eufy Security - Smart Wi-Fi Video Doorbell 2K Battery Operated/Wired - Black

There are numerous video doorbells available to select from, and Eufy is not the most familiar brand name among them. Eufy is produced by Anker, a very well-known and respected manufacturer of cell phone accessories, which has also earned a reputation for excellent customer service. When comparing the specifications and product claims for this new model of Eufy Smart Video Doorbell to the other dominant brands, it was compelling. The Eufy Smart Video Doorbell is the latest model in the expanding line of Eufy home security video products. Eufy’s 2560 x 1920, 2k at 15 fps resolution with 4:3 aspect ratio and a Sony 2k sensor is a great improvement over the 1920 x 1080, 1080p resolution typical of most of the other doorbell camera models. Another very appealing feature is that all videos are stored locally on the Eufy HomeBase2 unit which is also connected to the home Wi-Fi network, and is equipped with 16 GB of eMMC flash memory. Therefore, no cloud storage account is required with an additional, recurring fee, (optional cloud storage is available, if desired) and no arbitrary time limit for video storage is imposed. 16GB of storage will hold many videos for a long time, before overwriting older files. The Eufy package includes the doorbell camera unit with mounting plate, a 15° angled wedge (if needed), the HomeBase2 unit and all necessary cables and mounting hardware. The Eufy can be hardwired to existing 8-24 volt doorbell wiring, or it can operate solely on the internal, 6500 mAh rechargeable battery, which Eufy claims will last six months between charges. Whether or not the battery will average a full six months of operation on a single charge remains to be seen, and the life-span of the non-replaceable battery is obviously also an unknown. Initial setup of the Eufy Smart Video Doorbell is generally straightforward. The product immediately searches for firmware updates, which failed three times during the setup. Unplugging the Homebase2 power supply and reattempting setup resulted in the firmware download and installation being accomplished in just a few short minutes. The printed Quick Start Guide which accompanies the device provides sufficiently clear instructions for activating the Eufy Smart Video Doorbell. Initial setup and all device configuration and management functions require installation of the Eufy smartphone app. During the activation process, the Homebase2 unit provides audio instructions and status, as well. The phone app is very good and the step-by-step setup guidance is excellent. The glaring exception to the otherwise excellent setup instructions, is that once the Homebase2 is set up using the required (and supplied) Ethernet cable (connecting directly to the Wi-Fi router), the setup process completes without another process step or any guidance for connecting the Homebase2 to the network via Wi-Fi. The process is quite simple and straightforward, but requires the user to explore the app to find the process, which is to access “Devices” > “Homebase2” > “Connection” > “Wi-Fi Setup”. The app should automatically offer a Wi-Fi Setup step, prior to finishing the setup process, and this important step should also be documented in the Quick Start Guide. The foregoing minor issue is exacerbated by the lack of documentation for the Eufy Smart Video Doorbell. There is no User Manual / Guide (neither printed nor downloadable PDF). The Quick Start Guide furnished in the package is only intended to support the initial setup process and the physical mounting/installation of the camera. A detailed and comprehensive User Guide is needed and appropriate, and hopefully will be forthcoming (as evidenced by the currently inactive link on the Eufy website). The smartphone app is generally excellent. It is very robust and includes many features, none of which are documented, and all of which require exploration by the user. Among the important features and options which should be configured are those of motion detection, video quality, power management and more. Based on using the most advantageous camera mounting angle available at the entry, the 15° wedge was employed. It would have been even better if an additional wedge of perhaps 22.5° was also available to truly optimize this particular camera mounting situation. Motion detection sensitivity initially appeared to be insufficient, resulting in reconfiguring the motion activity zone to the maximum extents, setting the unit for the highest sensitivity and most aggressive motion detection settings. The change of settings improved motion detection, and did not result in many false activations by passing vehicular traffic (only one, isolated instance). Still, people approaching the front entry camera are typically only detected by the camera at a distance of approximately 10’ in most instances. The AI capabilities support detection and differentiation