Best Home Security Companies: Xfinity vs Abode vs Link Interactive
Today we will be comparing three of the top home security providers in Xfinity Home Security, Abode, and Link Interactive. So let’s dive right in and see how they stack up! We’ll go over equipment, monitoring plans, and more!
We understand that shopping for a home security system can be difficult due to the amount of information that must be sorted through. We've broken down some of the top security companies' products and services to make the process easier for you. Today, we'll look at and compare the services provided by Xfinity Home Security, Abode, and Link Interactive.
Xfinity Control Panel
Xfinity is widely known as a provider of cable, phone, and internet services. Just like many other cable companies, Xfinity also offers a security system to their customers called Xfinity Home. Xfinity has a offers a full colored touchscreen control panel that is packed full of features. It has a very thin designed which means it can be placed pretty much anywhere. The panel works by connecting wirelessly to your home’s WIFI network. If your WIFI is down the Xfinity Home touchscreen control panel has a cellular chip as a backup so it will still continue to work even if your internet is down. It is powered through an AC power source so you want to make sure you have one nearby. If your power does go off, the touchscreen has a backup battery. The touchscreen displays the current time and weather in your specific area. You can also arm and disarm your system, add sensors, and view video right from the touchscreen. Xfinity Home control panel is pretty expandable as well, and you can use other branded devices with it.
To see an alternative DIY (do-it-yourself) option, check out our home security system at Link Interactive >>
Abode Control Panel
Abode is a newer name in the security world, but they have been rapidly to expanding their security product line, and they now offer two different control panels for you to choose from. Today we will only be focusing on their more premium panel which is the Abode iota. The Abode iota has really nice design, it looks a lot like a smaller version of computer tower. It works by connecting directly to home’s WIFI network, but you do have the option to upgrade it to include a cellular chip. The Abode iota is powered by an AC power source, and it has a backup battery that will last up to 5-hours. All of the features of the Abode iota are controlled through its keypad including arming and disarming your system, and it has a push-button design. The Abode iota has 1080P camera that is built right into it. The Abode iota’s built-in camera includes motion sensors that will trigger it to start to record. If your Abode system or any connected devices are triggered, the Abode iota will sound its 93-decibel internal siren. It also includes a 2-way audio feature that allows you to directly communicate with whomever is around your Abode iota. The Abode iota comes with Crash and Smash protection which means if your Abode iota is damaged it will still transmit a signal. The Abode iota works with a Z-Wave device which means you will be able to use smart home devices with it like smart thermostats. You can actually connect up to 160 devices to your Abode iota making super expandable.
See our cutting-edge control panel by Qolsys >>
Link Interactive Control Panel
Link Interactive has a couple control panels for you to choose from. Link’s best selling control panel is the Qolsys IQ Panel 2 control panel. This control panel has the most features, and has a sleek thin design that is sure to look good inside any home. It is a wireless and cellular system, but you can connect to your home’s WIFI so that you have double the connection. It is powered by an AC power source, and it includes a backup-battery. You can control your system and any connected devices right from the IQ Panel 2’s 7-inch full colored touchscreen. The touchscreen also displays your system’s status, time, and local temperature. It has a 5 MP front facing camera that will trigger to take a snap shot when your system is armed or disarmed. The IQ Panel 2 includes Bluetooth arming and disarming which is feature that will automatically arm and disarm your system when you leave or return home. One really standout feature for the IQ Panel 2 is that it has a built-in glass break detector that will listen for the sound of breaking glass. This panel also includes an internal siren that will sound if your system or any connected devices are triggered. The IQ Panel 2 includes a Z-Wave protocol that allows you to use a variety of other branded smart home automation devices with it like smart locks, making it super expandable.
See our cutting-edge control panel by Qolsys >>
Xfinity Equipment
Xfinity Home offers every sensor you could need to keep your family and home totally protected. The first type of sensors they offer are door/window sensors. Their door/window sensors are wireless and battery-operated. You will be instantly notified whenever these sensors have been triggered. Xfinity Home also offers motion sensors. Their motion sensors are wireless and battery-operated. Xfinity Home offers a wireless and battery-operated keypad as another way for you to arm and disarm your system. The Xfinity Home keypad has a push button design that allows you to easily arm and disarm your system with a push of a button. Xfinity Home offers a smoke detector as well. Their smoke detector is wireless and battery-operated with a battery life up to 5 years. When smoke has been detected the Xfinity Home smoke detector it will make an audible alert, and you will also be sent an instant notification that this event has taken place. All of the basic security equipment that is mentioned above is installed via a Xfinity professional installer so you do not have to worry about setting up the equipment yourself.
