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Smart home alarms have been gaining traction in the UK in the past year and I have reviewed both the Yale Home Sync and Simplisafe systems. Ring recently launched in the UK, and my review of the Somfy indoor camera can be part of a smart home alarm.

Minut, formerly Point, is a new contender in the market, and the device is quite simple and different from competing brands.

Here you have just one device that acts as both the sensor and alarm, with a single Minut will set back £129, or 2 for £215 and 3 for £299.

Features

The Minut is a wireless sensor and alarm that can cover a room up to 530 square feet.

It can detect multiple things including:

  • Motion
  • Sound including
    • Glass breaking
    • Smoke alarms /Co2 detector
  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Chances of mould
  • Tamper detection

The Minut then has a siren built-in which is claimed to be 95db which is less than the likes of Ring, but loud enough to be very uncomfortable if you are near it, and it would certainly wake you up if you are home.

There is also a built-in night light which you can optionally enable within the settings.

Set up

Set-up is straightforward like many devices nowadays, this relies on a Bluetooth connection to auto-connect to the default Wi-Fi then pass over your home SSID credentials. You will need to download the app and register for it then select Minuts on the bottom panel and add a new Minut. You can repeat this procedure as for as many Minuts as you need to secure your home.

Physical installation is probably easier than any other smart alarm. There is a magnetic backplate with an adhesive pad, which allows you to mount the Minut with no screws while still being able to remove it quickly to charge. Charging is done via USB-C and the battery should last 6 months with a 5-hour full charge.

The Minut needs to be located on a ceiling facing down, this is because the motion sensor points this way, and this is needed for setting an alarm off.

Alexa Set up

Alexa is supported, however, it is not on Amazon UK but it is on Amazon US. For a UK user, if you try and log in to alexa.amazon.com you get redirected to alexa.amazon.co.uk so I was unable to get Alexa working with the Minut.

Google Assistant is available for UK users and with this, you can arm or disarm your alarm via voice.

Basic vs Pro Plan

You can use the Minut without any subscription but Minut also offers a Plus subscription which costs £6.99 in the UK and provides:

  • Unlimited sensor history
  • Add multiple homes
  • Add multiple users
  • Smart Neighbourhood Watch

I don’t feel like you are getting a lot for your money here, though it could be useful if you need to secure multiple properties allowing you to monitor each one separately.

App & Performance

This is a very simple device with not that much to cover in terms of features.

When you log in to the app and select Minuts you can see the current readings from everything including temperature, humidity, sound level, pressure and the risk of mould. When you select the Minut you get a breakdown each stat over the past day and you can extend this up to 90 days with the free plan. So you can get a good overview of what is going on in the room it is located, for example, I can see peaks and troughs in both sound and temperature when I located mine, which indicates when heating is switched on, and when I was in the room watching TV.

So, even without the alarm activated, you can know when someone has been in the room or not.

It is also possible to set up trigger levels for temperature, humidity and sound. So even without the alarm being activate you could be warned if something happens in your house.

Arming the alarm is quick and straightforward, from the alarm menu you hit the alarm button and confirm that it should be activated.

When the alarm detects motion, you have 45 seconds to disable it, or the alarm will trigger.

There is no way to change the trigger delay, and some users have issues with this. With the alarm being quite easy to remove it is reasonably easy to disable, but this won’t stop your phone being notified about the event and the tampering.

When the alarm does go off, it is more than loud enough to be off-putting for anyone in the near vicinity and certainly wakes anyone in the house.

Overall

I like the simplicity of Minut, it is easy to set up, use, and mount. The sound detection feature is something that is not found on most smart home alarms which is an added bonus.

This seems to be a decent solution for smaller properties such as flats or homes with one point of access. It will work out far cheaper and easier to set up than comparable systems.

It is not going to be secure as some of the more expensive system, but the simplicity of this means I am more inclined to use it over a system with multiple sensors, a keypad and outdoor siren that I am always paranoid of going off by mistake.

For me, this is also a perfect solution for a garage alarm, where I don’t want to invest in a full system just for one outbuilding.

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Minut Smart Home Alarm Review Rating

Summary

A unique solution to smart home alarms that is great for small properties or adding some security to outbuildings. I wouldn’t regard it as secure as competing systems but it does provide better insights into what is going on with the room you are monitoring and the simplicity in arming and disarming it means I am more inclined to activate the alarm the keypad solutions.

Overall
79%
79%
  • Price - 75%
    75%
  • Features - 80%
    80%
  • Ease of use - 90%
    90%
  • Security - 70%
    70%

Last update on 2024-03-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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