of humans from pets or other moving objects in the active detection zone. The human detection and face recognition features produced inconsistent results. Some recorded events and phone app notifications included a thumbnail of the visitors face, but many did not even though the person’s face had been presented to the camera during the recording. By design, the camera conserves battery power by “sleeping” until awakened by motion detection or manual viewing through the app or web portal. (The web portal allows for live camera viewing, even if no cloud storage subscription is established for recorded events). There is a latency interval while the camera awakens and the Homebase2 records video, and there is a few seconds of delay for the transmission of the smartphone alert. Electing to view the live camera feed upon receipt of alerts encounters an additional several seconds of delay until that live video feed is presented in the app. Additionally, there is no pre-recording buffer in this model, ostensibly to conserve battery power and extend intervals between recharges. If the camera is connected to existing doorbell power, the battery charge is maintained. If the camera is operated in battery mode, recharging the non-removable, non-replaceable internal battery requires dismounting the camera and attaching it to the Homebase2 via the supplied USB-A to Mini USB cable. If capitalizing on the higher resolution 2560x1920 video is meaningful and important, as it should be, note that although the live feed video will always be at the highest resolution (available bandwidth allowing), the recorded videos of events may not. At the default “Streaming Quality” setting of “Auto”, all of the recorded mp4 videos were only 1024x768. Changing the setting to “High” ensures that all recorded videos are 2560x1920 2k. The camera is mounted 17’ from the Homebase2 with only the door intervening. The Homebase2 is located 18’ from a Mesh network node. The Eufy app allows for testing of the Wi-Fi connectivity between the Homebase2 and the Wi-Fi router, and for the connection between the camera and the Homebase2. In this installation the Eufy app declared connectivity to be “Great”. This begs the question of why the “Auto” setting for streaming quality resulted in 1024x768 recordings. Perhaps this is intended to conserve both camera battery and Homebase2 storage capacity (with the smaller files); however that defeats one of the most significant benefits of the system in producing 2k video. The system operates by the camera transmitting data to the Homebase2 via a private 2.4 GHz connection. The Homebase2 communicates with the Eufy servers, which communicate with the smartphone app via a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connection to the user’s router (or via Ethernet cable direct to the router). 5 GHz Wi-Fi is not supported. Eufy represents utilizing 256 bit AES encryption both in video transmission and storage on the Homebase2. However, it is not clear if videos being streamed or downloaded (via the app to the smartphone – which then also allows for sharing of the video via email) are decrypted on the Eufy servers or at the endpoint by the app on the phone. For true security purposes, the decryption would have to be performed on the user’s smartphone. Both short videos and still shots (captured manually from live streaming) have been averaging between 2 MB and 5 MB. A one minute, 2560x1920 2k video is approximately 12.4 MB. Based on that essentially maximum file size for a maximum length video, the 16 GB internal storage has the capacity to store 1,290 of those atypically long videos before the device will start overwriting the old files. Obviously, video length dictates file size. Most automated event video clips range from 15 seconds to a maximum of 1 minute. There has been significant variability in video length under essentially identical physical circumstances. Bidirectional audio communication is supported between the doorbell camera and the smartphone app, however it experiences a very significant level of latency / audio delay which can be frustrating and impair effective communication. (Obviously, neither party is going to signal that they are done speaking for the moment, in order to allow the other person to speak). Overall, the Eufy Smart Video Doorbell is generally excellent. It supports integration with other Eufy devices (i.e. surveillance cameras) as well as Alexa and Google Voice Assistant. Thus far, people approaching the camera have been detected rapidly enough to capture their image during their approach, rather than their retreat from the doorbell camera, which is essential to a doorbell camera actually being useful, rather than merely being ornamental. I am comfortable with recommending the Eufy Smart Doorbell Camera as it appears to be a good, solid performer, with a robust feature set including some helpful AI capabilities, and an excellent smartphone app.

