Nest Protect Vs First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound: Which Is Better?

Smart smoke detectors that not only offer Carbon Monoxide detection but also some other cool features. But is it worth investing in these devices. In this review, we will talk about the Nest Protect ( 2^nd gen) vs First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound and give a comparison between Nest Protect and First Alert. This will help you in deciding which one’s a better buy for you.

Our Verdict

The Nest Protect has been in the game for several years now. The 1^st gen version was already a great smoke detector, but there were some annoying features. Now the 2^nd gen has improved a lot and further cemented its position in this field. The First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound has recently joined the category of smart smoke detectors and offers some great features, but they are not enough. The Nest Protect is a better overall device and will be the pick over the two. 

Nest Protect Vs First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound: Comparison Chart

Differences

1. Integration

The Nest Protect comes with wifi connectivity and can be integrated with other nest products or even with products like Philips hue smart lights. All of the devices use the ‘work with nest’ integration and work pretty well.

If you have a Nest Cam, it will start recording in the event of a fire, or your Philips Hue will begin flashing red. All of these features work seamlessly and are easy to use if you’re already a member of that nest ecosystem.

The Onelink works with the Homekit platform, which has improved quite a bit since its launch a few years ago. The Onelink also supports Apple Airplay 2 or Amazon Alea with voice control. So you have a smoke detector/smart speaker with Alexa inbuilt, which is fantastic.

The Onelink also plays well with other alarms in your house, so you don’t need to replace every single alarm right away. That is not the case with Nest Protect, and you will have to replace every alarm with the Protect for better integration.

2. Smoke Detection Sensors And Features

Both the devices come with a photoelectric sensor and no ionization sensor. The photoelectric sensor is better at detecting smoldering fires, and the ionization sensor is better at flaming fires. But Nest has a split-spectrum photoelectric sensor that can detect both types of fires and does a fantastic job.

The sensor also has Steamcheck technology, which distinguishes between Smoke and Steam, and it works perfectly. Nest has successfully made a smoke detector, which is not at all annoying, and you don’t end up breaking it to silence it.

The Onelink only has a photoelectric sensor, and it does the job well. The device has an 85Db siren, which is very loud, so you’ll have no problem hearing it. The detection is a bit slower as compared to the Nest Protect.

Both the devices also come with Carbon Monoxide detection, which is pretty standard these days.

Nest Protect offers a better performance in smoke detection provides some useful features such as the SteamCheck feature.

3. Battery Or Hardwiring

Both the devices offer battery as well as hardwiring options, but the approaches are quite different. The Nest Protect offers either a battery or a hardwiring opportunity, but the First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound offers only hardwiring with a backup battery.

The battery on the Protect should run for at least five years and is replaceable. You will get alerts on your phone six months before the battery dies.

The Onelink claims that the battery will run for at least ten years but is not replaceable. The thinking behind this is that you will have to replace the whole unit in 10 years anyway as there will be newer technology, so why to bother to change the batteries.

But if, in any case, the batteries are needed to be replaced before the ten years, then the cost of owning this device goes up. So the Nest Protect offers much more flexibility here.

Similarities

1. Carbon Monoxide detection

The detectors also come with CO detection, which has become relatively standard, but still, not every sensor comes with it.

2. App Connectivity

The reason these are called smart detectors is that you can control them from an app. Both sensors come with app connectivity. You can also silence the sirens from the app only. This feature was not available on the 1^st gen Nest Protect, but it is here now, and it is convenient.

3. No Ionization detector

Both the devices come with a photoelectric sensor but no ionization sensor. The detectors can detect smoldering fires. The Nest Protect comes with a split spectrum photoelectric sensor that works well with smoldering and flaming fires, but both the detectors are missing the ionization sensor.

Features And Specifications Of Nest Protect

• Design and Appearance

Nest always makes products that are stylish and aesthetic, and the Protect is no different. Even though you’re not going to look at your “smoke detector” every day, but the device lives up to the Nest home standards. It is smaller than the First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound but denser. It comes in both battery as well as hardwired options.

