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.

Installed 3 units in my home in September 2023. We had a few isolated alarms in January. I assumed the device was working correctly and that it had detected some cooking odors. Then in April we got two false alarms at night. It scared the crap out of my family. There was no smoke or fire.I followed the instructions and used a computer duster to blow into the sides if the device. By May the false alarms started occurring more frequently. I removed the device and cleaned it again.Today is May 19th. There has been 5 false alarms in the past 4 days. Three in the last 24hrs. 12:21pm Yesterday, 4:24am this morning and now again at 7:20am. This time the alarm will not shut off. Stating “too much smoke”. There is NONE. I had to remove it and put it in my garage because I could not get it to stop.Kidde support will state the device needs to the sensor blown off about every 6 months and that false alarms can occur due to dust contamination or insects. I’ve dusted my unit many times to no avail.Sadly Kidde support is lackluster. They will also state that the false alarms are likely due to being too close to an HVAC, vent, register, duct or flue. Mine is nowhere near any of those things. They will also state that all smoke detectors are prone to dust contamination and require regular dusting.I also have 3 Nest Protect devices in the same house. One is about 8 feet away from the unit which creates the most false alarms. None if the nest units have ever once triggered a false alarm, nor have I ever dusted them. They have been installed since 2017.I used to think Kidde made great products, but this is not one of them. The repeated false alarms create a sense of frustration and apathy in my household. Everyone will now assume that any alarm is a false alarm. This is extremely dangerous because it could result in delayed action or an inappropriate response to a real smoke or fire emergency.Based on a number of online discussions, Kiddie will only support these failed units if you ship them back to their support center at your own expense. They will not send replacements or offer any refunds.*Do not Buy*

People say to me, "Dave, if you had a time machine, would you go back and make sure that events turned out differently for the Archduke in 1914?" I tell them "no, my time machine would take me back to 2003, when the electrician put this smoke detector sixteen feet overhead in a stairwell." The battery on that detector--and always that detector--invariably goes bad at 2:30 in the morning. <beep....beep....beep....beep> And then I have to get the extension ladder and climb up there and replace the battery in the accursed thing. I knew it had been many years since I had replaced the actual smoke detector, so I started looking around. And found one with a 10-year battery! I ordered five of them to replace every 8-year-old device in the house.The first four were easy to replace--just a stepstool to reach the ceiling or the top of the wall. The hardest, most time-consuming part of the job was finding the breaker that turned off the power to the smoke detectors. Once that was done the job was 90% done. I was replacing Kidde detectors with Kidde detectors. I had used an adapter on the previous detectors to allow the old 2003-ish connector to hook to the 2016 detector that I was now replacing with the 2023 model. It was difficult to connect and didn't fit snugly, so I just undid the wire nuts, took the old harness off, and put on the new wiring harness. Four minutes.These were installed while remodeling, so the wiring was in a box behind the drywall. I pulled off the mounting bracket to change that out, but no need. The new device matched the old bracket so replacement was super-easy. The mounting holes in the bracket also line up perfectly with the screw holes for mounting a faceplate to the electrical box. I loosened them so I could pull the bracket off and get to the wires more easily. Connect the harness. Reconnect the bracket. Pop the smoke detector in place. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. X5. Then hit the breaker and move to setup mode.The app makes setup super-easy. Scan the QR code (either on the back of the device or in the install instructions), name and locate the device, connect to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and Bob's your uncle!I sent an invite to my wife so she can put the app on her phone, too. From the app you can test devices, hush them, and get notifications if something activates.I'll be 74 when the batteries in these five devices give out. My granddaughter will be 20. She'll climb the ladder the next time! And while she's up there she can wash that window, too. (And Melanie, it's the breaker labelled "Stairwell/Ceiling lights. You're welcome.)Selah