XSense Smoke Detectors in the Test: How Secure Is the New Smart Home Integration?

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Imagine there’s a fire — and your smart home reacts instantly.

That’s exactly what I tried out with the new XSense smoke detectors. The special thing: they can be connected locally via MQTT to Home Assistant — completely without cloud dependency. In my test I didn’t just document the setup and integration, but also simulated the real emergency: what happens when the internet goes down? How reliable is the alarm chain? And how easy is the setup really?

Zum Aktivieren des Videos musst Du auf das Bild klicken. Ich möchte Dich darauf hinweisen, dass durch die Aktivierung Daten an YouTube übermittelt werden.

What to expect in the video

In this comprehensive test, I show you how the alarm chain works in practice, how far the radio range actually reaches, and how reliable the low battery warnings are. You’ll learn step by step how to get the MQTT integration working in Home Assistant, and I give you concrete tips for secure automations that protect your escape routes in an emergency and warn you with push notifications. At the end, I share my personal verdict and tell you who this system is really worth it for.

Curious? Then watch the video and find out how to make your home even safer!

Basics: Why networked smoke detectors?

In Germany, smoke detectors have been mandatory in all states since 2024 — in bedrooms, children’s rooms, and hallways that serve as escape routes. There’s a good reason for this: most fire victims don’t die from the fire itself, but from smoke inhalation — often at night while asleep, when you don’t notice the smoke in time. A smoke detector gives you the life-saving minutes you need to escape.

Interestingly, it’s not required that these smoke detectors be networked with each other — but that’s exactly where things get interesting. Imagine there’s a fire in the basement or a distant room of your home. You might not even hear a single smoke detector there, especially at night with closed doors.

Networked smoke detectors trigger together: when one detector detects smoke, all of them raise the alarm, and you’re guaranteed to be warned everywhere in your house. That can ultimately determine whether your escape route is still smoke-free or not.

The XSense system in detail

Specifically, I tested this networked smoke detector kit from XSense: six smoke detectors plus a central base station. The detectors are networked with each other and can trigger simultaneously in an emergency. The base station also serves as an interface to the XSense app and — this is new — to the local integration via MQTT in Home Assistant.

The base station comes with a power adapter, but it’s standard USB-C. I simply plugged it into the hub in my smart home server, saving an extra socket — a nice bonus.

The smoke detectors need to be paired once using the XSense app. That worked seamlessly for me and was done quickly. This step is necessary so that the detectors know each other and can reliably alert each other in a fire — even though this alarm communication doesn’t go through the base but directly between the detectors.

Safety first: smart home is an addition, not a prerequisite

Before we go deeper into the smart home integration, there’s one point I want to make particularly clear: smoke detectors are safety devices. The smart home connection is an addition, but must never be a prerequisite for an alarm to function at all.

That’s why I tested the behavior in a fire scenario first — using smoke detector test spray. Because the test button on the detectors often only simulates the acoustic alarm, but doesn’t test the optical smoke detection. The spray simulates real smoke particles and is also used for professional functional testing.

I must make an urgent warning here: never try to trigger a smoke detector with a lighter, a candle, or other smoke. The risk of irreparably damaging the detector in the process is enormous. And nothing would be more fatal than having the detector fail in a real emergency because you destroyed it during a test.

Alarm chain & radio range in the test

When a smoke event is detected, the affected smoke detector triggers locally first, and a few seconds later the other detectors connected in the home respond — provided they’re within radio range, of course.

The radio range is genuinely impressive: I live in an apartment building, and only beyond four floors did the connection become unreliable.

At the same time, the fire event is reliably displayed in the XSense app and — particularly relevant for us — the event is passed to Home Assistant via MQTT by the base station, where we can react to it.

Automations: what happens in an emergency

Based on this, I created an automation in Home Assistant that triggers a complete rescue chain in an emergency. First, it sends me a push notification to my smartphone so I’m immediately informed, even if I’m not home. At the same time, it automatically turns on all the lights in the house so escape routes are clearly visible and no one has to fumble around in the dark. And then something happens that might sound surprising at first: the automation raises all the blinds and roller shutters. Why? Simple — this frees up potential additional escape routes via windows, and the fire department can immediately see what’s happening in the house from outside.

This complete chain works reliably in my test: from the smoke event through the communication to other detectors, through the communication to the base, the display in the XSense app, the MQTT event transmission to Home Assistant, and the subsequent triggering of the automation.

Automatically alert the fire department?

Before anyone asks in the comments: could I theoretically use Home Assistant to automatically alert the fire department? Yes, technically yes — given the right interface to the telephone network.

But: legally and practically, I strongly advise against it! False alarms in Germany can result in costs and even legal consequences.

Offline function: integration without the cloud

I of course specifically tested the new offline functionality. When the XSense base station is switched on but offline, the app no longer works (logically — it needs a cloud connection). The local MQTT integration with Home Assistant continues to work as expected, however, since it runs completely locally in your home network.

To test this further, I disconnected the internet connection and deliberately triggered a low battery warning from a smoke detector by removing the battery and supplying it via a lab power supply with weak voltage. The MQTT message arrived in Home Assistant without any problems — even though the internet connection was down.

That’s exactly how a local integration should work: independent of cloud and internet, as long as the local network is stable.

Base station LED status

You can easily tell whether the base station currently has contact with the cloud by the LED in the center of the device. If it glows blue, everything is fine and the cloud connection is established. Yellow light signals that the cloud connection is interrupted — which, as we’ve seen, isn’t a problem for the local MQTT integration. If the LED glows red, the device is restarting. And if it’s completely off, that indicates a problem with the power supply.

Test button & MQTT integration

Manually testing the device (pressing the test button) is correctly displayed in the XSense app — there’s a notification that a test alarm has been triggered. However, this event is currently not yet forwarded via MQTT to Home Assistant.

