NZ Alarm solution

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Hi All,
I’m looking to replace the alarm system in my home with something a bit smarter and thought the Smart Things Hub and some sensors potentially a good way to go. Before I do, I have a few questions:

  • How well have has it worked for people as a home security/alarm system? I’m planning on a few of the Samsung Smart Things Motion Sensors and Samsung Smart Things Multi Sensor on key doors. May be a camera later on?

  • Is it support officially in New Zealand? It’s being offered by http://www.mobilefun.co.nz/56504-samsung-smartthings-hub.htm. That said I believe the Z-wave frequency isn’t supported (to close to cellular frequency ) here so I’ll have to disable that out of the box and go ZigBee only.

  • Can anyone recommend a reliable and compatible ZigBee alarm box or internal siren? - If someone did break in I would like to show my displeasure.

Thanks
Andy

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The answer will depend on your expectations and requirements, but in short, it’s not a replacement for a dedicated alarm system. Too many limitations and reliability issues, if you ask me.

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There is no New Zealand version of the SmartThings hub at this time. As you noted, it’s not the same Z wave frequency as the UK, and it’s actually illegal to operate that frequency in New Zealand. I’d be surprised if they allowed you to import it.

I’d suggest looking instead for some locally available solutions.

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Hi. What did you do in the end? I live in NZ and none of the products in NZ seem to match what is available overseas.

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Hi Simms,l
I did get a smart things hub with smart things 3 ir sensors and 1 water sensor. Turned off the Z-wave.
I also bought about a dozen Xiaomi contact sensors and 3 temperature sensors from gearbest. These sensors were around 10-15 NZD each. The Xiaomi stuff (once I figured out how to get it working) has been more stable than the smart things stuff!
I use the hub to control the panel heaters in my kids rooms via a wemo plug and the temperature sensors. Seems to work okay but not very accurate and the smart thing thermostat ‘app’ isn’t well thought out.

As for security, it’s meh! I was having a constant issue that my wife would arrive and open the door before the system disarmed. it’s seem to have stopped doing that. It’s also a pain to deal with the false alerts - three clicks in the app!
Would also like some cameras - been looking at the ‘blink’ one but they are not officially supported and Arlo are way too pricey. The one thing I haven’t found is a zigbee based siren, if there was actually break in.

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Thanks Andy for the reply