Kidde Fire Safety Reviews 

Do not buy kidde smoke detectors. We remodeled and purchased 7 alarms. After 2 months they started chirping for no reason. Called kidde support and was told the batteries that come with units are test batteries only. Batteries have to be at least 4 years expiration from date. No help. No apology. No explanation anywhere in packaging that these are test batteries only. For the price they should include the proper batteries. As I said do not purchase kidde smoke detectors.

Purchased 7 Kidde KF20 alarms in April 2024.
Shortly after installation one of them woke the household up at 3am with a false alarm. No obvious cause. I then bought a further two, one as a replacement and one as a spare.
Since then three of them have produced false alarms for no apparent reason.
I'll attempt to get some recompense, as these are still under warranty. But I've now no faith in Kiddie products, so won't be interested in replacements. These replaced ionization type alarms which were well past their renewal date. These never created any false alarms.

The smoke alarm did fail within warranty, but I can't fault the claiming under the warranty procedure. On the Sunday I sent an email to them with the model number, date of manufacture and detailing the problem. They replied the next day asking for the receipt which I sent them the same day. A new smoke alarm was posted on the Wednesday and delivered on the Thursday.

I had a terrible experience with their new wireless combo product with 10 year batteries last summer. I had a customer wanting to replace 9 devices in their home. I chose them as a premium product and company. Installed. A few days later, I went back to the customer and 2 of the devices were in a bucket in the back yard. Started chirping and talking in the middle of the night. I replaced and then 3 more started chirping. I had to remove them all. Called Kidde support and asked for a refund. They required me to send back at my own expense. Sent 8 back, got refunds from Home Depot on rest. They asked me to send them an invoice and they would reimburse. I sent back in May 2024. To date, they have failed to refund my money. I have followed up multiple times and they have told me to expect 6-8 weeks twice. I at the end of the 2nd 8 week promise.
Suggestions for Kidde improvement.
1. Build a better product.
2. Do what you say you are going to do. If you tell me payment in 6-8 weeks, deliver. Don't fail...twice.
3. Don't financially impact small businesses with poor services and product.

Refund finally delivered in November 2024. Added one star.

I have had many of these Kidde combination smoke and fire alarms, and they failed well before the warranty date. There seems to be a quality issue, perhaps in their China factories. However, customer service is pleasant, and did replace them.

I bought a twin-pack of domestic smoke alarms from Costco a while back. The first unit worked ok (ie. didn't go off) for some months then started to beep during cooking, even tho' the coconut/olive oil wasn't even smoking. It was situated on the hall wall about 5m from the kitchen. Then it started to sound in the middle of the night and other random times. It hadn't been in place even a year. I replaced it with the second unit which, again, worked ok (ie. didn't go off) until it too started to beep during normal cooking. I contacted Kidde via their website - as usual, you cannot find a number to speak to anyone - asking about this and got no reply. After a month I wrote a second time, and again, to this day, months later, no reply. We got a refund from Costco and I now have another brand of detector. Poor product (in this case) and even worse customer service.

KIDDE/FIREX recently updated their combo smoke/CO detectors again (models & packaging).
Quite surprising and all of the former devices are no longer available in stores, and the large retail stores only carry the newer devices.
The one good change is that a major flaw from the former upgraded design (with the hardwired 10-year worry-free batteries) is the giant "bump" on the underside of the device intended to be recessed inside of 4x4 electric box.
That was a poor design given the fact that most junction boxes are already jam-packed with wires & wire nuts, without the ability to shove part of the smoke detector inside that compartment; compared to the flush mounted ceiling detectors from previous models/versions.
So at least that was resolved.
However, I just wasted $130 after receiving 2 incorrect smoke/CO detectors because the packaging for models 30CUA10-V and 30CUA10 are nearly IDENTICAL!
Massachusetts, like other states, has very strict fire codes and Fire Inspectors will not pass a smoke inspection without the "talking" voice alarms (for combo units), yet these 2 models (1 with Voice / 1 without Voice) have nearly identical packaging, and you have to VERY carefully read the one very minor difference on the front of the package to notice it, aside from $10 difference in price.
So the contractors accidentally picked-up the wrong packages and installed the wrong devices - the boxes were tossed-out, so I can't return them for credit/refund.
A simple mistake yet now I have to pay $130 for alarms that I'll NEVER be able to re-use at any other Massachusetts property.
The irony is that those COMBO non-voice alarms are not code-compliant and shouldn't be sold in Massachusetts stores at all.

kidde smoke alarm
have used for many years with No Problem.
Last (2) a year old & have become faulty & THEY WILL NOT REPLACE? Our Very LAST KIDDE PRODUCT!

