Best smart smoke detectors in 2024

The best smart smoke detectors go beyond sounding an alarm inside your home: They instantly send an alert to your smartphone so you can call emergency services. This keeps you up to date with what’s happening at home even when you’re away from home. This is one of the best smart home devices you can invest in, as the extra warning time can mean the difference between minor damage and a total loss in an emergency.

Some smart smoke detectors can even be linked to home security systems. This can be connected to smart lights, alarms and displays to announce an emergency in each room. Unlike a standard smoke detector, you can temporarily silence the alarm from your smartphone, so there’s no need to desperately vent the air around the detector after accidentally setting it off while cooking.

There are relatively few smart smoke detectors on the market, but we’ve tested the options available and even suggested a way to use a smart speaker, so you don’t have to replace every smoke detector you currently have.

There isn’t much to choose from when it comes to smart smoke detectors. Our favorite for a few years in a row is Nest Protect. It is the most feature-rich alarm, sounding a loud siren and telling you where the problem is. If you have one installed near your kitchen, it will also send a warning that it’s about to sound, so you can silence it if all you’re doing is cooking some steaks. We also like that it performs a self-test every month and can be linked with other Nest Protects. It also has a 10-year battery. However, it doesn’t work with the Google Home app, so you can’t integrate it with any other smart home routines.

If you already have several non-smart smoke detectors, one option is to use Alexa Emergency Assist ($5.99/month, $59/year) with one of the best Alexa speakers. When enabled, your Alexa smart speakers will listen for smoke and CO2 alarms and send an alert to your smartphone if they hear a siren, as well as connect you to an urgent response agent.

Alternatively, if you have a Nest Aware subscription (starting at $6/month), you can set your Google Home speakers to listen for alarms.

Apple’s $299 HomePod (2nd generation) as well as the HomePod Mini ($99) can also listen for smoke and CO2 alarms, and send an alert to your phone. Unlike Alexa and Google Home, using this feature does not require a subscription.

The best smart smoke detectors you can buy today

Better overall

The Nest smoke alarm detects both smoke and carbon monoxide. If it detects any of these dangers, it will not only sound an alarm, but it will change the color of its bottom LED ring to give you a visual cue. The app notification will provide more context, such as which room the alert is coming from and the nature of the alert.

Nest Protect comes in wired and battery-powered versions. If you have more than one in your home and one goes off, the others will too, alerting you to the location of the fire.

Nest Protect used to work with a wider range of smart home devices. However, much of that functionality has been lost; Currently, the device doesn’t even work with the Google Home app, which is a shame. However, you can use it with IFTTT.

Read our full Nest Protect Review.

The best for Alexa

The Amazon Echo Dot doesn’t have a built-in smoke detector, but if you subscribe to Alexa Emergency Assist ($59/year), it can listen for smoke and CO2 detectors (as well as broken glass) and alert you on your smartphone. if you hear something. This way, you can keep your older smoke detectors, but still receive a notification on your phone if you are away and something is wrong.

The Echo Dot comes in several versions: the Echo Dot (5th generation) for $49, the Echo Dot with clock (5th generation) for $59, and the 3rd generation Echo Dot ($29).

Read our full Amazon Echo Dot Review.

Best for HomeKit

Like the Amazon Echo Dot, the Apple HomePod mini isn’t a smart smoke detector in its own right, but it can listen to the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm and then alert you through the HomeKit app on your phone. , tablet or Apple Watch. Even better: If you have a security camera in HomeKit, the notification will also show an image of that camera, making it easy to see if there’s a real emergency or if it’s just a false alarm.

Aside from these capabilities, the HomePod mini is a great little smart speaker in its own right, offering excellent audio for its size and improving on the Amazon Echo. It also has a temperature and humidity sensor, can be paired with another HomePod mini for stereo sound, and comes in a variety of colors.

The Apple HomePod 2 also has this capability, so Apple’s premium smart speaker is worth a look if you’re looking for better quality audio and don’t mind its higher starting price.

Read our full Apple HomePod mini review.

