Smart Doorbell - Page 1

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Posted: 6/5/2018 3:40:18 PM EDT

I just recently discovered smart doorbells and wanted to see if anybody here had experience with them. I like the idea of the wife being able to see and talk to whoever is at the door without answering or opening the door. Allot of these systems also have motion detectors that let you know when someone is on your doorstep and allow you to talk thru the doorbell without even being home.

Overall I really like the options these systems offer and am looking to pick one up. Any recommendations? Other kinds of systems I should look into? I already have an alarm system, so this is supplemental. Thanks.

Posted: 6/5/2018 4:00:01 PM EDT

[#1]

I have had both the August and Ring door bells. Both did the job. They also require a subscription to save the video into the cloud.

I scraped the August and went with Ring. The major reason was that for a single subscription fee I can have as many Ring devices on the account. I ended up with two doorbells and 7 cameras.

Posted: 6/5/2018 4:01:53 PM EDT

[#2]

Skybell. Works great, gets good reviews (now that they worked out their app issues), and doesn't have a monthly fee.

Reviews:

https://www.pcmag.com/review/359328/skybell-hd

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-smart-doorbell-camera/

Posted: 6/5/2018 8:31:32 PM EDT

[#3]

I have my own version of a smart doorbell. It's disconnected so it doesn't ring. This means I don't have to wonder who's at the door, and ignore them.

Posted: 6/6/2018 3:22:05 PM EDT

[#4]

The idea of having to pay a monthly subscription honestly just kind of annoys me. Like I am being nickled and dimed. Although if it’s the best I may go for one of those.

I will look into the sky bell, thanks for the recommendation.

Posted: 6/6/2018 3:50:25 PM EDT

[#5]

Quote History

Quoted:
The idea of having to pay a monthly subscription honestly just kind of annoys me. Like I am being nickled and dimed. Although if it’s the best I may go for one of those.

I will look into the sky bell, thanks for the recommendation.

View Quote

There is an annual option also.

Posted: 6/6/2018 6:03:32 PM EDT

[#6]

Quote History

Quoted:
The idea of having to pay a monthly subscription honestly just kind of annoys me. Like I am being nickled and dimed. Although if it’s the best I may go for one of those.

I will look into the sky bell, thanks for the recommendation.

View Quote

The subscription is only if you want to be able to record and playback video.

If you just want a smart doorbell to see who's at the door and communicate with them there is no subscription requirement for that.

My cousin has the Ring and they love it. I messed with it some and was pretty impressed.

I'm planning on going full reolink surveillance system and am still considering getting a ring just so we can see faces at the door and communicate with them.

Posted: 6/6/2018 6:09:14 PM EDT

[#7]

I’ve had the ring for 5 months now and I’d say I’m happy with it. It took a week or so to get the sensitivity/zone setting right so it didn’t trigger false alarms. But after that it’s worked great.

Posted: 6/7/2018 3:25:04 AM EDT

[#8]

Ring Pro, love it. The subscription was $30/yr if I remember.

Posted: 6/7/2018 3:32:10 PM EDT

[#9]

To those of you with the ring, I read a review that stated you have to do the yearly subscription or after a few seconds if you hadn’t opened the app you would be unable to view the live video. Can anybody verify or refute that claim?

Thanks for all of the replies!

Posted: 6/7/2018 4:03:44 PM EDT

[#10]

If I recall correctly.....

You can live view but can not go back and check an alert.

I think we got 30 days free and then the review feature is shut off. I didn't know much about it and wasn't going to pay for the subscription. Once I found out I couldn't go back and see video from alerts I figured $30/yr was reasonable for that information.

Posted: 6/7/2018 7:42:34 PM EDT

[#11]

Got a skybell coming next week. Big reason for me is the integration with my alarm.com account. Also doesn't hurt that there is no subscription requirement to view videos.

Posted: 6/10/2018 10:14:36 PM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:

The subscription is only if you want to be able to record and playback video.

If you just want a smart doorbell to see who's at the door and communicate with them there is no subscription requirement for that.

My cousin has the Ring and they love it. I messed with it some and was pretty impressed.

I'm planning on going full reolink surveillance system and am still considering getting a ring just so we can see faces at the door and communicate with them.

View Quote

I have the full 8 camera Reolink and it's good, but I want the Ring for a "time stamp". The reolink is to sensitive to use motion detection on as it goes off constantly with every little movement. With the Ring I can get a notification when someone gets right up on the front porch and presses the doorbell.

Posted: 6/12/2018 11:04:53 PM EDT

[#13]

The ring we have also has a motion sensor. I get alerts without someone pushing the button. The motion alert zone is customisable as well.

Posted: 7/7/2018 1:50:21 AM EDT

[#14]

+1 for Ring. Love ours.

Posted: 7/7/2018 3:02:18 AM EDT

[#15]

My place isn't hardwired for a doorbell anymore (remodel before I bought).

How long does the battery powered ring/ring2/ring pro actually last?

Posted: 7/8/2018 6:21:31 AM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:
My place isn't hardwired for a doorbell anymore (remodel before I bought).

How long does the battery powered ring/ring2/ring pro actually last?

View Quote

Ours is hardwired so I can't answer that. They do make a solar panel to attach and keep the battery charged.......