The eufy Video Doorbell 2K (Battery Powered) Set comes to you as a base station and the doorbell/camera as the two major components — assorted fasteners and cords are also included. The one major thing missing (at least it was “major” for me), is a “mounting wedge” to aid in mating the doorbell to the siding on the house. At this time (May 2020) eufy doesn’t offer one as an accessory as some competing doorbells do, but I found what I needed on that well-known online auction site. With all of the many variations on siding styles it can be hard for a manufacturer to supply the all the parts that any and every customer might need. Resourceful do-it-yourselfers should have no issues, but some other buyers might need to hire a “handyman” to do the installation of the exterior doorbell. We have a “security system” in the house from a well known company (begins with “H”) and the phone app that they supply has been nothing but problematic, glitchy and generally “sucky” since day-one. The app that eufy has developed for this video doorbell and security system has been nothing short of wonderful. Being in my early sixties, I am no techie nerd, but I am not a complete newbie either when it comes to this stuff. The team working on this product has their act together and made this thing work correctly before pushing it out the door prematurely. There are quite a number of settings for both the doorbell and the base station to allow you to tailor the devices to your needs and the particular situation they will be used in — I am still experimenting with these variables. The video from the doorbell’s camera is clear, nicely color-balanced and very “usable” even on the smallish screen of my iPhone 8. The video doesn’t stutter or freeze, the saved “events” are organized logically and they are easy and quick to retrieve. The night vision of the camera is exceptional. Both my wife and I set up an account with eufy and this way we both get notifications on our phones. There is also a eufy Security app in the Mac App Store which I installed on my MacBook. This app is not at all like the mobile app, and it has more to do with managing and storing downloaded video clips from the base station. There is no “live view” from the camera that I can find nor are you able to answer the door if someone rings the bell. It would be nice if this app had the same functionality as the phone app so I could monitor things while I am using the computer without having to have my phone nearby. Anker Innovations is the parent company and I’m sure many people are familiar with Anker’s computer and phone accessories. We have had their products in our house for many years and I have never had an issue with any of them. The eufy line of products consists of many security related items such as external cameras, and door and motion sensors, and allows a user to expand this basic security set into a really complete system. After researching it, I was surprised to learn just how extensive the eufy product line is. The best part of this system is that the base station contains 16GB of local, self-contained storage and there is no ongoing monthly fee to pay to access your video clips that are saved. This Battery-Powered version of eufy’s video doorbell claims up to 180 days between charges of the built-in battery. I hooked mine up to my existing doorbell wiring mainly for aesthetics since there were holes in my permanent siding from the old doorbell and a wire sticking out. The availability of having a wireless system will undoubtedly be useful and desirable to some customers where running wiring would be impossible or expensive. This also allows the doorbell to activate my existing chime. The base station has a built-in electronic chime, so you could position it elsewhere in the house in an area where you might not hear the main chime. This doorbell also features two-way audio so you can acknowledge someone at your door whether you are at home or not. Both my wife and I found the volume out at the doorbell a little weak even when the volume is set to maximum. I wear hearing aids, but she still has really good hearing and she said it is a little soft. The volume is sufficient in a quiet suburban setting, but I suspect it might not be loud enough in a busy city location. This system also interfaces with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, neither of which I can comment on as we don’t use them. A downside for some people is the inability to integrate with an IFTTT system — I don’t need this feature but when discussing the eufy system with a friend he pointed this out as a downside for himself. The packaging states that the doorbell is IP65 Weatherproof and can work in temperature extremes from -4°F to 122°F. I live in Minnesota, so we’ll see how this functions next winter when we see some temperatures in the teens below zero. I’m not sure if this specification is related to the electronics working in these temps or if it is related only to the batteries — being I have the doorbell hardwired it might be a moot point. The doorbell is designed to be water resistant so it can be mounted in locations that are unprotected from the rain. I experienced no issues during set-up of the system, app installation, or connectivity of the devices. The hardware all has a real quality feel to it. The doorbell itself has a nice heft to it which can cause an orientation issue when attached to vinyl siding which is rather flimsy by design. If there is any “slop” in the siding, hanging this somewhat heavy device on it might cause it to lean forward at the top and it could be enough to affect the field of view that the camera sees. I am new to the home video surveillance game and am somewhat uneducated when it comes to feature sets of all of the competing