When it comes to smart home automation one of the most import aspects for most customers is security and SwannOne has released easy-to-install kits that are designed to give you peace of mind.
The reason the SwannOne packages are called smart security is because home owners can see live video feeds from inside their house and also receive alerts when doors and windows are opened, if motion is detected and even if it hears glass breaking or an alarm going off.
And being a connected system, it can be viewed and controlled anywhere using your smartphone, tablet or computer.
The beauty of SwannOne’s system is the fact it is really easy to install so you can start monitoring your home, your holiday home or your office.
That’s because it takes advantage of your existing wireless network.
SwannOne has three kits to get customers started.
There include the SwannOne Alarm Starter Kit ($499.95), the SwannOne Video Monitoring Kit ($699.95) and the SwannOne Smart Home Control Kit ($799.95).
And all of these kits now also come with a bonus Outdoor Siren valued at $229.95 absolutely free.
Tech Guide took at look at the SwannOne Video Monitoring Kit which includes a hub to connect to your modem/router, a camera that can also detect motion, a dedicated motion sensor, two door/window sensors and a key fob controller.
The instructions were set out in simple terms and were very easy to follow.
The first step was to record the MAC addresses of the hub and the camera on the instruction leaflet so you can easily refer to it later.
But one issue we found was the MAC addresses were written in letters and numbers so small we needed a magnifying glass to read it.
In the end we took a photo of the MAC addresses with our iPhone and zoomed in to make it easier to read.
Next step was to log in to the SwannOne site, create an account and set up our system.
We entered the MAC address of the hub and not only was it recognised immediately it also upgraded its firmware.
From there it was a simple step-by-step process to pair the other devices – the camera, the window and door sensors, the motion sensor and the key fob.
Each of these devices, with the exception of the camera, are battery operated so they can easily be placed anywhere within your home’s network.
The SoundView Indoor camera that’s included with the kit needs to be connected to power.
It can be mounted from the ceiling or positioned on a stand.
One issue some users will find is whether the cable that connects the camera to power is long enough.
Not everyone has a power point near the ceiling or in the roof cavity so you may need to buy a longer cable to connect it.
But being a wide angle camera it can also be placed at eye level so you can you still get a high resolution view of the entire room.
After everything is paired and tested the next step was to download the SwannOne app (free in iOS and Android) and log in using the sign-in details you used when creating your account on the SwannOne site when setting up your system.
The wireless sensors can all be attached to doors, windows or walls by double-sided tape
Now all of the devices paired to your system are available to view and monitor from your smartphone via the app.
At first you’re going to receive notifications for every movement that the cameras and the motion sensors are going to pick up through the app and on email which, to be honest, you may find annoying.
But the good news is that there are settings to let the user decide when they receive these alerts.
There are ways to tell the system that you’re home so you don’t receive as many movement notifications and when you’re out or away.
With the system in place, it’s not just movement you will be notified about.
In the case of the window/door sensors, you know exactly when doors and windows are opened so you would know if a child is home from school, for example.
And that, combined with the ability to monitor your video feeds live no matter where you are from your smartphone, puts the user in control and gives them the ability to take action.
There are also intelligent sound alerts so it can detect a glass breakage or if a smoke alarm is going off.
And it’s smart enough to distinguish between a smashed wine glass and a broken window. It can also hear a baby crying and send you an alert as well.
It’s also a flexible system because you can add more sensors as you need them.
Other products that can be added include a SwannOne Zen Thermostat ($199.95) so you can schedule your heating and cooling and adjust the temperature remotely from your smartphone.
Users can also add the SwannOne Smart Plug ($79.95) so you can remotely control and switch on or off electrical appliances as well as monitor energy usage.
You can also add more door/window sensors ($49.95 each, $89.95 twin pack), motion sensors ($69.95 each, $129 twin pack), indoor cameras ($229.95) and SwannOne Outdoor SoundView camera ($229.95).
The SwannOne system has no set up fees or charges and can be used as your personal smart security system.
But there are month-to-month subscriptions with no lock-in contracts that allow you to add users to system, add extra properties, access additional sound alert capabilities, cloud video storage and even professional services like centralised security monitoring.
VERDICT
The SwannOne systems can provide peace of mind and have the smarts to put you in control from anywhere.
They are also really easy to set up and flexible enough to adapt to your needs and the size of your home or office.
1 Comment
I am using SwannOne hub security system for 6 months. I got it under a special deal from jbhifi online.
I have setup cameras all around my house, bought ZEN thermostat, Well, thats the only the reason I am keeping this system. This system DOES NOT WORK. Please stay away. Don’t do the mistake I did. Here are the problems.
1) Number one, this makes FALES alarms. Every time. I had to disable the Siren/Alarm, One time police came to my place due to neighbour complains.
2) The App is slow as hell. Keyfobs doesn’t work properly, specially in the middle a night, when siren decides to start its own and when you panic and wake up and want to turn off the damns thing, There is no way. Reason ? Everything is in the cloud, when they are doing a back end service update, our alarms goes off !!! (see point 3) Crazy right ? One time I had to wrap the damn siren in a blanket and kept it going for 30 so minutes.
3) I am a software developer. I have NO IDEA who develop this software !! and who test this software. All I can say is. This whole thing is developed and maintains by a bunch of 6 year old script kiddies. They do production server upgrades for 12 hours in random their chosen times, so suddenly you will find out days that you can’t do any thing (thermostat,siren) with your system, specially when you wake up you find out your system is dead ! Simply dead. If you have a outdoor siren, god bless you, it goes off, and you can’t turn the damn thing off. You have to wrap it in a blanket and leave it in a room until they fix the system. Its so secure there is no way you can stop it unless you pour water (which I am going to do next time)
4) Customer support ? Well, thats the other joke. One time when this happened, the siren when off all its own (cloud service upgrade done by swann engineers (so called) letting customers know), I called customer support, the person who answered the phone (gentlemen from vietnam or philiphine) didn’t understand what I meant by siren, I said Siren went off I can’t turn off it, app doesn’t work, how to stop this damn thing, he said, you have to wait 3 days, this happened in Saturday morning, he asked me to wait until Tuesday until a swann engineer will call me. Really ? Really ?
Then it was like that for 12 full hours, it started working again, I could control the app, and I turned off the siren. Then after 3 days, Swann one engineer phoned me and asked me Is there anything wrong with the system ? I asked him Did you guys do a production system upgrade without knowing us ? He said yes ! Amazing, I gave him a short introduction to “Production deployments” he admitted something when wrong.
Then today, again, two week later, they did the same thing. Alarm is crazy, you can’t control it. Now I am honestly not afraid of intruders, the fear of random siren sounds has overtaken my fear for intruders, which is a good thing because now I am about to trash this system off, only thing stoping me doing it is those damn cameras, I have to climb up roof and remove those ! Can’t be bothered.
This is a very honest review,
http://www.trustedreviews.com/swannone-smart-home-control-kit-review