Customer Ratings & Reviews

I cannot recommend buying this system for several reasons. The main reason is the tech support is very bad. As a side note I am a tech, and am quite familiar with many brands of surveillance systems. I have setup systems such as QSEE, Nightowl, Hikvision, Arecont, Lorex, etc. That includes systems that are analog or digital, DVR, NVR. First of all the system came with a bad camera. That is fairly normal. I have purchased many systems that had bad cameras right out of the box. Night Owl is well known for having bad cameras. Lorex is no different. However this is where the problem lies, it is very difficult to get a bad camera replaced with Lorex. One has to jump through hoops to get a bad camera replaced. First you have to go through many troubleshooting steps to prove camera is defective. Then I had to send at least 10 emails to get camera replaced. Lorex wanted camera serial number, model of system, serial number of system, Device ID, place purchased, Date purchased, and copy of receipt. When I sent them all this info they would reply that they needed more info. As an example, I would send them the receipt in an email, then they would respond back that they needed the receipt. It was like they were not actually reading the emails I sent them. It took three weeks to get camera replaced. I tried calling them many times. I would wait on hold for more than an hour every time I called. The techs are polite, however it is unacceptable to have to wait for more than an hour to talk to someone. Some of the techs are quite knowledgeable, most are not. Many of the techs only knew basic things about the system. That is not the techs fault they need to be trained for all their products and not just go by a script. This system is a newer model and they did not know much about it. I had a problem with the frame rate of the cameras and it took weeks to solve. The technicians tried to help they just didn’t have the knowledge. They would ask their supervisor for help and they would email me the next day. This was the problem, the cameras are rated at 4K @15fps live & @7fps recording, 4MP@30fps live & @15fps recording. When viewing video it is 15 FPS but when played back video it is very choppy 7 FPS. I could not set the cameras above 7 FPS no matter what I tried. 7FPS is very choppy 15FPS is much smoother. The specs of system says it can record 15 FPS at 4MP. The Lorex techs emailed me for weeks trying to help. They sent me many different firmware’s to try, none of them worked to fix the problem. They even messed up at one point by sending me firmware for the wrong DVR. When I would email them that the latest thing they asked me to try didn’t work, they would email me the next day. This took weeks. Also I kept calling them every day, however I would hang-up after waiting on hold for more than an hour. After weeks of this I finally was able to get through on the phone to a knowledgeable tech. I explained the situation to him. I told him he needed to try to replicate the problem on the exact same system I had. He said he would try that. A few days later he called back with a way to increase the frame rate. The fix is you go into a special hidden menu and change a hidden setting within the camera. The setting actually modifies the camera not the DVR. It worked, however it crops about 15 percent of viewable area on all four sides of camera. That is a bummer because now your camera view is much smaller. The frame rate is now smooth but has less viewable area. Getting camera to 15 FPS took three weeks for tech support to solve. I think the settings are hidden because when you set camera to 15 FPS it crops the video. These settings are so hidden it took one of their better techs to figure out why it wouldn’t go to 15 FPS. One may ask why I didn’t return system instead of going through this hassle. When I first got system and discovered that frame maxed out at 7FPS I went and bought another system. I figured I would return the other one. The first system I bought at Best Buy, the second system I bought at Costco. The second system had the same DVR but slightly different cameras. But all the specs were identical except the cameras had slightly different infrared emitters and were a different color. The second system from Costco had the exact same problem. The cameras would not go above 7 FPS, even though the specs said it will go to 15 FPS at 4MP. I now figured at this point that the problem was either the specs were wrong or that Lorex was shipping out bad systems. I would have returned both systems but I had already ran the Siamese power cables through my attic. Of course I was not going to pull out the cables nor was I going to purchase new cables to put back in the box for the return. As a side note, my house already had been wired with Siamese cables from a previous Night Owl system. However this Lorex system did not work well with the older cables, I got lines on the video. So I had to replace my older cables with the Lorex cables. I would have bought a surveillance system that had a NVR and not a DVR except I have an older style D1 camera by my front door that is connected with coax. To replace that coax with Cat 6 would almost be impossible because of a firewall. The camera was prewired when the house was built. A Surveillance system that has a NVR is usually better than a system with a DVR. Normally NVR systems cost more money but have higher frame rates. They connect with cat 5 or 6 and not coax. I wish I could have went with a NVR system but I didn’t have a choice. As for this Lorex system, the picture quality is decent in the day. At night the picture quality is ok except for one problem. When looking at something that has motion such as a car or a person walking, you get ghosting in video. As an example when someone walks by you see blurring and an after image trailing the walking person. If you have a lot of light the problem is not as bad. What I do like about the system is the hidden menu, you can change many, many settings such as the type of backlighting BLC, WDC, HLC, etc. You can change the trigger points of when the cameras go into nighttime mode on a camera by camera basis. These hidden settings are great if you are very familiar with security systems. Every home or business has different needs and lighting conditions. So the expert menu settings can adapt to your user environment. Most entry level systems do not have such settings. I understand why these settings are hidden, if you don’t know what you’re doing you can mess things up. I have to rate this system at one star. I would like to rate the system at a 3 or 4 stars, but I cannot. Returning a bad camera to Lorex is a pain. Also waiting for more than an hour for tech support every time you call is a pain. The company Lorex needs to hire more techs. It is unacceptable to have to wait that long. I question if all the reviews on the Best Buy web site are real. Many say almost the exact same thing, even with the same type of grammar. Also many of the positive reviews were posted on the same day. One review says: “Picture quality is good, reaction time to movement is even better. Cables that come with system are extremely long.” That is silly these cables are very short 60ft. Many homes need at least 100 ft. Another review I believe to be fake says: “I don’t have the words to describe how excellent this home security system has been so far... great great great.” Nobody writes a real review like that. A few of the reviews are real. One person complains about the quality of software for DVR being clunky. That is normal almost every brand of surveillance systems has software that looks like it came from the 90’s. I recommend not buying this system for most people. I only recommend this system to somebody who would never need tech support. Or someone who doesn't mind waiting for hours on the phone. I would have never needed support if it wasn't for the bad camera, and wanting to increase the frame rate.

