ERA miGuard MGG5 Wireless GSM/SMS/RFID Touch Communicating Intruder Burglar Alarm System, White

I must admit I was a bit scared when I received it and while I love gadgets it did take me a day or so to pluck the courage to open it up. I also thought I would need half a day or so at least to work out, so I waited until I had enough time. This assumption because I also own a yale smart home security alarm, which was installed by a professional, and has several complex settings. I always have to refer to the manual for that one.I shouldn't have waited.Yes,I did use the manual for the MiGuard G5. But it was not difficult nor time consuming to set up and test.At the moment it is waiting to be placed overseas so I only tested it sufficiently so that I know how it works and that I am happy with it. I am in fact super happy with it.Set-up:It was easier than expected to set it up. Literally, a few minutes' work. I took the main unit out of the box, plugged it into mains, inserted the sim card and off it went. The first sim card I used (Three network) did not connect. I put that down to the very poor/virtually non-existent signal that Three has in my home (Zone 2 in London, oh well). I then tried with EE and Vodafone and both worked very well. I got the beeping sounds fast and then slow. Happy days.I then tested the motion detection, which was straightforward. Before doing that though I decided to run many of the settings, including the notifications to my mobile (by text) when the alarm is triggered and muting the sound of the alarm (while testing, to avoid annoying the neighbours).The alarm got triggered every time.Wonderful little features that I love about it:- I like the stand for the main unit. I am a truly gadget-loving girl that can't hang a frame on a wall, so having the ability to have the stand is amazing. Not only that, but I did not expect the tamper notification to trigger when the stand was removed from the main unit (without even opening the battery compartment). I only expected the wall hanging one to trigger the tamper alert. That is a great little feature. Amazing stuff.- If I didn't have a Yale at my place I would easily use this alarm, in fact if the Yale ever packs up (it has its moments) I'd be replacing with this. Apart from one wire/plug it needs no screws, no telephone line and it just simply works. Not only that, but it tells you when the battery has been removed, on which unit and is consistent (unlike my other one which gives a broad area, go figure). Great stuff.- I love being in control and all the flexibility it offers. I am passionate about stuff that works with the user in mind, and this one just fits my use case perfectly. I want it in a remote location, a second home that has no telephone line. I was specifically after an alarm that will have a battery to fall back to in case of a power cut. I am so happy that this alarm offers that also. During my test, the battery lasted and when unplugged from the mains I got a text. So not only it will work a few hours without mains electricity but I get to know when there was a power cut. I have the control I want. Brilliantly clever stuff.- I don't remember seeing this feature in any of the product descriptions, and at first when reading the manual I wasn't sure it can be done, but it does allow for setting the delay you want before entering and exiting. It also allows me to have a pin for the main panel, so that, in case I don't have my fob, or phone with me, to disarm, I can just use the panel to do that.I must admit, as far as security alarms for a second home go, this comes for me, almost close to perfect. The app is just another way to sms to the sim on the panel the various settings you want, and there is no way to arm or disarm the alarm without texting or calling the sim (ie incurring a charge, particularly if abroad). But that is to me a small fee to pay compared to the security it offers. I prefer to pay a small fee and have the certainty that the sim will only take commands from the registered paired mobile (and you can have more than one paired up apparently though I only tested with one). In time, I would have liked to see the app a little improved, perhaps containing a reference guide to the commands somewhere so that I don't have to google for the manual if not handy.As a final note, I would like to thank the people who took the time to respond to my questions before I bought the MiGuard G5 as they really helped me make the right decision for me.

This product is not fit for purpose it does not work. The door sensors are Intermittent in it deciding to alarm. PLEASE AVOID AT ALL COSTS. It is going back for a refund.

Easy to install and add additional components. Works well as a closed system. BUT... the app and the control panels connectivity to it is terrible. Poor app UI and UX, only recognises 1 of the 5 numbers, status indication on app interface is contrary to what the control panel shows (one or the other us not updating ). Only txts when alarm triggered and only to 1 the first number - its supposed to call and text all numbers! Latency on the app is 10+ seconds between each action and between each subsequent response. Each txt message sent from the control panel costs around 12pence-so 5x what it should cost (buy your own payg sim and replace the supplied one). Agree with other reviews regards the fallible remotes. Overall no better than a clunky telematics based system that works only as well as a basic on/off manual alarm system.

Price good, looks the part, bought the dummy alarm box for outside too, fairly easy to fit.The massive downside? It's really nasty to program it, which has to be done using text messages to it (yes, you read that right).Turn off the power to it for long enough, and it forgets all of its programming too...

I have had this alarm for around two months now and overall I am very pleased. It is very easy to install once you have got your head around the text system and very easy to expand. There are also no wires at all apart from the power supply to the main panel which can be plugged in anywhere. This is the basic kit but in reality, to fully protect the average house you will have to spend another £150 - £200 on accessories including an solar powered external siren (no wires). Please bear in my that you need to insert a SIM card in to the control panel to set it up. Once set up you can then remove it if you wish, but you will lose the ability to communicate with the alarm when you are away from the home. If you want the text function a SIM card is obviously another cost you need to consider. When installing the alarm, I would recommend siting the control panel upstairs out of reach and using a separate key digit panel at your entrance which can be bought for around £40. This means that your main control panel is out of reach if someone breaks in (if they smash up the key digit panel, it doesn't matter, the alarm will still go off).You do get car style remote controls that can arm/disarm the alarm, but I don't like the idea of leaving these lying around and prefer a keypad which needs a code. If you opt to keep the SIM in the panel, the alarm will firstly text you to let you know it has been triggered and which zone. If it isn't disarmed, it will then start to ring you and will keep trying until you answer. Some people think that the alarm can be disarmed if someone finds out the phone number of the SIM card, but even if they know this, the alarm can only be controlled by registered numbers so this isn't true. Build quality wise it's okay, the PIR sensors look a bit flimsy but it's not like they will be getting knocked about once mounted. They also seem to be very reliable and pick up the slightest movement. If you have pets, there is also pet friendly versions available. There will be more sensors available in the near future including vibration detector, glass breakage, curtain movement and even smoke, gas and flood detectors. I think a text alert would be particularly handy if a smoke detector is triggered and the house alarm going off has more chance of waking you in case of a fire. Overall, I would recommend this alarm, just take your time installing it and think about where you install the main panel. If you have a large house, you may also need a plug in signal repeater (around £25) as some signals from sensors far away may not trigger the alarm.