Review: SkylinkNet Alarm System Kit

Liana Bandziulis / WIRED

I’m a control freak when it comes to home alarm systems. Sure, I could pay one of the big alarm companies like ADT or Vivint to come wire up my house, place a control panel in my hallway, and send the police over when Cousin Ted trips the alarm by accident. Apart from the high monthly fees (around $30 or $40 per month), I don’t like the idea of a contracted installer being the only person who understands how the wires, sensors, and control panels all work.

That’s why, when I heard about the SkylinkNet app-controlled home alarm system, I had to give it a try. I wanted to install my own hardware, set my own alarm, and monitor my own house using my iPhone, skipping the security console in the hallway entirely.

The Starter Kit includes one motion sensor, a key fob, two window or door sensors, and the main hub that connects to your existing Wi-Fi router. Once it’s all hooked up, you get a home security system that emits a piercing chime if someone tries to break into a locked front door, jams a window open, or somehow sneaks in and trips the motion sensor. Even if you leave the house wide open for all comers, you still receive an alert on your iPhone while vacationing in Addis Ababa if someone strolls in unannounced. And get this: there are no monthly fees.

In the grand continuum of home security, we’ve seen DIY alarm systems since Bill Gates ran Microsoft. Heck, the ZigBee standard, which has connected DIY door and window sensors in over a wireless network, has been cooking since the early aughts. You can buy these systems at Wal-Mart. Even the idea of using your smartphone to control security is not new—Vivint has offered such a feature for several years. What’s new about the SkylinkNet Alarm System Kit is that is connects over a known quantity—the existing Wi-Fi network in your home—at a low cost.

The install is easy enough. I first downloaded the SkyLinkNet app to my phone. The built-in instructions and videos helped me figure out what to do. I selected an option to add the main hub, which is about the size of two card decks, and connected it to my router. The hub lets you arm/disarm the security system manually, and there are four numeric buttons for typing in your code. It’s nicely inconspicuous.

Next, I added a door sensor and a window sensor. After realizing that Skylink does not include any batteries, I found some and popped them in. The app shows you how to activate the sensors. I also added the key fob, which lets me arm and disarm the security system when I’m at home. That left the motion sensor, which I activated in the app and then placed in my hallway.

I then set a master password. Skylink forces you to type in an eight-digit password, but I found I could type in the same number eight times. In keeping with my desire to have more control, I found I could then have the sensors either just emit a soft chime (“I’m working”) or trip the main hub alarm, which emits a 110-decibel siren.

There’s also an iPhone notification that tells you when the alarm is triggered, but there’s no way to send yourself an e-mail or a text. After configuring everything, I came to the main screen which let me arm or disarm the whole house using a huge button in the app. Red means run! The app gives you a countdown before it’s armed. If you have a false alarm, you can either punch in the code on your phone or on the hub. The setup was all painfully easy.

And, it worked. My door and window sensor tripped the alarm on cue, emitting a piercing siren on the hub. I set them to only chime when my kids came home, but that got a little annoying after a while. I decided to only arm the system when we were gone for the entire day. Overall, I liked how the system worked, but there are a few minor issues.

One is that you do need an iPhone. Skylink is working on an Android version of the kit, but it’s not out yet. There’s also no Web app. On the hub, the siren is quite loud if you are in the same room or down the hall. I couldn’t hear it from my driveway, though. And the alarm decibels can’t be adjusted, either. The company told me the sensor batteries will last about two years, which is fine, but higher-end alarm system sometimes use longer-lasting lithium batteries. And the range of the motion sensors is only about 25 feet, which is not as ideal for a large basement or a long hallway.

That said, the system is nicely extensible. You can add Skylink-brand indoor and outdoor cameras to the main hub and even an extra 110-decibel outdoor siren. Skylink even makes a connected garage door opener that ties into the same app.

Something unique among Internet-connected home devices: the hub will run on battery power if the power fails in your home. You can also add a Skylink’s external dialer for an extra $138 so, if the Internet goes down, the hub can use a POTS line to call one of nine programmed cell numbers as another back-up.

The SkyLinkNet Alarm System has a few competitors in this space, though. The iSmartAlarm kit for $200 also uses the iPhone and includes a connected light switch in the starter kit, but it doesn’t have a back-up battery in the main hub. The Oplink Alarm Shield for $150 also makes a similar DIY kit for the home. It uses longer-lasting (but more expensive) lithium batteries. Skylink itself offers a wider variety of accessories to add to the main starter kit.

Overall, it’s a low-cost alarm system without the big company overhead. I like that I was easily able to handle the installation, configure the app, and type in my own PIN. I know I could easily add other sensors and even additional hubs and key fobs. It’s a good buy for control freaks like me.