systems that are on the market. I have been interested in getting one of these devices for some time now, but was put off by the need to subscribe to a service. The eufy Security system has done away with this requirement and that alone was enough to entice me to install this system. Anyone with similar feelings should not be disappointed by this system based on my admittedly limited experience so far, but poorly designed products, either hardware or software, usually manifest their shortcomings almost immediately, and I have found none with this product. Based on what I have experienced so far, I have no reservations about recommending the eufy Security system to anyone looking to dip their toes into this type of technology. For those of you still reading this far, I want to mention a few issues I had when it came to installing the doorbell on my 35 year old house with typical vinyl siding — those of you without vinyl siding can stop at this point. This doorbell is HUGE compared to the traditional doorbell your house probably currently has mounted by your front door. For me, this caused a few issues with my vinyl siding. The sheathing under my siding is what is generically called “structural fiberboard” and is basically ground up wood fiber with wax and resin to hold it together — it is not as structurally sound as plywood or oriented strand board sheathing and does not hold fasteners well, but is a widely used product. This means that the screws used to hold the doorbell onto the wall have very little to grip onto — really just the thin vinyl of the siding — and it would take very little to rip the doorbell away from my siding. The mounting bracket that the doorbell snaps into is about 5 inches tall…and my siding is 4-inch lap siding. This means that the doorbell bracket extends onto two “laps” of the siding. Which means the doorbell can’t really be mounted plumb without some sort of spacer between the doorbell bracket and the siding — this is usually referred to as a “mounting wedge” and one side of it is contoured to match the profile of the house siding. Other video doorbell manufacturers offer a mounting wedge as an optional accessory. I could not find this available from eufy, but did find a entrepreneur making them with a 3D printer specifically for the eufy battery-powered doorbell and designed to fit 4-inch lap vinyl siding — this source does offer mounting wedges for other styles of siding. One thing that did go my way was that I had to use the wire extensions that eufy provides in this kit and the mounting wedge has a cavity in the middle of it which provided space for the excess wire and the wire nuts to reside in once everything is assembled and mounted. If you have a plumb, smooth, area made of real wood or cement board, and it is where your current doorbell is mounted, life will be much easier when mounting any video doorbell. My main concern with the installation is that my permanent siding is already 25 years old and will easily last another 25 years, and like virtually every electronic product out there, video doorbells are a device I do not expect to last 20 years. My intent when mounting it was to minimize the additional holes I put into my siding and to also have the ability to revert back to a traditional doorbell in the future and have it cover any holes in the siding — simply for aesthetics. My doorbell was located about six inches from my door frame and vinyl siding usually terminates into a “J-channel” where the siding abuts doors and windows. There is slop built into vinyl siding parts to allow for expansion and contraction of the siding with temperature changes. I had to slip in a couple small clear plastic shims where the siding by the doorbell met with the J-channel. This was needed to keep the doorbell somewhat plumb because its weight would make the siding sag and the doorbell droop forward affecting the camera’s field of view. For me, mounting the doorbell in a way that pleased me and allowed for intended functionality took way more time than all of the other parts of setting this system up.

Bottom Line Upfront: The Eufy Smart Wi-Fi video doorbell brings a lot of features to your front door - literally – all at a reasonable price. The best part is that there are NOT MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION FEES – AND – you aren’t required to hard wire it into your existing doorbell. Big Highlights for me: - 16GB LOCAL STORAGE (NO SUBSCRIPTIONS – NO ONE POTENTIALLY LOOKING AT YOUR RECORDINGS) - 2K video recording resolution (Sony 2K sensor) - Choice of Battery Operation or direct hardwire to existing electrical wiring - Wi-Fi connectivity - Real time / 2-way audio capability ===================================================================================== Detailed Thoughts and Observations: ===================================================================================== I have been on the fence about acquiring one of these types of devices for what seems like years now, however due to the “hidden” costs associated with having to “subscribe” into some type of monitoring plan with many of the other similar devices out on the market.... I was not in a rush to actually pull the trigger on purchasing one. I found it odd that I would have to pay more money – on top of the money I would have spent on the device itself - to be able to get “full” functionality of it. I can happily say that is NOT THE CASE here. The Eufy Smart Wi-Fi video doorbell's 16GB of local storage is hands down the best feature in my book and puts to rest many of the concerns I had in the first place. On that note – while it is nice that system includes 16GB of local storage – it would be even nicer if you could expand it or purchase a model with even more memory inside of it. I