Onelink Home by First Alert

The recent update has left me without access to my configured home sensors while I am out of town away from home for a week and need to be monitoring my home. You chose the worst time for me to break my sensor configuration with an app update. App crashing when opened on a screen that wants to Add a New Home. It already has a home and sensors, it doesn't need a new home. And I am getting warnings and I cannot see what they are, the notifications have no specific detail about whats happening. Out of desired range? How does that help me? Why isnt the number or level mentioned with the notification? Im getting alerts and I cannot find out whats going on with a crashing app. I cannot delete and reinstall the app while I am away from home traveling and lose all my sensor configuration, nor do I have all the home codes to add my sensors while I am traveling.

I’ve only seen a single review, posted in February, and I got the product and app in September. Maybe the first reviewer had legitimate issues, but I’ve had absolutely none. The alarm was simple to install; three adapters included, one for wire-to-wire installation, plus two other modular plugs for compatibility with other brands. I just opened the breaker for my smoke detector, matched the wire colors and attached with the existing wire nuts. The white and black wires come pre-stripped, but if you want to use the orange interconnect, it will have to be cut and stripped. Once everything was hooked up, shut the breaker and everything powered up fine. Downloaded the app and paired it to the detector. Linked up with HomeKit on my phone without even trying! Now I don’t currently have a HomeKit hub at home, so I can’t say whether there are any issues there. As far as interconnect goes, mine is connected to three basic First Alert wired models in other areas of the house (model 9120B), and when I tested the OneLink model, they all went off. You should have seen my cats! It’s nice that the app keeps a history of these tests; I wonder if it will remind me when it’s time to test again?

Just installed my first Sensor and the process went very smoothly. I have two more to do and will adjust the review if needed, but after having Neat Protects at my old house, these are pretty similar. Hopefully pairing the other two to this one goes just as well. Will update. Update: Got the other two installed. Third one I had to go through the process three times, but it worked. Tip: Be patient. It can time a little time for each step, so wait it out. I got impatient on the third one, which is why I think I had the issue of having to go through the process a few times. Update: Moving to 3 stars as my first attempt to view the status of the three sensors did not work when I was away from the house. This is the main function I wanted, as I am used to Nest Protects and this is easy with them. Got a message via the app of some Bluetooth issue, which doesn’t make sense if the sensors are on Wi-Fi. I want to be able to check the status or ensure I will get alerts when I am away from the house, otherwise there is no point to spending extra for these.

One thing I have learned with all of the HomeKit devices is if you want a smooth set up make sure the device you are using to set it up is connected to the 2.4 WiFi. It sometimes works using 5G to set up but 50/50 chance at best. Once set up you can go back to 5G to access. Set up two battery OneLink detectors in about three minutes each. Showed up immediately in Home App, so far so good. Hope I never have a reason to get a notice. From what I understand if you want to test to see if notification works used canned smoke. It doesn't trigger notification to the Home hub until it has been sounding for about a minute per some on line literature I found. Supposedly works that way for two reasons. First is to avoid false or burnt toast alarms. Second is because it is only battery powered it does not maintain a constant WiFi connection. Has to use Bluetooth to notify to activate WIFi first.

I’ve had three detectors installed in my house for close to a year now, and they’re fully integrated into HomeKit. We’ve recently had a detector start to report a fire in the house, which sets off all three alarms. There are several problems here. First, there is no fire, false alarm. Second, the announcement on the alarm says “Fire in hallway”. Problem is that there is no reference to “hallway” in either HomeKit or the Onelink app. No problem, I’ll just go to the app and look through the history to find out which detector is having the problem. Problem three: the history for all three detectors is blank. No alarm information at all. And when the alarms are sounding there are no alerts that pop up on the phone. I’m very frustrated with this produce and am looking to replace soon as I see three year old negative reviews. Since the issues haven’t been addressed in three years I don’t anticipate them being addressed anytime soon. I really recommend First Alert discontinue this product since they aren’t supporting it.

I really Really don’t know how this company is still around or not completely bankrupt from law suits. My devices have been replaced 4 times and most recently a 5th with their “updated models” for HomeKit. Needless to say both devices, BOTH wouldn’t activate until finally after 4 restores did I get them going, or at least I thought. Now between HomeKit and their own app they need set up, not reachable, pairing needed, you name it, their telling me it needs it. .........(just to throw this in,,,, I’m on the phone with their ‘support’ as I’m writing this, and not one, but 2 different agents couldn’t help me because they couldn’t distinguish what product I was talking about without giving them the model number. ... I was not removing them off the wall again..... apparently “ Onelink Smart Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm works with Apple HomeKit, wasn’t enough info for them to figure out what device I had, that one actually had the balls to start asking me to describe its size, shape, and color, for him!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS, so furious that can’t even finish the review.

