X-Sense SC07-MR Review

About the X-Sense SC07-MR smart smoke and carbon monoxide alarm

• Operating temperature: 40°F to 100°F (4.4°C to 37.8°C)
• Alarm volume: 100dB (base station), 85dB (alarm)
• Service life: 10 years (alarm)
• Power supply: 1 x 3 V DC CR123A lithium battery (included, alarm), 5.0V V-1.0A (base station)
• Sensor type: Photoelectric (smoke), electromechanical (CO)

The X-Sense SC07-MR smart smoke and carbon monoxide alarm can be used independently or interconnected with other alarms. For access to the best smart features, you'll need to use it with the SBS50 base station, which bridges the gap between the alarms and the internet, allowing features such as notifications and app control.

The SC07-MR alarm is battery-powered and has a replaceable battery (not a sealed one). It is available in only one color and costs $45.99 for a single alarm. We tested a kit composed of five alarms and the base station.

Is X-Sense a good brand?

Yes, X-Sense is generally considered a reputable brand of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. The company has been around for a while, and also makes non-connected models of detectors that you may have in your home without even knowing it.

How we tested

We tested the X-Sense SC07-MR. I set up the alarms in my home and let them coexist with my existing ones.

Additionally, I intentionally triggered the alarms to test whether they can detect what X-Sense claims they can, and also to test the notifications and the ability to control the alarm from my phone.

What we like

The system features interconnectivity that you can rely on

Unlike many smart devices, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms can't stop working just because the Wi-Fi connection is lost or a power outage occurs. Thankfully, the X-Sense smart alarm is designed to continue working if the Wi-Fi is down, the power is out, or both.

That includes interconnectivity. The idea is that if one of your multiple units detects something, they'll all sound. There are other smart smoke and CO detectors on the market that do the same, such as the Nest Protect system, now known as the First Alert SC5, which other Reviewed testers have used.

The X-Sense SC07-MR alarms themselves are battery-powered, so they remain operational even if the power goes out. However, the base station is not battery-powered, so app functions are unavailable without an external power source. Interconnectivity still works—the alarms communicate with each other through their wireless network—so even if the base station is powered down or offline, all of your alarms will sound if smoke or CO is detected.

Of course, some features won't work without both power and Wi-Fi, but that's to be expected. You will receive an alert that the base station has disconnected initially. A battery backup for the base station would be nice, but, of course, if your power goes down, your Wi-Fi does, too. To truly be helpful in a power outage, the base station would need both a battery backup and cellular connectivity. To be fair, almost no base stations on the market have backup batteries. Ring has one model, but it is more expensive than most.

It is designed to give users information at a glance

On the front of the X-Sense SC07-MR alarm, a small LED display provides quick, useful information at a glance. It displays the battery level, as well as real-time CO levels in parts per million. There’s also a status light, usually off, but it’ll glow yellow if there’s a fault, or red if the alarm is triggered.

The rest of the design sticks pretty close to what you’d expect from a premium version of a traditional alarm. It’s circular, with a test button on the front, and it blends in well enough that you won’t mind having it on your ceiling.

The smoke and CO detector with app control is easy to use

The X-Sense app is well-designed and makes it easy to keep track of your devices. The home screen lists each alarm and your base station, allowing you to jump into any one to view CO levels in real-time. From there, you can tweak settings, run tests, change the base station’s alarm sound, and more.

There are also numerous notification options, and we wanted to know if you can silence X-Sense smoke alarms from your phone.

Beyond the obvious alerts for smoke or CO detection, you can get pings when a device is silenced, malfunctions, or goes offline. It's worth reviewing the notification options when you first set up the devices. Please note that you'll need to set notifications individually for each alarm.

Another significant advantage of the app is its ability to silence an alarm, which can be particularly useful when multiple alarms are interconnected. If they all start going off, how are you to know which one was first triggered? With the ability to turn them off in the app, you’d have to, though thankfully, the app does let you know which alarm was triggered, so you can better understand where in the house the danger might be.

The only real annoyance in the app is the occasional nudge to sign up for X-Sense’s Protect+ subscription, but it’s not too over the top. In fact, X-Sense only reminds users of the one-month free usage benefit after they receive the product. It will send a daily reminder for the three days leading up to the benefit's expiration. During this period, users can click to opt out of being reminded again. If the user does not renew after the trial ends, the X-Sense APP will no longer send push notifications.

