Nest Secure Alarm | My extra long term review

If you didn't know the Nest Secure Alarm System is no longer being sold. You may be able to find one online or randomly at a Home Depot but your mileage may vary. Google says they’re committed to providing our existing Nest Secure users with continued feature support, software fixes, and critical security updates. You can still expand your alarm system with additional Nest Tags and Nest Detects. Nest Detects will be back in stock in early 2021. I'm especially interested in the Nest Detects for the expansion possibilities and to just have some spares. 

In my review, I will discuss the hardware, software, reliability, and what I expect and want from Google Nest in the future. Before we get started I will say that the Nest Secure Alarm was developed prior to Nest being brought under Google and this has me even more excited for what they can do together now. So with that let's get started.

What is the Nest Secure alarm?

The Nest Secure is a DIY home alarm security system. Setup for me was super simple with the guided tutorials on the Nest app. I suspect most people won't have a hard time setting the alarm system up but will differ from person to person. The Nest Secure can be used as a standalone system with no monitoring or with home monitoring provided by Brinks Security via subscription. 

Hardware

The Nest Secure is comprised of three components but I will focus on two of them since that's generally what I use day to day. The components I'm referring to are the Nest Guard and the Nest Detect. 

The Nest Guard is the brains of the alarm system. In the Nest Guard, you have the keypad, motion sensor and cellular for the times wifi is down. With cellular, a subscription is required through Brinks and runs about $20 per month. As far as performance and reliability the Nest Guard has been very solid for me. No dropouts, disconnects, or errors and I never had to reset it in the 3 plus years of owning it. Beyond that, the Nest Guard functions like many other home alarm systems. You can arm disarm but it also doubles as a motion sensor when the system is armed. 

The Nest Detect is a very versatile sensor that can be mounted on doors, windows, and walls. As for features, the Nest Detect can be programmed to be a motion sensor when on a wall and when you stick it on a door, it can sense both motion and open/close. You can turn motion detection on and off in the Nest app. Unlike other alarm systems, the Nest Detects have a couple more tricks under its sleeve, so to speak. Quiet Open keeps the alarm silent while you open the door. Pathlight helps you find your way in the dark. And Dog Pass keeps your small pooch from setting off the alarm. I believe this is what sets it apart from other alarm systems. Man, I really hope Google keeps their word and manufactures more of the Nest Detects.

Software

On the software side of things is where things get a little weird. Everything is set up, monitored and alerts are received through the Nest app. Clearly, the Google Home app is the future and it would have been nice to have the Nest Secure alarm system available but that's not the case, at least for now. Getting back on track, Nest did a really good job with the setup process. It's straightforward and easy to follow along with the on-screen tutorials. Alerts is another important software feature and Google did a pretty good job here. You can set up home and away alerts per user connected to the primary Nest account. This comes in handy for me as I don't want to receive alerts when at home. However, my wife prefers to see what's going on even when she’s at home. The alerts consist of motion sensors being activated or doors being opened but you can also include cameras if you have that function enabled.

The feature set is good but there is one glaring flaw that was never addressed. From time to time, me and my wife will have a date night and we leave the house. Of course, we leave the kids at home with the babysitter and because we are both not at home we get all of these alerts and it sucks. I wish there was a pause feature where we can stop the alerts for a specified amount of time. Unfortunately, that's not the case so you will have some notifications on your phone. That's about it for software. Google made what's currently available stable, functional, and reliable.  

What do I expect and want in the future?

I will say that I hope there is a version two of the Nest Secure alarm with the planned ADT partnership that begins in the third quarter of this year. We know cameras will be a part of the ADT deal but there is no sign of a home security system. But that's the point right when it comes to home security is that a home security alarm is being offered by a security company. It makes sense to me that Google will make cameras and a home security alarm system that will be sold and monitored by ADT. I also expect for these items to be DIY and available on the Google Store and Best Buy. Fingers crossed that Google Nest's next-gen home security devices have Google’s smarts and Nest’s hardware muscle.