X-Sense Link+ Pro Smoke Alarm with Base Station review: Bargain smoke alarm bundle

Smart smoke alarms aren’t always affordable; just a single Nest Protect will set you back nearly £100. Yet the X-Sense Link+ Pro package is something of a bargain. For £80 you can have three smoke alarms plus the Base Station used to connect them, giving you enough early fire detection to cover the average UK home. And if you need more? Not a problem. Individual units are available for under £30.

X-Sense Link+ Pro Smoke Alarm with Base Station review: What do you get for the money?

The basic X50B-MR31 kit comprises three XS0B Wi-Fi smoke alarms plus an SBS50 base station. The latter, a compact 110 x 110mm unit, connects to your home Wi-Fi network, then links to and manages the individual alarms.

It needs a 2.4GHz network to operate – so those with Wi-Fi 5, 6 and 7 routers need to keep their 2.4GHz network discoverable – but, otherwise, setting it up is simple. Both the hubs and the smoke alarms are managed and controlled via a free cloud service and the X-Sense smartphone app.

The main units are larger than most modern smoke alarms, at 110mm in diameter, but not obtrusively so. An LED beneath the central button blinks green every 60 seconds to let you know it’s working, or flashes brighter and red during an alarm. Each is powered by a single replaceable CR123A Lithium battery, which should last five years of the device’s claimed ten-year lifespan.

X-Sense Link+ Pro Smoke Alarm with Base Station review: How easy is it to set up?

I found the system very easy to set up. I simply installed the app, powered up the Base Station, added it as a device and selected the Wi-Fi network and entered my password.

After that, it was simply a question of adding the three smoke alarms to the app, and allocating each to a room in my home.

Each alarm comes with a plastic backplate which screws onto the ceiling (wall plugs are provided), with the unit slotting in then twisting to lock into place.

X-Sense Link+ Pro Smoke Alarm with Base Station review: What does it do well?

You basically want a smoke alarm to do three things: detect smoke quickly, alert you instantly and be quick to silence after false alarms. The Link+ Pro alarms do well on the first count. Sprayed from 50cm for three seconds with a smoke alarm test spray, my test unit raised the alarm in 7.51 seconds – a decent result.

I also received a clear voice alert on all connected smoke alarms, letting me know which location the alarm had been raised in, along with a notification from the app and an alert via email. The accompanying siren is fiendishly loud, reaching 99.1dBA, although you can tweak the volume level in the app.

You’re supposed to test each smoke alarm once per week by pressing the test button, which can be a chore with regular smoke alarm. With the X-Sense Link+, however, you can test all connected alarms at the same time by pressing and holding the button on any one of them. Alternatively, you can do this remotely from the app to make things even easier. I’ve no easy way to test the battery life, but you can expect voice alerts and a flashing yellow alert when the packaged battery is about to go or the alarm needs replacing.

X-Sense Link+ Pro Smoke Alarm with Base Station review: What could it do better?

The voice alerts aren’t that flexible, which means that when you assign locations to each alarm you need to use the presets, which might not match the rooms or spaces in your home.

I also found the voice and sounds unnecessarily loud during setup. You don’t need that kind of racket when you’re within touching distance of the devices. Otherwise, there’s very little to complain about.

X-Sense Link+ Pro Smoke Alarm with Base Station review: Should you buy it?

X-Sense’s system doesn’t quite show the same thought or attention to detail you’ll find in Google’s Nest Protect – or the same advanced split-spectrum sensor technology – but you are getting three alarms for less than the price of one and for many households that will be more valuable.

What’s more, X-Sense’s software is well-designed and easy to use, and everything just works. Overall, it’s fantastic value.