Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I’ve been using my Canary Flex for about four weeks now. As others have mentioned, each consumer should do their own due diligence in terms of the home security device that is right for them. Here’s my experience. From a security standpoint, material possessions mean little to me. In the last ten years, I have been burglarized twice (during both instances I was living in New York City, and I have long since moved away). I’ve had all of my belongings stolen and in both cases had an idea of who the perp might be, but no evidence to back it up. During both burglaries, my primary concern has been my pets. TVs, computers, etc are all replaceable, but the feeling of coming home to a pet happily wagging their tail can not. Enter Canary. Set up: My excitement peaked the very second I opened the box. Originally, I had been considering the All-in-One, but the Flex seems perfect for my little apartment. I was pleased to discover that it had a built-in battery and could be used wireless, but nevertheless placed it near an outlet. It came with a very long micro-USB cable to make charging even easier and also included wall-mount hardware. I placed mine near electronics in my living room so the recording light would blend in and not draw attention to itself, as other reviewers have noted. Initially, I found the app set-up on my phone to take longer than expected, since the instructions say set-up can take 10-15 minutes, but I figured it was an Android-based bug since I’ve had issues with Bluetooth in the past on other smart home related devices. I jumped online to chat with Canary support and a friendly representative had me up and running in no time. Operating mode: I’ve had to fidget with my settings a bit to get it to switch between home/away/night mode per my preferences. I tend to be a very private person so I have recording turned off while I’m at home. For whatever reason, I’ve always had issues with my Android disconnecting and reconnecting to my home Wi-Fi router, which I suspect is the case here when Flex is trying to determine if I’m located near my geofence to switch between operating modes. I’ve really enjoyed the functionality. I travel a lot for business and love that I can now check in on my cats – or cat sitter – anytime I want. And I can’t wait for the two-way talk to roll out in mid-September! I’ve upgraded to the annual membership as well: if I were regularly connected to any data network I think the out of the box package would be fine, but given my intermittent connectivity it’s imperative that I can review data for days at a time. It’s obvious to me that the team at Canary passionately developed a product that they’re proud of, and I’m thrilled to have one in my home.