Launch of ADT’s new smart security system

ADT’s much talked about new security system is now active ADT.com. Featuring all-new ADT hardware and integrations with Google Nest cameras, smart speakers and more, the new ADT Plus system has a distinct Google Nest Secure look (RIP). But how this will work in your home remains to be seen.

The company also announced that Yale Assure Lock 2 It will be the first smart lock compatible with Trusted Neighbor, its new feature that leverages technologies like smart locks and facial recognition to make it easier for people you trust to enter your home in an emergency – or just to feed the dog.

If you have the smart lock as part of the system, you can set it up so that when your “trusted neighbor” comes to your house to help you, the door can be automatically unlocked and the system disarmed, and then reactivated. – lock and rearm when they leave.

The new ADT Plus system is a significant change for the company as it brings parity between its professionally installed system and its DIY system. Now, you get the same hardware regardless of which installation path you choose.

ADT Plus replaces ADT’s Self Setup system, launched in 2023 following Google’s investment in the company. It was offered free to Nest Secure users when the service ended and will continue to be supported.

According to ADT business director Wayne Thorsen, the technology behind the new system — which uses Ultra-low power DECTZ-Wave, Wi-Fi, and BLE protocols — is capable of integrating more deeply with hardware from smart home partners like Yale and Google, enabling more advanced automation.

In an interview with On the edge, Thorsen said this is just the start of smarter integrations coming to the new platform. The Yale Z-Wave lock is the first compatible lock, but Thorsen says there will be more options in the future.

The access feature allows someone you trust to disarm your system and unlock the door using the app or a key code based on parameters you set. These parameters can be time-based or — exclusively — event-based. So you can set it to let Suzy in if a package shows up at your door, and to let the plumber in if a leak detector is triggered.

You can also leverage the Familiar Face Feature of Google’s Nest Cameras and the connection of the Yale lock with the ADT system so that the house “magically” disarms itself and unlocks the door when it recognizes a trusted neighbor.

The Yale Assure Lock 2 is being offered in a starter kit included for new system, which regularly costs $658.98 but is launching with a 30% discount for $461.29. The Front Door Protection package includes the new base station, two door/window sensors, a Yale Assure Lock 2, and a Google Nest doorbell (battery). Professional monitoring costs $45 per month and includes a subscription to Nest Aware for event-based video recording (if you want 24/7 video recording, it costs an extra $7).

O Total Security premium package adds a third door/window sensor, a motion sensor, three Google Nest Cams (Nest Cam indoor, Nest Cam indoor/outdoor, and Nest Cam floodlight), and three water temperature sensors for $US1,101.76 ($1,573 .95 normal). You can also build a package that starts at $269 for the base station and a door/window sensor.

The ADT Plus system can be self-installed and self-monitored. However, you need to pay for one month of monitoring to purchase the system — after that, you can self-monitor for free, according to the company. For professional installation, a 36-month monitoring plan is required.

The new ADT Plus system is heavily based on the much-forgotten Google Secure system. It has a similar-looking base station that has a backlit keypad with proximity-sensing touch button and the option to premium sensors for doors and windows, similar to the Nest Detects that were part of Nest Secure. The sensor can be deactivated with the press of a button – so you can let the dog out to pee without waking up the entire house – although it doesn’t work as a motion sensor like the Detect did.

Since Google’s investment in ADT in 2020, there have been several changes at the top of the company, with many Nest employees moving from Google to ADT –including Thorsen it’s new CTO Gilles Drieu, who was director of engineering at Google Nest.

All of this means the new hardware has Nest’s fingerprint all over it. I’m looking forward to testing it out to see if it’s a worthy successor to Nest Secure. However, while the ADT Plus works with Google Nest hardware, the company told me it’s not compatible with the Google Home app—app control is only via the ADT Plus app.

As someone who has covered the smart home and home security for more than a decade, I’m excited to see better integration and innovation between the two areas, which have been largely segmented to date. At the same time, it’s frustrating that all of this is still enclosed in a closed ecosystem. It will be interesting to see where ADT, Google and Yale take this.