Customer Ratings & Reviews

Nice work everything is good and good looking and thank for everything

Not recommended. I purchased two and neither one would keep a stable connection. They would constantly loose WiFi connection. Overall durability/construction and installation is the only benefit

After 2 days the bell doesn’t ring anymore. Otherwise it’s okay

Did not work out for me, bought this doorbell in January of 2025, almost 3 months ago... finally removed it yesterday. It kept jumping offline.... what's the point of having it if it can't stay online. Going back to Eufy!

Very disappointed. The night vision doesn't kick in until all outside lights are out such as porch lights, street/Christmas lights etc. My old ring doorbell is better than this and I didn't like the ring.

It's not that GREAT and honestly don't pay attention too those that get the free products for review and they just don't wanna be honest about the product and give the product 5 star, It's not fast and for first 2 or 3 seconds the video is very blurry.

Camara is not bad at all but its always offline and no matter what I do icant fix it plus the speaker is horrible.

I really wanted to like this camera, but unfortunately, it is not reliable I’ve been using ring cameras and still have two attached. No issues at all. This camera constantly is disconnecting from my Wi-Fi.

I have owned numerous smart security and more traditional home security devices for over 15 years. This is the first Swann product I have used. From my experience, most of the big name companies you see everywhere, typically have low quality products that are solely aimed to trap you into an ecosystem that makes you pay for every little thing. Swann is one of the lesser known/utilized companies that is often overlooked. I have a lot of Lorex products, but Swann has often been a similar competitor. For this device, I would recommend it to anyone who wants all the features, options, and flexibility, combined in to one device. You get 4K, local storage, cloud storage, an option of battery or direct wired, a chime, etc. There are essentially no other products on the market that offer this level of flexibility. This is not necessarily the best product or brand on the market, but they have made the best all-around doorbell I have used. Set up and design: You can direct wire this to doorbell wiring (much preferred) or use the battery. I placed more conservative settings to stretch the battery life longer. Is 3.5 days it's sitting at 65%. Not great but if you cannot hard wire and are okay with the recharges, I 1000% recommend this. There was nothing else too special about the set up compared to any other doorbell I've installed. The design I would give around an 8/10. It's larger but sleek. Maybe not the best looking but it looks good and isn't an eyesore. App/UI/Recording: This includes a 32gb SD card that you can upgrade to 128gb. Another 4K doorbell I've used never needed more than 32gb unless you want more than 2.5-3 days of recordings. Additionally, if you expect a lot of recording/packages/etc I would definitely upgrade. I think the included 32gb would be plenty for 50-70% of users. Swann also includes basic cloud recording. I didn't set this up but I think its great they offer both. The app/UI was decent but leaves some to be desired. It's a little more laggy than some bigger names out there. Connectivity: Even with my high end router that's placed within 100ft of the doorbell, I did feel connections were slower than I would like. It connects locally and remotely within 5-10 seconds 80% of the time. Picture quality: Daytime picture quality is excellent and I am able to clearly see faces. Nighttime with good lighting also performed well. With my porch light off, I am unimpressed with the nighttime quality. This is generally an issue for any camera but this was less than expected. Overall, keep your porches well lit. Bottom line: This is an excellent starter doorbell. You get 4K, local recording, cloud options, wired or battery operated, etc. You can't go wrong this device and even though it leaves things to be desired, I would recommend it over any of the big name companies out there.

I am really happy with this doorbell camera! Installation was quick and easy, it took less than 15 minutes. I have a hard wired dorrbell set up so the doorbell is always powered. The doorbell has a nice look and a very good camera. My front porch is pretty big and the camera can see most of it, which my previous doorbell camera could not. The video looks great and you can pick out small details because of the high quality of the camera. The speaker sounds great and the mic works very well! My wife and I had a short conversation through the app to test it out and I was impressed with how clear her voice came through without a lot of background noise (it was a little windy when we tested it). The camera is just as clear at night when the night vision is on. The doorbell also came with a wireless ringer. It's super easy to set up and can cover quite a distance. I already have a ringer by the front door so I put this ringer in the family room, about 150 feet from the doorbell unit and it works great! I already have a Swann home DVR system and was already using the app. It was super easy to add to the app and shows with the live feed of my DVR system. There is a small delay when using theapp. I would talk over the mic and then about a second after I would hear it on the video. It's a little weird but I got used to it. Overall, this was a great addition to my home security system anmd I will recommend this product to friends.