I purchased these cameras back in November of 2018. So this reviews is based on substantial time in use. These cameras do not perform well at all. A. At night they are set off by all the passing car's headlights, recording volumes of useless info. Many calls to the Lorex company support, all of who tried their best, have not helped at all. B. The PC software is clunky and counter-intuitive. Thus far no software updates or improvements have been provided. The android version is little better. C. The video clarity was fair, particularly back in 2018, but is probably falling behind now in 2020-2021. D. I like the local recording to a hard-drive and no subscription needed--a major plus! I Do Not advise purchase unless there are no/very few cars driving by your location. And, major software improvements are sorely needed, particularly for ease of use.

App and interface are the worst i've seen in 2019. records but barely usable. i cant go back to see history normally, its sooo outdated and useless. FALLS WAY BACK when compared to other competitors. This is embarrassingly bad. Capable hardware that's limited by a company thats too lazy to invest 1-2k in a better app!!!! I ended up installing an extra nest camera on top of my expensive system. Thinking of returning but i installed thru walls already. Shouldn't. Whats 4k if you cant use ur system with your iphone in 2019! Angry..

I’ve had so many problems out of this system ... I’ve had 2 dvr’s Crash .... numerous camera issues... Lorex has replaced every one of the cameras and it’s still is not working... they have stopped honoring the 1 year warranty which is maybe 6 months in ... when I call now they transfer me to numerous departments and in the end I get disconnected... this has happened 5 times so I’m sure it’s not accidental at this point

Lorex cameras has a excelkent clear view but, when it came to setting up my account on the DVR it was a pain. Apparently the DVR had a password already. Called Lorex customer service and they had to setup a time and day to have the tech call me. They apparently don’t have enough people in customer service.

After instillation of the cameras one did not work during the night, after quite a bit of hassles and some short temper I finally received a replacement. Then, however, I was told that they, Best Buy, could not install the unit because they, Best Buy, didn’t have anyone qualified to install. Again, some short temperament, because the second camera is doing the same as the first unit. The initial cameras were purchased 6/11/2019, today is 1/25/2020 and that one camera is still not operable... I have NEVER HAD,N NOR HAVE I SEEN OR EXPERIENCED THIS TYPE OF DISREGARD, DISRESPECT AND LACK OF SERVICE. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s a racial problem or intentional neglect? HELP NEEDED

Dvr and cameras are 4k, but the coax bnc cables do not support true 4k so the picture was likely the equivalent of 1k. Returned for NVR system with POE.