am not a fan of potentially getting stuck running out of memory when I theoretically might need need it most. Having the the option of expanding the local storage, or offering models with larger local storage capacities – i.e 32GB, 64GB, etc - would put those conerns to rest for sure. Honestly, I do not see this a deal breaker for my usage, since I don’t have TONS of visitors or “events” that would cause the doorbell to record nonstop or fill up the memory that quickly. I imagine this would only be an issue if you have constant visitors/deliveries/or face a busy sidewalk or intersection that would trigger the doorbell to record video. Additionally, there are easily adjustable under the settings in the EufySecurity App that can help with that as well. Lastly, if it becomes that much of an issue – you can always transfer the files from the Homebase2 (where the files are actually stored) – although that is not the ideal thing to do depending on your home/office/living room setup. Packaging/Unboxing/ Aesthetics: ============================ Everything comes boxed in small relatively simple box. It seems a little understated on the outside, but everything is easy to unpack, and figure out after you lay it all out. I really like the sleek black aesthetic of the Eufy Wi-Fi video doorbell unit itself – it is just a shame you can’t choose or change the color of the HomeBase2 unit as well. I find that its odd they offer the doorbell in black – and the base in white – I would have thought they would at least match. The HomeBase2 is small and inconspicuous to be fair, but I would have preferred a darker color to better blend with my other electronics/devices/and preferences. It is nice they include all the extra mounting hardware you would need to install it both on harder surfaces such as brick and stone – in addition to the regular wooden type surface. The optional “wedge” is a nice touch if you need a little more adjustment of doorbell unit to better see approaching visitors or objects. I was a little surprised at the long “pin” type device that was included. Apparently you need to insert that at the bottom to “unlock” the device from the cradle when it comes time to recharge it during regular use. Interestingly, the paper setup guide – while useful – is pretty much identical to the video walk through / setup guide in the EufySecurity App. I suggest you just download the App first – and follow the instructions there – for an easier time setting everything up. Performance: ============ After setting everything - as per the straight forward installation instructions in the EufySecurity App – I was finally able to see all the wonderful things the video doorbell was able to offer. I was initially a little surprised when the Homebase2 started talking to me – so heads up, that kind of took me by surprise. I would have liked to set the whole system up completely via Wi-Fi – however the instructions called for plugging into your router for the initial setup process. I happen to live in a multilevel town home, so I tackle signal degradation across my 4 floors by having multiple Wi-Fi signal repeaters throughout my house. I chose to place the HomeBase2 on my second floor, facing the front of my house – 1 floor above the video doorbell unit - with my router in the basement. All that being said – The doorbell has been functioning flawlessly so far and I have had no network or performance-based issues with my recordings and the devices themselves. From what I can tell the speed, quality, location and throughput of your in-home local Wi-Fi network can really impact the performance of the video feed. I tried moving the Homebase2 to my 3rd Floor, and I did notice some minor degradation and general reduction in speed when accessing device functions and in video playback. I feel secure knowing that my recordings are being kept locally – and not in the cloud somewhere – and they are all encrypted via the AES-256 algorithm. So far, its been great to see and interact with my guests when I’m on the 3rd floor or in the basement. The Eufy Wi-Fi video doorbell has been one of those things that I never knew how much I needed or wanted until I started using. I think its worth noting that the night vision photos and video are much sharper than I anticipated. I added a photo to my review - and I can very clearly see everything going in my porch and front driver in great detail. ===================================================================================== In Summary: ===================================================================================== You will not be disappointed in the Eufy Wi-Fi Video doorbell. If you’re in the Market to upgrade/enhance your security or simply make life a little easier on yourself if you have a multilevel home (or sprawling floorplan for that matter) – you can’t go wrong. There are NO Subscription Fees – and NO cloud-based video services that can pry into your recordings. The build quality of the system is high and the company that makes it – Anker – has been around for a while making highly rated/regarded products for many years now. Overall, I would rate this at a 4.5 Star unit. If there were some way to either upgrade the local storage – or store the video files directly from the App – that would knock it out of the park. Some more color choices for the Homebase2 would hurt either – buts that’s just wishful thinking. The combination of functionality, pricing, and ease of use & installation is hard to beat. I think its only fair to round up to 5 stars considering the Eufy Wi-Fi doorbell delivers on everything it was designed to do. Remember that your local Wi-Fi network speed and quality will also significantly impact your experience if not taken into consideration while you are setting it up.

