

SimpliSafe, on the other hand, was founded in 2006 by students at Harvard Business School.
ABODE IOTA VS ABODE GATEWAY PROFESSIONAL
Unlike ADT, abode focuses on creating more choices for the user, including on-demand professional monitoring which I’ll explain in a bit.

They have also added an integration with Apple HomeKit as well as lowered their pricing, reflected in the written review.Īre you looking for a home security system that thinks outside of the box? Then you’ve come to the right place! The company abode was founded in 2014 by a former executive at ADT, the oldest security company in the U.S. Finally, abode now offers email and phone support to all of its customers regardless of their monitoring plan. They’ve also added a professional installation option for $79. They also added a Google Assistant integration, and cloud storage is available separately from monitoring. Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are also supported if you want to do any of this via voice control.Note: SimpliSafe now offers self-monitoring, although you’ll only get notifications with the Interactive Plan.

Iota can connect to generic Z-Wave and Zigbee products, too, so you can fold in automations that flash the lights if an alarm is tripped, for example.

It takes just a minute or so to, say, tell the camera to start recording when the front door is opened, or to send you a notification if the door is left open for more than five minutes. Iota’s CUE Automations system remains in beta, but it’s an intuitive way to use an IFTTT-like system to tie various actions together. A built-in battery backup also ensures that an intruder can’t just pull the plug to disable the alarm. A variety of notifications can be pushed to the user when an alarm is tripped, though you’ll need to check the app to view any video that’s captured. Iota’s alarm, as with the original Abode, isn’t the loudest, but it’s shrill enough to merit attention and can easily be heard throughout the home. It’s all conveniently catalogued in the app’s Timeline view, which is easy to scroll through in search of goings-on at the homestead.Ībode’s timeline view is second to none in this market. Depending on the mode the system is in and your various settings, just about everything gets logged into the Abode app, including sensor trips and camera activity. In standby mode, all sensors are disabled except for door sensors, which chirp by default when a door is opened. The system offers three modes: home, away, and standby, which work fully as expected. The Abode app hasn’t changed significantly since our last review. Since it’s built into the Iota box directly, there are some limitations in how you can aim the camera, but thanks to its very wide-angle lens, it isn’t hard to capture a large chunk of whatever area you want to monitor. Iota must be initially configured by connecting it to your router via an ethernet cable, but once the initial setup is done, it can be easily switched over to work via Wi-Fi, which is essential in giving you more flexibility in where you place the camera. (The only other piece of hardware in the box, a remote control key fob, is also automatically configured to work with the system.) The camera and motion sensor built into the Iota are automatically connected to your dashboard, and setting up the additional door/window sensor that comes in the kit takes only a few seconds.
ABODE IOTA VS ABODE GATEWAY CODE
Setup involves creating an account with Abode (online or via its app) and using a code that’s included in the box to tie your Iota unit to your identity. The camera features aside, Iota has much of the same functionality and feature set as Abode’s standard offering.
