Is Ajax a Good Alarm System? An Installer's Honest View

"Is Ajax any good?" is one of the first things people ask when they find the Ajax listing and call me. The honest way to answer it is with the questions customers actually ask before they go ahead, so most of this page is exactly that: real questions from real Perth customers, and how the system handles each one.

What Ajax is

An Ajax home system is a hub, the box that runs everything, plus the detectors, sirens, keypads and key fobs you choose. You control it from the Ajax app on your phone.

The hub talks to the devices over Ajax's own radio, with a range of up to about 2 km in open space. Walls and floors shorten that, which is why I place the hub to suit the house. Everything sent is encrypted with a dynamic key, the radio hops between frequencies to avoid interference, and a Hub 2 manages up to 100 devices, a Hub 2 Plus up to 200. [A]

What "all-wireless" means

Every detector and siren runs on its own battery and reports to the hub by radio. Nothing is cabled through the walls, which is why an Ajax installation is quick and clean. A MotionProtect motion detector runs for up to 5 years on its battery, and Ajax rates some devices longer. [B]

If you are replacing an old wired alarm, the new detector usually goes where the old one was. Ajax detectors are a different size, but the new one usually covers the old marks. When it does not, I patch the old screw and cable holes, and the touch-up painting is left to you. If the old cabling is worth keeping, there is another route: connecting the existing wired detectors to Ajax.

Ajax door and window sensors

One sensor per window, or per frame? One on every part of the window that opens. The sensor is a magnet and a contact, so each opening sash needs its own.

What if a window is opened from the inside? The sensor only knows the window opened, not from which side. If that sensor is armed, it is an alarm. That is why the door you come and go through gets an entry delay, and why Night mode exists (below).

What about a window that is open a lot of the time? It depends on how the window opens.

• A tilting window: I fit a DoorProtect Plus and use its tilt sensing, with shock sensing as a bonus. Ajax designed it to protect a window left open for airing: the magnetic contact is switched off, the tilt angle is set between 5 and 25 degrees, and the sensor raises an alarm if the window is moved beyond it. [C]
• A sliding window: tilt sensing does not help, because the window slides rather than tilts. Instead I fit two magnets, one for the fully closed position and a second at the airing position. The sensor reads the window as closed in either position, so you can arm with it open for airflow, and opening it any further is an alarm.

The exception is a window where something like a flyscreen leaves no room for the sensor. Then I cover that room with a motion detector instead.

Does Ajax detect glass breaking?

A door or window sensor watches the window opening, not the glass. To detect breaking glass you need a glass-break detector. The Ajax GlassProtect listens for the dull sound of an impact followed by the ringing sound of glass breaking, up to 9 m away, which is what keeps a barking dog from setting it off. [D] The CombiProtect does motion and glass-break in one device.

One limit worth knowing: GlassProtect does not respond to glass covered with film. For filmed windows, Ajax points to door and window sensors with shock and tilt sensing, which is the DoorProtect Plus. [D]

Night use, and going to the bathroom

A customer asked whether a hallway sensor would stop someone getting up at night. Not with Night mode, which I set up on every system. Night mode arms only the devices you choose, usually the doors, the windows and the motion detectors in rooms nobody uses at night, while you move around the rest of the house freely. [F]

You switch it on from the app, a key fob or a keypad, or set it on a schedule before bed. [F] The hallway sensor stays off, the bathroom trip is fine, and the outside of the house is still protected.

Will a cat or dog set off an Ajax alarm?

The Ajax MotionProtect is designed to ignore animals up to 20 kg and under 50 cm tall, helped by mounting height and the sensitivity setting. [B] I tell every customer with a cat the same thing: a cat that jumps onto the back of a couch is no longer under 50 cm. So I aim and place the detectors with the pet in mind, and where the pet roams at night, Night mode keeps those detectors off.

Key fobs, panic buttons and turning the alarm off

How do you charge the key fob? You do not. The SpaceControl key fob has a pre-installed battery that lasts up to five years, and then the battery is replaced. [E]

How does the panic button work? The key fob has a panic button. Pressing it puts the system straight into alarm and sends the alert. [E] No code is needed, which is the point of a panic button.

How do you turn the alarm off? Disarm it: the disarm button on the key fob, your code on the keypad, or the app.

Can you change things yourself?

Yes. I give admin rights to at least one person in the household. With them you can add and remove users, rename devices, and change notifications and arming. For anything technical, such as adding devices or changing how a detector behaves, call me.

Can Ajax be hacked or jammed?

No alarm system is impossible to attack, and I would be wary of anyone who says theirs is. What Ajax does is make it hard and make it visible. The radio link is encrypted with a dynamic key and hops between frequencies. If someone jams the radio or a device stops reporting, the hub notifies every user. [A] With a backup SIM in the hub, cutting the internet does not silence it either, as I explain in what happens when the power or internet goes out.

Ajax or Hikvision AX PRO?

Hikvision AX PRO is the other wireless alarm I get asked about. It is a serious product, and I carry one in my ute. I install Ajax, and these are my reasons:

• The alarm notification on your phone. When an Ajax alarm goes off, the app alert is loud enough to wake you at midnight. You have to hear it to feel the difference.
• The app. It is simple to use day to day, for the whole family.
• The range of devices. Ajax covers wireless homes, wired commercial sites with the Superior line, and old wired alarms through the MultiTransmitter, so one system fits almost any property.
• Support. As an Ajax Authorised Partner I get direct supplier support and training.
• Reliability. In my experience, Ajax systems give very few faults or call-backs.

The downsides

• It costs more than a Wi-Fi alarm kit. Whether that is worth it is covered in Ajax vs Wi-Fi alarms.
• The batteries do run out eventually. Years apart, and the app warns you first, but they are replaced, not recharged.
• Phone alerts need a connection. The alarm sounds without internet, but for alerts during a power cut or an internet outage you want a backup SIM in the hub.
• Cameras are a separate app. I pair Ajax with Dahua cameras, which use their own app. See an Ajax alarm with Dahua cameras. If you want everything in the Ajax app, the Ajax Superior NVR can bring existing ONVIF cameras into it.

What it costs

My Ajax packages start at $1,280, supplied and installed, and every package and extra device price is listed on the Ajax alarm systems page. To see what your own system would include, build it in the Ajax configurator and send it to me to quote. If you are not sure which Ajax line suits your property, see Ajax Superior or Baseline. The full price breakdown, including ongoing costs, is in what an alarm or CCTV system costs in Perth, and how a job runs is in from quote to install day.

Common questions

Sources

1. Ajax Systems, Hub 2 (4G) technical specifications. ajax.systems
2. Ajax Systems, MotionProtect. ajax.systems
3. Ajax Systems, DoorProtect Plus. ajax.systems
4. Ajax Systems, GlassProtect. ajax.systems
5. Ajax Systems, SpaceControl key fob. ajax.systems
6. Ajax Systems support, What is Night mode. ajax.systems