What we don't like

Some notifications can be very slow

You may have numerous options for notifications (such as devices being silenced, tested, and going offline), but unfortunately, they're not necessarily all that quick. In fact, at times, they're downright slow.

I tested the offline notifications by unplugging the base station, and it took over two hours for a notification to arrive. An alarm going offline isn't necessarily a massive safety issue, but it should still alert you promptly. Thankfully, it didn't always take this long. When I plugged the base station back in, I got a notification quickly. However, the timing of non-critical notifications was inconsistent at best.

(Editor's note: We didn't realize this at the time of testing, but we do now: Our reviewer tested alerts by unplugging the base station to simulate a power/network outage. While the base station cannot function without power (as it lacks a backup battery), the alarms themselves continue to operate normally and maintain interconnectivity. To avoid burdening users with frequent notifications during brief network interruptions, X-Sense delays push notifications for up to 2 hours after the connection is lost. )

The good news is that alarm triggers are a different kind of alert. Just like you need to give the app notification permissions, you'll also need to provide it with “Critical Alerts” permissions. When an alarm was triggered, I got immediate critical alerts.

Automatic dispatch features require an X-Sense Protect+ subscription

You can’t take advantage of the Fire Dispatch Service Available feature unless you have a subscription. For this, you have two options: X-Sense Protect+ Basic and Protect+ Premium.

Basic ($2.99 per month, $29.99 per year) gets you professional monitoring and fire dispatch. X-Sense states that you'll receive a notification when an alarm is triggered. If you verify that there is an emergency, emergency services will be sent. There's also a manual dispatch feature, and if you're charged a fee for false alarms (by local law enforcement, for example), X-Sense says it will help you waive “some or all of the fine.”

Premium ($4.99 per month, $49.99 per year) dispatches emergency services quickly by eliminating the notification stage. When an alarm is triggered, the monitoring center will immediately call you. If you either report an emergency or fail to answer, fire services will be dispatched. Premium also provides a home insurance discount of up to 20%, as indicated in a monitoring certificate that can be supplied to your home insurance provider.

X-Sense SC07-MR doesn't meet legal requirements everywhere

You may not be legally allowed to use the X-Sense SC07-MR. I live in California, and like many other states, California requires smoke alarms to have non-removable batteries or be hard-wired.

The SC07-MR has a replaceable battery and is not hard-wired. Obviously, during testing, due to local laws, I didn't replace my existing smoke alarms, but instead used them both at the same time.

Unfortunately, X-Sense does not offer combination alarms that are Wi-Fi connected and have non-replaceable batteries. It does have an SC07-W model that offers interconnectivity and a 10-year sealed battery; however, the SC07-W model does not work with the base station.

Limited smart home support, and no Matter

If you're looking for a smart alarm that integrates with your existing smart home, you won't get it here. The device is not compatible with major smart home ecosystems. It also doesn’t support Matter, and while there are only a few smoke or CO alarms that do support Matter, it’s still something we expect most smart home device companies to adopt, and an easy way to guarantee broad smart home support without needing individual certification for each ecosystem.

For most, this won't be a significant issue, but you won't be able to create automations, such as controlling lights when an alarm is triggered.

Warranty

X-Sense offers a 60-day money-back guarantee and a 5-year worry-free warranty. This means that the company will refund you for any products that haven't been activated within 60 days of purchase. After 60 days or upon product activation, refunds are no longer available; however, replacements can be obtained for defective products. For more detailed information, you can visit X-Sense's returns and warranty page.

Should you buy the X-Sense SC07-MR?

Yes, if it's legal in your area

The X-Sense SC07-MR (available at X-Sense) isn't perfect. Notifications can be slow or non-existent for non-critical alerts, and the device isn't cheap. However, if you live in an area where these interconnected smoke detectors are permitted, and you're willing to pay a little extra for the smart features, this is a worthwhile investment, especially if you subscribe to the Protect+ service for added peace of mind. But, even if you don't, app access can make tasks like turning off alarms much easier.

If you like the general idea of this interconnected smart smoke and CO detector alarm system, but you’re not sold on it, check out the First Alert SC5 Smart Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm. It is a new product in collaboration with Google, replacing the now-discontinued Nest Protect system. It currently tops our list of the best smart smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on the market, offering similar features and functionality. However, at $129.99 per unit, it is much more expensive than the X-Sense SC07-MR system.

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