ISA1G Starter Pack - Protect and monitor your home

An alarm system should work without fail. This alarm system worked perfectly for five months, then stopped sending notifications. After four weeks' correspondence with the US based support (very helpful) they realised that the only way would be to request a replacement. For that I was directed to the European based support. Despite having access to the entire complaint and support history, they have asked me again to carry out the numerous reset operations to see if they can make the system work. I don't have time for that, so will now be looking for ways of having the product returned with a full refund. It's a shame, as it initially worked exactly as I needed.Update: the newly updated Terms & Conditions of Use, which aim to relieve the manufacturer from any responsibility whatsoever for their (security!) product, demonstrate that this system is just a gadget - a toy, not a serious device. Don't waste your money.

I purchased the iSmartAlarm starter pack first, for test. Configurability is great, it is easy to install and to use, but it is efficient and effective.Very satisfied with my test, I purchased more sensors, cameras and sirens and completely secured my house. It works like a charm.We would only recommend to not trigger the alarm when the camera detects a motion, as it is very sensitive including to lights. Use motion sensors to trigger the alarm, and cameras to monitor, record, and receive notifications in case of motion detection.We can only see 2 drawbacks to such system: cameras linked to the cloud expose your privacy so we switch them off except when we are away for a while, and we are highly dependant on the iSmartAlarm cloud system for notifications. So far it works like a charm, but if they decide to stop their service (as Nest did for their Revolv Smart Home service, convincing everybody not to trust their products), the system will lose its smart features and become a basic alarm. We accepted that risk. If you also accept it, it is a perfect system.

Great product support appears none existent and every year network issues take too long to fix

I bought this system with some trepidation after reading various other reviews and also because there was seemingly very little out there on the web in the way of reviews and comments and, what comment there was weren't exactly glowing in praise. However, I have to say that having just installed a system with 1 x remote siren, 4 x PIR, 2 x Spot+ cameras, 4 sets of door contacts and 2 x key fobs, I'm impressed.I'm impressed by the quality of all the parts and the packaging comes straight out of the Apple chic style.There are a couple of negatives, hence the 4 and not 5 stars - these may be showstoppers for you. Firstly there is no external siren available at the time of writing. Personally, it doesn't bother me and I can always stick a dummy siren outside if I wish, just as a deterrent. The second drawback is that SMS notifications and phone calls don't work in the UK yet but push messaging and email alerts do. I receive both just a few seconds after the alarm has been triggered. I have raised a support ticket asking if and when SMS might be coming to our shores and I'll update the review when I get a response.If, like me, you were scouring the web looking for instructions etc. to read before buying, forget it. There's not a lot of current stuff out there and what is, tends to be quite out of date. There is, however, a lot of good instructions, support and FAQ within the phone app - you can always download this and create an account before you buy although you won't be able to get fully into the ribs of things until you have some devices attached.Installation was easy, remarkably so, but, here are a few tips which may save you a bit of time and hair-pulling. Once you've got the app installed and registered for an account, the walk-through is pretty slick.Installing the hub is super-easy. Install the power supply and an ethernet cable (supplied) and scan for the device in the app - it'll find the hub and then guide you through the process. I would say don't install your sensors in-situ, lay them all out on a work surface and remove the battery protection tabs, all of them. Then go to 'devices' in the app and add (using the + symbol). It'll scan for the devices and invite you to add them once finished - a minute or two. Having done this, you can play around with the door sensors, PIRs etc. and see them working. Another top tip - when you add a device it comes up with a name with a series of digits, not that helpful. I suggest naming them sensibly before putting them in-situ and then whilst monitoring the device in the app, take it to the desired location and check that when you separate the contacts or move in the PIR range, the monitor function detects it. If it doesn't, it maybe out of radio range (the system uses the frequency of 868MHz in the UK, different in the US).People have said the door sensors don't work on UPVC doors. They do, no problem at all but, they are designed for a situation where the door sits flush with the surround whereas, with most European UPVC doors and windows, they sit recessed or proud, sometimes by 12mm or more. Don't fret, just get the magnet and sensor parts as close as possible - the spec says max 3/4 inch separation and I've got one door where the magnet and sensor sit at about 60 degrees to one another and all works fine and reliably.Some have moaned about the PIRs not being 'corner mountable' well, they're not, as such, but actually, it gives you a lot more flexibility as to where to place them in a room and the ability to cover a greater area rather than sticking them in a corner somewhere. Just my opinion.Now cameras. I've really struggled with IP-type cameras in the past, despite being very familiar with the tech. These were pretty straightforward if you follow the process. Forst though, when buying you're likely to see the terms 'Spot cameras' and Spot+ I failed to find any difference in spec but basically, the Spot is 720p and the Spot+ is full 1080p and the image quality is outstanding, as is the field of view etc. Back to the install - once your main system has been set up, plug a camera into a power socket and wait a bit, wait a good couple of minutes. I think at this stage it's looking for available wireless networks. Now follow the app for adding the camera. It tells you to hold down a fiddly little button on the base of the unit until you hear a confirmation 'beep'. Now touch the 'tick box and the continue button becomes available so, do it! You're then presented with a QR code on your phone screen which your Spot+ camera needs to be held up to, about 10cm away. You'll get a confirmation when it's read the code correctly. Continue and the rest is really easy just be prepared to wait when it says wait! When I first installed mine, it did a firmware upgrade (as it did on the hub too btw) and you're away. During set up, it will ask you what mode you want, I selected 'home security' I don't know what the other modes do.It's worth noting that the cameras also work effectively as motion detectors so you may not need a PIR and Camera in the same room?There loads of flexibility built into the app where you can set the status of each sensor, you can set alarm delay times, siren delay times etc. and even create different modes yourself such as having one where only upstairs sensors are active. Have a play.Finally, about buying this kit. I would say the best approach is to list all the devices and sensors you need and then look for the cheapest way to buy them. I ended up buying a starter kit, a 2 x camera pack and individual sensors plus an extra key fob and that worked out the best value for me. There are a number of different kits available and I could have paid more by going in a different direction. Do buy from the UK though because US devices are NOT compatible (although cameras probably are).That's all. Overall very impressed with this stylish, unobtrusive system and even my technophobic partner finds it easy to use (yes you can set up other family members and give them as much or as little access to the system as you like). Just finally - the panic button - I couldn't get it to work but realised you need to double-tap the icon in the app or double-click the button on the keyfob. All good now.The images attached give an example of the various menu options and also a bit of night vision - the room was in total darkness.

Works but see other comments about app and other devicesBe careful with motion sensors. Once set I tried to adjust and plastic sheared off. Stuck now with blue takScrews poor qualityRange of adjustment could be betterBasic opporation OK but see comment about app and I have problems connecting other devices . ie camera and tag

Great when it works, but long outages for several days with no info from the company mean you can’t rely on it . When their servers go offline you cannot remotely view cameras or status or turn alarm on and off from the app. This has happened multiple times , last time it was a week or more 6 months or so ago and it’s been broken for 24 hours now and no word from the company at all , not even acknowledging an issue, let alone talking about a fix . Save yourself the hassle , buy something else . If you think it’s just one moaning customer then go and check Twitter and Facebook