Did not have any luck with item. Just did not work

The Swann Buddy 4K UHD Wireless Video Doorbell & Chime is a feature-packed home security device that aims to elevate your doorstep surveillance with its high-resolution video capabilities and seamless integration options. The Swann Buddy 4K UHD Doorbell features a sleek and modern design that blends well with most home exteriors. It's compact yet sturdy, designed to withstand various weather conditions. The doorbell unit itself is minimalistic, with a prominent camera lens and a discreet status LED. The accompanying chime is compact and can be placed anywhere within your home for audible alerts. Setting up the Swann Buddy is straightforward, especially for users familiar with smart home devices. It operates wirelessly, connecting to your home Wi-Fi network, which simplifies the installation process without the need for complex wiring. The package includes all necessary mounting hardware and tools, ensuring you can set it up within minutes. One of the standout features of the Swann Buddy is its 4K Ultra HD resolution, which delivers crisp and clear video footage of your doorstep. The high dynamic range (HDR) enhances visibility in varying lighting conditions, capturing details such as faces or license plates effectively. The wide-angle lens provides a broad field of view, minimizing blind spots. Audio quality is equally impressive with two-way audio support, allowing you to communicate with visitors or delivery personnel directly through the Swann app. The doorbell incorporates advanced motion detection technology with customizable zones, ensuring you receive alerts only for relevant activities. The sensitivity settings can be adjusted within the Swann Security app, reducing false alarms caused by passing cars or animals. Real-time push notifications alert you instantly to any detected motion, providing peace of mind whether you're at home or away. The Swann Security app serves as the central hub for controlling and monitoring your Swann Buddy Doorbell. It offers a user-friendly interface with intuitive navigation, enabling you to view live streams, review past recordings, and adjust settings effortlessly. The app supports both iOS and Android platforms, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of smartphones and tablets. Integration with voice assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa enhances convenience, allowing you to check your doorbell status or view camera feeds using voice commands. Video recordings are stored locally on the included 16GB microSD card, providing ample storage capacity for capturing events. For users requiring cloud storage, Swann offers subscription plans that enable cloud recording and additional features such as person detection and package detection. The flexibility to choose between local and cloud storage options caters to different user preferences and privacy concerns. Performance and Reliability In terms of performance, the Swann Buddy delivers consistently reliable operation, with minimal downtime or connectivity issues reported by users. The robust wireless connection ensures stable video streaming and prompt alert delivery, crucial for effective home security monitoring. The device's durability and resilience to outdoor elements contribute to its overall reliability, making it a dependable choice for a long time. The Swann Buddy 4K UHD Wireless Video Doorbell & Chime stands out as a top-tier option for homeowners seeking enhanced security and convenience at their doorsteps. With its impressive 4K video quality, robust build, and intuitive app interface, it offers comprehensive monitoring capabilities backed by reliable performance. While the need for a subscription for cloud storage may be a consideration, the device's local storage option provides a viable alternative. Overall, the Swann Buddy is a solid investment for anyone looking to upgrade their home security system with modern, high-definition technology.

This is a bit of a mess. Once installed it works well however getting there is a bit of a journey So let's start the review Size – this thing is very large and you're going to have to have considerable room to mount it as compared with some of the others in the market – I currently use one from the G company and this one is 50% wider and probably 2x as long. Mounting – this one really excels in that department. All of the hardware you need is included – I will say the ability to attach with double-sided tape is a great addition. Since I didn’t plan on a permanent install I used the tape and didn’t have any adherence problems. Also, the fact that you can hardwire mount is a plus. Setup – I also found this to be a bit of a pain. I downloaded the app for my iPhone [phone and then your prompt to set up an account and give the sales pitch for some paid monitoring/could storge after a free trial – you do have the option to opt-out. The app itself is fairly intuitive to install the doorbell (others not so much). That said it seems to take at least two rounds to get everything to work. I had to go through the install process twice and had two separate firmware updates and it took two times for both of them to install Range – I had no issues with range however it is fairly close to the access point so I had a strong signal Singal delay – I can say that the signal delay seemed to be pretty good with this device – really I would say I didn’t see anything that was more than about 1.5 sec delay. The longest delays were in movement notification and voice response. Video quality – I was able to run it at its highest video quality and the clarity in both day and night was very good. It did struggle a bit in the change-over timeframe but nothing really significant; facial features were still very recognizable. The secondary chime works well – wish there were a few more ringtones but no issues. The six are distinctive enough that should meet most requirements. Overall the functionality of this is pretty good in comparison to others however for me the size and the pains in setup would make it a no-go. If you already have the swann system might be a great addition.