Recommended: See all of our Alarm.com powered video monitoring options at Link Interactive >>
Home Automation
Xfinity has a lot of great add-on equipment that allows you to really expand your system. They have some great home automation equipment that can help cut down on your home’s energy costs per month. Xfinity Home offers Zen Thermostats. The Zen Thermostat has a LED touch display and works for the majority of HVAC heating and cooling systems. The Zen Thermostat works by connecting wirelessly to your home’s WIFI network, and it is powered by it being directly wired to your home’s power source. The Zen Thermostat allows you to set custom timers for when your heating and cooling system comes on and goes off which can save you money on your home’s energy bill. Xfinity Home also offers a smart outlet. Their smart outlet plugs directly into an AC power source, and works with a variety of small appliances. You can set timers for when the appliances connected to the smart outlet come on and go off. There are also a wide variety of other branded smart home devices that will work with the Xfinity Home system such as Phillips and Yale. You can find a list of compatible devices on Xfinity’s website.
Video Monitoring
When it comes to video surveillance equipment Xfinity Home offers their indoor/outdoor camera. Their indoor/outdoor camera can be used for providing video coverage for the areas that are on the outside or the inside of your home. It is a wireless camera that works by connecting directly to your home’s WIFI network, and it is powered by an AC power source. Xfinity Home’s indoor/outdoor camera can capture HD video clips, and it comes with night vison technology that allows you to capture images when there is little to no light around.
Abode Equipment
The Abode iota is super expandable so Abode wanted to make sure they offered all the basic equipment you could need. They have environmental safety devices and intrusion devices, and all devices offered for the Abode iota are wireless and battery-operated. To protect the doors and windows of your home, Abode offers several different models of door/window sensors. They offer standard, mini, slim, and recessed door/window sensors that are easy to place. They offer two different models of glass break sensors which are an acoustic and vibration glass break sensor which are used to listen and feel the sounds and vibrations from breaking glass. They have two different types of motion sensors as well. Abode offers a standard motion sensor that will detect motion in an area that it is placed, and a wide-angle motion cam that will take snaps shots when motion is detected in the place it is located. They also offer an outdoor external siren and an indoor external siren that is super loud. For quick and easy way to arm your system, Abode offers keypads and keychain remotes. Their keypads have a push-button design with an illuminated keypad. This keypad has a rechargeable battery that last up to 6-months so you don’t have to worry about constantly recharging it. Their key fob has a push-button design that allows you to quickly arm and disarm your system with the push of button. Abode also offers separate push-button panic buttons that will let your central monitoring station know that emergencies services know help is needed. To protect your home from environmental dangers, Abode offers a smoke and water leak sensor. These sensors will look for rises in smoke and water. If these are detected they will make a loud audible alert while triggering your Abode system. All the equipment offered by Abode is DIY (do it yourself) which means you will need to setup all the equipment yourself, but they include a setup guide making installation a breeze.
Additional Equipment
The Abode iota is super expandable, and that is due to its built in Z-Wave protocol. Abode wanted to make sure you could purchase a lot of great home automation and video surveillance equipment directly through them, and they have a nice variety. You can use other branded home automation devices that are offered by other companies that are not offered on the Abode website. Abode made some really cool addon sensors that we haven’t really seen with other security companies. Abode offers a Multi Sensor which a wireless and battery-operated sensor that will detect light, motion, and humidity changes. Abode also offers a system status sensor that plugs directly into an AC outlet. This sensor has an LED indicator light that will always show the same light color as your system which lets you know your system’s status. Abode doesn’t directly offer any other home automation devices for you choose from, but you can use smart locks, smart thermostats, smart bulbs, etc. with your Abode iota. Brands like Yale Smart Locks, Phillips Bulbs, and other brands home automation equipment will work with your Abode iota.
