Abode Security Kit review: A focus on security, not convenience

For those keeping count, Abode now offers three different security-focused smart home hubs: The original Abode Smart Security Kit, Abode Iota, and now its newest and least-expensive offering, the Abode Security Kit, reviewed here.

The Abode Security Kit achieves its low price by not including Z-Wave and Zigbee radios, like its pricier stablemates do, and by not including an integrated security camera, like the Iota does. On the upside, Abode’s newest product doesn’t need an ethernet cable to connect to your Wi-Fi router—after initial setup, that is.

The Abode Security Kit works well: Logging is effective, and programming automations in CUE is an easy task.

Abode has also taken a significantly different approach in terms of industrial design: the new hub is all shiny and black, a slim box that is far more appealing in the looks department. Strangely, however, Abode ships the jet-black product with a white power cord.

While the Abode Security Kit can communicate with your network via Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only), initial setup must still take place via a hardwired ethernet connection to your router. The process is fortunately rather quick, requiring you to power it up and wait for the hub to boot, then enter a six-character code printed on an included card into the Abode app to register the device to your account.

If you’re like me, temporarily freeing up an ethernet jack on your router will be the hardest part of the process. Once the system has been configured by entering your Wi-Fi credentials, you can move the hub wherever you’d like.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart home systems.

As with other Abode products, the use of “kit” in the product name is optimistic, as the only additional devices in the box are a single door/window sensor and a key-fob remote control. The latter can be used to arm and disarm the system. Since there are no controls on the hub itself, and there’s no numeric keypad (you can add one), the fob is the only other option for this apart from using the app to interact with the hub.

Both the sensor and the fob come pre-paired to the hub, so you’ll only need to pull out the plastic battery tab on the door sensor to activate it. As with all Abode hubs, the unit features an integrated battery backup that can be activated by flipping a switch on the bottom of the device.

Consider the cost of a subscription

Abode is unabashedly built around its subscription model, and without a paid plan, there’s not a whole lot you can do with this kit. The hub dutifully communicates with the door sensor and monitors openings and closings—sounding chimes if desired—and when the hub is placed into one of its two alarm modes (Home or Away), the 93dB siren onboard will sound in response to those events.

The key fob offers a quick means of arming and disarming the system, as does the app. You do receive push notifications for various activities, but these are invariably vague, all reading “An event has occurred in the Abode System.”

Without a subscription, you can’t see any history of actions, including door open/close events, and while you can use Abode’s CUE scripting system to configure automations, you can’t launch or trigger them. You’ll also need a sub to use the Abode Security System with Alexa or Google Assistant.

Abode offers two plans: The Standard Plan ($7/month or $70/year) includes support for cameras, video storage, more detailed notification messages, event logging, and automations. The Pro Plan ($25/month or $230/year) includes all the above; plus, it activates the cellular radio that maintains the system’s broadband connection if your primary connection fails. Burglars have been known to cut physical phone and cable lines outside the home to defeat a home security system. The Pro Plan also provides 24/7 professional monitoring that can dispatch first responders in the event of a break-in or other emergency (police, medical, or fire).

Abode’s professional monitoring plan costs more than twice what Wyze Labs charges for its home security system ($10/month or $100/year), but Wyze doesn’t provide cellular backup. Abode’s subscription is $5 more per month ($30 more per year) than Ring’s, which does offer cellular backup but charges extra for battery backup. At the time of this writing, however, Abode was discounting its Abode Security Kit by $100—and throwing in a security camera at no additional cost—if you purchase a one-year subscription at the same time.

Should you buy the Abode Security Kit?

If you do subscribe to an Abode plan, the system works well. Logging is effective, and programming automations in CUE is an easy task. Even at its $140 asking price, the Abode Security Kit much more affordable than either of Abode’s more capable (from a smart home perspective, at least) systems: the Abode Iota ($330) and the Abode Smart Security Kit ($260), provided you’re not looking for a hub that offers smart home control (lighting, thermostats, and other elements) as well as home security.

As with any home security starter kit, building out a comprehensive system with additional components—sensors, cameras, a remote keypad, etc.—will drive up your total cost. Abode’s mini door sensors cost $20 each, motion sensors go for $25, security cameras are $35, Abode’s video doorbell is priced at $100, and so on.

There are less-expensive competitors than the Abode Home Security System, but Abode has a long track record of reliability, and this system is every bit as capable as its pricier smart-home-oriented stablemates. If you want an Abode home security system and you don’t need HomeKit, Z-Wave, or Zigbee compatibility, this one will save you $120.