Tabs Home Health and Security Kit - Review 2022

Like most DIY home security systems, the Tabs Home Health and Security Kit ($229.99) lets you monitor activity in your dwelling house while y'all're abroad, but that'southward only function of its duties. It too monitors your home's air quality, temperature, and humidity levels, and uses a combination of Wi-Fi and depression-power WAN technologies to track the location of your valuables. The system is easily installed and the sensors piece of work well, simply it lacks many features you lot get with other systems, similar a camera option. If you want to go the DIY road, the Abode Habitation Security Starter Kit is a stronger culling, and our Editors' Choice.

Blueprint and Features

The Tabs Abode Health and Security Kit comes with a hub, iii door/window sensors, a motility sensor, and a salubrious home sensor that monitors room temperature, humidity, and air quality. You can configure it to send button, text, and electronic mail alerts when a sensor is triggered, only information technology doesn't interact with other smart home devices such as cameras, locks, and thermostats, and information technology doesn't support IFTTT, an internet-based service that lets you create applets to brand compatible smart devices work together. Vocalisation commands using Amazon Alexa or Goggle Assistant devices are also non supported at this time, though co-ordinate to a visitor spokesperson, IFTTT compatibility and third-party device integration is on the roadmap.

The hub measures 6.vii by two.1 by 5.vi inches (HWD) and has LED indicators for Power, Tabs Network, Wired Network, and Wi-Fi network connectivity, all located on the top, forth with a WPS push button. Dark-green LEDs hateful everything is working and orangish ways at that place'due south a problem. The hub tin be used every bit a router to create a new wireless network for your sensors, or can be configured to extend your existing network. It contains 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi radios, a USB 2.0 port for charging devices, two LAN ports for connecting other network devices such as gaming consoles, and a WAN port for connecting to your existing router.

The hub also contains LoRaWAN (Low Power Broad Surface area Network) circuitry that can exist used to runway people and objects using optional locator devices. Tabs sells Object Locators ($39.95) that can be dropped into a bag or attached to a bag and tracked using a mobile app (Tabs claims upwards to a mile of coverage depending on your geographic location). Nosotros'll take a look at the Object Locator and wearable Wristband Locators when we review the Tabs Family Locator Kit, due out later on this yr.

Tabs Home Health and Security Kit 1 All of the sensors await identical and share an octagonal shape with dimensions of 1.nine by 0.79 by ane.9 inches (HWD). The motion sensor comes with a wall mount, but you can rest it on any apartment surface. Boosted motion sensors will exist bachelor for purchase ($34.99) afterward this yr. The good for you habitation sensor, which measures temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, and VOC (volatile organic compounds) levels, can be purchased separately for $34.99. The door/window sensors are the largest I've seen. They come with magnetic counterparts and adhesive strips for mounting, and additional sensors can exist purchased for $24.99 each.

The Tabs system uses a thoughtfully designed mobile app (availble for Android and iOS) to allow you monitor your home. The Control screen displays data almost all installed sensors, which are grouped by category. For example, the door and window sensors will show y'all which doors and windows are open and which are closed and for how long, while the healthy home sensor shows the current temperature and humidity levels. Tap any sensor to come across more detailed data including historical data, and to set alerts.

You tin can configure the motion sensor to send motility and non-motion alerts, the door/window sensors to send open and close alerts, and the good for you home sensor to send alerts when temperature, humidity, and air quality thresholds are exceeded. Sensors tin can exist arranged in groups that allow you to view data from specific rooms, and you can use a quick fashion (Home, Away, or Night) to limit the amount of alerts you'll receive.

Back at the master control screen there'southward an icon in the upper left corner that takes y'all to a arrangement settings folio where yous tin can enable or disable push button, text, and e-mail alerts, and take alerts sent to friends and family while in Away mode. Hither yous can also configure the Hub's Wi-Fi settings, change your home address, and adjust zone settings for use with location devices. There'southward as well a Locate screen that allows you to track the location and activeness of object locator devices or people wearing Tabs Wristbands (when they become available).

Tabs Home Health and Security Kit 2

Installation and Performance

Installing and configuring the Tabs organisation was easy. I downloaded the mobile app and created an account. I plugged in the hub and followed the instructions to connect to the hub'due south SSID using my phone'south Wi-Fi settings. I returned to the app and had a choice of setting up a new network or extending my existing network. I clicked Gear up Up New Wi-Fi Network, connected the hub to my router, and was instantly connected. I hit Next, gave my new network a name and a password, and tapped Fix A Device.

Pairing sensors to the hub is likewise easy thanks to the utilise of QR codes. Simply browse the code on the bottom of the sensor, name it, and yous're done. To add devices later (after the initial installation), tap the plus push on the Control page, tap Add New Device, and scan the QR code when prompted.

The Tabs sensors worked perfectly in testing. Text, email, and push alerts arrived promptly whenever the sensors were triggered, and while I had no reference to estimate the salubrious dwelling sensor's air quality accurateness, its temperature and humidity levels matched readings from a Nest Learning Thermostat located in the aforementioned room. The door/window sensors never failed to trigger an alert when opened or closed, and the motion sensor was as responsive.

Conclusions

If you're looking for a exercise-it-yourself home security solution that you lot tin monitor from your phone, the Tabs Home Health and Security Kit will become the task done. While it's a snap to install and offers accurate motion and environmental sensors as well equally text and email alerts, the system does non yet offer back up for cameras, a primal component of any home security setup. Moreover, it doesn't work with other smart home devices and lacks support for IFTTT applets and Amazon Alexa voice commands (at least not all the same). It'll become more competitive when those features are available, too as with the release of the Family Locator kit.

For now, though, the Abode Home Security Starter Kit comes with a photographic camera, works with dozens of Z-Wave and Zigbee home automation devices, and supports IFTTT integrations for effectually $seventy more. It too offers several no-contract professional monitoring plans, and remains our Editors' Choice for DIY abode security systems.