ADT is taking another approach to DIY smart home systems with the announcement of its ADT+ app at CES on Tuesday. A powerhouse in professionally installed and monitored home security, ADT has struggled to find just the right approach to selling DIY smart home systems.
The company acquired the DIY-focused LifeShield Home Security in early 2019 and used some of that tech’s bones to build out the Blue by ADT product line it launched the following year. In August 2020, ADT announced that it had received a $450 million investment from Google in a deal that would have ADT sell and install Google Nest smart home products.
ADT says its new ADT+ app will allow its customers to access and control the components of an ADT smart home/home security system, including Google Nest Cams and Nest Thermostats. More importantly, ADT customers will be able to self-install new systems—and future add-on components—by themselves with what ADT calls a “do it with me” approach: Using an optional video link, an ADT tech will walk the customer through the entire installation and help them overcome any hiccups that come up along the way. This service will also be available for troubleshooting problems with existing installations.
The new app will be offered to ADT’s self-install customers first. Customers with professionally installed systems will get the new app later in 2023. Once they have the app, neither group will ever need to wait for a tech to show up at their home to service or install new devices, although that option will continue to be available.
ADT says its new ADT+ app will serve as the foundation for a new line of ADT home security products to be released later in 2023, including a new Matter-compatible smart home hub that will feature wireless connectivity to your router. The hub will be outfitted with Bluetooth, Thread, Wi-Fi, and Z-Wave radios.
During a pre-show briefing, ADT Chief Technology Officer Raya Sevilla told us that ADT’s previous professionally installed smart home platform—ADT Pulse—was no longer being actively marketed, and that its current DIY product—Blue by ADT—is also being phased out.
Author: Ed Oswald, Freelance contributor
Ed is a technology journalist, music nut, and gadget geek who hails from the somewhat small town of Reading, Pennsylvania.