There are many reasons for wanting a video doorbell—whether it’s to help you avoid unwanted solicitors, have extra security when you’re away from home, or simply to see the faces of friends and family as they arrive at your doorstep, video doorbells have become very commonplace among households. The Eufy Smart Wi-Fi doorbell steps in as a one-time purchase that aims to put privacy first and give you the features that you care about without all the subscription costs that other video doorbells push onto you. SETUP: Setting up the doorbell was very easy. Simply download the Eufy Security app on your iOS or Android device, and create an account if you don’t already have one. From there, you’ll need to add both the Video Doorbell and the HomeBase 2. When I clicked to add the doorbell, it immediately informed me that I’d need to set up and add the HomeBase 2 first, so I chose to add the HomeBase 2, and it guided me through very simple instructions on setting up the HomeBase 2 and connecting it to my home network. During this process, the app displays user-friendly images to show you what to do. Please note that the current setup process for the HomeBase 2 uses a wired ethernet connection, but once it is registered, you can change it to use Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only) from within the app. Once the HomeBase 2 was set up and registered, I proceeded to set up the video doorbell from within the app. The setup tutorial within the app provided both user-friendly images as well as videos to help me install the video doorbell. While I have set up a video doorbell in a wired configuration in the past, I chose to use this one in a battery-powered configuration. This is especially helpful for situations where your doorbell wiring is perpendicular to your door and doesn’t provide optimal placement for the video camera. It’s important to note that like most video doorbell systems, you’ll need to drill some holes to install the mounting bracket. Moreover, you ought to charge the video doorbell while you install the mounting bracket, as the battery won’t be at 100% out of the box. FEATURES: The Eufy Smart Wi-Fi Video Doorbell features several things that I like, and foregoes some features that other doorbell systems have. Firstly, it supports using the HomeBase 2 as a chime, and if used with your doorbell wiring, it can use your existing doorbell chime. This is great for both those who want to use their existing doorbell chime as well as those who perhaps lack a chime and would prefer to use the HomeBase 2 as a chime. You can also use Alexa devices as a chime, if you have Amazon Echo devices in your house. It also supports Motion Detection, and you can optionally create a single detection zone based on a six-point polygon. By customizing your own detection zone, you can choose where within the video the algorithm’s AI will detect activity. By default, the AI runs motion detection against the entire video feed, which I found was very reliable—perhaps even too reliable. Thankfully, by applying the detection zone, I was able to focus motion detection to a certain area of the video feed, and you can even adjust the distance of sensitivity so that the algorithm will detect only nearby motion or you can increase it to detect far away motion, as well. Additionally, you can limit motion detection to humans (which is the default), or you can permit detection of all motion (such as cars or animals). You can also completely disable motion detection, if that’s your prerogative. As I mentioned previously, Eufy is putting privacy first by keeping your captured footage in your own hands. Onboard the HomeBase 2 is approximately 15GB of usable flash storage. This is enough to store clips of activity detected by your doorbell. For most people, this is enough. That being said, the app does specify that it will soon support USB drives up to 128GB for additional storage, which is very great to see for those who want to keep more clips. It is recommended that you set your Streaming Quality and Video Encoding Format to “High” within the app in order to get the full 2560x1920 resolution from video clips and live streaming. In order to download these clips, you’ll need to do so from your iOS or Android device, as there is no web client to access your data, unlike some other subscription-based video doorbells. You can also enable streaming to Alexa/Google Smart Displays. From within the app, you can set priority between “Smartphone first” or “Smart display first”. The first option will yield the highest resolution, but will have more latency on your smart display, whereas the latter option will stream faster, but the highest resolution will be limited to 1600x1200. Additionally, the LED light glows around the doorbell button when it detects motion or when the doorbell button is pressed. That being said, you can disable this light if you prefer. And by default, there is a Night Vision mode which is automatically turned on when it gets dark. There are also some power saving presets you can choose based on your preferences: Optimal Battery Life: Doorbell Only, No Motion Detection Press Button Recording: On Doorbell LED Off Optimal Surveillance: Video clip length can be up to 60 seconds The system will attempt to record each event for as much as possible Customize Recording: Video clip length and detection periods can be customized. Motion is detected more frequently and the battery will drain faster. VIDEO QUALITY: The video quality of this doorbell is good, but nothing groundbreaking. You’re getting 2560x1920 @ ~14.16fps. The images are clear, but there is some noticeable noise that is likely due to the lower ~1853kbps video bitrate. The audio is also limited to 23kbps. I’ve experienced great audio quality on other doorbells where having a conversion over the app is of no issue. I can’t yet say whether or not I’d feel that the audio quality on this doorbell would hold up to the same standard as easily, but it did pick up audio from neighbors walking by my home, and even their quick conversation was discernible, so it seems promising. The microphone does seem a bit sensitive to wind, but it shouldn’t be an issue for recording most encounters. The Night Vision mode also holds up pretty well. While the image tends to get softer (which is common among night vision cameras), I feel that the quality is overall quite good for a system that I don’t have to pay recurring fees for. CONCLUSION: So, does the Eufy Smart Wi-Fi Video Doorbell deliver what it promises? Yes, it legitimately does. I would certainly recommend this to those looking for a budget-friendly option that tackles the main features that people want in a video doorbell without all the extra subscription costs. It has good video quality in both day and night, motion detection, notifications pushed to your phone, and a HomeBase which acts as your chime as well as your video storage. Overall, Eufy’s system is impressive, and I’ll likely be investigating their security systems, as they seem to be convenient and integrate nicely without all the subscriptions that other systems push onto you.