After reaching out to customer service just yesterday before this update about my smoke detector alway showing a “Setup needed” button that always hangs when you try pressing it, I was told very promptly that it was a known issue and that they’re team was working on it. And now that the error message has gone away in this update, I’m very happy with OneLink. Also, they’re customer service so far is quick, responsive, and informative. Judging from the low ratings of this app, First Alert is certainly having their fair share of technical hurdles, but so far I’m satisfied with their responsiveness and efforts in trying to fix their app. Keep up the good work and thanks again!

App won’t let me adjust the temperature range for which I want to receive notifications. I change the settings and the app just forgets and doesn’t allow me to adjust it. So when I turn notifications on I’m getting notifications for the default range, not the range I attempted to program in. App also forgets the device it’s connected to. I have no issues with the HW. It interacts with Homekit and I get all the data I need through the Apple Home app. But this vendor app has issues. I contacted tech support. They acknowledged it was an issue and, at this point, it’s been about 4 months and no fix available.

Have 4 identical units setup in the house. Each had its own hiccups during the setup process. One of them had to get reset multiple times. The units, like other FirstAlert alarms are prone to false alarms. If you follow their support document online the cause of the false alarms can be anything. When the alarms go off, it’s so loud that one cannot distinguish where the issue is coming from. The App DOES NOT tell you right away there is a problem; in fact it says everything is fine. After a while, it may tell you... and offer to silence the alarm but in my experience that feature has always failed. When you take the units offline to clean, the app does not show you if the unit has power issues; it says everything is ok; even after pulling down on the screen to refresh. These things are expensive and yet unreliable.

App is clunky. Login is tricky. They need to add FaceID support for login. Also sharing access with others in your Home is impossible. You can “manage users” through the app but this is just your HomeKit users you have already shared with. This needs to be fixed. the notifications are not working either. I’m not receiving any and no one else I have shared my home with receive any alerts. That is the only reason I bought this product. I need alerts sent to my phone. I do not receive alerts from the onelink app or the Apple Home app. There is basically no control offered through the Home app at all. I am very disappointed in this product and app. If an update isn’t made within the next few weeks I will most likely return the alarm because it is essential not more useful than a standard fire alarm.

I have the wired HomeKit enabled detector which in itself has been poor quality, but relying on this app is a safety hazard. For the past month I had noticed the app saying the device is connected and no issues nor changes. However I finally realized myself that the device had not been powered nor connected and the app said everything was fine! You have to dive into settings and prompt an action for the app to reveal that the device isn’t connected. Worse yet, after stating the device is not connected in a pop up message, the app will not update the status and still says connected and “Hello, everything is OK”. With both the hardware disconnecting often, the app being a safety risk, and poor ratings from others, I will never buy or trust OneLink again.

I had to replace the detector after 4 years. It’s supposed to have a 10 year life. When I tried to install a replacement every attempt failed. The app is very unreliable in setting up the Bluetooth connection to the detector, adding the detector to the Apple HomeKit, and especially connecting to Wi-Fi. There’s no trouble shooting support in the app. If any step fails you have to start the whole process over from the first step. It’s particularly annoying that mounting the detector is included in the setup process, so you have to page through those steps every time you have to retry the setup. Come on, once it’s mounted your done with that. Do you really need to walk through that 20 times? I gave up on the setup after 2 hours effort. Now I’m looking for a better smoke detector.

Two glaring problems with this product/app: 1. Better integration with Siri. Let’s face it, HomeKit users are purchasing these because we want them within our smart home eco systems. As such, it floors me that I can not command Siri to either Test or Silence my detectors. At least open the app up to Shortcuts. 2. Dear God please fix the set up routine—“easy setup” my foot. Never have I ever had so much trouble adding a device to my home network. I lost count of how many times I had to reset the device due to it’s failure to connect. All I’m going to say is that I HOPE it’s a result of the app’s software vs. the detector’s hardware, as that would make me worry about getting a notification that my house was on fire while away.

I don’t want alexa integration, but if someone spoke the word “alexa” or even worse when having conversation without even saying “alexa”, first alert smoke alarm will tell you that alexa is not setup - I know that already, it is fine to tell me the first time but after that to disable this alert or to have a button to tell that I want to opt out of enabling alexa so it is not going to ask me again - I don’t want alexa integration because when I see that first alert will tell me about alexa integration not set up without even asking “alexa” I don’t like any conversation to be send to alexa without even asking alexa, privacy first please!

