There is a fairly good chance that you have been spending a lot of time at home recently, maybe even for over a year and a half at this point. Well, at some point you’re going to have to go back into the world and leave your home, where you keep all of your best stuff, unguarded. What’s even more distressing is that someone could find their way into your home while you’re there, unbeknownst to you, not even wearing a mask!
I’m not one for fear-mongering, but I’m no stranger to crippling anxiety, especially while lying in bed and debating whether my concern for the state of the front door’s locks outweighs the comfort of my bed. The concern usually wins. These sorts of anxieties can be put to rest, at least partially, with some variety of home monitoring device.
Well, good news: the Hex Home Security System is, indeed, some variety of home monitoring device. Specifically, it is a Wi-Fi enabled security system that communicates directly with an app on your cell phone. Setup is extremely simple; the Hex Home Security System comes with one base station and a number of smaller sensors for different rooms (The tester we received came with two sensors, enough to cover a home of up to 1500 square feet).
Plus, all those things into separate outlets in separate rooms, get the app on your phone and get everything on the same WiFi network, and you’re basically done. It’s certainly easier than the old school way of home security setups with outside companies for installation and all sorts of wiring back and forth.
“Setup is extremely simple; the Hex Home Security System comes with one base station and a number of smaller sensors for different rooms…”
So, this easy setup can be helped or hindered by the shape of your home and the location of your outlets. The Hex Security System touts its motion detection’s accuracy as observing the existing Wi-Fi waves as you, your pets, and possible intruders move through them. It sounds very interesting and works fairly well, but do place the sensors in a way that they get the best view of the room they are meant to be monitoring. Out of the box, these sensors burn brightly and could function as a night light. This illumination, however, can be adjusted via the app.
In fact, there are a great many things one can adjust through the app. Importantly, you can access the necessary modes of the security system from your phone. It can be set to passive monitoring, feeding you any relevant info through the app, actively armed in the away state, ready to sound alarms and scare away any intruders, and the interesting Guardian mode. Guardian mode is where you set it when you just want all the details about what’s going on at the house while you’re gone.
While in Guardian mode, the app will deliver push notifications to your phone when any significant monitoring even happens. This is a great idea if you expect anyone coming or going from your home, like children coming home from school or someone arriving to feed and walk the dog while you’re away.
“It’s a great step toward having a completely smart home…”
The idea of a significant monitoring event is important here. The Hex Home Security Systems allows users to set the sensitivity of their motion detection, so it won’t be set off by curious cats or robot vacuums doing their jobs. Furthermore, the app also allows for the creation of schedules, so you’ll be able to set up how your daily life should look and not have to mess around with your security setup again.
That, with the lack of any subscription fees, promises that you won’t need to constantly monitor your home monitoring set up except when you take that vacation (which you definitely need), or your daily routine changes significantly. It’s a great step toward having a completely smart home, also a step toward a lot of weird horror films from the early 2000’s about sentient home security suites; that was a weird subgenre for a while.
So, the Hex Home Security System seems like a real winner, but there are a few downsides to the whole thing. For example, this system is entirely dependent on your local WiFi. Should that go down, your security setup is dead in the water. Also, the Hex seems to lack a lot of features currently that its competitors tout, while still being priced competitively with them. The Hex does have an always-learning AI and promises to make 24/7 professional monitoring available soon, but, as of this writing, that has not yet come to pass.
As it stands, the Hex Home Security System provides excellent motion detection for a decent price, no monthly fees, and a simple setup, that, for now, will have to be enough.
