Honeywell Lyric Wi-Fi Leak and Freeze Detector review: Honeywell's Leak Detector impresses, for a price

When you think of luxury products, you probably don't picture flood sensors. But Honeywell's Lyric Wi-Fi Leak and Freeze Detector is just that. It can do more than its competitors, and it's easier to use, since it doesn't need a smart hub to function.

6.8

Honeywell Lyric Wi-Fi Leak and Freeze Detector

$76 at Walmart

$90 at Amazon

The Good

The Honeywell Lyric Leak and Freeze Detector has one of the most feature-rich builds of any flood sensor on the market.

The Bad

The high price seems inappropriate for a device that isn't waterproof and integrates with hardly any other gadget.

The Bottom Line

Honeywell's gadget is an impressive piece of smart-home tech, but its price feels a little too high for most consumers. And the fact it isn't waterproof is a major problem.

What could be a great premium device, however, doesn't quite live up to the hype. A few odd design choices make its $80 price tag feel too steep.

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Here are the specs for the Honeywell Lyric Wi-Fi Leak and Freeze Detector:

• Connects with Wi-Fi (meaning no smart hub is needed)
• Measures temperature and humidity
• Includes a cable to extend its sensing range
• Can send alerts in case of flood, or specific temperature/humidity levels
• Battery-powered with an estimated life of 1-3 years (depending on your settings)

Just in terms of skills, this flood sensor beats out pretty much all the competition. Its cable range extender makes it a much more flexible device for the needs of different users. And its battery power is impressive, considering Wi-Fi-based gadgets typically require more power than Z-Wave or Zigbee devices.

But the Honeywell has two problems. First, it isn't waterproof. That means more than a centimeter of water on the floor, and you're starting to jeopardize the electrical guts of your device. This is the definition of a screen door on a submarine, and I have a hard time explaining such a design decision, other than to call it a major mistake.

Second, the Honeywell doesn't integrate with anything other than the Honeywell Lyric Thermostat . That means even the cheaper D-Link Flood Sensor, which also uses Wi-Fi connection, beats the Lyric out by integrating with IFTTT.

Between the lack of waterproof design, the limited integration possibilities, and the high price, users might be reticent to pull out their wallets. And besides, do you really need all these features? Maybe, maybe not.

Either way, the Honeywell Lyric Wi-Fi Leak and Freeze Detector is an impressive product in terms of features. It's just hard to reconcile the price with such a basic design flaw as not being waterproof.