Google Nest Protect - Smoke Alarm - Smoke Detector and Carbon Monoxide Detector - Battery Operated , White - S3000BWES

A year ago, I purchased a first generation Nest protect (battery only), but didn't install it because one of its features was disabled by the company (waving to silence alarms) and all the detectors in my home were integrated by a/c current. Two weeks ago, just as we were preparing for a trip away, the smoke alarm near the entry way began chirping and beeping (two different sounds). We were able to silence the chirp with a new 9 volt battery, but the only thing that would stop the beeping was to turn off the power to the a/c circuit to which it was connected. Even totally removing the malfunctioning unit didn't silence the beeps!Descriptions of our dilemma provided us no clues, but eventually, we contacted telephone support for the unit's manufacturer. A REAL LIVE PERSON with concern and humor answered, listened to me describe our problem, then responded, "honey, the ceiling can't beep! Do you have a CO monitor close by?" We did. She then told us that the beeping was the "end-of-life" signal coming from the CO monitor plugged in at ground level 10 feet away. Sure enough, unplugging it silenced the beeping. Then she told us that our other CO alarms and all of our smoke detectors were well beyond their intended lifespan (all manufactured in 1992) and all of them must be removed, even though they all displayed their "AOK" green LEDs and passed their aural tests). (We purchased this home 2 years ago, paid several hundred dollars for a home inspection, and nothing in the inspector's report mentioned that our detectors were beyond their expected usable lifetime).Clearly, we needed protection that gave us more feedback about their normal and abnormal performance. Extraordinarily satisfied with our Nest thermostat, I decided to purchase Nest Protects for the rest of the house. I installed the 1st generation unit to replace the one I'd already removed. To do so, I needed to drill some holes into the ceiling because the holes for its mounting plate didn't line up with the junction box in the ceiling, and two of them required a power drill in order to penetrate the 2 x 4 ceiling framing. We left on our short trip knowing that we had at least one working device and several more to install when we returned home. When we returned, we unpacked the new, a/c powered units, lined them all up within 20 feet of the 1st generation battery operated unit, and began the ID/registration process. The thought that's gone in to the user interface for this device immediately became obvious, when a quick routine of scanning the code on the back of each device led to prompt addition of it to our existing network of Nest thermostat and an increasing number of registered Nest Protects. Physical installation went just as quickly, as did an initial "checkup" initiated from my iPhone.I did spend a few minutes reading the manual, and learned that 10 years from now, when units require replacement, they'll alert me both verbally when I'm in their proximity, and by sending me emails that they're in need of replacement! Another plus: the thermostat in our 2 story home is located in a small blind corridor where it cannot "see" traffic through the rest of the home. Consequently, when we're asleep at night, our Nest Thermostat decides we're away, and the temperature drops to the "auto away" setting during the night. We save big on our power bills but it gets a bit cool in the house! Now, with the Nest Protects "talking" to the thermostat, we awake to more comfortable temperatures.I have only two concerns about these devices. One is that, in a very large home, the "checkup" testing of individual devices may overlap others in time. That's not a problem in our relatively small 2 story house, but in a large home the overlaps could make it difficult for one person to confirm that all the units are working. Even that's not a real issue, because the units test THEMSELVES when we're not present and send us email confirmation that they're all functioning.The other concern is that these products were born in the minds of people who worked at Apple, who clearly learned their lessons well while there. They are attractive, communicate clearly to their owners, and guide their owners with an outstanding user interface. Unfortunately, the company has been purchased by Google, and it's entirely possible that the business goals of these two no-longer-friendly companies will deprecated their future as anchors of a "connected home" where "works with Google" will mean "won't work with Apple."

In 2014 I purchased and installed 6 Nest Protect Ver 1.0's on a remodeling job I was working on. They have been working well and have had no issues since. I just purchased an equal number of these Ver 2.0's for my own home and love them. The entire process has gotten much easier and more refined. The app has certainly gotten better in 2 years.I like the way the menus and user interface works and looks in the App. As soon as I start it up I can see the status of my system, perform a self check, look at the history of the readings and actions of the detector and various other useful actions. It runs well on my iPhone 7 and I've had no issues with the App so far.Installation of hardwired detectors took about an hour. The round mounting plate fits well over round ceiling boxes or rectangular single space wall boxes equally well. There are various screw hole spacings on the plate to accommodate different sized electrical boxes. The kit comes with 3 wire nuts and 4 screws. The screws are unlike and that I have encountered before and look very modern and nice. (not that you will be seeing them after installation). One wire nut for the hot (black), white (neutral), and one to cap the unused signal wire if you have it. The pig tail that comes with the Protect is about 6 inches long and is the perfect size.I like the way the Ver 2 Protect has a built-in microphone to self test it's own alarm speaker. That seems like a good self checking feature. I do wonder how many speakers have ever failed in smoke/CO alarms. I have never seen nor heard of one fail in that respect for the over 25 years and hundreds of homes that I have worked on. I am sure there is a statistic for that however. I hope the microphone is never used for privacy violations.I got the Protects because I wanted a smoke/CO detector that would email me if there was an alarm so that I would know when away from home. I looked but there really aren't any other competitors currently with similar device. I was hoping to get one that was Apple HomeKit enabled. I wish the Nest was HomeKit enabled, but as Google has positioned itself as a major competitor to Apple I don't guess that will be happening soon. Maybe they will add that when some competition does come to market. Right now Nest is still the only major option. I tried a couple of First Alert One Link detectors. Both the Battery and Hardwired versions failed miserable within 8 months on installation.This is a wonderfully designed device. I like everything about it. The path night light has proven to be a very useful feature. It gently lights up the pathways at night when motion is detected. I love that feature. The design aesthetics really go well anywhere you put it. It looks way better to me than any other on the market. The circle LED ring that changes colors based on state is very nice. (Blue, Green, White, Red). The voice guidance and room name announcement are excellent features. It has a pleasant and natural sounding voice. I really do think this a complete package. I wonder if there any other features that could be added. If there are I'm sure the designers and engineers at Nest are working hard to think some up. It is a 2nd generation product now and has little to no bugs. If only it was HomeKit enabled it would be a complete package for me. I'm still giving it 5 stars.

Expensive and hard to get on Amazon with the wired version. Installation was super easy by replacing the very old and therefore yellowed cheap firearms. Love the look. Easy set up. Best of all is that at night they light up the hallway. Wasn't sure about this feature, however really come to appreciate it when going through the house without having to turn on all the lights at night.

Amazing product. Love the inter-connectivity of the devices and the night light is great!