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How to install a wireless burglar alarm

Updated: 16 October 2026

The box is open on a Saturday morning, and the front door is the one you will use at 7am on Monday. How to install a wireless burglar alarm, for the self-fitted kits in our [wireless alarm system](/hub/burglar-protection/wireless-alarm-system) comparison, is mostly about where each piece goes. The contact, the motion sensor and the siren can cancel each other out if you aim them at the same spot. This page is placement, entry delay and the noise cut-out. If a policy wants police attendance, stop and read [DIY alarm vs monitored alarm](/hub/burglar-protection/wireless-alarm-system/sub/wireless-alarm-system-vs-professional-monitoring). A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The box is open on a Saturday morning, and the front door is the one you will use at 7am on Monday.

Our top picks

X-Sense X-Sense AS05, 5-piece

Best overall

X-Sense X-Sense AS05, 5-piece
9.0/10about £59.49
View offer
Yale Yale HSA Essentials, 5-piece

Preis-Tipp

Yale Yale HSA Essentials, 5-piece
8.8/10about £81.88
View offer
Yale Yale IA-320 Sync, 6-piece

Rank 3

Yale Yale IA-320 Sync, 6-piece
8.6/10about £199.04
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Put the panel and keypad where you can reach them
  2. 2.Contacts on the doors you actually use
  3. 3.PIRs in corners, not at heat or glass
  4. 4.Siren, cut-out, and the point you stop

Put the panel and keypad where you can reach them

Start with power and the door you actually leave by. A plug-in hub wants a socket on the entry route, not a loft you cannot reach when it chirps at night. Ring and X-Sense setups follow the app. Yale Sync reviewers describe pulling battery tabs on pre-paired parts. Put the keypad beside that same door, at a height you can use with a bag in one hand. The Yale HSA states a 20 second entry and exit time. If you leave by the back door and the delay is set for the front, you will trip the alarm on your own way out. In a rental, an outdoor siren usually needs screws and the landlord's permission.

Contacts on the doors you actually use

Fit contacts on the doors a person can open from outside, before you cover every window. Ring's UK placement guide starts with front, side and rear doors. Yale's IA manual puts the contact high, with the magnet on the moving leaf and the sensor on the frame. A gap that is wider than the magnet's reach will show the door as open all day. Close the door and check the gap before you stick anything down. Name each contact in the app after the door, not sensor 2, or the alert at work will not tell you which leaf moved. If you aim the hallway PIR at a door which already has a contact, the motion sensor trips while you are still inside the entry delay.
X-Sense X-Sense AS05, 5-piece

Testsieger

X-Sense X-Sense AS05, 5-piece
9.0/10about £59.49
View offer

PIRs in corners, not at heat or glass

Yale's IA manual puts PIR sensors in a corner at 1.7 to 2.3 metres, not facing a window, a fire, a boiler or a radiator, and not aimed at a door that already has a contact. Ring's UK guide also prefers a corner and tells you to avoid direct sun. An X-Sense AS08 reviewer had to sit the PIR on the wall at about 1.5 metres, not on the ceiling. Yale's pet PIR accessory is described for animals under about 27 kg. Walk the room after you arm Home mode.

Siren, cut-out, and the point you stop

Police.uk says mount alarm boxes high, front and rear. Yale's manual says fit the siren as high as possible. An outside box is included with the Yale HSA, the IA-320, the IA-330, Ring Pack M and Ring Pack XL. Ring Pack S and both X-Sense kits in this set do not include one. A UK reviewer says the XUK cable is too short, so the sounder has to sit next to the panel. The best wireless alarm page names which box includes the siren. Set a cut-out the same day. GOV.UK says councils deal with alarm noise under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 if a keyholder cannot be reached and the alarm has sounded for 20 minutes constant or one hour intermittent. The HSA's 20 second entry delay is a different timer. Do not confuse the two. A new spur from the consumer unit is a job for a competent person.

Common questions

Where do I put the first door contact?
On the door you use every day, high on the frame, with the magnet on the moving leaf. Close the door and check the gap. A wide uPVC gap can leave the magnet out of range, which one Ring reviewer ran into on a door frame. Walk out during the entry delay and confirm you can leave without a trip.
Can I stick sensors on without drilling in a rental?
Contacts on these kits are often sold with adhesive, and that is the realistic option if the agreement forbids screws. Cold uPVC is a weak surface, so the strip can fail later. An external siren expects a fixing on the wall, which usually needs permission. If you cannot mount that box, choose a kit whose sounder stays indoors.
Where does the external siren go?
High on an outside wall, where it can be seen and heard, which is the police.uk advice for front and rear boxes. You still need a safe way to reach it. Ring Pack M's sounder has its own power supply, and a ladder battery change is what reviewers complain about. If the cable only reaches the panel, leave the sounder where the cable allows.
How long should the entry delay be?
Long enough to reach the keypad on the door you use, and short enough that a stranger cannot wander the house. The Yale HSA states 20 seconds for entry and exit. Other zones should not all share that delay. A back door you want to know about immediately can be set to trip at once, which one IA-330 reviewer did. If every sensor waits 20 seconds, the delay protects the intruder as well as you.
When is this no longer a DIY job?
When the insurer wants a grade or a Unique Reference Number, when the siren needs a new circuit from the consumer unit, or when repeated false alarms have already put a monitored police response at risk. A plug-in hub on an existing socket stays in ordinary DIY. An NSI or SSAIB installer is the person who can certify a system for that policy. If you can see a break-in while you are fitting, or later, dial 999. The siren is not the call.

Related pages

Wireless alarm system buying guide

Wireless alarm systems

Best wireless alarm system UK: siren or bells-only

Burglar alarm no monthly fee: SIM, Wi-Fi or a plan

DIY alarm vs monitored alarm UK: police or your app

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings in this comparison. Listings checked 15 October 2026.

  1. Ask the police, Q75: when police attend an alarm (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. Police.uk: keep burglars out of your property (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. NSI: home intruder alarm systems (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. NPSA: home security systems (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. BIBA: intruder alarms guidance for purchasers (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK: how councils deal with noise nuisances (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. Ofcom: 2G and 3G switch-off (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. Ring UK plans (retrieved 15 October 2026)