Universal Security Instruments 4-in-1 Universal Smoke-Sensing Technology Hardwired Smart Alarm, Model MDSCN111

I did a lot of research on this product as I wanted something that could cover Smoke, Fire, CO and Natural Gas all in one. I had read some reviews of this product that were very negative and was a bit skeptical at first, but since there was no other system that had such features, I went ahead and purchased this product anyway, 6 of them for my entire house, replacing my old Firex Smoke/Fire systems. I have installed all of these units and they worked perfect right out from the box. you can read the specifications of this system, it can detect all hazards that you can think about inside the house, slow/fast moving fires, CO, Natural Gas from your stove or heating system. You do not need to have multiple systems in your house. IT fits in your existing base in the house. I had to replace the base ring on the ceiling, the new ring came with the unit and there were various options in the ring to fit into my previous base. I am very delighted to have this product and feel much secure. I highly recommend this product, this product is flawless. I only wish it had wireless interconnect vs hardwired.that it has today. Hopefully Universal will add that feature. My house had half of the units interconnected as I had wiring in place, the rest I will have to interconnect at a later date. If the unit had wireless you do not need a wiring running through your house. I rate this product a 5 STAR. I will update the comment if the units fail in future, if you do not see any further update, my units are working that they are today :) ...

Ordered this as an exact model replacement for one that had reached its end of life. Although it was the same exact model number with all the same functions and external dimensions, the manufacturer has changed the mounting bracket design and the new detector would not mount on the old bracket. Not a huge deal as the bracket is only held on by two screws, but it did add additional work that I wasn’t expecting to have to do. If you, like me, order this to replace a seven year old model of the exact same model to “plug and play”, think again! Overall they are an excellent unit and I have been more than pleased with both of them I have.

