MyFox security system review
We do everything to keep our businesses safe. We get our employees to sign forms for business equipment, we spend thousands on business insurance every year. But this does not always work out the way we want it to.
Someone can just smash a window or break in a door and within 15 minutes a business can lose everything. This is where the MyFox security system steps in.
I was sent the security system and security camera to be put through their paces. The initial reaction was of the boxes, with a very sleek, clean, Apple-like design they looked good sitting on my desk and colleagues around the office perked up, intrigued at what I had been sent. The crisp, white and silver design continued after opening the box, with the devices themselves looking like they fell out of a science fiction film. They would certainly not look out of place in a modern office, sitting discreetly in the corner.
The camera comes with a wire and a number of different plug attachments for UK, European and US plugs. A handy addition if you happen to need a portable security camera abroad. The camera is also equipped with a small rechargeable battery which lasts an hour when disconnected. The Home Alarm states, ‘No wires-Battery backup-No fees-No worries’, and the first thing I noticed when picking up the box was the weight of the alarm. The alarm itself holds four huge batteries, so they should last quite a while before the need to replace them. The weight of the device would make it difficult to fall off a table or cabinet.
Also included in the box is a key fob, an intelliTAG and a wireless Internet connection hub. If you are using this for your business, or even a home, you are likely to need a few more key fobs. What would be worse than stumbling into the office in the morning to discover an alarm blaring with no way to turn it off, quickly followed by the police being automatically called.
The thing that makes this a ‘smart’ security system is the free app that you can download to control and command the system when away from the office. At 50MB it is does not take up all the memory on your phone but like the rest of the system it does look slick and well designed.
Connecting the system to the app is fairly easy, you have to create a new user and set up your email, then connect which devices you have. You are walked through the process; the only device I had trouble with was the intelliTAG. I did not want to attach it to any windows or doors in the office so it is the only part of the system I can say I did not fully test. However, trying to reconnect it after setting up the rest of the system did not seem to be possible. It was like you had one chance to set up the system and that was it.
The app itself looks great but it is not very responsive. When I tried to turn on the camera and view the office it took a long time to connect to the camera. Rather than getting a smooth video feed it lagged. The motion detection system was fantastic even if it is terrifying to have only 30 seconds to disconnect any alarms before the authorities are called. Night vision on the camera is very impressive, but this is all brought down by the lack of responsiveness from the app.
All in all, the MyFox security system looks great and the alarm offers an amazingly loud deterrent for any potential thief. This all falls down through the app, which is very slow at responding to commands. It could be a big problem if the camera is activated in the middle of the night by a cat and a sleepy security conscious business owner can’t get the app to work quick enough.
Price: Alarm £249; Camera £169
