested the Black Owl, as it suppose to be interconnected to the other smoke detectors around the house?
When we talk about lightbulbs, switches, curtain rods if they don’t work not a huge problem. If we talk about this kind of product it needs to work flawless, no need to say why. So this product doesn’t seem ready and wouldn’t trust my life on these. This is a big no-go for me.
Temp sensors etc in the ceiling should have an offset function. Its always hotter higher up. PM, co2 sensors etc should always be placed in head height. The Nest smoke detektors are the best with their cool voice alarm, but integration is not easy. Thats what happens when google buy companies…. 😢
Hi Shane, I recently had a similar issue adding an Eve water sensor and it automatically added itself to my 2nd home in the Apple Home app. Similar to the Owl adding your sensor to your Pappy's Home. Eve would refuse to add it to my primary home in the Home App. So notifications were wonky until I deleted the 2nd home in the home app. I did not really need it at this time, so I deleted the 2nd home. I never actually resolved it properly with Eve. You may want to notify Owl Support of that problem you experienced.
Thank you for the review of the Owl Home Smart Detector. Yes, the features provided with automation would be valuable if it integrated with HomeKit reliably and the interconnect with traditional devices worked.
@@ShaneCreates As with everything technology wise, they either get better or worse. I can say right now they work pretty flawless, but I’m not saying I didn’t have issues when I first got them 2 years ago. I’ve had to delete them and reinstall then a couple of times, but they have worked flawlessly for the last 8-9 months. Knock on wood. 😂
I just threw away 7 of these. After 3 false alarms at night, ZERO notifications on my phone, not respond to silincing alarms without pulling them off the ceiling, I gave up.
Nice video. I’m glad to see a device in this space with these features. I’ve used a zigbee or zwave sensor through smartthings through home bridge in the past.
Shane, mixed feelings here. Coming from a Onelink user who's device actually used to work, lol this was initially a welcome video. Before I go on, BIG QUESTION: are the alerts mutable? I like to sear steak inside, lol. Homekit/Onelink provided a way to shut the alarm off if smoke was "light" enough. If this does that, then that's use case enough for me. The HomePod hack has diminished returns as I can't turn the dumb alarms off. Admittedly I haven't finished the video, so forgive me if you covered it. I didn't think you were going to so I stopped to write this...Thx man and good video (so far)!
I tried many smoke detectors and I would love this smoke detector if it works as it should. I tired next, first alert and other smart detectors and I had nothing but issues with all of them. A wired, CO, smoke, HomeKit and motion are exactly what I am looking for. Maybe air-quality would be the only thing missing imo. I see they are $30 off but white is back ordered. Any others that are using this with good satisfaction?
I keep changing my mind on whether I want cool smart-home smoke sensors. I have an old house, so putting in a bunch of sensors which are wired to each other would be an extra hassle. And part of me wants the dumbest sensors possible, because with more features there is much more opportunity for things to go wrong. But it would be nice to put in one smart device which detects smoke, CO, temps, humidity, and motion. (I don't care much about sounds, since I'm often playing music or have the TV on). So this devices like this are interesting to me, even if I'm not sure I would want to buy one.
I have the First Alert OneLink and it appears to work better than what you demonstrated in this video with the Owl Shane. However, it is not perfect either. It is very reliable at detecting smoke. It works great in HomeKit with automations and notifications. It does have interconnect and does set off other “dumb” devices. The only problem it has is that while when one of the dumb devices detects smoke, it does make the onelink Sound its alarm, BUT it does not trigger HomeKit. (I also have no way to test the carbon dioxide detector.) thanks for a great review. I was thinking about trying the owl, but now I know there’s no good reason to change from the onelink.
Thanks for watching and sharing your experience. I tried a couple of the First Alert HomeKit sensor a few years ago and didn't have a good experience, so I sent them back. I had big issues with the interconnected feature and notifications not working. I have not tried them again since then.
@@ShaneCreates yes, I totally understand that your experience was different than mine. I’m pretty sure I got my onelink after you tried them. So, I”m guessing that they fixed some problems, but not the one I outlined above.
Way too expensive at $180, even considering the added sensors. Reliability reminds me of the first FirstAlert HomeKit smoke+CO sensor. For those looking, I highly recommend Netatmo’s Smoke sensor and CO sensor. I scored 3 of their Smoke sensors at € 150 (so 50 each) and find them very reliable. The Netatmo CO sensor was a bit more expensive, and I wouldn’t buy an expensive smart CO sensor anymore now that HomePods can detect loud sirens. Hoping for more options in 2024 now that Matter 1.2 supports Smoke and CO sensors 🤞🏻
This is one of the few product categories I don’t have in my house. I’d be interested to see different types. I think all of my smoke alarms are battery operated? My house was built in 1901
Shane, has Owl updated the firmware to fix interconnectivity issues? I have one coming for christmas and am curious if I will need to prepare myself for this issue. Thanks!