Youll see that it has an LED ring around the on/off button, which glows in different colors. The Nest also has a cool feature, ‘Pathway light.’ When you walk under the Protect, it will light up your way and work as a night light. You can control the brightness of the light or turn it off completely.

The LED glows in different colors too. When the detector is testing itself, the light will shine blue. If it detects any smoke, then it will turn yellow, and if there’s an actual emergency, then it will glow red. When everything is reasonable, the light shines green color.

• Navigation and Integration

The Nest Protect works with the Nest Home app, and the controls are intuitive. The Protect supports the Nest ecosystem, and if you have one, then all of these devices can connect and give you more features. You can also connect different IFTTT devices such as Philips Hue LED.

In case of emergency, the lights will start blinking, or if you have a Nest Cam, then it automatically starts recording.

All the connectivity features make the Protect a perfect choice for smart homes.

• Alarms and Sound

The Nest Protect gets very loud and gives unique sounds for CO gas detection or smoke. While installing, you can test these sounds.

Every time there is the detection of an actual emergency, the device will tell you its location. This is a convenient feature if you have multiple detectors in your house. If all of them are Protect sensors, then all of them interact with each other. If there’s a fire in the kitchen, the detector in your room will also let you know where the fire is.

Before the siren goes off, the detector will announce an emergency in a human voice, which is loud and clear. So it might seem that the detector is slow at doing its job, it’s not, its just the software features of the Nest Protect to avoid panic. Nest wanted to make a smoke detector, which is not at all annoying, and it seems like they have made one.

Features And Specifications of First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound

• Design And Appearance

The Onelink has a similar design to the Protect with a LED ring around the button. It’s slightly more significant than the Protect. The Onelink comes only in a hardwired option but includes back up batteries, which can last up to 10 years.

The LED works in a similar manner to the Protect with different colors for different situations also have a night-light feature, but it only works with the hardwiring.

• Navigation And Integration                          

The Onelink works with the HomeKit platform and offers pretty much the same features as the Nest ecosystem. You can silence the siren from an in-app button, which is handy. As HomeKit is made by Apple, it supports Airplay 2 along with Alexa and Google Assistant. So you have a smart speaker built-in your smoke detector.

Connecting other IFTTT devices is a bit complicated as not every other device is HomeKit compatible.

• Alarms And Sound

The Onelink gets pretty loud, and it also has different sounds for CO and smoke detection. It doesn’t announce the emergency like the Protect, it siren goes off right away and is loud enough to wake you up from a deep sleep.

What’s In The Box?

Nest Protect

Nest Protect (2^nd gen) smoke + CO alarm, backplate, six long-life AA batteries, four screws, Three long-life backup batteries (wired), 120V AC connector (Wired model), Three-wire nuts (Wired model), User’s guide and a welcome guide.

First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound

First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound and Sound detector, two lithium batteries, Mounting bracket and hardware, user manual, and a quick start guide.

Overview Of The Nest Protect

Its been seven years since Nest launched the 1^st gen smart smoke detector, and it was a fantastic device, but some features were gimmicky. There was no other brand to compete with the Protect, and even now, with the 2^nd gen Protect, the situation is similar. The Protect offers useful and cool features, along with the connectivity of the Nest ecosystem. The SteamCheck feature works flawlessly, and smoke detection is top-notch. It’s hard not to recommend this product, but there are cons to this device, they are nitpicking only so not a deal-breaker.

Overview Of First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound

First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound has been the only real competitor of the Nest Protect with its great features and HomeKit compatibility. It is a great smoke detector but still hasn’t reached the heights of the Protect. It does offer some features that are not available on the Protect, such as Alexa or Airplay 2 support. If you, somehow, don’t like the Nest Protect, then there’s no other option better than the Onelink.

FAQs

Bottom Line

The Nest Protects, even after having competition, is the best smoke detector out there. The First Alert Onelink Safe And Sound takes second place after a close match. But if First Alert provides better hardware for the software features. We hope this review helped you in deciding which one’s best for you.