Blue by ADT Home Security System Review

When home security giant ADT acquired Lifeshield back in 2019, it introduced a handful of home security cameras to kick off its Blue by ADT platform. With its recently launched Blue by ADT Home Security System (starting at $159.99), the company now offers a complete DIY home security solution that you can monitor yourself or pay for a professional monitoring service. The system works with Alexa and Google voice services, integrates with Blue by ADT cameras and other smart devices via IFTTT applets, and can control numerous Z-Wave home automation devices. It also offers reasonably priced components and affordable monitoring, and it’s easy to install and manage, though SimpliSafe offers more affordable components and monitoring.

Components and Pricing

The Blue by ADT Smart Home Hub is the brains of the system. It measures 5.9 by 4.1 by 4.1 inches (HWD) and sports the same pearl gray color as the ADT Blue Indoor, Outdoor, and Doorbell cameras that we reviewed earlier this year. You can also order the hub with a darker graphite finish if you prefer.

The top of the hub contains a keypad with 16 buttons including 0-9, Stay, Away, Night, and Off. There’s also an embedded microphone and an LED indicator strip that glows solid green when the system is disarmed, solid blue when armed, blinks blue during an entry or exit delay, blinks red during an alarm, and alternates red and yellow when the hub has lost its internet connection. Under the hood are a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio, a Z-Wave radio, Bluetooth circuitry, and a 4G LTE cellular radio. Additionally, the hub contains a 24-hour backup battery, a speaker, and an 85dB siren. 

You can order a preconfigured security system or build your own and add to it as you see fit. The Smart Hub goes for $159.99 and comes with a free 30-day professional monitoring trial (more on monitoring later). The $199.99 Starter System comes with the hub, two door/window sensors, a yard sign, four window decals, and a 30-day monitoring trial, and the $279.99 Starter Plus System gives you everything from the Starter system, but includes four door/window sensors and two motion detectors.

Blue by ADT doesn’t offer quite as many sensors and components as FrontPoint and…