If your home has ever been damaged by water from a washing machine, faulty water heater or even a sink, you know how expensive repairs can be. The D-Link DCH-S161 for $ 49.99 is a Wi-Fi enabled sensor, which sounds a siren and sends a push alert to your phone when it detects moisture, which can prevent serious damage to floors, walls and cabinets. . It supports Google Assistant voice commands and can trigger other smart devices, such as cameras and smart jacks, but does not support Amazon Alexa voice commands or Apple's HomeKit platform, and lacks humidity and temperature sensors. $ 500 Flo by Moen remains our publisher's choice, but the DCH-S161 is a solid alternative if you're shopping on a budget.

Design and features

The DCH-S161 consists of a 2.6-by-2.6-1.1 inch (HWD) water sensor unit and a 5.9-foot sensor probe cable. The main unit contains a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radio for home network connection and a 90dB siren that sounds for water detection (in addition to a push notification on the phone). The top of the unit has a Reset button and an Action button with an LED that flashes orange during setup, flashes red when the sensor has lost its connection and is solid green when successfully connected. Pressing the button will silence the siren.

The front of the device holds the siren speaker, and the lower edge has a socket for the sensor cable. The sensor is powered by two AA batteries that can be accessed by removing a rear panel. The sensor cable has a socket at one end that connects to the main sensor unit and a probe at the other end that detects water and sends data to the main unit via cable. The main unit is not intended to come into contact with water and must be installed above the area where the water will be collected. It has two mounting holes on the back and comes with two mounting screws, two AA batteries and a quick start guide.

The DCH-S161 is not equipped with the temperature and humidity sensors that you get with the Honeywell Lyric Wi-Fi Freeze and Water Detector, and as such cannot be protected from frost pipes and high humidity conditions. It also does not support Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit voice commands. However, it supports Google Assistant voice service and will tell you if water has been detected and supports IFTTT applets that allow it to trigger other smart devices. You can also use the app to create automation to trigger other D-Link devices, such as smart jacks and cameras. For example, you can start it on a pump connected to a smart outlet if water is detected.

Speaking of the app, DCH-S161 uses the same mydlink mobile app (for Android and iOS) as the Mini Wi-Fi Smart Plug DSP-W118. You can place shortcuts for devices and automations installed on the dashboard screen and touch any shortcut to access a device or enable automation. At the bottom of the screen are the Device, One-Tap, Events & Video and Settings buttons.

When you touch the Device button, open a bubble icon screen for each category of mydlink devices installed (cameras, jacks, sensors, etc.). Touch the sensor bubble to access the DCH-S161 water sensor screen, then touch the wheel icon to access the sensor settings. Here you can change the sensor's name and location, change your Wi-Fi settings, update your firmware, and set up rich notifications, which allow you to assign a designated contact that you can call with the touch of a button when the sensor was triggered.

Use the One-Tap button to create scenes that allow you to control multiple devices with one touch. The Events and Video button lets you view videos recorded by any D-Link cameras installed. The Settings button takes you to a screen where you can create automations, add new devices and edit your account information.

Installation and performance

I had the DCH-S161 up and running in a few minutes. I started by opening the app and touching Add a device (if you don't already have a mydlink account, you'll need to download the app and create one before installing the sensor). Following the on-screen instructions, I used my phone to scan the QR code on the back of the sensor, connected the sensor cable, and removed the back cover to install the two AA batteries. When the LED started flashing orange, I hit Next and used my phone's Wi-Fi settings to connect to the sensor's SSID. I went back to the app and selected my SSID and Wi-Fi password at home, touched Next, and the sensor was connected immediately. I gave him a name and location (bathroom), and the installation of the application was complete.

The sensor worked well in the test, with the slightest exposure to water triggering the siren and a push alert. It also worked flawlessly with other devices; We have created an automation for the sensor to trigger a DSP-W118 smart connector to turn on when water has been detected and has been running every time. We also tested the sensor's IFTTT capabilities by creating an applet for the sensor to trigger a Flo By Moen water shut-off valve and ran smoothly. The 90dB siren was loud enough to be heard throughout the house.

conclusions

If you have a leaky toilet, washing machine or refrigerator or just want to make sure your basement stays dry when you encounter heavy rain or melting snow, consider using a D-Link mydlink Wi-Fi water sensor DCH-S161. It's a cinch to install and it worked well in testing and you can trigger it on other devices using mydlink automation and IFTTT applets. That said, it does not offer temperature detection that can help protect against damage from frozen pipes and does not accept Alexa voice commands. If you need protection for the entire house against leakage systems and frozen pipes, the Flo by Moen Water Shutoff system is the way to go, but it's not cheap and requires professional installation. However, he runs daily water system health tests and tells you how much water each body uses. Most importantly, the water automatically shuts off if it feels pressure and abnormal water flow.