The Swann Buddy is a good alternative to the popular subscription-based units because it comes with a generous 32GB microSD card for local storage. The box comes with the mounting bracket and screws so mounting was simple. I was a little worried the camera wouldn't capture the right area when I noticed the mounting bracket didn't have an adjustable tilt. After I connected the camera, I was able to see a wide field of view. I downloaded the Swann app and went through the connection procedure using 2.4Ghz and familiarizing the camera with my network. Connecting the doorbell to the chime was almost instantaneous, though it said I could cycle between different chimes by pressing the button on top of the chime, but it didn't seem to work. You could set the screen appearance depending on your phone's screen, but I found the extra wide angle of the camera made the recordings look distorted and overly stretched. I like that I could set up a perimeter so it disregards anything outside of it. With the added benefit of heat sensing, it won't go off at the first sign of movement like another one I had. Video quality was not as detailed and crisp as expected. I set it at the full 4K and noticed no difference with the live view when I switched from the lower resolution. My other doorbell camera appeared higher resolution at 2K, my only guess would be that it tries to capture so much area, that it ends up spreading the resolution to areas that are too distorted to see clearly. For some reason, I wasn't able to deactivate the button lighting; when sensing motion, it pulsates red or blue. I wanted to get a notification of motion without whomever is there knowing. In conclusion, it's still a good alternative to other doorbell cams because of its onboard storage. It's not the best option out there, but if you want a wide field of view, this is the one for you.

The Swann-Buddy 4K UHD Wireless Video Doorbell & Chime is just what I've been looking for. I'm fortunate to live in a fairly secure area and haven't had to worry about porch pirates and the like. All I wanted was a doorbell that allowed me to see who was there and speak to them. Other brands required a subscription to so that, granted you got other services but I didn't want or need them. With Swann, I can have this simple set up with no other cost than the initial purchase. However, if I want more, I can always get a get a subscription plan to meet my needs. This Swann comes neatly packaged with everything I might need to set it up. There are mounting screws and hardware that allows one to mount the doorbell holder on difference surfaces including a way to mount it on a glass pane. This is what I chose as it gave me a clearer field of vision. It appears it also came with wires to make it a wired system. The app was easy to download, doorbell was easily paired to my phone and the chime allows for several different sounds to get your attention. It does everything it promised. The microphone works great and I find the picture quality adequate as everything I looked at was easily identifiable. It comes with a 32 MB micro card which can be upgraded. It comes with its own charger for the doorbell and batteries for the chime unit. There were also some security stickers you can put up as theft deterrents. I haven't checked out the night vision yet as my porch light has motion detection so there is light all down my walkway when I've checked it. It does a good job with motion detection. I learned this from when I was waiting for the mounting to "cure" on my window and had placed it on the counter. It picked up movement while sitting there. I'm very happy with my Swann-Buddy.

When I used a different doorbell prior to this, I had to use a subscription which wasn't much but it's extra money I have to dish out per month. This includes saving locally via an SD card which makes it a lot better than the previous one I used before. I like the design. It's pretty slick and fits in flush with my door frame. The siren itself is a nice addition to the packaging. The quality of the video is very clean and the night vision works pretty well as well. The wide angle is always a welcome so you can see more when viewing footage. The 2-way audio works great and it does what it needs to do. When someone is at your door, you can speak to them and hear as well. I don't use this feature too much but it is nice to have regardless and the audio it records is also good. I know some people who prefer to have a wired connection, but living in an apartment, we're not supposed to hard wire these doorbells and having it be wireless is much more convenient. I find that I don't really have to charge the battery often and it can last for a while. One complain I have is the siren design doesn't look good to me and it looks like a life alert button or something. It's not that big of a deal though.