Over engineered, sleep violating pieces of crap. That's how I describe Kidde smoke detectors. None in outr house are more than 6 years old and most have been replaced due to false alarms. Replace the battery and the chirping just comes back in two days. Customer service expects me to plug this thing back in and have them listen to it malfunction over the phone? Really?

In my experience, Kidde doesn't have a full grasp of customer service. While they went through the motions they don't connect the dots. I had a smoke/CO2 detector that was ruined when some Kidde branded batteries that were powering the unit leaked.

I contacted Kidde, provided the requested info, and they indicated they would send a replacement. Seemed like great customer service.

Well the replacement arrived and to replace the battery powered standalone unit they sent an AC powered interconnectable unit that has battery backup but isn't designed to be stand alone battery powered. Customer service confirmed that the replacement needed to AC powered.

I now have a replacement which an electrician would be more happy to bill me for wiring and installation.

So much for customer service.

Adding insult to injury, the replacement unit's reviews are "mediocre" at best - approximately half at 1 star and half at 5 star. Doesn't inspire confidence.

Incredibly poor after sales support.

Carbon monoxide alarm with a 7 year life (allegedly supported by a warranty) manufactured 28 Dec 2022, develops a fault in July 2024 ... Despite this being clearly printed on the device, the manufacturer offers no support/recompense as the receipt is no longer available.

The replacements for the faulty units have now both failed. To be fair they lasted a year! I will never trust a product from this company again

BOUGHT THIS ALARM 18/10 /20 WITH A 10 YEAR GUARANTEE .IT WOULD NOT STOP BEEPING .PHONED CUSTOMER SERVICE .HOPELESS AND ASKED IF I HAD HOOVERED IT OUT,WHAT A JOKE.WOULD NOT SEND ME A NEW ONE AS I PUT MY FOOT ON IT TO STOP.THEY ARE A JOKE.PUTTING MY FOOT ON THE OTHER ONE TOO.GET STUFFED SCAMMERS.

Avoid that fire extinguishers. They say warranty for 6 years, but they break within a month. Do not do not do not buy

it really sucks. it turns on randomly even when there’s literally no smoke

Do not buy these smoke alarms, They say that they "Last 10 years" NO THEY DON'T! They only last like 2 Months, I have an autistic son who is very scared of loud noises, And every time they go off, He is very scared and cries, And we get them replaced then, Then the same thing happens, And if you want better smoke alarms, buy smoke alarms like First Alert, Not Kidde.

Avoid unless you like being woken up at night by false alarms.
Purchase 6 kf20 smoke alarms last year, random activation always at night and only for 10 seconds. All now removed and disposed off. Believe the reviews and avoid.

Kidde carbon monoxide detector fitted by the company who fitted my log burner. Supposed to be battery powered for 10 years with no option to change battery and failed within 18 months. Makes an annoying beep every minute which is loud enough to stop you getting to sleep. Pressing button stalls it for 24 hours then it starts again. Of course I don't want to die of carbon monoxide poisoning so this is a serious piece of kit.
Tried to get a replacement from Kidde but they (I could name the person who responded but this seems unfair) wanted a receipt (I don't have), the serial number (none on the device) and the year of manufacture (ok).
Terrible service and terrible products.

Bought a combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarm in 2019. Ran 4 years with no problems whatsoever, just the normal battery change. On last change of battery (Duracell plus) alarm kept informing of flat battery after just three weeks, (this happened twice) Contacted Kidde (Salah Bahaa) who after a few questions replaced alarm with free post as it has a 10 year guarantee. No ifs, buts, whys or wherefores, just great service from a great company.

I've removed my scathing, seething review. I wrote it when I was angry, and have calmed down now. My cat seems ok, so I'm just grateful he isn't injured in some way. Happy 2024 everyone.