Cove Review: Smart Home Security

Cove Security System Devices

Our Cove security system included a hub (Cove Hub) and a touchscreen controller (Alarm Panel), a door sensor, a motion sensor, a key remote, and the Cove Indoor camera. Cove also offers window sensors plus environmental monitors like smoke, CO, and flood sensors as well as medical alert buttons, which we did not test out.

Cove Hub and Alarm Panel

Cove used to have a touchscreen control panel (pictured above) that functions as a hub and controller in one device. Now, they have a separate hub (Cove Hub) and controller (Alarm Panel).

The Cove Hub is the brains of the system. It connects to your Cove devices and communicates with Cove’s monitoring center. You can place it in a more obscure location, unlike the old Cove control panel that must be displayed because it also functions as a controller. That said, we recommend placing it near your router as it uses the internet as primary communication. It doesn’t support Wi-Fi, so it must be plugged using an Ethernet cable.

On the bright side, the Cove Hub offers cellular backup in case your internet connection is spotty. It also comes with a 24-hour battery backup that keeps the system communicating during outages. With U.S. consumers experiencing seven hours of power outage a year1, this feature is a must-have.

The other component, the Alarm Panel, is merely a controller. It’s a tablet-like device you can place anywhere within the Cove Hub’s range. You can actually have up to four Alarm Panels, which is another advantage of Cove’s two-device approach for the hub and controller. You can place the panel in areas most convenient to you. Each Alarm Panel has an 85 dB siren, too.

Unfortunately, the Alarm Panel’s battery backup lasts only four hours. In case of a prolonged outage, the Cove Hub will keep the system running for up to 24 hours, but you won’t be able to use the Alarm Panel to manage your devices once it shuts off. It’s a minor drawback, but something to consider if your area is prone to power outages.

Door Sensor

The door sensor, as you may have suspected, is a two-part sensor that can tell when a door opens. One really cool thing about Cove is that the entire security system comes pre-programmed with the Cove Hub, which made installation a lot easier (but we’ll get to that in a bit). Each door sensor has a 300-foot wireless range and a five-year battery life.

In terms of design, Cove door sensors are impressively tiny. They are nearly half the size of the door sensors from our ADT review. They are less than half an inch thick and only about two inches tall. They also come with minimal branding and a plain but subtle design, which is always nice to see in security equipment.

Motion Sensor

We installed Cove’s motion sensor in our downstairs hallway, as it is a high-traffic and central location. Again, the motion sensor was wireless with a battery life of five years, another “set it and forget it” type of device. And although we don’t have any pets of our own, pet parents will be happy to hear that the sensor won’t detect furry friends under 45 pounds, which should dramatically reduce the number of false notifications you receive.

With all of the sensors, Cove let us arm certain ones and not others, like if we were watching a movie upstairs but wanted the downstairs sensors on. This made us feel safe whether we were home or not.

Key Remote

Not near your phone or the Alarm Panel? We used the key remote to arm and disarm our system from up to 100 yards away from home. Although we didn’t have to click on it, the key remote also has a panic button to connect directly with the police in an emergency. And the best part that we should also mention? That five-year battery life carries on to the key remote as it does the sensors.

Cove Indoor Camera

Video-wise, the Cove Indoor Camera is definitely clear enough for our viewing, with a 1080p HD display and the ability to zoom in four times. This was really great for capturing details like what a would-be intruder’s face looked like, although the field of view was a bit narrow for our liking at 112 degrees.

We also saw clearly at night due to the camera’s eight infrared LED sensors. Storing our footage was easy. We got 30 days of cloud storage or $2.99 per month per camera.

Cameras like the Wyze Cam give you local storage and 14 days of cloud storage on the house, so Cove was a bit on the pricey side, but nothing outrageous. But hey, Wyze’s pricing is one of the lowest in the market, and the fact that Cove isn’t far behind in terms of affordability shows that Cove is still a security system with great value.

One disadvantage was the Cove Indoor camera’s artificial intelligence or lack thereof. Unlike the Nest Cam Battery we tested, which has person detection and facial recognition, the Cove Indoor can’t tell the difference between people and other moving objects like pets, cars, and what have you. For us, this meant getting notifications about irrelevant things, like when a motorized toy car whizzed by.

However, for parents, the camera does have cry detection, meaning it could work as a baby monitor, potentially. Finally, you should know that the Cove Indoor camera is plug-in, not wireless.

Cove Outdoor Camera

Cove used to offer a generic, unbranded outdoor camera, which is what we tested. It connected to Wi-Fi easily, it had a clear video quality, and the two-way talk function worked. That said, Cove recently partnered with Eufy to offer a budget friendly but high-tech outdoor video monitoring solution.

The Eufy Outdoor Camera, as it’s called on Cove’s website, is a solar-powered bullet-type outdoor camera. It has that imposing look that we typically see in Lorex outdoor cameras (see our Lorex camera review for an example), but it maintains a sleek aesthetic. Most notably, there’s a black rectangular patch on top of the camera, which is actually its solar panel that keeps the camera charged up.

For $199, the Eufy Outdoor Camera offers a lot of features. First of all, it has a 2K resolution, twice higher than the 1080p outdoor camera we tested. It also comes with an integrated spotlight that is motion-activated for extra security. And for crime deterrence, it has a 90dB siren. It also stores videos locally in addition to cloud storage.

Cove’s greatest leap, in terms of technology, is the addition of artificial intelligence. The outdoor camera is smart enough to tell if there’s a person within its frame, and it alerts you accordingly.

The Eufy Outdoor Camera reminds us of the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight, but only costing about $50 less and with an integrated solar panel.