Setup with Swann Security App was easy and worked the first time through. The only issue to report was minor and only a slight inconvenience. The setup program was unable to focus the QR code on the back of the device, which was an app software issue because my iPhone’s camera app had no problem reading the code. I had to use the manual setup option and enter in the device code manually. Not a big deal but the code was a little hard to read. Installation and connection to the 12V power source was also easy with included mounting bracket. I wish there was an option to mount with an angled bracket like other brands I used have provided since it is near a wall, however, the camera has a sufficiently wide angle of view, so it is not that big of a deal. The Swanbuddy advertises being fully wireless with the internal battery. Before connecting to the power source, I was curious how long it would hold a charge so I let it run on battery only. After almost a week with battery saving setting turned on and sleep detection set at 5 minutes it was at 55% which makes me believe that it would last 2 weeks or so between charges. That is pretty good, however, since the charge port is in the back it means you would have to take it off of the mount each time. A couple of pleasant surprises were that included with the kit was batteries for the remote chime and a 32GB SD card installed in the doorbell. So often companies cut corners to save costs and don’t bother to include the extra required items. I also have a Swann NVR but do not have notifications enabled and would like to have them for the doorbell cam. To control separate notifications for them you have to setup the Modes feature and in there you can control detection sensitivity and push notifications. The remote chime unit is really nice as well. The unit is mounted on the front door and the primary door chime is in an upstairs hallway which I cannot hear when in my downstairs office. The remote chime takes care of that problem. The only thing is I wish there was a mounting option for it but some double-sided tape also works just fine. Camera video quality is great in both daylight and nighttime modes. Microphone sound quality is also very good as is the doorbell speaker. Two-way communication between app and doorbell is crisp and clear with very little lag. One of the best features of the SwannBuddy is that it is able to store recordings on the local SD card and it is fully functional without being forced into paying for a subscription. You can of course subscribe to their extra, pro, or unlimited plans which give 60 days of cloud recording, enhanced detection and notifications, and extended warranty if desired. I was able to get notifications and review recordings remotely without any subscription which was also nice.

The Swann 4k Video doorbell has an excellent field of view. The ultra-wide 180° viewing angle lets you see so much more than other security cameras. Because of the wide viewing angle there is a bit of a fisheye look to the footage, but just at the edges. The Swann software works great at removing the fisheye distortion in the bulk of all the images, so that everything from the center of the image out to near the edges looks straight and normal without distortion. The wide viewing angle lets me see the full width of my front yard, eliminating the need for a secondary camera to complete the view. This viewing angle is also great at seeing more of anybody standing in front of the doorbell. Lesser angled cameras might only see about a 3 foot vertical portion of the person at the front door. This doorbell gives you at least twice that, and offers a full view of the person at closer distances versus non wide angled cameras. The 4K images are pretty clear in daylight and even at night. There is a lot of detail with images 25 feet away or closer. Items further than that do get kind of pixelated, but are still recognizable. The doorbell comes with a built in storage slot for a micro SD card, 32gb is included. All recordings from the doorbell are stored there unless you pay for the optional online storage. You can access these stored videos through the Swann app. With the Swann app you can change some of the settings for the device and also view live videos. If someone rings the doorbell , the included wireless chime will ring as well as the app on your phone. Using your phone you can view the person at the door and talk to them through the app or send a pre-recorded message to  the person.  When using the app you can also view all the trigger times of any moment that the doorbell noticed some type of activity. I was unable to view footage for any of the trigger marks through the notification menu. I had to back out of that and go directly to the storage folder in the app. From here you can view any recorded video, but I noticed that not all triggers create a recording. I had more than twice as many triggers in the notification menu versus what was actually recorded in the storage folder.  You can go into the settings to change the trigger sensitivities and even outline sections in the field of view for the doorbell to focus on. I was unable to change how or what exactly triggered a recording. The doorbell does use infrared with a more advanced AI to help eliminate false triggers, but if that is the case, why show me trigger points with no recordings? I used the doorbell for over a day on battery power, and it only used about 2 or 3 percent of the actual battery level. Installation of the unit is pretty easy and only takes a couple of minutes despite whether or not you are using a wired connection or just the batteries. Depending on where you mount the doorbell, you might need to place a wedge between the doorbell and the siding of your house, as most siding panels are slanted. There is nothing in the box to correct the angle, so keep that in mind before starting the install.  Oddly enough, you can install the doorbell upside down, because it does have a flip feature for the video both on the vertical and horizontal. You can login into the app and connect to the camera at any time desired, but there is no 24/7 recording feature to be able to go back in time and view an actual time line. The only thing you can go back to view are triggered recordings. While this doorbell does offer many features of similar video doorbells, the 2 best features are the picture quality and the no subscription needed service. With that said, it does lack some features that others might want. While live viewing the camera through the app, the red LED ring around the doorbell button lights up. Any time a trigger happens the red LED lights up, and then turns blue before going dark again. There is no way to change if or when the LEDs light up. Again, there is no 24/7 recording. There also seems to be no way to change why some triggers do not record videos. Plus it seems odd that you have to leave the trigger menu and go to the storage folder to view the associated recordings. I believe all of these oddities could be fixed with a software update, as the hardware seems to be great. It's the app and associated features that need a bit of adjusting, in my opinion. So hopefully they will make these changes to give this a more user-friendly interface with more advanced features.

