Wyze Home Monitoring Review

Wyze Home Monitoring has the most affordable professional monitoring of any security system on the market. We're also big fans of Wyze's sensors and security cameras, which do their jobs well for far less money than other brands. There's no cellular backup or third-party smart home compatibility, but that's a worthwhile tradeoff for monitoring that costs less per month than most streaming services.

Keep reading to learn how Wyze Home Monitoring performed during our tests and what else we like about the DIY security system.

Wyze has the cheapest monitoring and equipment prices of any home security system, but its selection is pretty limited compared to more established brands like Abode, Ring Alarm, and SimpliSafe. Ultimately, it comes down to what you're willing to give up for a Wyze system.

All of these DIY systems have sensors similar to Wyze, and all are standalone systems with options to dodge mandatory monthly fees. Still, SimpliSafe, Ring Alarm, and Abode all offer cellular connections to connect to the monitoring station when the internet goes down—unlike Wyze. Still, none of these systems comes close to Wyze in price. But Wyze falls short when it comes to smart home compatibility.

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With Wyze monitoring, professionals will reach out to you when something triggers your system. You also get Cam Plus cloud storage for one camera.

Wyze can offer low monitoring fees because it doesn't use a cellular connection like most security systems. There's no backup if both the internet and power go out, but this is uncommon for most people.

By paying $4.99 for monitoring every month, you also need to shoulder the equipment costs up front (starting around $50). But, if you choose the annual plan, you get a Core Starter Kit for free. In either case, you spend the same amount on a year of monitoring ($59.88 per year). Considering the low prices of Wyze, this is more attractive than with other DIY security systems like SimpliSafe and Ring Alarm—their least expensive starter kits cost around four times as much.

Still, we think the annual plan is the better deal since you can cancel your monitoring subscription after the first 30 days without returning the equipment—you break even with the monthly plan after 60 days. This means you have longer to decide if professional monitoring is right for you and if you want to self-monitor your equipment without a recurring fee.

No other security system offers equipment that's even close to Wyze's value. It's not just the sensors either—all of Wyze's equipment (including its security cameras) delivers high quality for a low price.

There are two ways to get Wyze Home Monitoring equipment, but both involve signing up for a monitoring plan. You can choose between monthly and annual monitoring plans.

With the annual plan, the Core Starter kit equipment is included. When you sign up for monthly monitoring, you’ll pay $49.99 up front for equipment.

Regardless of the plan you choose, you can buy additional equipment during the checkout process for your system. This is currently the only way to purchase extra sensors for Wyze Home Monitoring since it doesn't sell them separately.

Extra sensors aren't part of the starter kit, so you pay upfront, but they all cost less than a pair of movie tickets.

• $14.99 for an extra Wyze Sense Keypad
• $19.99 for a three-pack of extra Wyze Sense Entry Sensors (about $6.66 per sensor)
• $7.99 for an extra Wyze Sense Motion Sensor

When you consider the average cost for keypads (about $63 each), motion sensors (about $38 each), and entry sensors (about $27 each) in a security system, Wyze is the most affordable option on the market by a huge margin. It's easy to outfit every door, window, and main room in your house, even on a limited budget.

Check out our Wyze security cameras review to learn more about the brand's home security camera offerings.

Wyze makes many smart home devices that will eventually work directly with Wyze Home Monitoring—like a smart lock and video doorbell. Until then, you can use the devices below in the Wyze app as you would any other Wyze product:

We'll update our review as Wyze adds more smart home device team ups to Wyze Home Monitoring.

To set up your Wyze security system, you first need to activate it using a code that Wyze delivers via email. Then, install the hub and connect it to the internet using the Wyze app. After that, the app walks you through the rest of the process. Here's a quick overview of the steps from the Wyze support website:

• Pair the keypad and sensors.
• Add contact information so Noonlight monitoring can reach you during an alarm event.
• Set up alarm triggers so the system knows which sensors to use in the Home and Away modes.
• Set up a PIN code for disarming or canceling the alarm.
• Set up an entry/exit delay to reduce false alarms.
• Add Wyze security cameras to your system.
• Set up a safe word for canceling an alarm after Noonlight calls you.
• Set notification preferences.
• Enter Test Mode before activating the live monitoring service.

Installing the starter kit was a breeze. It took only about 15 minutes to set up all three sensors, the hub, and the keypad—nice and simple. The hub connects to your home network using Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable. (Wyze recommends using Ethernet if possible—wired connections are generally more reliable.)

The keypad and sensors all come with batteries installed, so you need only to remove a plastic tab to turn them on. They also have a peel-off adhesive backing that makes them easy to attach to any surface. The motion and entry sensors run on replaceable AAA batteries while the keypad trades up for AA batteries.

We like that the batteries are readily available in stores, unlike the specialty batteries that some other brands use. Both the motion and entry sensors are a bit larger than Wyze's first-generation versions but benefit from larger batteries that last longer (up to 18 months) than the older sensors' coin batteries (up to 12 months).

The Wyze DIY security system doesn't offer third-party compatibility with other smart home platforms like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant^†, and IFTTT (even though other Wyze products support them). This means you can't control the system with voice commands or other apps.

But there is one smart home service that Wyze Home Monitoring supports: Alexa Guard Plus.

Alexa Guard Plus is a paid subscription (about $5 a month) that allows Amazon Echo smart speakers and displays to detect specific sounds (like smoke alarms and glass breaking), act as a deterrent to scare away intruders, and help you connect with first responders in an emergency.

When you link Wyze Home Monitoring with Alexa Guard Plus, you'll receive Alexa Guard alerts in the Wyze app. This is helpful because you get improved sound detection and deterrence tools with Wyze's professional monitoring.

Personally, we don't see much benefit from adding Alexa Guard Plus since it doubles your monthly costs—and Wyze security cameras already offer similar sound detection. Still, it might be worth it if you value the extra deterrents and the emergency helpline feature.

Wyze Home Monitoring has extensive self-serve customer support resources on the main Wyze support website. We found it easy to look up setup instructions, FAQ articles, and troubleshooting guides whenever we had a question (making our job much simpler). You can also contact Wyze directly through the helpful live chat tool, though we didn't see a phone number if that's something you prefer.

There's no contract with either Wyze monitoring plan—you can cancel anytime without penalties. The only difference is for annual subscribers, where you must return your starter kit if canceling within 30 days of shipping. This cancellation policy is similar to that of Ring Alarm, while SimipliSafe's trial period is 60 days.

Among DIY security companies, Wyze has one of the shortest warranties—only a single year. The company won't replace defective equipment after that. Although one year is shorter than the average DIY security system warranty, Wyze's equipment is much more affordable to replace compared to the sensors, cameras, and hubs of other brands. This helps balance out the short warranty.

Wyze Home Monitoring is an easy, inexpensive option for keeping tabs on your home while you're away. It won't give you the cellular backup or equipment selection of a pricier security system, but competitors can't match its rock-bottom monitoring and equipment prices. Plus, it's an excellent companion to Wyze's security cameras. In short, it's discreet and easy to use, it functions well, and the price is hard to beat.

For more information on how Wyze Home Monitoring holds up against its security system rivals, check our review of the best cheap security systems.

We tested the Wyze Home Monitoring Core Starter Kit in a small apartment for a few days. Since it was new to us, we kept to Wyze's recommendations and used the system in Test Mode, which disables the connection to the monitoring center. (No need to summon the police accidentally.) Here are some things we looked at during our tests:

To find out more about how we test and review products, read our full methodology.

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