AX PRO Hikvision Alarm Panels. Any good?

[nathanb]

I have Hikvision NVR and cameras. I'm considering replacing an old alarm panel with AX Pro.

• What are you experiences with AX Pro? Are they any good, reliable, and good value for the money?
  • Is the firmware stable or similar issues to NVR/intercom issues?
• Is integration with NVR/HikConnect worth it? Only benefit I can think of is that it's under one app. What else?
• I'd like to reuse my wired legacy sensors so need the Hybrid model. Can use-ip source these? I didn't see it in the shop
• Any experience self-installing the panel and connecting existing sensors. I am fairly handy so I'd like to give it a go

Any thoughts welcome.

 

[drmaven]

Unfortunately I am very disappointed with AX Pro. And this is coming from someone extremely tech-savy and very excited to switch to it.

I have the DS-PWA96-M2H-WE and the multitransmitter to convert the older but very reliable wired sensors. Bear in mind that my usecase may not apply to you, as I have a very large setup.

Pros:
1) Can integrate it into Home assistant for more automations. This was one of the main reasons I bought it and perhaps the only reason other than the cost that I still keep it.
2) Same app for NVR
3) I had an installer do the connections with the wired sensors, but the alarm setup itself was fairly straightforward inside the app.
4) Auto-bypass zones when arming the system. However, manual bypass takes quite a few steps and is cumbersome.

Cons:
1) Wireless performance is horrible, coming from the wired DSC Powerseries neo with some extremely good wireless sensors and fobs. The remote fob is useless and has very limited range. I had to buy 2 wireless range extenders, but sensors AND fobs need to be connected to a specific range extender. This is stupid in this day and age where we have mesh systems, as eg I have to think about which extender each fob is associated with to use it, otherwise it doesn't work. Oh and sensors cannot be updated if they are connected to an extender, so this means that I cannot upgrade sensors on older firmware as they are too far from the main panel in the basement. Some sensors are installed on fences so they are impossible to reach and take down without becoming Spiderman. And it seems to me that the range extenders cannot connect to other range extenders, so the final range is again limited.
2) Adding to (1), sensors keep going offline at random times and then come back in a few hours or days, whatever.
3) Navigating inside the Hik-Connect app is sometimes laggy, especially going back and forth between NVR and alarm if need be. But the worst thing is that if the app is in the background and I open it again after some time, it doesn't automatically update with the state of the alarm. So it can show wrong state of the alarm status (eg show armed, when in fact it's disarmed)! There's a 'last updated at time', but for older people, this is hard to notice. The status should update automatically.
4) Some times push notifications arrive a few minutes late. And they don't include the zone that triggered the alarm, so you have to open the app, losing some valuable seconds.
5) When I bought the system, there was no way to have an external 4G antenna. Having the main panel in the basement, means that no signal at all can reach the panel. Input for an external antenna would solve this. Not sure if this is fixed nowadays.
6) This was supposed to be a 'pro' but I was severely let down: Intrusion verification with the connection of NVR cameras. First of all, cameras connected directly to the NVR were impossible to setup inside AX Pro that I gave up on them and moved them to a separate switch I had to buy. Then, I couldn't connect multiple zones to the same camera.
7) Integration with the Indoor Station DS-KH9510-WTE1(B) is atrocious. It uses older version of Hik-connect with limited features, and is so painfully slow that you cannot use it neither for the alarm nor for the NVR. Oh and it logs out of Hik-connect quite often.
8) No frequent firmware updates. Reports online that the latest v1.30 version bricked devices/broke setups. It has been pulled since February and no replacement is available.
9) Wireless control panels are slow to operate even on the latest firmware version and burn through the batteries quite fast. And perhaps most worryingly, I've had 3 occurences of the panels triggering Panic and Fire alarms by themselves. One was while I was outside the house, and the other 2 were while I was disarming the system.

In hindsight, I totally regret the very expensive investment and should have either stayed with the DSC Powerseries neo (or the qolsys?) or gotten the Ajax system.

Sorry for the long text, but I had to express my frustration with the system.

 

[nathanb]

@drmaven appreciate taking the time to give me your thoughts.

The main "pro" as you list is having the same app as the NVR so less cumbersome for daily operation, but it doesn't sound and nor have I read that it actually unlocks any smart features having the same ecosystem. So potentially not that big of a win.
The lack of integration and between the cameras and the alarms is disappointing. I've said it time-and-time again, Hik makes great hardware at the price point, but boy do they suck at software. This is is where I have buyers regret when I see what platforms like Unify can do once bought into their ecosystem.

I too am looking for a wired panel but will need small number of wireless sensors eventually added so the poor signal issue is concerning. That is basic requirement.

