Smart Mailbox Alarm, Wireless Long Distance Mailbox Alert, Mailbox Sensor with SBS50 Base Station for Worried Mail, SMA11

The X-Sense Smart Mailbox Alarm was easy to install. It had very clear instructions that were easy to follow. I've only tested it out 3 times so far, but it works exactly as it is supposed to. I was concerned because I have a 5g network for my computers, and the X-Sense is incompatible with 5g. But, because I connected it to my Apple iPhone X, it had no trouble connecting with 2.4g. The base station has a loud alert so I can hear it from other rooms in the house, and I also get a text message when the mailbox door is opened. The mail just came while I was writing this review, and it worked like a charm. I was a little leery, but this is an awesome product and is well worth the price. I just hope the mail person does not break it for me. They constantly jam oversized packages into the mail box using the theory that anything will fit with sufficient force. But I am more than satisfied with the mailbox alarm, the ease of installation, and the good instructions.

The X-Sense mailbox alarm SMA11 which includes the SBS50 base station and the SMA51 sensor works brilliantly. The sensor is small, relatively unobtrusive, and is built for outdoor use. It has an IP65 rating and UV‑resistant housing so it will stand up to rain and sun without looking bulky. The package includes a mounting bracket for the sensor and 2 pieces (1 spare) double‑sided tape for quick installation to your mailbox. The sensor detection combines an infrared sensor and a tilt/motion trigger. I have found that it gives fast, accurate alerts for my parcel letterbox and most likely for most mailbox types. The base station will sound an alarm of your choice from 7 preset alert tones on the base station and you'll get a push notification to your phone the moment the mail flap or mailbox is opened. Range will depend on placement of the SBS50 base station but X‑Sense advertises long‑range transmission suitable for typical suburban setups. The SMA51 sensor (that attaches to your letterbox door/mail flap/parcel door of the letterbox) uses a replaceable CR2 lithium battery and X‑Sense estimates that you'll get about four years of standby life based on approximately 5 triggers per day. Now I find that that excellent and makes for a very low‑maintenance sensor. The X-Sense home security app is fairly straightforward to use and it is from here that you can change alert tones and control the volume (up to 100 dB on the base station). You can share alerts with multiple other users/family members by adding in email addresses, they then get an invitation for which they will need to accept in order to share alerts. You can change device names and clear any alerts from the app or directly from the base station. Just be mindful that this device will not pair directly with your phone you will need the SBS50 base station unless you already have one or buy the kit. My installation is in an all steel bricked in parcel letterbox and the signal has no issue reaching the base station. I am extremely pleased with the operation of the X-Sense Mailbox Alarm so far. In my case I installed the sensor on the inside of the mail flap of the parcel letterbox and it works equally as good when I get mail or when I get a parcel.

I bought this to go with our new Adoorn post mounted locking mailbox. Based on another reviewer, I took a chance and mounted the sensor inside the box on the bottom of the pivoting mail drop door. It is completely hidden from sight and works perfectly. I even get alerts on my apple watch.

According to Google Maps, the sensor and base station are 100' from each other, though it's probably a little less (I did some manual measuring but did not want to run my reel tape across the street). Please see the associated picture for my setup. The base station is in my garage on large, cluttered steel shelving, and we have a metal garage door and stucco exterior. The mailbox is also metal, and although the company recommends installing the sensor on the outside of a metal mailbox, that's unreasonable if you think someone might be stealing your mail since they could just slide the sensor right off. So I installed it inside the mailbox. Part of the reason I got the sensor was neighbors complaining about their mail being stolen, but using "USPS Informed Delivery" I can see what I am expecting each day, and an alert from this sensor lets me grab the mail as soon as it arrives if I'm home. It's only been installed a few days but so far it has worked 100% of the time (as confirmed by my own testing and Ring cameras which snapshot every 30 seconds). My mailbox was here when we moved in, and it's a bit unusual. It has a swinging top portion and a locked lower portion. When the mail is delivered, the top portion opens enough that mail can come in, but not your hand, since there is a metal guard that also flips up. I installed the sensor on the lower, inside portion of the metal flap, so it does not block mail delivery (again, see photos), but that means there is always one or two layers of metal between the sensor and the outside which I was afraid would block the signal. In fact, I previously purchased a Ring mailbox sensor that never successfully alerted me to any mail. It triggered in a few tests, but was never reliable inside the box despite the huge antenna. One reason I bought the X-Sense was the separate base station, which could be closer to the mailbox than the Ring Bridge. Ring only lets you have one Bridge, and moving it to the front corner of the garage sacrificed the connection to the lights at the back of our property and still didn't detect the mail. Now the Ring Bridge is in the back of the house, and the X-Sense Base Station is in the Garage. The Ring Sensor might have theoretically been able to trigger cameras that would record who was accessing the mailbox, but since it never worked at all, it was a moot point. On sale, these units cost about the same (even with the X-Sense base station included). The X-Sense is also smaller and easier to install as well as being more effective and reliable. Contrary to another recent review, the app definitely works on Android. I am using a Pixel 6a (2.5yrs old at the time of my review) and it has no issues. Perhaps the other reviewer had a phone that was limited to an out of date Android OS. I am on Android 15. All in all, 5 stars! It even came with two adhesive pads for the backer. My only gripe is that has a two minute delay after triggering before it will trigger again, and I'd like to be able to adjust that timer, but I understand the reasoning.

Overall easy set up, good connection, work great. General: 1. Every item has an easy step up. 2. The range seems to be great. I've installed some smart switches, smart bulbs, and outlets that are quite touchy and don't have very good range, but not these. Seem to come right back when we loose power. Knock on wood, we haven't had problems with them going offline. 3. I saw a comments that you can't assign multiple accounts to the base station. This true, but you can put them all on one account and share them and that works fine. Note that the Mailbox Alarm and Hygrometer/Thermometers all share when added to the base station. For the Cameras you have to share each one individually. 4. These units all take "normal" batteries (triple or double AA, can't remember which) except the camera which have built in lithium rechargables. The app shows the battery strength which is handy. 5. I think the dashboard would be better if you had an option to see a tabular (spreadsheet style) display, especially if you have a lot of devices. App in general works well, but could be better. 6. No subscription required to get functionality Mailbox Alarm: Our mailbox is over 200 feet away and there is no line of sight, so I was concerned this would work but no problem. Hygrometers/Thermometers: These were $10 off for 3 with a base station, so that was cheaper then buying them individually. We have them outside (On a covered porch) and all over the house. We use some fans to move air from a finished basement to the upstairs to cut down on the AC. These have helped us improve the placement. Has an export data function, but I haven't tried it yet. Cameras: 1. You can get a cloud service subscription, but you don't have to. Motion sensing works great. At medium it triggers on people but not the cats. 2. We are mostly shady, but the solar cells seem to draw enough to keep the cameras charged up. You need to get a SD card per camera if you want to store and retrieve. 3. The share function requires more steps and has to be done for each camera. Seemed to lag from when you shared to when you could access, but they all eventually worked (maybe 5 minutes?). Could be because some where updating firmware. 4. These work where other items were not able to get on the WIFi. 5. There is some lag in the motion alarm and the actual motion. 6. You get a mic and speaker on each camera. Work fine with few second lag. 7. Each camera takes it's own SD card. Supposed to be able to download, but I haven't found that. 8. Viewing the recorded videos is 3 steps in the app (Click camera, then gear, then history) Would be better right Camera click. Not the greatest for picking out recordings (you have to scroll a line to a dot) but it all works. Mailbox Alarm, Security Cameras and Hygrometer All Work Great