The market is saturated now and days with doorbell camera's; ever since Ring introduced them to society, every brand has their own iteration of one now. Swann has decided to join the ring with wireless doorbell camera's by releasing the Buddy 4k. I was excited to try out a 4k doorbell camera, hoping that I would get some very good video quality, able to store it locally, and would hopefully be able to do live views and live talks with people at the door without issue. Sadly, this product doesn't really deliver on any of that, besides it having on board storage. Let's go over some pros and cons of this doorbell. PROS: - Pretty easy to set up, the hardest part is drilling through stucco! But setting up the doorbell with the app was very easy, no issues, and syncing the chime with the doorbell is just as easy as well. - The chime is loud enough that you can hear it throughout the house. - It has local SD storage, meaning, you don't have to pay a cloud fee every month just to look at your footage. It can go up to 128GB, which for a 4k camera, I would expect at least a 256gb maximum storage space. - The build quality is good, seems like a well made product, definitely outdoor tough. CONS - The camera quality is not that great, I think 4k is a big stretch. Even after downloading the videos, I just don't see the same quality I would expect out of a 4k camera. - Lack of adjustment in the app for the camera. For example, my doorbell faces the sun during the day, and this camera does not have any way to adjust the focus so the sun glare doesn't wash out the entire frame of footage. This is infuriating as I miss out on 4 -6 hours a day of recording because of the sun glare and lack of customization in the app to reduce glare, to adjust brightness etc. - The app is very buggy. Everytime I get a notification that there is motion is at my door, when I click the notification, it just brings me to the live view instead of the playback which is dumb. Not only that, but live view works like 35% of the time. The other 65% it just spins and spins for up to a minute before either finally connecting, or timing out. And NO it is not a wifi connectivity issue, the signal is 98% on the doorbell for WiFi, it is only 15 feet from the nearest AP. This is especially annoying when someone is actively at your door and you are trying desperately to communicate with them. All in all, this doorbell is just average. It has potential maybe with some firmware updates and a better app, but in it's current state, it's only 3 star worthy.

I love that there are two options to installing this doorbell. If you already have a wired doorbell installed, you can remove your current one and use the wires to install this. I feel that it might be more secure. But you can also install it wirelessly as it comes with a rechargeable battery. I feel this gives more possibilities of where it can be used instead of having to use it at the front door. Installing it was pretty easy with simple to follow directions. I love that there’s a tiny screw at the bottom of the doorbell to help protect it from someone trying to take apart the doorbell. I decided to use it wirelessly at the side door since there’s no doorbell there at all. It’s not a door that visitors use often but since we don’t have any cameras facing this side of the house, I thought it would be a good option to put the doorbell camera there. This comes with a small chime box that you can install on a wall but right now, we are still using it on the counter, that seems to be the best place for it so that we can hear it on all 3 floors clearly. I didn’t install but just placed it on the corner of the counter, this way if I do find a better place for it, I can just pick it up to move it. The little chime box comes with choices of different chimes which is helpful so I can set a totally different doorbell sound to differentiate it from our other doorbell. It operates with AA batteries that will need to be replaced, I haven’t needed to replace it yet so not sure how long it will last. It’s my first time using a Swann security product and this doesn’t disappoint. It works like you would expect a camera doorbell to work but even better. The night vision is great and clear. The view of people is also great and you can see the full body very clearly and all around the body. I love that it not only senses motion but it also detects heat! Which is an amazing. Camera picks it up right away, I am amazed at how accurate it is. Another plus is it that this stores recording for free and comes with a micro sd card. I’m so glad I got this because I see so far onto that side of the house and all around it. I’m curious to see how long the doorbell battery lasts until I have to remove the doorbell to recharge it. My hope is that it will last at least one month before needing a charge. Definitely happy with this and would recommend. My friend was so pleased with how it looked, how well the app worked and not paying for recorded storage that she just ordered one and can’t wait to receive it.