Since I had recently installed the Eufy security camera/floodlight, and was happy with the performance, I thought the video doorbell would make a good addition. I've checked out the competition, but the last thing I need is another monthly bill. I was impressed with how easily the security camera set up, and the doorbell was no different. Easy intuitive instructions - download the app, and just follow it along. I set it up at night, and was playing around with it prior to installing it the following day. Great 2K video quality. You have the choice of either setting it up standalone, in which case the onboard battery needs to be recharged every couple of months (company claim is for up to 6 months), but I went with the permanent installation using my existing doorbell wiring. You can either mount it flat against the doorframe, or they include an angled mount, which I chose. If you look at the enclosed picture, I have the doorbell cam angled towards the door, the security cam on the other side of the door angled in, so I'm getting greater than 180 degree field of vision between the two of them. The camera, besides having 2K video, is intelligent, meaning it is set for human detection, and you won't be getting unnecessary alerts for critter intrusions. You can also use the app software to set a zone of detection; ie, pedestrian traffic or kids playing on the lawn will be ignored. The indoor piece of this, the chime/recording unit, is small, has a pleasant tone, and is smartly designed. I've included a photo of it sitting on my kitchen counter along with Alexa and my Orbi Wifi unit for comparison. So far, it's performed flawlessly. And the kicker is - no monthly bill!

This is the first product from Eufy I have used and if it represents what can be expected from its other security products, I don’t think you can go wrong. Definitely recommend but do have a couple of quibbles. Positives; Nicely packaged and comes with everything you need to install/setup. Was very easy to un-pack and setup following nicely detailed instructions and base also “talks” you thru it. Had no issues connecting base to internet or doorbell to base. Yes, base uses ethernet cable (included) instead of Wi-Fi but I had 2 open connections on router so no issues - but be aware. If you don’t have opening on your router - you can pick up an unmanaged 8 connection hub pretty cheap if need be. Doorbell is thoughtfully designed and seems sturdily built – has good heft due to internal batteries. You can connect using existing doorbell or mount somewhere else using battery (supposed to last 6 months to a year per charge). I used existing wiring and it worked fine but FYI you have to use app to turn on option to use your existing chime otherwise - crickets. Once all setup was done and all working a few hours later I encountered a weird issue. The doorbell sounded (using house chime). Went out and no one was there, nothing was recorded and the internal chime was making a “grinding” sound. So, I popped off the doorbell, checked wiring and reinserted in the wall mount. It rang fine but would not record anything. I checked all settings and eventually found option to restart base. Took a couple of minutes for reboot and has worked fine since. I have found, after 40 years of IT experience, that if you run into an issue with computer, printer, phone, etc. and can’t figure what the problem is – try restarting or turning off/on. It works most of the time. While there is an option to purchase cloud storage ($3 monthly or $30 annually both with 30 days overwrite) – you don’t have to as the base comes with 16GB built in memory. But I believe memory is eMCC, so its hard wired into base and not upgradable, which is bummer. Day and Night motion detection seems to be very good with very little lag starting recording – captures pretty much all the action. High def 4:3 aspect ratio 2K (2650 x 1920) videos with 160-degree field of view. I do notice a little fisheye on the left of the feed (see pics). You can setup an area for detection and its very easy to use drag lines to set. Since I have the doorbell set up 90 degrees to my front door, I don’t have many issues with false alerts, etc. But using its AI you can set motion sensitivity and whether to use human or all motions. Having option to use battery or electric power is a nice plus. Doorbell battery can be charged from base using its USB connection and supplied cable. Cannot use USB connection to add additional storage. I charged initially using power strip built in USB connection as was easier to get to than base connection. It worked fine. Since I used existing doorbell power connection I won’t have to worry about charging. The app will tell you battery percentage of charge in case you have no power connection so it is easy to keep track. The Homebase can also serve as the doorbell’s chime - when someone rings the bell. The base and doorbell are connected using their own wireless network using a 256-bit encrypted connection. You can also set whether there is a water mark showing date/time on your recordings. App itself is one of the better ones I have used. It has extensive settings for both base and doorbell. I found it easy to navigate and also has built in access for help. There is an explore option bottom right on main screen and it details Eufys other product offerings. So, while product info is there it is not pushed at you unless you look for it. I did connect to my Google Home and was able to have google stream live feed to my TV using Chromecast. You can use the base with other Eufy cameras – but doing so may eat up the 16GB of provided storage. 1 year warranty. Negatives; Can’t add/upgrade memory on base. It would be pretty much perfect if you could upgrade. If I manually record or take a picture while using app on my phone it saves it to my internal storage creating an EufyPicDir folder. I have 2 issues with this -1 – why is it storing the data on my phone at all? Remotely I have access to any stored event on the base and can watch live – so why isn’t it storing this there? 2 – If it has to store it on my phone why is it using my internal storage and not my 256GB micro-sd card? Hopefully just a firmware update or could be operator error but I looked and looked and could not find anything in either base or doorbell settings. I suspect it is storing on phone to avoid using up data plan but since I have unlimited it would be nice to have option to use base. I do have a concern about the batteries “life” - as where live I have the doorbell installed it will get the afternoon sun and we have already had days over 100 degrees. I guess I will find out! There is no computer application to work with Windows, etc. So you have to use android or apple to access. Overall, very nice and recommend.