No color night vision like it says. No 4k quality like it says!

there were only 4 cameras 1 was put in the wrong location. geek squad has lost it

theirs a 1 inch hole you have to put in wall so you can run 4 cameras

The Lorex 4K Camera System This system offers some features that intrigued my interest. The ability to flash a warning light and sound a siren when you see unwarranted visitors or activity on your property was excited as well as to see some good clear views during the day and at night (night vision). However, this is not the system for the average user that is looking for something easy to set up and use. It comes with three separate startup sheets, one or two sided guides in several different languages (which is good) but it’s difficult to determine which one to start with first. I don’t mean in terms of languages, that’s easy if you only speak one language, but what isn’t clear is if you should start with the install, the networking, or the connection guide first? It would have be helpful to have something labeled “start here first” or the guides marked in some numerical sequence that was easy to follow (1,2,3...). Nonetheless I tried my best to get the system together (I just needed to test that it worked, as hardwiring requires much more work and time and makes it more permanent). Finally, when I was able to somehow get it together (lots of wires and different connections) I experienced problems with the system not displaying on my monitor (my television). The system display has the capability of displaying in 4K, my television is 1080p, which should easily show the images via my monitor as it is only a step down. However, the system was defaulted at the highest viewing (4K) and it would not display. You can not set up the system without viewing it on a monitor to create a login name and password. I was determined to get this to work so I contacted customer service. After several attempts (over several days) to get through and being placed on hold for long periods of time, I got a technician to help me. They requested to gain access to my network, made some adjustments and I was able to view through my monitor (after about an hour). I was excited and thought I was done. However, later that night I experienced more problems through one of the cameras. It would not work at night without light. The other three cameras worked just fine and used infrared, but one of the cameras only snapped in for a second and then went dark. I then had to call the tech department again with a another problem that needed to be resolved. I haven’t even gotten to the app and the lack of features and the inability to make changes to the system. Oddly, I currently own and have been using an older Lorex camera system for the past four years (I started having problems with the cameras about a year ago). That system worked fine for the first two years and then I began to notice the cameras were not as clear and began to display a pink hue. I contacted customer service a few times trying to fix my problem to no avail. I was eventually informed that my camera or my system has went bad. The cameras still work but everything looks pink during the day. This camera system may not be the system for individuals that are not professional installers or do not plan to hire one. I assume when setup and used correctly this system could work for some, however, I have had problem after problem with this system. It is by far the least intuitive home monitoring camera system I’ve seen or used. I would not recommend this unit to the average homeowner, unless they hired a professional to set it up and provide a tutorial on proper usage. To date, my problems still have not been resolved. When speaking with a fourth technician they mentioned that they may have to send out another unit, AGAIN. I still haven’t received a call back, although I had a schedule day and time period with a tech. I given up all hope with this system.

From the beginning the system has been problematic. The system has glitches galore. Not user friendly. Regarding software and mobile apps, there are dozens of options and only 1 for pc, and 1 for Android that work with this system. Lorex could be less evasive about this which would speed up the initial setup.. Playback functions are terrible, not easily controlled. Inconsistencies between the app and the pc software. Both are missing lots of functions. Some functions are only available on the app, others only on the PC interface. No rewind, only slow forward. Deterrent alarm and light cannot be activated with the pc, only with the mobile app. Playback with each is slow to load, and difficult to queue up to a specific images. No audio. Connecting cameras is not plug and play. More like plug and reset, unplug, try again, repeat, repeat, call Lorex UN-support, repeat, repeat.... Video images appear to be fine until zoomed in for details, then the quality dissolves into a blur of ghost images. If recording on other than motion, the 2TB memory only stores 5 days at most, then your footage is gone. When recording only movement, each time the system senses movement, the screen goes blank for as many as five seconds, which is enough time to miss the recorded activity entirely. The money paid for this system funds support staff who are condescending, arrogant, redundant, unhelpful, and consistently request access to our private database, rather than providing clear, concise, step by step instructions. Too many of the Lorex support staff are making a living in exchange for being rude, some are even ignorant. More than one has hung up on us. Even a supervisor hung up. They would rather go home and spend their paychecks, while their customers are left with unresolved system issues. Based on the failure of their UN-support employees, I would not recommend any Lorex related product. Highly recommend that you choose another option. Make sure that whichever option you choose, you know where the support offices are located, and it is NOT where the Lorex UN-support agents are located. You cannot rely on Lorex agents. This experience is a waste of money, time, and is not secure. Hypothetically, if Lorex were to move their support team to a location where people are grateful to be helpful to customers, instead of the current Lorex UN-support location where they are more motivated to be selfish, abusive, and dishonest, only then perhaps, Lorex might be a viable option.

