I’m sure most of us are no stranger to video doorbells, with some big-name such as Ring making a headline on the news. Therefore, what would a person interested in technology like myself do? I jumped on the bandwagon and have it set up for my home. However, there are so many options for a video doorbell, and it also depends on different people having different criteria for the choice (most will buy the cheapest one anyways 😂 ). But well, I don’t judge…or can’t judge because I’m cheap, but that does not mean I am willing to compromise when it comes to something that I deem “important.”

What is the big deal with video doorbells anyways, you ask? Aren’t they just doorbells but with a camera? Why do you even need them if the traditional doorbell is already sufficient? I’m glad you ask, and yes, you might be right that we don’t really “need” them, but they are a good quality of life. Let’s imagine someone rang your doorbell, and you were wondering who that could be? It could be a guest, a delivery man, or a robber. How do you know who is outside if you don’t open the door? The answer is you don’t (unless you have a window that can see the front porch). It would be fine if that were just a relative or delivery man, but I can’t say the same if you open the door and meet a robber. Suppose that happens, then good luck to you. Hence, I want to get a doorbell to see who is at the front of my home and maybe pretend that I’m not home regardless of who rang the bell😂 but at least the option is there, and I love having options.

Speaking of options, there are so many options for video doorbells out there; which one to choose? The short answer depends; the long answer is complicated as they have pros and cons, how much you are willing to compromise, and what the bottom line for you is. My bottom line is absolutely no subscription for my devices. I am willing to pay a hefty price for the devices. Therefore, I do not want to pay subscriptions to be able to use some features of the devices that I have already paid for. It makes no sense to me, and thus I don’t want to deal with anything that requires a subscription, which eliminated quite a bit of the top video doorbells in the market…cough cough Ring.

Do I have the list of criteria that I’m looking for in my camera doorbell? These are:

• Human detection/motion detect
• Night vision
• Clear image and reliable signal
• Ability to connect to the existing doorbell wire or at least able to make a loud enough chime so I can hear from inside the house
• Clear 2 ways to talk (to be able to talk to the guests even when I’m not home)
• Remote access
• Review the footage of any event during the day (24/7 recording would be the best, but I’m willing to settle for the next best thing).
• For security reasons, I don’t want my recording to be stored on any server on the cloud, so local storage if possible.

As you can see, my criteria are pretty specific, and I have deiced on the Eufy video doorbell. The reason is pretty apparent. It checked all my boxes for the requirement, albeit not complete, but it was close enough. The biggest reason is that I have already chosen the Eufy doorlock for my door. Therefore it makes sense to go with Eufy as a platform, so long as the product was not too terrible in the proposition of value vs. features to the point where it does not make sense to stick with Eufy. However, this device did not come cheap; I spent essentially $200, which is a pretty steep price if you ask me. If I were to look for a basic wifi camera doorbell, I could easily find some for under $30, but I don’t trust them in terms of reliability, quality, or security (of course, you can also prove me wrong).

I’m not going to lie; I am biased regarding Eufy packaging. They always have a premium feel to them, and I like how clean the packing look as well. Here is what is inside the box.

I decided to went with this because this included a Homebase 2 unit and the doorbell. What is Homebase 2, you ask? Eufy’s hub connects all the devices in Eufy’s ecosystem, such as doorbells and security cameras. I plan to purchase a few outdoor cameras to increase the surveillance of the premise around my house. With the Homebase, I can just purchase the camera unit and still be able to intergate them into my Eufy system.

That was a lot to take in, huh. Worry not; the installation process is straightforward, and the instruction was very clear, so you should be able to follow along. I will show the setup process in the later parts of the series, but now I will have the short review of the product as a whole for those too lazy to read and just skip to the end (I know you are, don’t lie 😏)

What is like about Eufy battery-powered camera doorbell

• I like how the doorbell looks; it matches my aesthetic view and what I envisioned for my home.
• It was simple to install.
• I like the flexibility between the ability to power the device either with a wired or battery. If you have the existing doorbell wire and want to install this on top of it, then you can do that. For some who do not have any electrical wires or don’t want to run the wire, the ability to operate on a battery is super nice, plus the battery lasted for quite some time, too (a little over 5 months in my case). Yes, I know I could opt-in for using wires and never have to worry about charging the battery, but that is too much effort, and I am too lazy for it.
• I like the video quality and features this doorbell offers, such as notifications, human detection, and night vision…
• Local storage (sort of) and security is the selling point for me.
• Last but not least, NO SUBSCRIPTIONS, I repeat, NO SUBSCRIPTION.

What I don’t like about it:

• Pricey, indeed $200 is very pricey for a camera doorbell, consider you can find some for as cheap as $20-$30 as long as you don’t have any preference or cares.
• No 24/7 recording. I would love to have a 24/7 recording and not just a snippet of events. I am willing to run wires to power the doorbell just to make it happen. I understand it is a compromise to conserve the battery, but it would still be nice to have that feature.
• The Homebase storage is pathetically small. I mean, 16GB is nothing. I would love the options to expand more storage (they are working on it but not sure when it will release, though I’m not going to hold my breath)
• Eufy integration was not the greatest for the smart home. You will probably be okay with using the Eufy security app, but for me, who explores a lot of other smart platforms and trying to get everything integrated is a hassle (not that I couldn’t do it as I have done it, but it was a hassle).

That is all I have for this post. Next time I will talk about the setup process, and you can follow along if you want to see how easy it was. Until next time.

-Laz