In April 2023, I placed my trust in the Onelink First Alert Detector. What I received were nights of sheer terror. At 4 am, the device let out a jarring false alarm. As if that wasn’t enough, it struck again at 4:31 am one month later. This device had the audacity to display an “end of life” alert in just 6 months, a far cry from the promised 5-year lifespan. On the HomeKit subreddit, I discovered a plethora of users with similar harrowing tales. To make matters worse, customer support casually mentioned the product’s quiet discontinuation, suggesting a laughably inferior non-smart replacement. This product is a complete betrayal, turning what should be nights of rest into dread-filled ordeals. Future buyers, heed this warning for your peace and safety.

Setting up the smoke / CO alarm through the app took several tries before it completed successfully. In particular, while discovering the device through Bluetooth and initially adding it to my HomeKit “home” worked on the first try it took several attempts before it would get past the “joining Wi-Fi” step. Once it did, everything seemed to work as expected for a few hours after which the Onelink device disappeared from view inside the Apple Home app even though it is still accessible through the Onelink app and the Onelink app can still see the state of my HomeKit data. Don’t waste your time or money on First Alert products if your goal is HomeKit integration.

The fresh start process is terrible sometimes takes multiple resets of each detector to add them. False alarms from days ago still show up in the app with no way to remove them. Sometimes my lighting selections do not apply to the detector in the whole system can be rather buggy. I should be able to see easily at a glance if all of my detectors have the latest firmware update and there should be a button to check for updates. I should also be able to rearrange the order of the detectors in the app. When are new features going to be added? And when are the existing features going to be further improved?

I have to test to see if it actually detects smoke but the whole set up process took close to a half an hour. And that’s after closing the app multiple times and getting a couple error messages. For a company who’s made smoke alarms for DECADES you’d think they would be on top of their game when it comes to developing a “smart smoke alarm” maybe hiring a tech team to develop it instead of using the same team who makes the standard alarms?

I don’t understand all the 1 star reviews. I used this app to set up a Onelink Safe & Sound. It was absurdly easy and quick. The app does a few things, which all work perfectly. After adding to HomeKit, I use that mostly, but the app is still used for a couple things like doing a test and turning the Alexa microphone on/off. I would suggest one thing: when turning off the Alexa microphone, it turns on a red light on the device, which is super annoying. I would prefer an option to have no light displayed, or at least options for some other color/brightness because red makes me think there is a problem, and it is too bright for my dark bedroom. I am very happy with this device and app so far.

Answering the following questions reveal major flaws in the app and devices (probably why it’s so difficult to support and has so many 1-star reviews): 1.) on the main app screen, why download the list of devices from “the cloud” on the main screen when homekit (which users already authorized) gives you access to this data locally (without a web request)? 2.) If the first alert smart smoke/co detector connects to WiFi, why is Bluetooth range required? I can’t change the brightness of the night light without Bluetooth connectivity, what?! 3.) when I “Reset Networking” on my iOS device, it requires I re-pair with my first alert devices? Why? (Re question #2) In general, it seems this app was built and conceived poorly as several other Homekit device makers who utilize WiFi in the implementation of their homekit devices don’t seem to have any of these issues (ConnectSense, Elgato Eve, iDevices, etc). Think CAREFULLY before you rely on these first alert devices for your homekit implementation!!!

Setup was smooth and straightforward but that's where it ends. Siri integration and homekit work as expected. Alexa responds, however, she doesn't know the status of the device where it is running. It claims there's no device that can answer the question, even though it is listed as a registered device on my account and the onelink skill is properly enabled. And, the options are incomplete, this device does not offer the option to change the wake word, which is a problem because the rest of my echo devices respond to a different wake work. They need to spend time improving the firmware on this product and the companion app.

The app crashes two out of every three times I launch it. When it does run, it reports trouble connecting with the smoke alarms. On the rare occasion that it does connect, it will stop responding for two minutes when you tap a button. When an alarm goes off the app won't silence it, even if you can get it to launch and you hold the button down like it says to. And all it will do in HomeKit is let you look up the serial number of each alarm. We have four of the alarms, and the app forgot which one is which so it just shows a list with "smoke detector" in it four times. No help whatsoever in trying to fix it.

I’ve had 3 of the detectors over the course of a year. I was being riddled with false alarms but me and my family being startled by false fire alarms in the middle of the night was the last straw! Not to mention, how embarrassing it is to explain to houseguests to ignore the ear-piercing sirens while I figure out a way to turn it off. You would think that while these alarms are going off you would get the notifications as this app is supposed to do. Out of 10 alarms, I probably received 3 notifications to my phone. By far, the worst product and most expensive paper weights I’ve ever bought!

