Questions
Questions, answered plainly.
65 answers, written the way we would say them on WhatsApp. Search, or pick a topic.
65 questions
Cost and contracts
Is there really nothing to pay each month?
Yes. You pay once for the kit and the fitting. There are no subscriptions, no contracts and no cloud plans. The only running costs are the ones you already have: a little electricity and your broadband.
How do I get a price?
Send us a message on WhatsApp with what you have and what you want. Most homes can be priced from a short chat or a few photos, without a visit. You get a fixed price in writing before anything is fitted.
What moves the price?
Mostly the number of cameras, the size of the house, and whether the heating, the TV and voice join in. We tell you straight what is worth adding and what is not.
Is the battery backup included?
It is an optional add-on, around £100. It keeps the hub and your router running through a power cut. Some people want it, some do not; it is your choice.
Owning it
Who owns the system?
You do. The hub, every device and every login are yours. At the handover we give you every admin login and a record of what is fitted where.
What if you stop trading?
Your home keeps working. Everything runs on the hub in your house, not on our servers, because we do not have any. With the logins you hold, any competent installer can look after it.
Can you see my cameras?
No. Recordings stay on the hub in your house. We do not run a cloud that holds them, and nobody at our end can look in.
What guarantee do I get?
Twelve months on our workmanship, and the makers' own warranties on the devices.
Fitting
How long does fitting take?
Most homes take a day. We arrive, show ID, fit and join everything, put the app on every phone, and finish with a walkthrough and the handover.
Can I add things later?
Any time. Another camera, a sensor, a light or a speaker: the hub takes it in, and it appears in the app on every phone.
Will my existing devices work?
Often, yes. Smart bulbs, plugs, sensors and cameras on open standards usually join as they are. Send us a photo of what you have and we will tell you what joins.
I rent. Can I still have it?
Usually. Sensors can go on with removable mounts and the hub sits on a shelf. Anything drilled, such as outdoor cameras, needs your landlord's agreement first.
Where do you work?
We are designed and developed in the UK and we fit homes across the UK. Tell us where you are when you message us.
Day to day
Does it need the internet?
Not for the house. Without the internet the cameras keep recording, the alarm keeps watching, the heating keeps its plan and voice still answers. Alerts and messages to phones outside the house need a connection, and go the moment it returns.
What happens in a power cut?
Like anything electrical, it stops until the power returns, then the hub starts up again by itself. If you want it to keep going through a cut, add the battery backup.
Can I check the cameras when I am away?
Alerts with the picture and the clip reach your phone wherever you are. Live viewing from outside the home is not switched on as standard; ask us about it.
Is it hard to use?
No. The app looks the same on every phone, tablet and computer, and it is simple enough that kids make their own automations.
How do I get help?
Message us on WhatsApp. We reply 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.
Cameras
Do we need a cloud plan to keep recordings?
No. Every camera records to the hub in your house, around the clock if you like, on a drive of up to 1 TB. There is no cloud plan and nothing a month.
Can we keep the cameras we already have?
Most likely. Cameras with a standard video stream join the hub: Tapo, Reolink, Hikvision, Dahua, Amcrest and more. Cloud-only cameras, for example Ring or Blink, cannot stream to a hub in your house, so we fit cameras that can. Send us a photo on WhatsApp and we will tell you straight.
Will a cat or a fox set it off?
No. It tells people, cars and animals apart, so a cat on the fence is noted and nothing else happens. It can also learn familiar faces, read number plates and hear alarms and breaking glass.
How much footage does it keep?
You choose for each camera: around the clock or events only, and a Sharp or Light picture. Then set a limit, such as "use up to 500 GB". When it is full, the oldest footage goes first. The hub holds up to 1 TB.
Can we save a clip as evidence?
Yes. Open the event and download the clip. You can also delete a single event and keep everything else.
What happens if the internet goes down?
The cameras keep recording to the hub. Nothing it does needs a company's cloud; only the alerts you ask for go out.
Security and alerts
Is it a monitored alarm?
