PSA: Found out most wireless alarm sensors have a shorter range than advertised

I was installing a system in a two-story house in Portland last month and kept getting signal drops on the second floor. Dug into the specs after three callbacks and found most of these sensors are rated at 1000 feet open air, but through walls you're looking at maybe 150 feet max. That stat came from a tech sheet buried in the manufacturer's website. Anyone else run into this issue with multi-level homes?

3 comments

3 Comments

robertb471mo ago

Most wireless alarm sensors have a shorter range than advertised" - yeah, that's EVERY wireless device, not just alarm sensors. Those 1000 foot numbers are always in PERFECT conditions with no walls.

gavin6921mo ago

Man I feel you so hard on this. Bought a "500 foot range" camera once and it barely made it through my living room wall. They always test that stuff in some empty warehouse or outside in a field with zero interference. Meanwhile my house has like 4 walls, a fridge, and a bunch of metal pipes between me and the sensors. Drives me nuts how they just print those numbers without real world context. You basically have to cut whatever they claim in half at least. Wish companies were just honest about it from the start.

sarah_hart16d ago

Right? @robertb47 probably tested their 1000 foot claim from a fire escape.