At a glance
Pros
- Detects both smoke and carbon monoxide
- Effective RF interlink technology
- Attractively priced
Cons
- Cannot connect to the internet
- Cannot be integrated with a smart home system
- Physically larger than X-Sense’s otherwise similar smoke detector
Our Verdict
At less than $50 per unit, X-Sense serves up effective smoke and CO monitoring, with the option to interconnect up to 24 of them to protect the largest homes.
If don’t want to spend big bucks on a houseful of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that integrate with your smart home system and send alerts to your smartphone, interconnected detectors like the X-Sense XP01-W reviewed here are the next best thing. They connect to each on a proprietary local network, so if one sounds off, they all sound off, warning everyone in the house.
The XP01-W isn’t as small as the X-Sense’s Mini smoke detector we reviewed in late 2020—these discs are about 5.5 inches in diameter—but they are surprisingly attractive and you can likewise deploy up to two dozen of them on the same mesh network. Perhaps more importantly, they add carbon monoxide detection to the mix, a must-have safety feature for any dwelling with fuel-burning appliances, a fireplace, or an attached garage.
The XP01-W is available in a one-pack ($46), three-pack ($126), or six-pack ($240), and each comes with a sealed lithium battery that cannot be replaced. (Once the battery dies, after a promised 10 years, the unit must be retired and replaced entirely.) Installing the detector on its mounting bracket activates it automatically, and units bought in a multi-pack come pre-paired with one another. If you add additional units later, a series of presses on the large, central “silence/test” button must be undertaken to add them to the RF network. (The manual explains the process well.)
This review is part of TechHive’s coverage of the best smoke detectors, where you’ll find reviews of the competition’s offerings, plus a buyer’s guide to the features you should consider when shopping for this type of product.
They don’t connect to the internet, but you can link up to 24 X-Sense XP01-W wireless smoke and carbon monoxide detectors so when one sounds off, they all sound off.
X-Sense
X-Sense promises a maximum range of more than 820 feet in open air, but that’s naturally unrealistic in a home setting, so you might need to experiment with placement to ensure the interconnect system works properly. (Testing a single alarm and the interconnect system are equally simple.) In my home, I was able to get two units to communicate with one another even at opposite corners of my (somewhat sprawling) house.
I had no trouble getting the XP01-W to respond to a live smoke test, with all interconnected units quickly jumping into action when a single detector was triggered. The alarms are rated at 85 decibels and felt quite loud: I was able to hear a single detector’s piercing signal going off in my living room from the master bedroom, despite being on a different floor and well more than 100 feet away. With three or more units erupting around the house, any smoke or CO alerts should be all-the-more obvious.
The $46 MSRP is a bit more than you’ll pay for an off-the-rack, non-interconnected detector, but the attractive design and interconnect features should more than make up for the price difference. You won’t get the same level of protection as you’ll get from a Wi-Fi connected “smart” detector, but for tighter budgets, this is just about the strongest (and best-looking) protection we’ve found.
Christopher Null is a veteran technology and business journalist. He contributes regularly to TechHive, PCWorld, and Wired, and operates the websites Drinkhacker and Film Racket.