No, and we say so up front: there is no call centre in the middle. When it goes off, the sirens sound, the lights we wire in with you come on, every camera saves the moment, the family's phones are told in our app, and up to 12 people you choose get a message on their phone: the words, and the pictures and the video when you switch those on for them.
Who gets told when it goes off?
Everyone in the family, in our app on their phones. And up to 12 more people outside the house, such as a neighbour, your mum or your brother abroad. They get a message on their phone with the words, wherever they are, and the pictures, then the video, for anyone you switch them on for. They join with a link or a QR code.
Will we set it off just walking around?
Not in Home mode: only the doors and windows are watched, so you move around freely. Night watches downstairs as well and leaves upstairs to you. Away watches everything.
What if someone makes me switch it off?
Put in your duress PIN: everyone in the house can have one, a second PIN of their own. The alarm switches off and the screen looks exactly as it always does, while the hub quietly tells the family's phones and the people you chose. Or hold the SOS button for a second: a 10-second countdown runs with your people's numbers on screen, any PIN cancels it, and if nobody does, your people are told.
Does it still work if the internet goes down?
Yes. The alarm, the sirens, the sensors and the cameras all run on the hub in your house. Only the alerts to phones wait for the internet to come back.
And in a power cut?
Add the optional battery backup, around £100, and the hub and your router keep running through it. It is your choice, and you can add it later.
Automations and scenes
Can the kids really make their own?
Yes. Pick when, pick what happens and tap Save. It reads like a sentence, with big coloured buttons, so if they can read it, they can make it. Fairy lights at sunset makes a good first one.
What can start an automation?
A time, sunrise or sunset (with minutes before or after), motion, a door opening, a door left open for a few minutes, no movement for a while, a leak, smoke, the first person home, the last person leaving, or a camera seeing someone.
Can it check something first?
Yes, with an only-if: the time of day, the days of the week, whether the sun is up or down, not on bank holidays, whether someone is home or nobody is, or the alarm's mode. An automation can check the alarm, but it never sets it: you do that from the app or the panel by the door.
What is the difference between a scene and an automation?
A scene is a set of changes you start yourself, with one tap or one sentence: Cinema puts the TV on, the lights to 20%, the blinds down and the speaker up. An automation starts by itself when something happens, and it can start a scene too.
Do automations still work if the internet goes down?
Yes. They run on the hub in your house, so the lights, the heating, the blinds and your scenes carry on as normal.
Will you set them up for us?
Yes. Tell us your routine and we set up the scenes and automations with you when we fit. After that you can change them, or add new ones, whenever you like.
Voice, Ask and lists
Can I really call it anything?
Yes. You choose the name it answers to: Chris, Buddy, Nana, even one of the kids' names. No "Alexa", no "Hey Google", no "Hey Siri".
Does what we say go to a company's cloud?
No. The assistant, the listening and the voice all run on the hub in your house, so what you say stays home.
Which screen answers?
The nearest one. Say its name in the kitchen and the kitchen screen answers.
Can I type instead of talking?
Yes. Ask by voice or by typing, in your own words, on every phone, tablet and computer in the house.
How do the shopping lists work?
Shopping and to-do lists live on every phone in the house. Add things by voice ("add milk to the shopping list"), or add a recipe's ingredients in one go.
Heating, energy and air
Do we need new thermostats?
Room by room works where a thermostat is fitted in that room. Send us a photo of your heating controls and radiators on WhatsApp and we will tell you straight what joins and what is worth adding.
Does the heating still work if the internet goes down?
Yes. The plan runs on the hub in your house, not in anyone's cloud, so the heating keeps its plan with the internet down. Phones in the house still see and change it.
Does it learn our routine or follow the forecast?
No, and we would rather say so. It follows the plan you set and the presets you tap. Change the plan any time, from any phone, tablet or computer in the house.
Do we need an energy monitor?
For the energy figures, yes. With an energy monitor fitted you see what the house uses now, today's cost and the last seven days. We can fit one on the day.
What does the air monitor show?
The CO₂ in the room, in green, amber or red: fresh under 800 ppm, getting stuffy up to 1,200, and over that a nudge to open a window. Every reading is kept, so you can look back over the day or the week.