Smart Home Integration with Cove

This being a smart security system, it’s good to see that we could command Cove using either Alexa or Google Assistant under the Cove Plus plan. If you’re already in the Alexa or Google Assistant ecosystems, the integrations make Cove all the more worth it, in our opinion. We have both voice assistants, and here’s what we could do with them.

Alexa

We asked Alexa to arm our security system and check its status. Note that the best Alexa security systems also let you disarm the system with your voice, something we couldn’t do with Cove. We also encountered some viewing limitations. For example, we had fun playing our live footage on our Echo Show devices, except during the times that our Echo Shows had trouble connecting with the camera.

Of course, if you’re a big fan of Alexa, we’d recommend checking out Ring Alarm. In our Ring Alarm review, we noted how well it works with Alexa, largely because Ring is operating under Amazon. Compared to Cove, Ring Alarm’s Alexa integration was much more fluid, especially when it came to streaming live footage from our Ring security cameras.

Still, Cove’s Alexa integration was not half bad. We were able to control our system with our voices, so at least Cove got that part down pat.

Google Assistant

Google Assistant has a lot more capabilities when it comes to Cove. In fact, Cove integrated so well with Google, that it made our list of the best Google home security systems. Not only could we arm the system in away mode or ask for the alarm’s status, but we could also ask for an event history and control connected devices. Again, we enjoyed playing our live stream on our Nest Hubs, because we’ve always seen ourselves on the silver screen.

What’s Installing Cove Like?

Cove now has a professional installation option for $79, but we installed it ourselves for free. Here’s how that went.

Before we even clicked “purchase” on our Cove security system, we gave Cove our address and what components we bought so that they could pre-program our system before delivery. Once we received everything in the mail, we plugged in the Cove Hub and Alarm Panel and went through a few straightforward setup screens before creating our passcode. We also connected the cameras to our home’s Wi-Fi, as Cove’s cameras aren’t 100 percent cellular. If you’re looking for a completely cellular camera, you might consider purchasing the Reolink GO solar-powered security camera.

In our opinion, the sensors were as easy to install as a sticker, with 3M adhesives on the back of each. We tested each component of Cove to make sure it was working properly both on our own and on the phone with the Cove support member, a nice touch. After we set up everything, the testing period actually lasted a full day, as we wanted the most testing possible.

All in all, it was easy to install Cove. The setup process reminded us of SimpliSafe, one of the easiest to install DIY security systems. It took us less than 20 minutes each to install Cove and SimpliSafe, and both companies made the process painless by sending pre-programmed equipment.

The Cove Security App

Think of the Cove Security app as your home away from home. It’s here that we armed and disarmed the security system, received notifications, live-streamed footage, viewed cloud storage, spoke through two-way audio and controlled connected devices whenever we were out of the house.

And let’s be honest, sometimes, when we were in the house but not near the Alarm Panel, having an app that can control our security system was a blessing. We found the app pretty easy to use and free of bugs, most of the time. We did experience a couple of glitches, like the app showing different information than the control panel, but Cove fixed these issues with app updates immediately.

One noteworthy feature of the Cove app was the Recipe function. It’s something we typically only see in the best smart home security systems because this feature is built for automation. Recipes allow users to create automatic actions using the “if this, then that” format. For example, “if a door opens, start recording.”

While the Recipe feature is great in theory, however, Cove lacks a bit in execution. For now, the actions you can produce through these rules are limited to notifications since Cove lacks the ability to connect with other smart devices. If you’re looking to automate your home using your security system, we recommend either Vivint or abode.

Vivint is a pro-installed system that, unlike Cove, offers integrations with popular smart home brands and devices. Abode, on the other hand, is similar to Vivint, but it’s a DIY system with optional monthly fees. Learn more about those two in our Vivint review and abode review.

Our Video Review of Cove

If you want to see our Cove security system in action, check out our video review.

Cove Monitoring Plan Options

With Cove, you have two monitoring options2, both of which come with 24/7 professional monitoring and cellular backup. You can either get Cove Basic or Cove Plus, the latter of which has smart home integrations and a lifetime monitoring rate lock and warranty.

Now, as far as response times go, Cove is one of the fastest companies around. Its dispatch process, in which it uses RapidSOS, saves three to four minutes from the average dispatch process. For reference, the average dispatch process takes a whopping six to 13 minutes.3

Still, Cove’s professional monitoring rates aren’t the lowest in the market. Ring Alarm’s pricing for professional monitoring, for instance, is just $20 a month, which also includes voice assistant integrations and cloud storage for cameras. As you’ll notice in the chart above, Cove only includes those features in the Cove Plus membership, a $27.99 a month subscription.

Still, if you can live without those extra features, Cove Basic at $17.99 is one of the lower prices we’ve seen for monitoring. $27.99 is a bit more on the average side, but overall, these prices are super affordable. Plus, plans are monthly so we didn’t have to make any long-term commitments, a huge benefit of Cove. To learn more about Cove’s pricing, check out our Cove pricing page.

Cove’s Customer Service and Support

We all need help sometimes, and if it’s with your Cove security system, you can check out the company’s online support center or speak to someone via live chat, phone, email, an online form, or even snail mail if you prefer.

Personally, we had a great experience with Cove’s customer support team. We had a few questions about the professional monitoring options, so being the anti-social millennials that we are, we used the live chat feature and received prompt, informative answers that spoke to our question directly. We truly felt like the representative was trying to help us, unlike many other companies which sacrifice customer support for an aggressive sales team. Kudos to Cove for training its customer support team to support customers, not to sell.