Better with Alexa built-in

Like Nest Protect, OneLink Safe & Sound detects smoke and carbon monoxide, sends an alert to your smartphone, and tells you the type and location of the fire or its condition. But for those times when it doesn’t warn you about a fire, you can use it for many other things. With Amazon’s Alexa (and a very competent 10-watt speaker), Safe & Sound can play music, listen to audiobooks, and access the thousands of Alexa skills (it’s also compatible with Apple’s HomeKit, as well as AirPlay).

However, Safe & Sound requires a wired connection and we found that the placement of these connections does not make it most conducive to using the full capabilities of Alexa.

Read our full OneLink Sound and Security Review.

Best under $100

The Onelink 2nd Generation Smart Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm comes in both battery-powered and hardwired models. Like Nest Protect, Onelink will not only sound an alarm, but also specify the affected room and the type of alert: smoke or carbon monoxide. Also like Nest Protect, if you have more than one Onelink alarm, you can interconnect them so that if one rings, they all do.

An LED sounds in the center of the alarm and changes color depending on the alarm status. Green and blue indicate that the alarm is starting or in pairing mode. Yellow means there is a malfunction or low battery, while red means there is a fire or smoke condition.

The Onelink alarm uses photoelectric technology, which is generally better at detecting smoldering fires than alarms that use ionization technology. However, the latter type is better for detecting fast-burning fires.

Onelink can connect to HomeKit and Alexa (but not Google Assistant), so you can ask Siri and Amazon’s voice assistant about the status of the smoke detector, but not much else. Conversely, if Nest Protect detects fire or carbon monoxide, you can have it automatically turn on a security camera, open Lutron blinds, turn on Philips Hue lights, turn off the heat, and more.

In theory, setup should be easy—just scan a HomeKit code in the Onelink app—but it took a few tries to get it working. The Onelink smoke and carbon monoxide alarm is good on its own, but the Nest Protect does more for the same price.

How to choose the best smart smoke detector

Fire and smoke detection sensors.

All smoke detectors use one of two types of sensors to detect fires. Ionization-type sensors are better at detecting fast-burning fires, while photoelectric sensors are generally better at alerting you to smoldering or smoldering fires. You should have both types of alarms in your home. Smoke alarms, like Nest Protect, are designed to detect both types of fires.

Detection of carbon monoxide and other gases

Even if there is no fire in your home, carbon monoxide can suffocate you. A good detector should also protect you against this.

Hardwired vs. battery powered

If your home has wired alarms, they will all be interconnected, so if one goes off, they will all go off. Wired alarms also receive power from your home and only use batteries as backup. Stand-alone detectors run solely on batteries, so they may need replacing more frequently, and they can’t send signals to each other in the event of an emergency (Nest and OneLink alarms are an exception to this). However, it is much easier to mount freestanding smoke detectors where you need them.

How we test the best smart smoke detectors

To determine which smart smoke detector is best, we first installed it in our home, to see how easy it is to get it up and running. We then evaluate your app and user interface, as they should be intuitive even for non-tech savvy owners. If the device supports Alexa or Google Assistant, we also take that into account in our review.

Where applicable, we also take into account the type of smoke and carbon monoxide detection built into the device. And, whenever possible, we use a simulated smoke spray to ensure it really works.

For more details on our testing methodology and rating system, please visit our how we test page for more information.

Smoke Detector FAQs

What are the types of smoke detectors?

Most smoke detectors fall into one of two types:

Ionization-type sensors are better at detecting fast-burning fires, while photoelectric sensors are generally better at alerting you to smoldering or smoldering fires. You should have both types of alarms in your home. Smoke alarms, like Nest Protect, are designed to detect both types of fires.

Where should I place a smoke detector?

You should have at least one smoke detector on each level of your home, and inside and outside each sleeping area. Smoke detectors should be mounted high on a wall or ceiling.

How often should you replace your smoke detectors?

A smoke detector should be replaced every 10 years. according to the US Fire Administration.. This is because the sensors within the alarm deteriorate and lose their effectiveness over time. However, you will most likely have to replace the smoke detector battery more than once during its life.

How often should you test your smoke detectors?

In general, you should test your smoke detectors every month to make sure they continue to work. You can try most of them by pressing the center button; If you hear it ringing, then you know it’s working. Most smoke alarms will beep intermittently when the battery is getting low.

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