Abode

Review by eFreeware

The thing that sets Abode apart from most home security apps is that it is built around hardware you install yourself, with the app walking you through the process rather than a technician doing it. The developer says a starter kit can be up and running in under half an hour, which is a different proposition from the contract-and-installation model many people associate with monitored alarms.

That makes it most interesting to renters, first-time buyers and anyone who wants a security setup they can move between homes without renegotiating a long-term agreement. The app itself is free, and it is the control surface for the system rather than a standalone product: without Abode devices in the house there is nothing for it to manage.

It has been on Google Play since October 2015 and carries a 2.3 average from 1,704 ratings, with more than 100,000 installs. That score is worth keeping in mind as you read what the app offers, because it suggests users have found plenty to complain about over the years.

What the app actually does day to day

The core of the experience is the dashboard, which the developer describes as a single screen for the jobs you repeat most: arming and disarming, pulling up a live camera feed, seeing the latest timeline events and running quick actions. The idea is that you rarely need to dig through menus for the routine stuff, and that is a sensible design goal for something you might open while walking out the door or getting into bed.

Beyond that screen, the app is the place where you check what happened. Live and recorded video sits alongside a timeline history of your system, so you can look back at events rather than only reacting to them in the moment. Alerts arrive on your phone or tablet as they happen, which is the part that matters most if the system is protecting a home while you are away.

Adding hardware later works the same way as the initial setup: you follow guided steps in the app and the new device joins the system. That matters for anyone who wants to start small with a couple of sensors and build out over time rather than committing to a full package on day one.

Automations, notifications and the routines you build

Cue is the automation layer, and it is where the app stops being a remote control and starts being something you configure. The examples the developer gives are domestic ones: lights coming on and the thermostat rising as part of a morning routine, or the system arming and the doors locking at bedtime. If you already have connected lights, thermostats or smart locks, this is the section of the app that ties them to your security state rather than leaving them as separate systems with separate apps.

Notifications are adjustable, and the developer lists doors opening and closing and water leaks as examples of what you can be told about. Being able to decide how much or how little you hear about is a real quality-of-life feature in a security app, because an alert stream you stop reading is worse than no alerts at all.

Two smaller conveniences round this out. Widgets let you arm, disarm and trigger quick actions without opening the app, and the phone's location can be used to arm and disarm automatically as you come and go. The automatic option is the more ambitious of the two, since it depends on you defining the locations that matter and trusting the system to read your movements correctly.

Beyond the phone: watch and TV

A Wear OS app is available for watch control. For quick arming on the way out or a glance at status without pulling out a phone, that is a reasonable extension of the same idea.

There is a Google TV app as well. It streams live camera feeds, manages devices and arms or disarms the system from a TV. Timeline history and 24/7 video recordings through the TV app require a subscription.

Having the same system reachable from a phone, a watch and a TV is a genuine convenience in a household where more than one person wants to check on things, though it also means the app is spread across several surfaces rather than being one tightly focused tool.

What you need before any of this works

The most important practical point is that the app is a companion to Abode hardware. The starter kits, the added sensors, the cameras and the connected devices are what the app controls, and the setup instructions assume you have them in front of you.

That is worth factoring into the cost of the system as a whole rather than treating the app as the whole picture.

The rating is the other thing I would weigh. A 2.3 average across 1,704 ratings is low for an app available since 2015, and the score suggests a meaningful share of users have been unhappy with how it performs for them.

Who this fits

This is for people who have chosen Abode as their security platform and want to run it from their phone. If the hardware is already in the house, the app is the natural way to arm it, watch the cameras, review what happened and set up the routines that tie your lights, locks and thermostat to your comings and goings.

It also suits households that want a self-installed system they can expand piece by piece. The guided setup and the ability to add devices later mean you are not locked into one configuration, and the watch and TV apps give other people in the home a way in without needing the phone.

If you do not own Abode equipment, there is nothing here to install the app for. It is a control layer for a specific ecosystem, and its value is entirely tied to the hardware it manages.

A control app for committed Abode households

Abode covers the essentials of running a self-installed security system from a phone: arming and disarming, live and recorded video, a timeline of events, alerts, automations through Cue, adjustable notifications, widgets and location-based arming. The watch and TV apps extend that reach to other screens, with the TV's history and 24/7 recordings tied to a subscription.

My recommendation is for existing Abode owners and for people seriously considering the hardware, who should treat the app's rating as part of their research before buying in. For everyone else, the download only makes sense once the devices are on the way.

What's new

Various UI updates Update to secondary user settings Copy changes Bug Fixes