Can we turn the heating off for the summer?
Yes, with one switch. It turns the heating off and keeps the plan for the autumn, so nothing needs setting up again.
TV and music
Which TVs and speakers does it work with?
Sony, LG, Samsung, Google TV and Android TV, Sonos and more, with over 2,000 integrations behind the hub. Already have some? Send us a photo on WhatsApp and we will tell you straight what joins.
Is it a different app for each brand?
No. One remote in our app covers every TV, soundbar and speaker in the house: power, inputs, play, pause, skip and volume, on every phone, tablet and computer.
How does the volume limit work?
Every TV and speaker stops at 45 from the app and by voice. Going past 45 asks for the household PIN, then gives you the volume you asked for. The alarm's sirens never go through the limit.
Does the limit stop the TV's own remote?
No. The maker's remote talks straight to the TV, so it is outside the app. The limit covers everything done through our app and by voice, which is where the kids go.
Will it play our own music service?
Yes. Radio stations, podcasts and your music services play by asking: say "Play Queen in the kitchen" or pick a station in the app. Announcements such as "Dinner's ready" play on the speakers too.
Does it work when the internet is down?
The remote, the volume limit and announcements run on the hub in your house, so they keep working. Internet radio and music services need the internet, as they do anywhere.
Devices and brands
What cannot join?
Cloud-only gadgets. A device that only talks to its maker's cloud, for example Ring and Blink cameras, cannot be seen by a hub in your house. We tell you straight, and we fit a camera or a doorbell that records at home instead.
Is 2,000+ integrations a real number?
Yes. The hub's software has more than 2,000 integrations for devices and services. The names on this page are the ones most homes ask about; many more join. Ask us about yours.
Do I need an account with every brand?
Day to day, no. You open one app, on every phone, tablet and computer in the house. A few devices need their maker's app once, at setup; we do that on the day and hand every login over to you.
Can I mix brands in one room?
Yes. A room in the app shows everything in it, whoever made it: a Sony TV, a Sonos speaker, Philips Hue lamps, a Bosch thermostat. One scene or one sentence moves them together.
How it works
Do you need to visit before you can give a price?
For most homes, no. A short chat on WhatsApp or a few photos is enough for us to say what joins, what is worth adding and what it costs, and you get a fixed price in writing before anything is fitted. If a visit would help, we say so.
What happens on the fitting day?
We arrive and show ID, agree the spots with you, then fit, wire and join every device: the hub, the cameras, the sensors and the siren, and the heating where it joins. The app goes on every phone, your PINs are set, and the day ends with a walkthrough and the handover. Most homes take a day.
What comes with the handover?
The app on every phone, tablet and computer in the house, your PINs, a walkthrough of what does what, every login written down and handed to you, and a record of what is fitted where. From that moment the system is yours.
Is there anything to buy before you come?
No. The fixed price covers the kit, the fitting and the handover, so we bring everything. If you already own cameras or smart devices, tell us: many join as they are, and we say which before you spend a penny.
How much drilling and mess is there?
Door and window sensors stick on and the hub sits on a shelf beside your router, so most of the day is tidy. Outdoor cameras need power, so there is usually a cable to run and a small hole to drill, and we agree every spot with you before the day.
What if something is not right after you have gone?
Message us on WhatsApp. We reply 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, and the work carries a 12-month workmanship guarantee. Adding something later works the same way: a message, a fixed price in writing, then a date.
The basics
Can I keep the cameras and devices I already have?
Often, yes. Most cameras with a standard video stream join (Tapo, Reolink, Hikvision, Dahua, Amcrest and more), and so do Zigbee, Matter, Thread and Wi‑Fi devices. Cloud-only cameras, for example Ring or Blink, can't stream locally, so we fit cameras that can. Send us a photo and we'll tell you straight.
Who is told if the alarm goes off?
Every phone in the family, in our app, with the picture. And up to 12 more people you choose get a message on their phone with the pictures, then the video. They join with a link or a QR code.
Didn't find it? Ask us straight.
A real person answers on WhatsApp, in plain words. No pressure, no sales script.
We usually reply within two hours, 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.