Video Monitoring
Abode does offer a nice selection of video cameras you can use with your Abode iota. Abode offers their Abode Cam and Outdoor Smart Cam. The Abode Cam is an indoor camera that is powered by an AC power source, and it works by directly connecting wirelessly to your home’s WIFI network. It can capture video clips in 1080p HD, and it includes 2-way audio, motion sensors, and night vision. The Abode Outdoor Smart Cam is a compacted video surveillance camera that can work as a doorbell camera as well as a regular outdoor camera. You can power the Abode Outdoor Smart Cam two ways; through your existing doorbell wiring or through an AC power source. It works by connecting to your homes WIFI network, and it can capture video in 1080P in a 152-degree wide field of view. It has 2-way audio, night vision, and even facial recognition technology.
Recommended: See all of our Alarm.com powered video monitoring options at Link Interactive >>
Link Interactive Equipment
Link Interactive wanted to make sure you could really expand your Link Interactive security system to give your home total coverage which is reflected in the selection of basic equipment. All the basic equipment we will be going over is wireless and battery-operated. Link Interactive offers a variety of intrusion sensors. Link offers door/window, gate, tilt, glass break, motion, and image sensors. The gate sensor is unique in that it is a door/window sensor but for the gates/doors of the outside of your home. The image sensor is another unique sensor due to it being able to take snap shots when motion is detected in an area it is placed. Tilt sensors are used for the garage doors of home, and they will alert you to when your garage door has been opened or shut. Link Interactive offers a secondary full colored touchscreen remote. You can control all of the basic functions for your IQ Panel 2 through this keypad. Link interactive offers a panic button that will immediately trigger your system if the button is pushed. To protect your home from the elements, Link Interactive offers a temperature/smoke sensor and a CO sensor. Their temperature/smoke sensor will detect for smoke and detect rises and drops in temperature while their CO detector will monitor for dangerous rises in CO gas. If these are detected these sensors will make an audible alert while triggering your Link Interactive security system. All equipment offered by Link Interactive is DIY, but a step-by-step setup guide for a fast and easy installation is included.
Recommended: An alternative DIY (do-it-yourself) option called Link Interactive >>
Home Automation
Link Interactive has a ton of home automation and video surveillance equipment you can use with the Qolsys IQ Panel 2. Today we will only be going over some of these items. If you are looking for a more complete list you can visit Link Interactive’s website at https://www.linkinteractive. Link Interactive offers a few different smart locks that you can buy directly from them. The smart locks offered by them have a push-button keypad that allows for quick one touch arming. You can create custom user codes along with remotely control the smart locks offered by Link Interactive through their smart phone app. Links offers smart lights and modules in where custom timers can be set for when they come on an off. These devices are great at cutting down on your home’s energy consumption down, and they can also be remotely controlled through the Link Interactive App. To remotely control the garage doors of your home, Link Interactive offers a garage door controller. You will also receive push notification anytime your garage doors have been opened or shut. To make your home a little greener you can add a smart thermostat from Link Interactive to your system. The smart thermostat offered by them works for the majority of HVAC heating and cooling systems. Custom timers along with remote control of this thermostat is just some of its features.
Monitoring/Cameras
Link Interactive also offers a huge selection of indoor, outdoor, and video doorbell cams. The basic features for all the cameras include HD video resolution, motion sensor, 2-way audio, and advanced night vision. Due to the IQ Panel 2 having a Z-Wave protocol you can also use other home automation equipment not listed or offered by Link Interactive with your Link Interactive security system.
Recommended: See all of our Alarm.com powered video monitoring options at Link Interactive >>
Xfinity vs Abode vs Link App
All three companies offer professional, self, and video monitoring services. For self-monitoring, the apps are free to download and work for Apple and Android devices. Their apps will allow you to remotely control your system and all connected equipment while you’re on the go. You will also receive push-notifications whenever your system is triggered. You can also view and stream video through their apps. Professional monitoring services work the same. You will have a professional monitoring station watching over your home 24/7.
Recommended: For the best way to control your safety, look at our security system here at Link Interactive. Our system comes complete with Crash and Smash protection, and all the bells and whistles of a modern day home security system!
Xfinity vs Abode vs Link Interactive
The winner: Link Interactive. A Link Interactive system is one of the few Alarm.com powered security systems on the market (the gold standard in home security), that not only fits your budget, but blows every other security system on the market out of the water in terms of features and reliability. Don’t believe us? Try a Link system for yourself, hassle-free and with no obligations for 30 days. Click here to see Link Interactive’s offer >>
We encourage you take a look at Link’s offer here, get a quote and compare. You can also call direct at 1-877-826-5443 for further details and speak with a rep!
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