Glad I watched your video before I bought an OWL. I want automatons to turn on all the lights in the house and unlock the deadbolts. I am thinking of using my existing Kidde interconnected detectors with a new device I found... Kidde SM120X interconnect that uses the red signal wire to with a set of dry NO or NC contacts, and they are only about $20. Need something to hook it to though and struggling with that. Want to use Fibro Flood sensor because they have remote contact sensors, but I don't want a leak detected notification showing up on my phone. Maybe door and window sensor? Can you advise please Shane?
i have been looking for something like this , i currently have zwave wireless ones which are great but not hardwired and my house is wired for interconnect and my old smoke detectors . But i like the idea of this , am i correct in understanding that even though i have like 10 detectors in my home, i dont actually need the smart one on each location ?
Seems smoke, co, temp, humidity, motion, sound detection, AND matter? Why not also throw in luminosity and solar charging? Seems to many functionality for a safety device like a smoke alarm.
Hey Shane... so i can't be 100% sure because Owl doesn't offer an installation manual online, and on the black one it's hard to see in the video, but are you sure you didn't simply mount the mounting bracket wrong side up? Seems like the lib should be at the bottom, even on Owl's images on the site. Could this be the cause you had trouble? No shame in it if yes, we all have done mistakes, and as i said, i can't be sure if that's correct. Love your vids, keep them coming :)
Hey Robert, thanks for the comment. Good catch. I believe you are right about the installation. I did flip the mounting bracket around to install it the correct way once the cameras were off and I realized what I did. So it is installed correctly, but either way I don't think that would have anything to do with the issues that I've experienced.
I got burned on the Halo smoke alarms so while I REALLY would like some smart smoke detectors, it needs to be from an established company that won’t go belly up on me and leave me hanging. I’m not even sure if I trust a company like Google to keep making them with their history of abandoning things. I wish Apple would make products. Although even they discontinue things. It’s frustrating because there are so few choices, and this is a mission critical product that must not fail and must have availability should you need to add or replace them at a later date. Probably the absolute biggest deficiency in the home automation industry.
To be fair the Nest Protect has been around for ages. Mine are great and don't trigger for false alarms often, and the voice location function is awesome.
Bummer I was ready to try owl if the review was good. I’m not confident to buy after watching this though. I’ll just rely on the HomePod detection stuff for now without being able add automation. I might reconsider owl in the future if all the problems talked about are confirmed fixed.
Dude, I preordered these two years ago when we bought our home. They had a promised shipping time of Dec 21. Then Jan 22 so I cancelled the preorder. It’s baffling they’re just now shipping.
Is this photoelectric or ionization-type detection? (ionization-type is vastly inferior for most types of fires). The fact the interconnect didn't work is a big fail.
Nest is a no go for me, I don't want to get my data shared to an evil company. Te Owl seems to be a good product (Now, later in the year) but sadly it is a bit expensive.
I think it's a question of whether the owner can use the alarm from a smoke detector to perform operations with other smart devices. Such as the idea of unlocking house doors or at least turning off some electrical outlets as soon as smoke is detected.
@@garanceadrosehn9691 That still doesn’t make them smart. They follow instructions. That’s not smart. I just have a general gripe when ‘smart’ is used. :)
the price is a game-changer. To buy this device and it's not working perfectly is a disaster and I can trust this device if a real-time situation does not notify or alarm me immediately. I hope the company fixes this. I have a smoke and gas sensor by Aqara and they work perfectly Like all their products
I’m always concerned with these kinds of products over how much they “fussed” with the actual mechanism for detecting smoke. If they’re using the “standard” reliable smoke detector guts, and just adding some smarts along with that, then fair game. But I’ve seen a lot of these kinds of products where they fuss with things so much that they wind up making an ineffective/unreliable smoke detector. Which is in most cases lame, in this case it would be dangerous.
The detection mechanisms are certified by countries' laws. In the US they can be ionization chambers or photoelectric sensors. They also have to be certified to detect smoke within certain tolerances.
The question is does it work well with Home Assistant for that price tag or get Livy Protect for 20% of the price. Honestly who will just use stock apple HK and do videos about it. This is like zero effort and zero reward.
It's meant to be hardwired with a rechargeable week-long backup battery. But still inferior to the wired Nest Protect which has a backup battery that can last years.
I was hoping the microwave motion sensor would allow you to set up detection zones and act like an occupancy sensor and that the sound detection could be a bit smarter, like detecting certain types of sounds. Based on this review, I would not buy this device
"Test weekly".... doesn't give much confidence in their reliability. Most recommendations for smoke detectors are monthly testing (which likely rarely happens already)
Most say "test weekly" by law but the Nest Protect tests itself monthly and you can set what time of day it will do so. It makes them all chirp a few times, then an app notification says everything is OK. A rotating/glowing yellow ring means something's wrong and it will send a different notification.
Not at all. Smoke / CO detectors help save lives. Smart one's provide added benefits - such as the ability to automate additional (potentially life saving) features, such as additional notifications and turning on lights, etc.
@@CA..... why would I pay 195 bucks more for something my smart lightswitch next to my bed already does when I need it. My 5 bucks smoke alarm and HomePod does everything you mentioned excluding automations, which are not really necessary.