Very annoying process using my iPhone to board two new Onelink Smoke/CO wired alarms to Cloud. For each device the Onelink App had to be deleted/installed and iPhone powered down after OneLink customer support 2nd tier advice. Once you upload the second alarm device you have to re-pair the first one! The Hardware installation to replace old wired alarms took 10 minutes each. Software pairing took several hours due to Onelink App software issues for IPhone. The devices do finally show up on the Onelink App & Apple HomeKit and I do not regret purchase. I urge First Alert to correct the setup glitch in their App software.

Product and app works BUT if you VALUE privacy and do NOT use Alexa (just Apple HomeKit only for privacy concerns) the hallway nightlight function doesn’t work. *** When you turn off the onelink microphone, the hallway nightlight is STUCK with a red light. *** You can’t use the other nightlight colors. Even though I don’t have Alexa installed, I would still PREFER to keep the microphone feature off. I simply don’t trust having Alexa on a product that could listen to our most private conversations.

Unsafe. Unusable. Garbage. All I can say is these don’t work. The app doesn’t work. HomeKit doesn’t work. The 9 alarms I have randomly go off now due to a software update. I cannot shut alarm off. No history or notification saying which one is triggering it. First alert is no help. They don’t apparently think it’s serious enough. They are only fire alarms that are meant for safety. This company sells a non functioning product, with a non functioning app, with no service or intention of ever making it work properly. Apple should not allow the app on the AppStore. It is unsafe.

Seriously. Take the packaging and the receipt back to the store and get your money back. If I didn’t throw out the box, I would have brought it back by now. I’ve tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software five times. I still can’t get it to cooperate over the Wi-Fi. I’ve tried resetting the alarm with the 5 taps. The most recent attempt resulted in connecting to the device but not being able to fully set it up. I’m not able to check the status of the alarm from my phone as a result, so it’s no more reassuring than a less expensive smoke alarm.

I have had two of these for several years. Well i should say two installed but at least 8 different replacements over the years so at least they have been good about that but to be frank the app integration has never worked very well. I mean when (or should i say if) i get them added to homekit they eventually lose connection. I run a test by holding the button down (in the app) and the app says they passed and has no clue the devices never even activated. I would not recommend these to even my worst enemy. Stay away!!!

I wasted an hour of my life trying to install this piece of garbage. As MANY reviewers have stated, it is nearly impossible to get this hunk of crap to connect through the app. I have a lot of smart home devices. I'm very experienced at setting them up. This is the worst. THE WORST. First Alert has had variations of this product on the market for years. YEARS! Why have the not perfected the set up yet?????? They should change their name from First Alert to Worst Alert. I'm sending this garbage back and buying a different brand.

So I had similar issues as others have. I bought two of these and both failed to connect repeatedly. I did end up figuring out a way that works every time. Ignore this app altogether for the initial setup. Go straight to Apple Home and just add it directly as a new accessory. Once it joins, then open up this app and you’ll see it listed but with “setup needed”. Click that and it will finish just fine.

The reviews are right. This software and ecosystem do not work reliably. Eg I am second time trying to add the device. Even after rebooting my phone it still fails ether to find the detector or will fail connecting to WiFi. Why do I have to do a factory reset just because my WiFi changed anyway? Only to figure this out after not getting a push when alarms went off. DO NOT BUY. After years this should be fixed/recalled etc. stick to the non smart models or get nest even though google takes all your data. At least it works.

I’ve had minimal issues with these detectors. I had to hire an electrician to install them and was able to connect with HomeKit on the second attempt. Love the ability to remotely check their status. Although I’m not sure if I’m able to remotely test them!

This app doesn’t work, it just keeps crashing. Doesn’t even recognize that I have already setup an account and says my username/email doesn’t exist as an account. Tried to setup a new one and it just crashes every time. The $120+ smoke detector doesn’t do anything more than a regular $6-10 one besides talk. It’s not going to give you remote alerts and do what it was advertised to do. Just as the title says, this whole product lineup is all of that. I will be seeking reimbursement / a full refund for my purchase and time wasted with this.

The alarm started going off for no reason after about a year being installed. No fire, no smoke, no CO. Did not properly alert me on my phone while it was happening. Could not silence it though the app, I could only silence it momentarily on the hardware. Ended up having to deactivate it, only to be woken up again the next night by the (now deactivated) device telling me it’s battery was low. Had to take the whole thing apart with a screwdriver at 2am to get it to stop.

All of the issues I experienced in the past seem to have been resolved with the latest big update. My Environment Monitors are working wonderfully and I am able to update settings without the previous issue of them not saving.

