How to install a wireless burglar alarm
Updated: 20.10.2026
You have the carton open, and a Saturday that disappears if the first sensor goes on the wrong door. How to install a wireless burglar alarm, for the kits in our [alarm systems comparison](/hub/burglar-protection/alarm-systems), is a placement job rather than a rewiring job. Peter F. used Yale's HSA and ESS manuals, Ring's UK placement article, and public UK notes on sirens and false alarms. We did not time a walk test in a lab. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have the carton open, and a Saturday that disappears if the first sensor goes on the wrong door.
You have the carton open, and a Saturday that disappears if the first sensor goes on the wrong door. How to install a wireless burglar alarm, for the kits in our alarm systems comparison, is a placement job rather than a rewiring job. Peter F. used Yale's HSA and ESS manuals, Ring's UK placement article, and public UK notes on sirens and false alarms. We did not time a walk test in a lab. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Contacts in the kit | How it is fixed | Outside siren | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  X-Sense X-Sense AS05 | 2 door sensors | Self-adhesive pads or screws | No outdoor siren | 9.0 | about £59.49 | View offer |
| Best value |  Yale Yale HSA Essentials | 1 door contact | Battery kit, siren high on the wall | Yes, stated at 104 dB | 8.8 | about £81.88 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Ring Ring Alarm Pack L with outdoor siren | 4 contacts | Adhesive pads in the reviews | Yes, battery until it is wired | 8.0 | about £269.99 | View offer |
On this page
Plan the openings before you peel the tape
Sketch the ground floor before you peel a pad. Mark the final exit, the other outside doors, and the ground-floor windows someone could reach from a path or a flat roof. A door contact tells you that leaf moved. A motion sensor tells you a warm body crossed its view. If the back door is the way you leave, that door is the final exit.
Yale's HSA manual and Ring's UK placement article start with front, side and rear doors, then ground-floor windows, and Ring says not to leave the landing uncovered. If the carton holds one contact, that is a buying limit. Which kits include more is on best DIY home alarm UK. Permission for a rented wall sits on burglar alarm for a flat UK.
Contacts, keypad, then PIRs
Fit the final-exit contact first, then the keypad, then one PIR across the hall, and walk the route before you add the rest. On a uPVC door the magnet goes on the opening leaf and the switch on the frame, shut when the door is latched. A contact on a door that does not fully close will chirp in the wind. That is a joinery fault.
Put the keypad indoors, beside that exit, at about chest height. Yale's ESS manual uses that position and a 20-second example. Treat 20 seconds as that manual's example. Time your own walk on a Ring or X-Sense kit.
Yale's HSA manual puts a PIR at 1.9 to 2 metres, in a corner, looking across the walk. Do not aim it at the door that already has the contact. Adhesive pads appear in X-Sense copy. Screws are the alternative on the AS05. Do not open a detector to look at the battery: tamper switches sound when the cover moves. A mains hub needs a BS 1363 socket. Do not run a lead across the hall you use to get out.
The outside box and the cut-out
An external siren belongs high, on a wall you control, out of easy reach from a flat roof or a side gate. A box at shoulder height beside the back door is a handhold. If the carton has no outdoor siren, do not park a second indoor sounder in the porch. The base station is the sounder on several Ring packs. X-Sense reviewers say those kits have no outdoor siren to add.
Stop when the next fixing needs a ladder you would not use to clean a gutter. North Yorkshire's noise pages expect a cut-out around 20 minutes under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. Do not store 999 as a dialler number. If an insurer has named a grade or a unique reference number, an NSI or SSAIB firm fits that path.
If it still false-alarms
A PIR sees moving heat. A radiator at 6am, sun on glass, and a cat at lens height are the usual night calls. Which? reported that 21 percent of people in its false-alarm survey blamed a pet. Point the lens away from the radiator and the glass. Do not paste Ring's under-22 kg pet note onto a Yale or an X-Sense sensor.
If the siren still sounds with the heating off and the doors shut, stop opening covers and call an NSI or SSAIB installer when you need a certificate.
Common questions
Where do I put the first door contact?
On the door you use to leave and to come back, usually the front or the back, not on an internal cupboard. The magnet sits on the leaf and the switch on the frame, closed when the door is latched. A second contact is the next outside door, not a second magnet on the same frame.
How high should the motion sensor be?
Yale's HSA manual states 1.9 to 2 metres, in a corner, looking across the walk. That is a Yale figure for that manual, not a stamp for every brand in the comparison. Keep the lens off a radiator and off glass that takes the afternoon sun. Fit this PIR after the contact and the keypad, then walk through it once before you add another.
Where does the keypad go?
Indoors, by the entry door, at about chest height, where you can see the keys and the street cannot. Yale's ESS note uses that position. Do not put it in a front window. The delay has to match the walk from that door to those keys. Yale's 20-second example belongs to that manual. Time your own walk on a Ring or X-Sense kit rather than copying the number.
Can I stick sensors instead of drilling?
Yes, where the kit supplies adhesive pads, which X-Sense copy and several Ring reviews describe. Screws are the alternative on the X-Sense AS05 if the frame is dusty or the door slams. Pads can still mark paint when you leave, so ask a landlord before you stick them. Do not open the sensor to hide a cable. The tamper switch is meant to sound if the cover moves.
Why does the alarm go off when the heating comes on?
The PIR is looking at moving heat. A radiator, a sun patch, or a pet at the lens will trip it. Which? tied pets to 21 percent of the false-alarm answers in its survey. Move the sensor off the heat source and test again with the heating on.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are from amazon.co.uk on 19 October 2026.
- NPCC — Police requirements and response to security systems (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- NSI — Intruder alarm systems (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- legislation.gov.uk — Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, Part 7 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- ProtectUK — Alarms and CCTV (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Avon and Somerset Police — Burglar alarms (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Ring — Plans (UK) (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Yale — Subscription service (UK) (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Yale — Smart sensor FAQ (retrieved 19.10.2026)