Before I installed the cameras I decided to test it out. The system has a good image on the tv. I will say is actually 4K resolution. The motion notification works fine, however they will not give you a preview picture of the person, just like Arlo, Ring or Nest cameras do. The app need a lot of improvements. First of all is complicated to understand and secondly the video quality on the app is terrible. Therefore, I decided to return it for those reasons. If you are ok without the smart notifications and using the app on your phone. This will be a good system to purchase. Otherwise you won’t like it.

Lots of false notifications when using the app, picks up every little movement, even if a small bug flies by the camera it detects motions. I adjusted the sensitivity down to a level “1” and it did not correct the issue. The light on the camera used to deter a would be intruder is a joke, probably not even 5 lumens of light. The colored night vision doesn’t work as advertised, it’s black and white. If the area is dark with no lighting at all, the so called night vision shows a black screen. Picture quality is superb as expect from a 4K system, other than that it’s the worst security camera system I have ever owned. It’s a shame since Lorex is a decent brand.

Sick of Lorex. We purchased because it was cheap but there were always problems with the software. We kept waiting for the latest release like stray dogs begging for scraps but each release comes and goes with no major bug fixes. It still takes all of our laptops forever to connect to the DVR, even if we're on the same router. The video is horrible and stutters when even trying to play back at 1x, while faster speeds (8x) are unusable for review. The latest software version forces us to install passwords on our own computers. Let that sink in - you can't even open their software -on your own computer- without setting and using a password. And the latest version won't even connect anymore to the DVR. You set it to cut out a small section of video and it insists on downloading a full hour of video at about 1/20th the bandwidth of our network connection (takes hours). Meanwhile, they don't publish prior software versions on their website so you're out of luck there and can't even connect anymore to the DVR unless we get out one of our older laptops with the prior software version intact. Lorex is banned at our offices as of today.

LOREX CAMERA'S have pretty pictures, but their product has issues with connecting to WIFI and they cannot support their own product, they also will take your money hostage, and not take the their product back. Go with RING, a MUCH better product!!!!!

I purchased the 4K Ultra HD IP NVR System with 16 Outdoor 4K (8MP) IP Metal Cameras, 8 Optical 4x Zoom Cameras, 8 Audio Cameras, 250FT Night Vision 4KHDIP1688NV on December 30, 2018. Since that time my NVR has been replaced twice. To make matter worst customer service is awful. Today I called around 2:00 pm and selected the option for a callback. At 6:30 pm I never received a callback so I tried calling LOREX and wait on the phone. I was placed on hold for over 90 minutes. Remember they close at 8:00 pm eastern. My experience has been contrary to the reviews when I purchased and what I am reading now. This company is slowly sinking.

If you shut the system down (from the on screen menu), there is no way to power it back up without unplugging it. I'm not lying. You have to crawl around behind your equipment cabinet, unplug the power cable, and then plug it back in! There is No other way to turn the NVR back on. I have verified this with Lorex tech support. That is absolutely ridiculous! Lorex has really not thought this product through from a customers perspective. That tells you a Lit about this company.. I am returning this system and will buy from another manufacturer. Don't waste your money on anything that says Lorex on it.

Cheap products made in China that do not last very long......

Don't take my word for it. Check out the uncensored customer reviews. Lorex makes a nice product but their Customer Support is off the charts HORRIBLE. No exaggeration.