ADT’s new smart security system will unlock your door for a Trusted Neighbor

ADT’s long-rumored new security system is now live on ADT.com. Featuring entirely new ADT hardware and integrations with Google Nest cameras, smart speakers, and more, the new ADT Plus system has a distinctly Google Nest Secure look and feel (RIP). But how it will work in your home remains to be seen.

The company also announced that the Yale Assure Lock 2 will be the first smart lock compatible with Trusted Neighbor, its new feature that leverages technologies such as smart locks and facial recognition to make it easier for people you trust to get into your home in an emergency — or just to feed the dog. 

If you have the smart lock as part of the system, you’ll be able to set it so that when your “trusted neighbor” comes to the house to help you out, the door can unlock automatically and the system disarm, then re-lock and re-arm when they leave. 

The new ADT Plus system is a significant shift for the company as it brings its professionally installed system and DIY system to parity. Now, you get the same hardware no matter which installation route you go.

ADT Plus replaces ADT’s Self Setup system, which launched in 2023 following Google’s investment in the company. It was offered for free to Nest Secure users when that service shut down and will continue to be supported.

According to ADT’s chief business officer, Wayne Thorsen, the technology behind the new system — which uses DECT Ultra Low Energy, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, and BLE protocols — is able to integrate more deeply with hardware from smart home partners like Yale and Google, allowing for more advanced automation.

In an interview with The Verge, Thorsen said this is just the start of more intelligent integrations that will be coming to the new platform. The Z-Wave Yale lock is the first lock to be compatible, but Thorsen says there will be more options in the future.

The access feature allows someone you trust to disarm your system and unlock the door using the app or a key code based on parameters you set. These parameters can be time-based or — uniquely — event-based. So, you can set it to let Suzy in if a package shows up at your door and to let the plumber in if a leak detector is triggered.

It can also leverage the Familiar Face feature of Google’s Nest cameras and the Yale lock’s connection to the ADT system to have the home “magically” disarm itself and unlock the door when it recognizes a trusted neighbor. 

The Yale Assure Lock 2 is being offered in a bundled starter kit for the new system, which regularly costs $658.98 but is launching with a 30 percent discount for $461.29. The Front Door Protection bundle includes the new base station, two door/window sensors, a Yale Assure Lock 2, and a Google Nest Doorbell (battery). Professional monitoring is $45 a month and includes a subscription to Nest Aware for event-based video recording (if you want 24/7 video recording, it’s an extra $7).

The premium Total Safety package adds a third door/window sensor, a motion sensor, three Google Nest Cams (Nest Cam indoor, Nest Cam indoor/outdoor, and Nest Cam floodlight), and three water temp sensors for $1,101.76 (reg $1,573.95). You can also build a package that starts at $269 for the base station and one door/window sensor.

The ADT Plus system can be self-installed and self-monitored. However, you have to pay for one month of monitoring to purchase the system — after that, you can self-monitor for free, according to the company. For professional installation, a 36-month monitoring plan is required.

The new ADT Plus system borrows heavily from the much-missed Google Secure system. It has a similar-looking base station that features a backlit touch-button keypad with proximity sensing and the option of premium door and window sensors, similar to the Nest Detects that were part of Nest Secure. The sensor can be disabled with a button press — so you can let the dog out to pee without waking up the whole house — although it doesn’t double as a motion sensor like the Detect did.

Since Google’s investment in ADT in 2020, there have been several changes at the top of the company, with many Nest employees moving over from Google to ADT —including Thorsen and new CTO Gilles Drieu, who was director of engineering at Google Nest.

This all means the new hardware has Nest’s fingerprint all over it. I’m looking forward to testing it out to see if it’s a worthy Nest Secure successor. However, while ADT Plus works with Google Nest hardware, the company tells me it’s not compatible with the Google Home app — app control is only through the ADT Plus app.

As someone who has covered the smart home and home security for over a decade, I’m excited to see better integration and innovation between the two areas, which have been largely segmented to date. At the same time, it’s frustrating that this is all still locked within a closed ecosystem. It will be interesting to see where ADT, Google, and Yale take this.