Camera doorbells

[steptoe]

Ok i know will to mothing on these i have read up and now my head is fit to burst .

1 i want a battery one because we do not have power in the hallway to take out the wall to power it so that is the first point and only point really .

I just want a good one but well as i say head is bursting can anyone recommend a brand one that they have used and find works well , i would like one that does not burn through batteries if possible .

Cheers all

[korolev]

I have a Ring doorbell.
Don't like it because :
1. £5 a month to be able to view stored recordings (no on-site storage).
2. Internet is a bit "flaky", it sometimes loses it's connection for no reason (doorbell is pretty close to router so it's not a signal strength problem).

[Sneddle]

I had a cheap one that went through batteries in just a few days. Two large lithium ones, not a small AA pair. The one I use now uses USB as well as batteries. It meant drilling the door frame but changing the batteries twice a week was a right pain in the bum.

This is the one I have currently.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B09ZY6H8RM

Uses the Cloudedge app. It's possible to get cloudedge to connect to alexa, but it's fiddly and I haven't bothered. I get notifications on my phone. I haven't paid for a cloud subscription, but I can get all the recordings off the sd card.

[steptoe]

I have a Ring doorbell.
Don't like it because :
1. £5 a month to be able to view stored recordings (no on-site storage).
2. Internet is a bit "flaky", it sometimes loses it's connection for no reason (doorbell is pretty close to router so it's not a signal strength problem).

That is my worry i do not want to add extra bills to the household , it is hard with so many out there and some i read eat battieres but it is hard for me to get power out there unless i get a sparks out , a usb one might be ok i could may be leave a large usb power bank inside hmm thoughts are going now lol

[tarmactatt]

Had my reolink doorbell set up for about 8 months now so I feel like I can actually review it.

Went with the white one with POE and the plug-in chime, they are occasionally available on offer, I forget what I paid, about £80.

Note the different colours have different aspect ratios (white is wide angle horizontal and vertical, black is very wide angle horizontal and moderate vertical).

The products are designed for the cable to be fed from the rear, rather than a surface mount cable.

I didn't have the highest of expectations, but I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the video.

I have a POE injector plugged into my router, then a cable hidden in the wall leading to the camera. You can put a video rated SD card, if you wanted remote access, you could use the app to view video or answer the door.

Be aware that the video feed is available through the app even when not on the local network, this means it's being fed through servers somewhere...

If you wanted a completely offline camera, I believe it is possible (with suitable router), the set up an isolated network to prevent the camera talking to other devices on your network or "phoning home".

[anonym0us]

I have a Ring doorbell.
Don't like it because :
1. £5 a month to be able to view stored recordings (no on-site storage).
2. Internet is a bit "flaky", it sometimes loses it's connection for no reason (doorbell is pretty close to router so it's not a signal strength problem).

I use a Eufy E340 one. My parents had a Ring doorbell for a bit but they're selling it. I agree with both your points

The Internet connection is definitely the Ring doorbell side vs WiFi. The Eufy camera in the exact same spot, works far better

[Omega]

I have Ring, but would buy Eufy now - I have Eufy security cameras already and they are more convenient than other security cameras than other cameras I have. And no subscription is good
By the way, Eufy belongs to Anker, and Anker makes reliable products

[PPrep]

I'm not keen on Internet based surveillance systems or doorbells. They're also surveilling you! In some circumstances they're great and very versatile, also easy to install. However, I don't want my life to end up on Big Tech's servers. They're also hackable, like all Internet of Things kit. I like standalone kit you just set up and use, without the added complication of wifi. Less cool, but one has full control.

I've looked at adapting baby monitors, as these often use a wifi - free radio frequency because parents tend to value the privacy of their babies. This approach does have limitations though, including low specs for most of them. I've also experimented with a couple of netcams and a laptop using good surveillance software. Snag - the cameras need to be mounted inside.

[anonym0us]

I'm not keen on Internet based surveillance systems or doorbells. They're also surveilling you! In some circumstances they're great and very versatile, also easy to install. However, I don't want my life to end up on Big Tech's servers. They're also hackable, like all Internet of Things kit. I like standalone kit you just set up and use, without the added complication of wifi. Less cool, but one has full control.

I've looked at adapting baby monitors, as these often use a wifi - free radio frequency because parents tend to value the privacy of their babies. This approach does have limitations though, including low specs for most of them. I've also experimented with a couple of netcams and a laptop using good surveillance software. Snag - the cameras need to be mounted inside.

There's also home assistant that you can use instead to make it more "local"

[PPrep]

There's also home assistant that you can use instead to make it more "local"

I've had a quick look at home assistant. A lot of people use a Raspberry Pi. My main problem is, although I can build PC's and install operating systems, I cannot write code and have no experience of networks. If this is complex, it may be too late in life for me to tackle the learning curve.

Is the home assistant completely independent of the Internet, wifi and a "normal" router?