This is a great doorbell package that comes with a home base unit that includes both the chime and 16GB of video storage so you're not forced to use a paid cloud service. The camera has a wide enough focal width that, coupled with the included mounting wedge, gives an unobtrusive view of my front door. The clarity and color reproduction, even in low light, is quite impressive from a doorbell. Certainly far better than the unit I previously had that incorporated into my home phone. As such, the mounting bracket for this unit matched perfectly to the holes for the old unit making installation a breeze. I wanted it wired eventhough it has a battery, so I swapped the 6V adapter for a 12V unit that would be sufficient to charge the battery according to the manual. Beware, online help states the unit requires 16V minimum which is not the case and is only for the unit without the battery. Setting up the wireless connections was straightforward and relatively easy. You can set up the type of notification you want sent to your phone from a large pic, thumb pic, or text only. I found text only is nearly instantaneous whereas the others require a few minutes before sending. There are various settings for home, away, geofencing, and schedule to setup recording parameters. Also power management allows you to tailor the operation based on battery life. I particularly like how the built-in AI distinguishes between people and animals or insects that might trigger it. If you are having people over and will be remaining outside by the front door, you could set the notifications to snooze for a couple of hours so you're not bombarded with bleeps. The home base is attractive and small enough to occupy a space on the foyer table without standing out. The chime is loud enough to be heard throughout the house. If the phone is not nearby, I connected it to my Google home hub to show video feed when doorbell rings. Though the lag is about 5 seconds or so, it's a great way to safely communicate without opening the door these days. Only 2 things missing that would be nice to have, expandable storage and selectable chimes. Not a deal breaker, but would've been nice. All in all, a great system that has everything you need.

This is my first video door bell. I’ve wanted one for a few years now. But I live in an apartment and I thought maybe I should wait to get a house. But I have lived in my same apartment for 12 yrs. and I just resigned. So it’s either now or never. And I have to say I’m happy I finally have one. They are really everything I thought and with this model even more. I love it. I’m a huge techy. So I love anything technology. But I also love products that are of quality and a fair price. This Eufy smart video door bell has everything going for it. First is the main point for me. The video/picture quality. I have 2 other camera systems and I have to say the picture quality is near the top but cost 1/3rd of my other systems. Easy to install. Took me about 10-15 min. Very fast notification time from the push of the door bell to my phone being alerted. Amazingly quick. Tho I do have 600 mbps fiber internet. I’m sure that helps. But still. Fast and quick. You want to see who’s there, fast. This does that. The battery from what I’ve tested and read about is sure to outlast many other brands. Yes I chose battery as I don’t have any pre existing door bell. It will take a while to charge but you have at least 6 months of up time. So I’m not worried there. Even if it last less. It’s way more than I mind. The sound quality is very good. Though not perfect. Due to sensitivity to wind. Otherwise a very solid mic. I did notice a tiny delay. But nothing to worry about. Motion detection is a nice added feature and seems to work well too. The app works well like many other smart security apps. No issues there. You can change just about any setting possible. One feature I do like is being able to delete any video clips to free up space. I only want to save incidents. And check on the delivery guys as I buy a lot of items online. Plus knowing that people can plainly see my nice and sleek camera door bell. I’m sure they won’t even try to enter my home. I do feel safer now plus my other camera system. I am very pleased with this video door bell. Can’t think of any complaints. Oh yea. There is not monthly subscription fee. Thank you Eufy. That’s one reason I did not consider a few other manufacturers. Why ask us pay when we don’t need to. And this product is priced very competitively too. So I believe this is a winner. Give it a try I’m sure you will love it as much as I do. Wired or battery operated.