All signs are pointing to an imminent launch of ADT’s new Smart Home Security System, a DIY security system born of a collaboration between Google and ADT. This could be a better home security option for those of us who loved and lost the excellent but expensive Google Nest Secure system, which Google is sunsetting for good on April 8th, 2024.
As The Verge reported in October 2023, hidden support pages on ADT’s website indicated the company — which Google invested $450 million into in 2020 — was getting ready to launch a new DIY security system called ADT Smart Home Security.
From the leaks, it appeared that the new product had better features and a nicer industrial design than the ADT Self Setup option Google was offering its Nest Secure customers as a suitable replacement for the system.
However, shortly after the article was published, the pages on ADT’s site disappeared, and we’ve heard nothing official from ADT about the new system since.
A screenshot of the ADT YouTube video that has since been made private. Screenshot by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
This week, the company posted a short setup video to its YouTube page explaining how to set up your new ADT Base, which is “the heart of the ADT Smart Home Security system,” according to the video.
A Verge reader tipped us to the video and also said an ADT rep told him it would be available to buy in February. We’ve contacted ADT for confirmation but had not heard back by the time of publication. However, the YouTube video has since been made private.
The video didn’t provide any more details about the new system, but it did contain images of all the products we reported on, including the backlit keypad on the base station and images of the door and window sensor that look a lot like the excellent Nest Detect sensors.
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Screenshots from the YouTube video posted by ADT showing how to install and setup the new ADT Base for its Smart Security System. Screenshots by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
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Screenshots from the YouTube video posted by ADT showing how to install and setup the new ADT Base for its Smart Security System. Screenshots by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
The new system includes a central base station, door and window sensors and motion sensors that appear to be nicer than the more basic hardware for which ADT is known. That’s alongside devices such as leak and smoke detectors.
The leaked pages indicated the system could be self or professionally monitored and would work with Z-Wave products to round out the smart home offerings. Products could include lights, locks, and thermostats, and the system could integrate with Google Nest cameras, doorbells, thermostats, Wi-Fi products, smart speakers, and smart displays.
ADT is known for its professional installation and monitoring services. In early 2020, it launched a DIY smart home security solution with ADT Blue but, following the investment from Google, quietly shut the service down and announced that Google Nest products would become the cornerstone of its smart home offerings.
Today, ADT offers Google Nest products with all its security solutions, including ADT’s second attempt at the DIY space — ADT Self Setup. This was the option Google offered to its Google Nest Secure customers, but it’s a more basic system that lacks the innovative features the Nest Secure platform offered. And according to several Reddit posts, it doesn’t integrate as well with Google’s products, leaving Google Nest users searching for better alternatives.
The ADT offer for Google Nest Secure customers goes through May 7th, 2024. So, if you’ve been hanging on to your voucher, it might be worth waiting a few more weeks to see if this new system materializes, if it’s any good, and if ADT will offer it to former Nest Secure users.
