They say when you’re robbed that you feel violated. No one can prepare you for how badly. They don’t warn you that you will walk through your home retracing the burglars steps and wondering how much of your life they really saw. They don’t tell you that the dust used for finger prints leaves stains in your carpet that haunt you long after the police leave. No one tells you that the proximity of your child’s bedroom to the house entrance will now keep you up at night, despite the fact that her door is adjacent to yours. No one warns you that you will lay awake for hours attempting to decipher the shadows under your bedroom door or that you will wake with a start at the smallest of noises in the middle of the night – was that a window opening? a door unlocking?
They don’t tell you that it will never be about the stuff that was stolen. You could care less about the material possessions. Instead, it’s the headache of dealing with an insurance company. The stress of trying to hide this terrible “thing” from your children. The uphill battle of overcoming the emotional trauma.
Eventually, you will start to sleep again at night. Eventually, you will only check to make sure your door is locked twice before leaving the house instead of five or six times. Things will seem better until it’s time for you to leave your house for any extended period of time. When I told my husband and daughter that we would be taking a babymoon to Charleston this fall we were ecstatic. Until my husbands eyes met mine and at the same time it dawned on us that we would be leaving our house unattended again. Collectively we steeled ourselves with resolve. They wouldn’t take this from us. We would not spend every second of our vacation wondering what was going on at home. Although as it turns out, our resolve was unnecessary. Our peace of mind would come in the form of a Canary. Not the song bird, the device. (Note: Check out this Canary home security system review if you don’t believe us!)
The Canary is “an indoor wireless high-definition, All-In-One home security device” our gaurdian. My husband easily set up our new guardian by plugging it in and connecting it to our Wi-Fi. Just like that, it was ready to protect our home. The Canary features a 147 degree field of view that monitors in 1080p HD resolution allowing it to pick up even small details. Thanks to it’s infrared night vision, it even lets us check in at night. If something were to happen, it also features a 90+ decibel siren and a localized emergency call feature, which lets me contact authorities close to home from anywhere in the world.
As we prepared to leave the home, we switched Canary to “Arm” status. This means that it sends notifications to our phone whenever someone arrives or if there is movement detected. If there is movement detected, the Canary begins to automatically record footage. So even if I didnt get the alert right away, I have the footage to view later, which means I don’t have to worry about catching anyone “in the act.” Once I receive an alert and watch the footage, I can choose to sound the alarm or alert the authorities.
In typical fashion, we hadn’t even pulled out of the apartment complex before realizing we were forgetting a few things necessary for our trip. I sent my husband for the items and as soon as he walked in the door, I received an alert on my phone. I watched recorded footage of him criss crossing the house and had to smile to myself. He was the only burglar I hoped to catch on my feed but should another one appear, they would indeed be caught.
There are so many things I love about the Canary. Not only does it provide us with some much needed peace of mind since our break in earlier this year, it’s so simple to use. It only needs Wi-Fi and the mobile app to run, there are no contracts or service fees to worry about each month. Speaking of Wi-Fi, it’s important to have the best connection in order for the Canary to properly do it’s job. A weekend away is no time for a sketchy router to slow the connection or quit working all together.
Best Buy offers just the router for the job, the Netgear® Nighthawk™ DST Router and DST Adapter. This high-performance router was built to support 10+ connected devices so you never have to worry about this trusty sidekick failing your super hero. You can even prioritize devices. Plus, thanks to the “Dead Spot Terminator” adapter you no longer have to worry about dead spots in any area of your home, like the one odd spot in the back corner of our house. Plus, if you’re like me and don’t really get “router speak,” Best Buy takes all of the guess work out of getting the best performance from this dynamic duo with one full year of free Geek Squad Set Up and Support via phone & web. The Geek Squad service via phone & web allows customers to call or get help 24/7 whenever they want, vs. the need to schedule an appointment.
The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.
I haven’t experienced a burglary since I was a child, and it was a traumatizing experience then. Thankfully, I have a home security system like this that gives me a peace of mind.
Great system. Home security cameras seem to be pretty popular right now. While we have an alarm system, we’ve also started looking onto a home security camera.
I think it would be so hard to find that peace. How very unsettling to have someone in your home. Hurrah for any and ever security system that helps deter.
Crime is scary. :( Unfortunately it is a reality and a huge problem in South Africa. Even though we have alarm and electric fence I still live in fear.
I need something like this. Ive never had a break in but I’m so paranoid about it that this would really put my mind at ease!