Doorbell recommendations

[aGGLee]

Hi LTT forum! I'm moving into my first home soon and want to get a video doorbell. My problem is, I'm not sure what to get and I'm not sure if I'm missing any major brands. Below are what I know and what is putting me off, would love to hear your thoughts 

 

Ring - honestly, we just find them ugly

Google - we want to go wired but the new release isn't available in the UK and I don't want to pay full price for the old one when the new will come at some point. At the same time, we want one soon. 

Eufy - the whole privacy debacle is putting me off

Blink - this one I'm not sure of. My mother has the cameras and they don't seem great (I had no input.) Would particularly like to hear experiences with these

Arlo - somewhat leaning but the £9.99 subscription for more than 1 camera is ehh

Unifi - the cost of doorbell + cloud key (if that's the right name) is too high

 

Am I missing any? What would people recommend?

[dilpickle]

Skybell

[seanondemand]

Aqara G4

[aGGLee]

26 minutes ago, seanondemand said:

Aqara G4

I haven't heard of those before but they look interesting. Have you got one? 

[seanondemand]

43 minutes ago, aGGLee said:

I haven't heard of those before but they look interesting. Have you got one? 

I don't, I'm a UniFi guy, but HomeKit people seem to like it because (IIRC) it can be used with HomeKit Secure Video so if you're already paying for iCloud storage you can use that for your recording

[Commodore256]

If Linus' trouble with IOT is any indication, go analog. My Door Bell is a 40 year old Xylophone note with a solenoid and it's exposed, so I can flick it and it dings.

[seanondemand]

1 hour ago, Commodore256 said:

If Linus' trouble with IOT is any indication, go analog. My Door Bell is a 40 year old Xylophone note with a solenoid and it's exposed, so I can flick it and it dings.

Most of Linus' problems are related to either being on the absolute cutting edge, or being just an extreme case of # of iot devices (and the main IOT problem I remember him having were his switches, not his UniFi Protect setups)

[Commodore256]

1 hour ago, seanondemand said:

Most of Linus' problems are related to either being on the absolute cutting edge, or being just an extreme case of # of iot devices (and the main IOT problem I remember him having were his switches, not his UniFi Protect setups)

Remember the drama with Nest Thermostats? Pepperidge Farms remembers... He didn't look for a bleeding edge solution, he looked for the least closed solutions and in seeing his IOT troubles, "least closed" isn't anywhere as close to open as the end user respecting paradigm that is the Wintel IBM compatibles. Sure, you can get a closed off solution that's easy, but how long will it last? Does it have security holes? Are they selling your data? (A lot of them are)

[K2S9]

I would ask if you're already committed to an iot ecosystem? That would influence my suggestion. 

 

I've personally used the Google Doorbell (battery) and do not have it hardwired, which is an option, and don't have a chime. I use a few cheap Google mini speakers for my chime needs. I chose this because I wanted a video doorbell but was not ready to pay an electrician to fix my power issues with the old physical doorbell. I also already had other Google devices.

 

Pros:

• It is relatively cheap to find a deal for one that is open-box condition.
• No subscription for the basic 3 hr video retention period. (You can pay for the subscription for more features)
• Easy to setup.
• Battery life lasts several weeks before needing a charge.

Cons:

• Limited video storage (based on time) and due to cloud requirement.
• Must use Google Home app for setup and control.
• Limited recording/features when battery gets low.
• Takes several hours to charge, leaving you without a doorbell for the charge time.

Let me know if you have specific questions about my doorbell. I'll answer whatever I can.

[ThatGuyJupe]

On 6/17/2023 at 4:59 AM, aGGLee said:

Blink - this one I'm not sure of. My mother has the cameras and they don't seem great (I had no input.) Would particularly like to hear experiences with these

Yeah I know it's Amazon, but we have only blink cameras, including our doorbell, and I've been happy with them. Get it from Costco if you can, but know you'll need to buy a Blink 2.0 Module for it to work (I forgot if it came with certain cameras or was also separate at Costco.