I too have the indoor screen, and have found integration with the NVR poor. It never did support stream encryption, but perhaps that has changed in more recent firmware, so if you don't think it seamlessly supports ax panel, than that also is not a great sign.

In hindsight, I totally regret the very expensive investment and should have either stayed with the DSC Powerseries neo (or the qolsys?) or gotten the Ajax system.

I'm not familiar with these apart from recently discovering Ajax, and I might take a look.
For now, I am leaning towards Pyronix Enforcer. I've had this in a previous home and it was reliable and app did the job. I can see there is an option to add a Pyronix panel to HikConnect (given Hik owns Pyronix). What you can do from there I am not sure. Only issue is I want hybrid setup so need to find Pyronix to work with wired sensors also.

I assume you are going to stick with AX pro given the investment?

 

[JB1970]

Only issue is I want hybrid setup so need to find Pyronix to work with wired sensors also.

@nathanb - I install Pyronix. You can do Pyronix wired, wireless or a combination of both.

Enforcer. It's primarily a wireless panel. There's a little I/O board that gives you just two wired zone connections (I'll usually use that for bell tamper if I can use a wired rather than wireless sounder). If you want more wired zones you can just add one or more EURO ZEM8 expanders (they are available standard or with PSU). As the Enforcer has built in WiFi, a wireless receiver and is usually bought as a kit with various sensors it's pretty cost effective.

Euro76. The replacement for the Pyronix Euro46. It's primarily a wired panel. Comes as a metal end station control unit with a remote keypad. 8 wired zones on board. You can then expand it with more wired zones using the EURO ZEM8 as above or add a EURO ZEM32-WE. The latter is the wireless receiver that enables 32 wireless zones to be added to the panel. Unfortunately there's no built in communications, so you need to add a DIGI-WIFI/XA (WiFi model), or a DIGI-LAN (Ethernet module).

Another option for a hybrid setup is Eaton/Scantronic. The i-on 40H comes with 10 zones on board, built in wireless receiver for wireless sensors, and has an Ethernet port for wired connection (for WiFi you can use their optional plug in module). The Eaton SecureConnect app is far more responsive than the Pyronix one (push notifications seem to come through faster than should be possible to go through the server) and there are no subscription costs for SecureConnect (unlike Pyronix HomeControl2.0)

 

[nathanb]

So given the choice, which would you recommend? The wireless pyronix with wired expander, the euro76 with DIGI-WIFI/XA (no lan cable nearby), or i-on 40H? I have 8-10 wired inputs (need to confirm), but may want to add a 2 wireless sensors later. Will need a wired sounder connected also.

Any rough sentiment on hardware cost?

The Eaton app while free, does look very basic. Mind you, not sure I recall what HomeControl and HikConnect (Ax pro) would do much different.

 

[nathanb]

I can see there is an option to add a Pyronix panel to HikConnect (given Hik owns Pyronix)

I tried this today with the existing panel I have access to. I could add the Enforcer panel (that is wifi enabled) in my hikconnect app using the "Pyronix" option under manual additions.
It added very basic arm/disarm buttons in HikConnect. It was very slow to load and I needed to enter the panel app id every time. It also did not notify when the panel alarm went off. If they could make this work like any other Hik device, where events are populated in the "notification" tab, that would be great. This is what I expect happens with an actual AX Pro panel. Am I right @drmaven?

@JB1970 it's been a while since I used Pyronix. Is the best app to use now HomeControl2.0 or ProControl+ still? HomeControl seems the more polished, but I'm reading ProControl can be used to add Hik cameras. Both are still slow, having to log into the panel each time.

So what app do you set up for your clients that have Pyronix and HikVision NVR?

 

[JB1970]

All alarm panels have their plus and minus points. I've been installing the Enforcer for over 10 years. It's relatively inexpensive, especially if you buy it as a kit with whatever devices you want. My annoyance is that it cannot be updated. Pyronix bring out some new device or feature but you have to have to be on version x.xx to use it and the only way to upgrade is replacing the PCB (I'm no eco warrior but throwing kit away because the manufacturer can't be arsed making it upgradable doesn't sit well with me). The WiFi module capability needed V10.x (throw away your V9.x), the Car Defender needs a newer version (throw away your early V10).Eaton, Honeywell and others can be updated to add new features quite simply.

Your best bet is just to price up what you need to migrate what you have now to a new system. If I was to be upgrading a system that already had 8 or 10 wired devices that I wanted to keep, the Eaton i-on 40h is what I'd be installing. 10 zones on board, wireless device ready, LAN port, and free app.

I just install both Hikvision and Pyronix apps - It's pointless using a single app if there's no real benefit.