First Alert Onelink Smart Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Detector (Wired) Review
I bought a couple of Onelink Smart Smoke + Carbon Monoxide detectors by First Alert.
Pros
Reliability
First Alert has a long history and is one of the top manufacturers of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms.
That gives me confidence in the ability of their products to reliably detect smoke or carbon monoxide.
The smart home features are a nice bonus but mean nothing unless the devices can set off alarms when you need them.
HomeKit Support
At the time I bought these detectors they were the only option really for those of us who preferred Apple HomeKit.
2-in-1 Protection
It’s nice to have a combination smoke and carbon monoxide detector in one package.
Voice Alerts
This is of course something we have come to expect from smart smoke detectors.
Onelink detectors will speak out loud the location and type of danger they detect.
During the set-up process, you can assign various names to different locations in your house, so the voice alerts will be very clear.
Interconnected with Other First Alert Alarms
This is a big plus because smart smoke detectors can be quite pricey and not everyone can afford to have these in every room of the house.
The fact that these still main interconnectivity with regular First Alert alarms gives you additional peace of mind.
Battery Backup
Although the detector I bought is the hardwired version, it nevertheless also includes a very generous 10-year battery as backup.
Loud Siren
I had the opportunity to test the siren multiple times. Let me tell you it’s extremely loud. (I suspect the neighbors were able to hear it too.)
Some people may not appreciate a loud smoke alarm siren but it gets the job done when you need it in an emergency. Keep in mind if you are asleep, it has to manage to wake you up.
Night Light
This may not be that big of a deal to most of us but it’s still a nice add-on feature to have, especially if you have kids.
You can use the Onelink sector as a nightlight and even adjust its brightness via the app.
Customer Service
I reached out to First Alert customer service because one of the devices did not seem to operate reliably, at least initially. It went off a couple of times in the middle of night and we were never really able to sort out what the issue was with it. However, after some troubleshooting, their customer service offered to send me a replacement and I haven’t noticed any more problems since then.
Cons
App Connectivity
This is really the only problem I have with the device and I still haven’t figured out what exactly is causing it.
When the alarms go off, including with testing, there’s a significant delay until you are notified via the app on your phone.
That could be deliberate to avoid false alarms but I’d rather receive a correct notification quickly either way.
This is somewhat unfortunate because mobile phone notifications in case of an emergency are supposed to be one of the main benefits of having a smart device like this.
Takeaways
I hope the company continues to develop its line of smart smoke detectors and carbon dioxide alarms.
There is also another version of this alarm that can double as home audio speakers. I skipped that one mainly because reviews discounted its sound quality but if they can improve on it, I’ll be more likely to buy that model as well.
