Yale Smart Alarm Premium Kit review

What is in the box, and what the numbers mean

Yale's list: one hub, one live siren, one decoy siren, two motion detectors, one keypad, one keyfob, two door/window contacts, a fittings pack with batteries, an Ethernet cable, a sticker and a guide. That is nine devices in all, whatever the "10 pieces" in the listing title counts. The hub joins your router by Wi-Fi or cable, and Yale says its backup battery runs the system for 12 hours in a power cut.

Three figures do the work. "Four security areas" means a garage, annexe or the ground floor can be armed on its own while the rest stays live. "Up to 100 accessories" is the ceiling for extra contacts, detectors and sirens. The "1km range" is Yale's figure between hub and accessories; walls and cladding cut any wireless range, so treat it as a best case, but it is why this kit suits an outbuilding well away from the house. Yale gives no decibel rating for the live siren.

Living with it in a British home

The decoy siren is a dummy box matching the live one, so the house shows a bell box on two elevations for one sounder. The keypad and fob arm and part-arm on the spot; the app does the rest remotely, across several properties if needed. Yale describes the motion detectors as detecting intruders, not pets, but publishes no weight limit, so give a large dog a week of trial before trusting them.

In a power cut the backup battery keeps the system running for 12 hours, half the 24 hours Ring quotes for its base station. Phone alerts stop with your router unless you have 4G backup or a router battery. Yale's kit page states no guarantee period, so confirm it with the seller before buying.

The three plans, in plain terms

Yale's plan pages offer a one-month free trial that rolls into a paid subscription unless you cancel, so set a reminder. The Alarm Plan is £5 a month and adds one thing: cellular backup for one alarm, so the alarm stays connected when broadband drops, given mobile signal. The Secure Plan is £9 a month and adds Automated Call Alerts to up to three people, plus 30 days of cloud recording for Yale cameras.

The Secure Pro Plan is £29 a month and brings in Securitas: if an activation is not disarmed within 120 seconds, Securitas is notified, checks the alarm and any camera footage, calls 999 if it sees signs of a break-in, fire or a medical need, and then phones your contacts; a response officer comes only when you explicitly ask. Without any plan you still get app push notifications over your own broadband.

How it compares

Against the Ring Alarm Pack XL, Ring gives more in the box (six contacts, three motion detectors, an indoor camera and an outdoor siren), a 24-hour base battery and plans from £4.99 a month, but nothing like Yale's four areas or 1km reach. The cheaper Yale IA-320 Sync kit has a 200m range, a 40-accessory limit and no cellular route at any price. The Premium Kit is for a property that is really two or three buildings.

Insurance and the police

Under the National Police Chiefs' Council policy, forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland respond to remotely monitored alarms installed and monitored by NSI- or SSAIB-certified companies, each with a unique reference number. A self-fitted kit sits outside that route even on Secure Pro: Securitas can dial 999 when it sees signs of intrusion, but that is an ordinary emergency call, not the registered alarm response the policy describes. Tell your insurer exactly what you have, and never call it a monitored alarm unless you hold Secure Pro.

Our verdict

Buy it if you have a large or split property, want the garage or annexe armed separately, and are happy to run it self-monitored with 4G backup as an option. Look elsewhere if you have a flat or two-bedroom house, where the Ring Pack M or Yale's Sync kit does the job with less kit, or if you want an alarm the police will attend, which means an installer, a grade and a monitoring contract.

Does the Yale Smart Alarm Premium Kit work without a subscription?

Yes. Arming, part-arming and disarming from keypad, fob or app, and push notifications, all work with no plan. You give up cellular backup (the £5 a month Alarm Plan), automated calls (the £9 a month Secure Plan) and Securitas monitoring (the £29 a month Secure Pro Plan).

How long does the Yale Smart Alarm hub last in a power cut?

Yale says the hub's backup battery keeps the system running for 12 hours. The sirens continue locally; phone alerts only continue if your router still has power or you are on a plan with 4G backup.

Is the Yale Smart Alarm Premium Kit pet friendly?

Yale's kit page says the motion detectors detect intruders, not pets, but gives no weight limit. Treat that as a claim to try with your own animals, and lean on the door contacts in rooms a large dog uses.

Can the Yale Smart Alarm Premium Kit cover a garage or annexe?

That is its strongest case: a 1km quoted range, up to 100 accessories and four areas that arm independently, so an outbuilding stays armed while the house is in use.