not worth the cost for subscription as Google has raised it even more in recent months.

Reolink as others have recommended, mines been working solid since last summer.
- Free Person detection
- very clear,
- app is easy to use and loads fast
- supports 2.4GHz + 5GHz WiFi out of the box
- no subscription
- records to MicroSD card, easy to install as PoE or regular (I went with Regular since I do not have a PoE wire there).

If you are worried about your doorbell being stolen and need for cloud recording....then I hate to break it to ya, you've got bigger issues to deal with even before installing the doorbell.

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+4

Jul 2nd, 2024 9:28 am

Citizen Bmac: Sr. Member; Jul 6, 2009; 867 posts; 588 upvotes

Jul 2nd, 2024 9:28 am

Even though this is a wired doorbell, it has a non-replaceable battery inside. Once that battery dies the doorbell will cut out any time it's supposed to record, rendering it completely useless.

+3

Jul 2nd, 2024 9:52 am

Deemo: Deal Addict; Jul 19, 2005; 2127 posts; 1080 upvotes; Calgary

Jul 2nd, 2024 9:52 am

Citizen Bmac wrote: ↑ Even though this is a wired doorbell, it has a non-replaceable battery inside. Once that battery dies the doorbell will cut out any time it's supposed to record, rendering it completely useless.

Frustrating but not quite true.
Just turn off ring to your doorbell which is what that battery is for.
Visitor announcements come to your phone and hubs so doorbell is redundant.
Additionally the battery can be replaced but admittedly not easily.

+4

Jul 2nd, 2024 11:06 am

Kijana: Sr. Member; Jun 13, 2017; 528 posts; 793 upvotes

Jul 2nd, 2024 11:06 am

Still a decent doorbell camera in my opinion. I have an older one that I use in my garage as a ‘camera’ (bought it used on FB marketplace for $40).

Comes with 3 free hours of event recordings viewable on the Nest app. For power supply, I bought a doorbell cam power supply from Amazon that plugs into a regular wall outlet. The camera has a pretty wide field of view and it gives me a good live view of the garage both day and night.

Jul 2nd, 2024 12:33 pm

Citizen Bmac: Sr. Member; Jul 6, 2009; 867 posts; 588 upvotes

Jul 2nd, 2024 12:33 pm

Deemo wrote: ↑ Frustrating but not quite true.
Just turn off ring to your doorbell which is what that battery is for.
Visitor announcements come to your phone and hubs so doorbell is redundant.
Additionally the battery can be replaced but admittedly not easily.

It is true. If your solution is to make it so that the doorbell no longer functions as a doorbell, then what is the point of purchasing this doorbell? If I had known before purchasing it that it had an internal battery with a finite life of just a few years, and would cease to function as a doorbell after that, I would have bought something else.

Visitor announcements on the phone often take 10+ seconds to arrive and then to open the app to see who's there can take another 10+ seconds. In the end it can be 30+ seconds on your phone before you can see video, and by then people are often already gone.

Anything can be taken apart if you try hard enough, but this wasn't designed to be opened. The internet is full of stories of people who tried to replace the battery and the camera stopped working immediately or shortly after, so yeah, you can try to replace the battery. Will it work? Probably not. Is it a terrible design? Absolutely.

+1

Jul 2nd, 2024 1:27 pm

Deemo: Deal Addict; Jul 19, 2005; 2127 posts; 1080 upvotes; Calgary

Jul 2nd, 2024 1:27 pm

Citizen Bmac wrote: ↑ It is true. If your solution is to make it so that the doorbell no longer functions as a doorbell, then what is the point of purchasing this doorbell? If I had known before purchasing it that it had an internal battery with a finite life of just a few years, and would cease to function as a doorbell after that, I would have bought something else.

Visitor announcements on the phone often take 10+ seconds to arrive and then to open the app to see who's there can take another 10+ seconds. In the end it can be 30+ seconds on your phone before you can see video, and by then people are often already gone.

Anything can be taken apart if you try hard enough, but this wasn't designed to be opened. The internet is full of stories of people who tried to replace the battery and the camera stopped working immediately or shortly after, so yeah, you can try to replace the battery. Will it work? Probably not. Is it a terrible design? Absolutely.

Again not true.
Visitor announcements are instantaneous. Maybe you have other issues.
I don't think anyone has one of these and doesn't have at least one other google assistant hardware.
Would you like me to post a video to prove it?
Doorbells are outdated bro.

+2

Jul 3rd, 2024 9:02 am

Citizen Bmac: Sr. Member; Jul 6, 2009; 867 posts; 588 upvotes

Jul 3rd, 2024 9:02 am

Which statement you think is not true:

-It has a non-replaceable internal battery
-It ceases to function as a doorbell cam when the battery dies
-It's a terrible design

Don't need a video since I've owned one for 3 years, but I could post many showing how it no longer functions properly once the internal battery dies. Thanks bro.

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