When it goes off it is slow to push an alert to my iPhone and equally slow to mute the alarm. The history feature is almost broken, it doesn’t tell me how far back it goes because I see past alerts are missing.

App update from 5/29 immediately crashes when attempting to connect to HomeKit home, which has been configured with this app and multiple OneLink devices for 2+ years without issues. Restart of phone, force closing app or even uninstall of app, reboot phone and reinstall does not resolve issues either. Please do more QA and testing before releasing such crap software. please also pay attention to your reviews and listen to your customers, before you lose what you have

This app is horrible. It took me two hours to setup two detectors I bought from Costco on a Black Friday sale. I hope that I’m not putting my loved ones lives at risk because if this app is any indication, these detectors will be very finicky and operate on a 5-minute delay. The CEO needs to pay attention to these reviews and invest more in app development because it is impacting top line sales. I was considering replacing four more detectors in my home, but now... forget it.

We have had multiple problems with many false alarms. The app is rarely updated and the alarms are crap. DO NOT buy these or use this app! We are going back to Nest Protect and getting a Starling hub to connect them to HomeKit. In eight years with Nest Protect we NEVER had any issues. A little over a year with FirstAlert and we have recently dealt with so many false alarms…including in the middle of the night! DONE with this horrible product.

Worked perfectly. Easy setup and install. I use HomeKit for everything in my home. Supper easy to install on my iOS device and easy Siri setup. I even called support on a Saturday during COVID lockdown and they were there for a quick question.

I was able to install these without a problem. However, connecting them to my network required at least 5 attempts on each detector. I’d get to the confirmation screen and it would error and I’d have to start all over. Perhaps the worst part, though, is that the alarms go off after I get out of the shower. The entire house is going off. If I open the app, the app says “Everything is okay” on every detector with no alert or means of silencing the alert. I bought these so I’d be informed if there were a CO leak or fire and I wasn’t home. So much for that, a total waste of money. And after each shower I have to run around the house and silence each alarm since they’re all connected.

These detectors and app are useless. The detectors have only ever gone off for false alarms. When there is a false alarm, they don’t send a push notification from the app. I have to open the app and manually reload it for it to recognize one of the detectors is going off. So that provides no value for alerting me of a problem if I were away from the house. Total garbage.

In the year of owning this product. The fire alarm has went off several times. Provoked by steam from the bathroom. But once only once have i been notified by the app that the alarm has engaged. And we have silenced the alarm by the app. But its slow to react. And never shows up in the history. I guess when buying these alarms. I dreamt of something better

You shouldn’t have to “fix issues” every time the app is restarted. I have deleted & re-added the units to the system multiple times & still have issues connecting sometimes. It just makes me wonder if they will really all work together when they’re really needed in a fire. Should I have to wonder about the safety of my family after installing top of the line units like these?

We recently purchased 11 Onelink wi fi smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. It was supposed be easy to set up with this app. The voice even tells you “a simple set up”. It has been anything other than simple. It has been the most frustrating and disappointing process. I would not recommend the app and frankly we’re wishing we had not spent $1300 for what is supposed to be the best. If we could give it zero stars we would.

Bought 5 one link smoke alarms, setup was boggy to at best, some had to try several times to get it connected. Kept on complaining about Bluetooth no in range even though I had my phone next to it. After several months, 1 lost battery power, 2 others went offline with no way to reconnect them. Well, this experience tells me to stay away from First Alert equipment, total junk...

I placed my homes safety in this company and wished I hadn’t. I have 2 units linked and they are in HomeKit. I had them go off a couple times now as a result of pizzas dripping cheese in the oven. Problem is, an alert never pops up from the app or HomeKit. Also in the history neither one shows they have ever gone off. Don’t ignore all these 1 star reviews. They don’t work as advertised.

It is an absolutely poor app ever, have tried tons of times, always having issue, for example, trouble of signing up, trouble of adding new device, trouble of searching device, trouble of verifying your email account, Wait! What? Tired of this product, totally regret to purchase it. I wish I could have seen all of these 1 star comment before considering purchase it

This is simply the worst app I’ve ever used. I cannot pair my new alarm to my existing setup. Do yourself a favor and get a Nest, life is too short for trash products like this. You guys clearly paid the cheapest developers you could find and can’t be bothered to QA either. For a life saving device. Honestly hope you go out of business….

Home says that a firmware upgrade is necessary but there is no way to do that. I called the telephone support. He was basically laughing through the process because there was no way it was going to work. He did say there was going to be an upgrade to their app in a couple of weeks (about a month ago). Makes me wonder if it works as a smoke detector at all.