Universal Security Instruments MDSCN111 4-in-1 IoPhic Smoke, Fire, CO and Natural Gas Alarm I decided to order these USI alarms after seeing the video of a young mother who loss 4 young children in a home fire. She had just installed new smoke-fire alarms with new batteries 2 weeks before the fire, but the alarms failed to sound off in time for her to reach the children sleeping upstairs. A controlled test conducted with those same type of smoke-fire alarms demonstrated that they sounded off way too late to save people because they would be overcome by smoke inhalation by the time the alarms finally sounded off. The alarms were among the most popular kind consumers buy because they are reasonably priced and easy to install…the same type my husband had bought from Home Depot and installed in our house. According to the information I gathered before ordering these 4-in-1 alarms from Amazon, the ‘better’ and more reliable alarms are those which are interconnected so that when one alarm sounds off ALL of the alarms sound off. These alarms work as a system, so they must be wired correctly. Following is a summary of our experience with the USI MDSCN111 4-in-1 Alarms from Jan. 30 to Sept. 11, 2013 with lastest update Nov. 4, 2013.1. First Order Placed: Jan. 30, 2013 for 5 alarms @$51.03 x 5 = $255.15Feb. 18, 2013: Hired a certified electrician to install the alarms. He recommended 5 upstairs & 2 downstairs. He installed the 5 alarms upstairs & would return to complete installation when the other 2 alarms are delivered.2. Second Order Placed: Feb. 18, 2013 for 2 alarms @$48.56(Amazon shipping date: Feb. 20, 2013 Delivery date: Feb. 25, 2013)The electrician returned to install the 2 alarms downstairs & tested to see if all 7 alarms were working properly both independently as well as together. 3 things are required for the alarms to work properly: The green LED lights must light up & stay on, each alarm must sound off when the test button is pushed, and ALL 7 interconnected alarms should sound off when one alarm goes off. One of the alarms didn’t work correctly—the green light goes on & the alarm sounds off when the test button is pushed, but it didn’t set off the other interconnected alarms.3. Third Order Placed: Mar. 11, 2013We notified Amazon of the issue with the alarm & requested a replacement.Amazon sent an email to notify us that a replacement order was being shipped in one day on Mar. 12, 2013 and reminded us to return the defective alarm in a separate email. We mailed the alarm Mar. 13, 2013.Our electrician returned for the third time to install the new alarm.Amazon refund for one defective alarm: April 3, 20134. My husband emailed USI Electric on Mar. 11, 2013 to notify them of the alarm issue, and Sharon Yelton, Customer Service Representative, responded Mar. 12, 2013 telling him that she would send a connector plug. He lets her know that the defective alarm was returned to Amazon, and Sharon told him she would refer the issue to USI Electric’s Senior Engineer Mike Woznicki.5. Mike Woznicki emailed on Mar. 13, 2013 and asked my husband to call him to resolve the alarm issue. After following Mike’s instructions to reinstall the alarm in question and checking it out, the alarm still did not function properly. My husband sent the alarm to Mike at his request.Mike emailed Mar. 25, 2013 stating that “…there was a blown resistor that could only have been caused by 120VAC applied to the interconnect” and told us to have the electrician check the wiring before installing a new alarm. USI Electric sent a new alarm (no charge).Our electrician returns for the third time to check all the wiring before installing the replacement sent by USI Electric.HOORAY! All 7 alarms are synced and working…until the third week in June 2013.The green lights in 2 of the units went out. It was brought to our attention by an infrequent, single, high-pitched, chirping sound, which caused our dog to bark like crazy. Thinking that it was the battery, my husband installed a new battery in each, but the light was still out and it chirped again. After reading the fine print on the unit itself, it indicated that the battery brand was very specific, so he bought new Energizer batteries, which did not resolve the problem.My husband read through the "Operational Summery" chart in the instruction sheet and could not find a situation in which the green light stayed off and there was not a sequence nor timing for the chirping sound.We called back the electrician who installed the units for the fourth time. He could not detect any error in the wiring, so he did a simple test. He took a unit with the green light on and installed it in the site of one of the defective units. The green light lit up, confirming that the electrical wiring was not at fault.All of this frustration with the alarm units was explained in a July 26, 2013 email to Mike Woznicki. Mike responded on July 31, 2013 asking us to return the 2 malfunctioning alarm units and that he would send out new units when he received them plus reimburse us for the postage up to $10.We had just returned from a trip Sept.4, and the two new alarm units had been delivered. My husband finally found enough energy to install them on Sept.10.Hooray!! ALL 7 alarms are working individually and together at this time of writing…but who knows WHEN or IF any of the alarms will quit on us again!I will update this review then…but hopefully I won’t have to. Of course I pray that we will never have to experience a real home fire.LATEST UPDATE Nov. 4 to 10, 2013: ENOUGH ALL READY…WE GIVE UP!!We went to Los Angeles for a nephew’s wedding and left Honolulu, Hawaii Oct. 31st. While on the road the night of Nov. 4th at about 8:00PM, my husband got a phone call from our next-door neighbor that an alarm was going off and my dog was barking like crazy. Our young friend who was house and dog sitting for us was not home from work yet. We had to pull over to the curb on a busy street so my husband could talk to the neighbor and direct him to get a flashlight and walk over to our house to turn off the main switch for the USI alarms located on an outside side wall. Our neighbor reported that the alarm was still sounding off after he flipped the switch off. We forgot that the battery backup in the alarms kick in when the electric source fails, so the alarms kept sounding off and my dog was still barking. So thinking that it could be the security alarm instead of the USI alarm, my husband immediately called our house sitter who fortunately told us he was just a few minutes from home. Our house sitter called the security alarm company as soon as he got to the house to see if there was a malfunction issue, but he was told it didn’t go off at all.My husband remembered the battery backup for the USI alarms when our house sitter called back to tell him it wasn’t the security alarm sounding off. My husband had told our house sitter about the USI alarms and showed him where they were located before we left on our trip. He apologized to our house sitter for the USI alarm issue and had to explain over the phone how to remove ALL 7 alarms upstairs and downstairs. Because they are interconnected removing one alarm does not disarm the system. Thankfully our nice neighbor stayed to help remove the alarms.We returned home Nov. 10th to find the 7 USI alarms lined up on our dining room table. My husband is completely exasperated with these alarms and getting ready to pack and ship them back with a letter requesting a FULL REFUND to USI Electric’s Senior Engineer Mike Woznicki. Unfortunately we cannot demand a refund for the over $500 cost we paid the electrician to install the faulty alarms…not to mention the amount of stress and frustration we have endured dealing with all the malfunctioning issues and mailing alarms back and forth to USI.DO NOT BUY THESE FAULTY USI ALARMS!

I have purchased 3 of these now to replace my old USI smoke detectors. One of them was faulty and after about 6 months started giving false carbon monoxide alarms that would not go away. The first time happened in the middle of the night and my 2 and 3 y/o children woke up crying and we evacuated to my parents house around 3am. It was still going off the next day so we called the fire department and they didn't find any carbon monoxide in the house. After all of that, I purchased another one which fixed the problem. Other than having to deal with the faulty one for a while these smoke detectors do a good job and do not go off as often when I am cooking as the previous ones I had, not to say that I still don't set them off. I like the fact that these can detect natural gas. If a flame goes out on the stove when you are trying to keep something warm you won't smell the gas because it fills the air slowly and your nose will fail to recognize it. This happened once before I had this alarm, fortunately my wife came home and smelt it before the house blew up. Either way, I haven't had it happen again but it is good to know if it happens again the alarm should catch it. I recommend this alarm but hope that you don't get a faulty one like I did.

I ordered this item as a replacement for a carbon monoxide and smoke detector that I had on the main floor of my house. It is located next to my kitchen and since I have a gas stove and range, it was important to have a gas detector along with the others. I was able to install this quickly and was surprised to find that it worked with my other Kidde detectors in the house. A test of this unit also triggered alarms on the Kidde units.

4 function in one. Installed on a previous filter holder on the wall, so did not drill the wall etc. Can’t beat the price. I also could not find this many functional type in my local store. I can’t comment on battery life of it though yet.