Video Doorbells

[KyCatFan_rivals45723]

Been thinking about getting one for a little extra security and to see when packages show up. I saw that the Blink Video Doorbell with Sync is going to be on sale for Black Friday and thinking about getting one. It seems to not require a service to use it so that's a positive. I also don't have a wired connection and it can be used with rechargeable batteries. Anyone have one of this type or another they like?

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Ring requires no paid service, and it can be used with pre-existing doorbell wiring, or just battery. Ring was also purchased by Amazon, so if you have Alexa, it works pretty well together

Make sure whatever you choose has an internet connection nearby. Not everyone's outside doorbell has a great connection to their router.

The rechargeable batteries are hit and miss.. coupled with a busy road.. the thing needs to be recharged every 3 months. And to recharge it, takes like 4-5 hours for me. So I have two and just swap them.

But a huge positive is the neighboorhood feature, where neighbors nearby can share events.. whether it's someone checking car doors, explosions, a missing animal. I think that feature is worth it alone. Community sharing, with anonymity, is big to me, and this feature has helped us several times.

 

[funKYcat75]

You don’t have any doorbell wiring? I have the wired Ring and it was easy to install. Make sure you learn how to turn off alerts when you’re out mowing grass.

 

[55wildcat]

Ring requires no paid service, and it can be used with pre-existing doorbell wiring, or just battery. Ring was also purchased by Amazon, so if you have Alexa, it works pretty well together

Make sure whatever you choose has an internet connection nearby. Not everyone's outside doorbell has a great connection to their router.

The rechargeable batteries are hit and miss.. coupled with a busy road.. the thing needs to be recharged every 3 months. And to recharge it, takes like 4-5 hours for me. So I have two and just swap them.

But a huge positive is the neighboorhood feature, where neighbors nearby can share events.. whether it's someone checking car doors, explosions, a missing animal. I think that feature is worth it alone. Community sharing, with anonymity, is big to me, and this feature has helped us several times.

I have a ring and you have to pay a monthly fee for cloud video storage.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I have a ring and you have to pay a monthly fee for cloud video storage.

Oh shoot, you're right it seems. Thought they had a free tier.

 

[BlueVelvetFog]

I installed mine in reverse. It’s nice to know my neighbors can look in on me.
Kosmo

 

[55wildcat]

Oh shoot, you're right it seems. Thought they had a free tier.

You can use without any fees, it just won't record video to cloud.

 

[KyCatFan_rivals45723]

You don’t have any doorbell wiring? I have the wired Ring and it was easy to install. Make sure you learn how to turn off alerts when you’re out mowing grass.

The houses where I live were pretty much built with no frills back in the 60's. No doorbells, no outside outlets (biggest pain), and no water spigot in the front. Going to add an outlet or two one of these days but to expensive right now with everything going on. I'd do it myself but don't really want to screw around with drilling through brick and risking messing it up.

Back on topic. My wife is doing a bunch of Christmas shopping online this year and having to hang around all day waiting to see when a package comes in sucks. Don't even know who is dropping it off half the time. I've had Door Dash drop packages off for Walmart. Didn't even know that was a thing.

Most of these delivery drivers just drop it on the porch and go without even knocking. It would be nice to know exactly when something arrives and also to catch any porch pirates on camera. By the way my router is in the living room about 20 feet from where the doorbell would be installed.

 

[Kooky Kats]

Get one w/Plex & NAS.

 

[warrior-cat]

We have WYZE cameras set up in several places around the home and they are tuned in to our cell phones with alerts if anything comes around. They work really well and sometimes too good. They catch movements even if the wind blows things around in the yard. You just have to sift through it. The videos are stored for two weeks and then deleted unless you save them.

 

[Atrain7732]

We have WYZE cameras set up in several places around the home and they are tuned in to our cell phones with alerts if anything comes around. They work really well and sometimes too good. They catch movements even if the wind blows things around in the yard. You just have to sift through it. The videos are stored for two weeks and then deleted unless you save them.

I have also had the Wyze cams at my home and businesses for a few years. They are cheap but work great. I just got the Wyze doorbells installed that I have had for a year or so and they work ok pretty similar to ring I think. Overall I like the company and any of the cameras I’ve purchased have worked very well.