Alarm Systems for home Reviews

You've got more home security options these days than ever before, and an increasing number of them don't include long contracts or monthly fees. The latest such system comes from a company called Skylink, which operates out of Canada, Hong Kong, and the US. For nearly 25 years, Skylink's been selling localized, DIY alarm systems, and now, with the newly released SkylinkNet system, the company's bringing your smartphone into the picture, too.

That makes for a system that falls right in line with what we've already seen from kits like . SkylinkNet doesn't doesn't do much to one-up those competitors, and compared to flashier gadgets like and , it's downright boring. Still, it's a system works as advertised and, at 0 (available internationally at £95 and AU0, converted roughly) it costs less than the competition. If you're just looking for a basic level of low-cost coverage that doesn't need to play nice with a larger smart home ecosystem, I think SkylinkNet fits the bill.

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You get three arming options on the alarm screen: "Arm Away, " "Arm Home, " and a button you can slide to trigger the panic alarm. The slider is a nice little touch, as it helps keep you from sounding the siren by mistake.

Set the system to Arm Away, and you'll get a customizable "Exit Delay" that gives you time to leave before the system actually arms. The hub will beep during this time, with the beeps growing faster as the system draws closer to arming. As for Arm Home mode, it's a pretty common feature with security systems like these, and one that's nice to have if you want to activate some of your sensors while you're home, but not all of them.

To this end, you'll be able to customize when each sensor triggers the alarm. For instance, you could set the window sensor to trigger the siren on both Arm Home and Arm Away mode, but set the door sensor and motion detector to only sound an alarm if you're away.

You can also customize when each sensor will send your phone a push notification. Maybe you've got teenagers, and you want notifications every time the motion detector in the liquor cabinet fires up, but you only care about the door opening if it happens while the system is armed. You'll also be able to set the hub to chime whenever a particular device is activated, as well as give each device a custom name, which you'll want to be sure and do if you're using multiple sensors of the same type.