Discussion
Sure - but just cut the external phone line that powers the wifi that powers all your InternetofThings stuff, and there is no alarm system. Traditional alarms use the phone line/internet for transmission (and can sense when either is tampered with). A jury-rigged IoT solution relies on your house wifi and internet to work at all. Pretty easy to disable, I would have thought? Or am I missing something?
Off to do research - the alarm company would have thought of this. Cobbling together a load of sensors and alarms may be vulnerable, but I am guessing that the specialised alarm systems have a mesh network backup etc.
EDIT a bit of googling seems toconfirm that this is the case. Buy dedicated security sensors/cameras etc if you want an alarm, as they work on a proprietary network even if your wifi/eternet is out. Normal stuff like Smartthings may not - so do not cobble a system together out of this sort of kit.
I am buying a dedicated Risco alarm - and nothing I have read seems to make me want to change my mind. There are issues - the Risco sensors willnot work with other stuff - so for example if I want the aircon to turn off if I open the bifold doors, I will need another Z-wave sensor on the door, as well as the Risco one for the alarm. Small price to pay for an independent security system that is not vulnerable to internet/wifi drop-out, though.
There seem to be dedicated internet alarm people at less cost than people like Risco, but it seems early days and reviews of reliability are mixed (e.g. Scout in the US) when compared to established alarm companies like Risco, Texacom or even Yale...
Anyone here have any proper expertise?
Off to do research - the alarm company would have thought of this. Cobbling together a load of sensors and alarms may be vulnerable, but I am guessing that the specialised alarm systems have a mesh network backup etc.
EDIT a bit of googling seems toconfirm that this is the case. Buy dedicated security sensors/cameras etc if you want an alarm, as they work on a proprietary network even if your wifi/eternet is out. Normal stuff like Smartthings may not - so do not cobble a system together out of this sort of kit.
I am buying a dedicated Risco alarm - and nothing I have read seems to make me want to change my mind. There are issues - the Risco sensors willnot work with other stuff - so for example if I want the aircon to turn off if I open the bifold doors, I will need another Z-wave sensor on the door, as well as the Risco one for the alarm. Small price to pay for an independent security system that is not vulnerable to internet/wifi drop-out, though.
There seem to be dedicated internet alarm people at less cost than people like Risco, but it seems early days and reviews of reliability are mixed (e.g. Scout in the US) when compared to established alarm companies like Risco, Texacom or even Yale...
Anyone here have any proper expertise?
Edited by Harry Flashman on Wednesday 19th October 15:55
Yes it does have limitations. If you can break in and grab the router before 10 seconds you can clean the house out!
It is hard wired via cat 5 to router not wifi. Also my phone line is all under ground so likely to be ok. I accept the expert thief can cut the line some how but for £85 this is better than nothing!
Some people might want to have this in addition to a normal alarm as at the moment I have no external sounder just internal which is about 110db so pretty loud- you can buy an additional internal one. As soon as it goes off i get an email 1 second later so does my wife. So to me this is better than just a sounder alarm which nobody takes any notice.
I might get the camera for it as well which allows you to view the house but to be honest I already have a hikvision setup on the outside so maybe no point.
I bought a panasonic alarm & miguard g5 to try before buying this. Those both went back and I kept this. The app is one of the biggest benefits as the panasonic, miguard and also the yale i downloaded looked a bit dated.
It is hard wired via cat 5 to router not wifi. Also my phone line is all under ground so likely to be ok. I accept the expert thief can cut the line some how but for £85 this is better than nothing!
Some people might want to have this in addition to a normal alarm as at the moment I have no external sounder just internal which is about 110db so pretty loud- you can buy an additional internal one. As soon as it goes off i get an email 1 second later so does my wife. So to me this is better than just a sounder alarm which nobody takes any notice.
I might get the camera for it as well which allows you to view the house but to be honest I already have a hikvision setup on the outside so maybe no point.
I bought a panasonic alarm & miguard g5 to try before buying this. Those both went back and I kept this. The app is one of the biggest benefits as the panasonic, miguard and also the yale i downloaded looked a bit dated.