I spoke with XSense support and learned that this is currently a limitation of the implementation. According to the manufacturer, this could be added in a future update — in my opinion, extremely useful for test scenarios, so I can test the entire signaling chain through to Home Assistant without having to use test spray.

The most important thing: primary safety independent of everything

The decisive point regarding safety: the networked alarm between smoke detectors always works — even if the power has already gone out.

Why? The answer is as simple as it is brilliant: every smoke detector has a built-in battery, and this networked alarm works exclusively via radio directly between the detectors. It requires neither contact with the base station nor an internet connection, let alone external power. The batteries in the detectors themselves are all that’s needed for the life-saving alarm chain.

I tried all conceivable combinations — with power to the base station, with internet, without internet. This function worked flawlessly every time.

The primary safety function (networking of the smoke detectors) is therefore not dependent on the app, MQTT, or a cloud connection. That’s exactly how it should be for a safety-critical system.

Battery life & replacement

The smoke detectors come with a battery included. According to manufacturer specifications, it should last one to two years — depending on how often you press the test button. I couldn’t verify this during the test period, of course.

The battery replacement itself is pleasantly straightforward — you can reach the battery compartment easily and are done quickly. And don’t worry about forgetting the replacement: you’ll be warned about a low battery on every conceivable channel. The detectors start briefly beeping every few minutes, the XSense app signals a weak battery, and this is of course also forwarded via MQTT to Home Assistant. So it’s practically impossible to overlook the needed battery replacement.

Setup: MQTT integration step by step

For anyone who wants to set up the system practically, here are the steps for MQTT integration:

Prerequisites and first steps

Before you start, make sure your base station is running at least firmware version 1.7.0. The app version should also be as current as possible to use all functions.

Setup begins in the XSense app, where you first go to “My Devices” and select the base station. In settings, check the firmware version and update if needed. You then find the “Connect with Home Assistant” option under the device settings. There you activate the MQTT connection and enter the IP address of your MQTT broker.

Authentication — this is where it gets tricky

Now comes the part where many people stumble. If you’re using Home Assistant OS, things are relatively straightforward: install the MQTT add-on if not already done, then enter your Home Assistant username and password. The reason is simple — the MQTT broker that comes with Home Assistant is typically secured with exactly these credentials.

With a different setup, like mine, things look different. Here you must not enter the Home Assistant credentials, but the authentication data for your MQTT broker — in my case, Mosquitto, for example.

Even if the app says “Home Assistant credentials,” don’t be confused. The manufacturer’s guide focuses on Home Assistant OS users, where Home Assistant and MQTT broker require the same credentials.

After successful activation

If everything works, you’ll see “MQTT status: connected”, regardless of your setup.

In Home Assistant, after successful activation, multiple entities appear automatically. You can see the status of each individual smoke detector, the current battery status, the connection status to the base station, and of course the crucial alarm entities with which you can build your automations.

All sensors are neatly grouped as devices, and each smoke detector appears as an independent device with its own entity. This makes it very easy and clear to use in automations.

Note on naming: If you’ve already named your smoke detectors in the XSense app and assigned them to rooms, that’s not transferred via MQTT. You’ll see the detectors in Home Assistant with their technical name (serial number) and then assign them to the correct rooms using the usual Home Assistant procedures. Once you’ve done that, you’re done.

My verdict: Who is this system for?

The smoke detectors fulfill their core task reliably and autonomously. The smart home integration via MQTT works very cleanly and reliably for real fire events or other safety-critical events like low battery status.

Personally, I’d be happy if XSense expands the interface further and also signals the test button press via MQTT, so I can test my Home Assistant automations more easily.

Who is this system worth it for?

Let me be honest about who I’d recommend this system to. First, there are Home Assistant users who want to use networked smoke detectors and value local integration. For this group, the setup is definitely worth a look. But even if you don’t use Home Assistant, the system can be interesting — provided your smart home solution supports MQTT. Then you can integrate the smoke detectors locally and benefit from the same advantages. And even if you don’t want any smart home connection at all, you get a classic networked smoke detector system here that works completely reliably without the app and base station in a fire situation.

If the setup interests you, here are the links to the tested set:

Directly from XSense (currently 12% discount, combinable with further promotions on the product page): 👉 XSense Smoke Detector Starter Set with discount code safexsense
Alternatively via Amazon: 👉 XSense Smoke Detector Starter Set on Amazon (affiliate link)

This video was supported by XSense and the devices were provided to me free of charge. Affiliate links: your price stays the same, but you support the work on my channel.

Hinweis: Die mit bezahlter Link markierten Links sind Affiliate-Links. Als Amazon-Partner verdiene ich an qualifizierten Verkäufen. Das bedeutet, dass ich eine kleine Provision erhalte, wenn ihr über diese Links einkauft. Für euch entstehen dabei keine zusätzlichen Kosten. Die Einnahmen helfen mir, diesen Blog und meinen YouTube-Kanal zu betreiben und auch in Zukunft Inhalte für euch zu erstellen. Vielen Dank für eure Unterstützung!
― Joachim

Review on Smart Home? But Secure!

XSense Smoke Detectors in the Test: How Secure Is the New Smart Home Integration?

What to expect in the video

Basics: Why networked smoke detectors?

The XSense system in detail

Safety first: smart home is an addition, not a prerequisite

Alarm chain & radio range in the test

Automations: what happens in an emergency

Automatically alert the fire department?

Offline function: integration without the cloud

Base station LED status

Test button & MQTT integration

The most important thing: primary safety independent of everything

Battery life & replacement

Setup: MQTT integration step by step

Prerequisites and first steps

Authentication — this is where it gets tricky

After successful activation

My verdict: Who is this system for?

Who is this system worth it for?