Harry Flashman said:
Pretty easy to disable, I would have thought? Or am I missing something?
By the time you've opened a door or window, or triggered a PIR sensor the notifications have been sent and a video of your actions have been captured on a server accessible by me from anywhere. With that in mind and in order to try and stop it, how would you disable the internet without first getting into my house - cut a cable? Which one? Neither you nor a thief would know if I have FTTH, Virgin via a buried coax, BT via an overhead telegraph wire, or even a 4G router.Because the rules on connected systems are hosted in the cloud, the moment a condition has been met the action is triggered.
I've got a Visonic alarm system as primary alarm.
Fibaro lighting/home automation also.
Fibaro isn't an "alarm" system per-ce, but it's very reliable and very clever. If my Visonic alarm goes off then every light in the house turns on and you can pretty much use Fibaro as it's own standalone alarm if you wanted to.
I don't really recommend using Fibaro as a primary alarm though. I basically use mine to extend capabilities of the Visonic alarm. (which to be fair is pretty clever in it's own right anyway!)
You can get cheap alarms, but I guess you'll find out how good it is when someone breaks into your house!
All this talk of cutting internet lines, turning off routers etc...
You won't get in my house without turning it into Blackpool illuminations and you'll wake half the street with the sirens (which will no doubt get ignored!) Even if you cut the phone/internet lines everything still happens except the e-mail. And if you can get past all that then you were always going to get into my house anyway.
Fibaro lighting/home automation also.
Fibaro isn't an "alarm" system per-ce, but it's very reliable and very clever. If my Visonic alarm goes off then every light in the house turns on and you can pretty much use Fibaro as it's own standalone alarm if you wanted to.
I don't really recommend using Fibaro as a primary alarm though. I basically use mine to extend capabilities of the Visonic alarm. (which to be fair is pretty clever in it's own right anyway!)
You can get cheap alarms, but I guess you'll find out how good it is when someone breaks into your house!
All this talk of cutting internet lines, turning off routers etc...
You won't get in my house without turning it into Blackpool illuminations and you'll wake half the street with the sirens (which will no doubt get ignored!) Even if you cut the phone/internet lines everything still happens except the e-mail. And if you can get past all that then you were always going to get into my house anyway.
My Wireless Tags arrived today. Everything is incredibly easy to setup and get them associated with the tag manager and they're really nicely made.
I've written a couple of KumoApps (their own version of recipes) and have associated them with the Tado geofencing via IFTTT to automatically arm and disarm - will see how it runs tomorrow.
This is the app interface;
And the web tag management GUI;
Haven't managed to get the basic tags to sense door opening and notify me yet - the reed sensor and PIR work great though so I suspect I've just got a setting wrong on the sensors.
If anyone is considering getting some, then this is the webshop; https://goo.gl/9skKwh
I've written a couple of KumoApps (their own version of recipes) and have associated them with the Tado geofencing via IFTTT to automatically arm and disarm - will see how it runs tomorrow.
This is the app interface;
And the web tag management GUI;
Haven't managed to get the basic tags to sense door opening and notify me yet - the reed sensor and PIR work great though so I suspect I've just got a setting wrong on the sensors.
If anyone is considering getting some, then this is the webshop; https://goo.gl/9skKwh
eatontrifles said:
My Wireless Tags arrived today. Everything is incredibly easy to setup and get them associated with the tag manager and they're really nicely made.
I've written a couple of KumoApps (their own version of recipes) and have associated them with the Tado geofencing via IFTTT to automatically arm and disarm - will see how it runs tomorrow.
This is the app interface;
SNIPPED
And the web tag management GUI;
SNIPPED
Haven't managed to get the basic tags to sense door opening and notify me yet - the reed sensor and PIR work great though so I suspect I've just got a setting wrong on the sensors.
If anyone is considering getting some, then this is the webshop; https://goo.gl/9skKwh
I've got the sensors all working now, as soon as they are opened or PIR triggered (when armed) I get a notification and I've set a rule so that the beepers on all sensors trigger as well. Arming and disarming works with the Tado location service via IFTTT, although my OHs phone is a bit dodgy at repoerting it's location and yesterday evening Tado didn't switch into home mode for around 20 minutes after she got in for some reason. I've set an IFTTT 'Do' button so if the sensors are still armed when we arrive home and start beeping we can use a simple action on our phones to disarm when we get in.I've written a couple of KumoApps (their own version of recipes) and have associated them with the Tado geofencing via IFTTT to automatically arm and disarm - will see how it runs tomorrow.
This is the app interface;
SNIPPED
And the web tag management GUI;
SNIPPED
Haven't managed to get the basic tags to sense door opening and notify me yet - the reed sensor and PIR work great though so I suspect I've just got a setting wrong on the sensors.
If anyone is considering getting some, then this is the webshop; https://goo.gl/9skKwh
So far so good - and the KumoApps are very powerful, but learning to write them in Javascript-type language is going to take a while! Luckily, there are a load of useful rules already written which can be tweaked easily to suit.
Shoegrip said:
I too was more interested in data capture so for that reason went down the route of Wirelesstags. Can't report back as they've not arrived yet but they seem to get mixed reviews so I shall have to see.
I find them excellent. Once you get across the rules (Kumoapps - java based) then they're incredibly powerful little devices.Spend a bit of time working out what you want to do with them and how you want to achieve it and you'll be much better off in the long run. I've got mine setup mainly as door sensors for a self-notifying alarm system with backup from a Canary camera. There is, however, no substitute for physical security, good windows & locks and internal door locks at the weakest entry points.
eatontrifles said:
I find them excellent. Once you get across the rules (Kumoapps - java based) then they're incredibly powerful little devices.
Spend a bit of time working out what you want to do with them and how you want to achieve it and you'll be much better off in the long run. I've got mine setup mainly as door sensors for a self-notifying alarm system with backup from a Canary camera. There is, however, no substitute for physical security, good windows & locks and internal door locks at the weakest entry points.
My words above rung true in the early hours of Wednesday morning as two scrotes tried to get into our house. The whole event was captured on the Canary CCTV and the Police have this footage, which is very clear.Spend a bit of time working out what you want to do with them and how you want to achieve it and you'll be much better off in the long run. I've got mine setup mainly as door sensors for a self-notifying alarm system with backup from a Canary camera. There is, however, no substitute for physical security, good windows & locks and internal door locks at the weakest entry points.
Usual stuff - they broke a handle off a UPVC door with the aim of snapping the lock mechanism, but the door has both a cylinder guard and an anti snap cylinder, so they failed.The cylinder is actually still intact - the cylinder guard has done it's job perfectly. They were on the premises for 20 minutes trying and turned the security light sensor upwards to stop it going off (it's installed over 2m, but suppose they can just move a wheelie bin to reach up), so I'll be adding a new floodlight at the back of the house much higher up.
Police have said they were almost certainly after the Golf GTI car keys.
Edited by eatontrifles on Thursday 3rd August 15:31
mikeiow said:
buggerit!
Glad to hear the sods failed.
The link you have was for US$ purchases - did you find a UK supplier?
Sounds like a nice way to monitor and manage security though. Do you get battery warnings as well? I assume they should last 1-2 years?
cheers
Bugger indeed, but no loss other than the £200 home insurance excess for replacing/repairing the door.Glad to hear the sods failed.
The link you have was for US$ purchases - did you find a UK supplier?
Sounds like a nice way to monitor and manage security though. Do you get battery warnings as well? I assume they should last 1-2 years?
cheers
There's no UK supplier as far as I'm aware, the devices are shipped directly from the manufacturer.
Low battery warnings come via email as well as in the app/webGUI. I've had to replace three batteries so far, one was due to the door open/close sensor being faulty and draining a battery, for which they shipped a FOC replacement board and the other two were standard sensors which take CR2032's so not expensive. The other two have 92% and 94% left (bought in October 2016), so plenty of juice and presumably the others drained more quickly due to dodgy batteries or needing more RF power to get to the hub.
I'm actually about to fit a dedicated smart alarm system ( Honeywell Evohome Security) rather than the Wireless Tags, but they're still going to be in place for backup and monitoring as the Honeywell can't trigger IFTT or other connected devices yet.
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