Smart video home doorbells

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  • LCHIEN
    Internet Fact Checker
    • Dec 2002
    • 20920
    • Katy, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 vintage 1999

    Smart video home doorbells

    I've been thinking about the video home doorbells. I understand they are wireless and wifi enabled so they are easy to install.

    But maybe its me, Putting a $180-200 unit on your door with no connected wires... doesn't that lend itself to easy theft? especially when its completely visible from the street?

    And, how long do the batteries last? or do they work from the old doorbell's 24 V?

    Anyone have one yet? Click image for larger version

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    Loring in Katy, TX USA
    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions
  • LCHIEN
    Internet Fact Checker
    • Dec 2002
    • 20920
    • Katy, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 vintage 1999

    #2
    OK, Looked at the Google Nest Doorbell website and it shows it has a baseplate which is fastened to the wall and then the doorbell is snapped to the baseplate covering up any screws.
    The unit can be removed using the special tool they give you. It says to put the tool in a safe place.
    But then. it says if you lose the tool you can use a paperclip to release the device.

    So basically, your $200 doorbell is perfectly secure unless the thief has the little stamped probe tool, or else, if he has a paper clip and saw the same installation video on line that I saw.

    I guess I don't need to buy one after all, hehe. If the video is stored in the 3-hour camera memory, I guess they won't even get to see who stole their doorbell.
    Last edited by LCHIEN; 08-11-2021, 03:16 AM.
    Loring in Katy, TX USA
    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

    Comment

    • twistsol
      Veteran Member
      • Dec 2002
      • 2893
      • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
      • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

      #3
      If someone did steal it, at least you would have a video of the thief. My office is right next to the front door of the house. I can hear if anyone is on the porch and just look out the window and have no need for a video doorbell.

      The neighborhood girls discovered the joy of the game Ding Dong Ditch on Friday night. Unfortunately for them, nearly everyone else in our neighborhood has Ring doorbells and their parents all received videos of their transgressions. It’s been a quiet few days around here since everyone is grounded. I only knew about it because they were hiding under our deck … right outside my shop windows and I could hear them talking and laughing.

      Chr's
      __________
      An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
      A moral man does it.

      Comment

      • leehljp
        Just me
        • Dec 2002
        • 8429
        • Tunica, MS
        • BT3000/3100

        #4
        Video door bells have been on my mind also.

        The one thing I do not like about most and this is the going thing in commercial culture - monthly charges / subscription charges. I would rather pay 2 to 3 times the price up front rather than a subscription service. I hate subscription services, and the individual services themselves could easily be coded to work without the company being involved on a month to month basis.
        Hank Lee

        Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

        Comment

        • LCHIEN
          Internet Fact Checker
          • Dec 2002
          • 20920
          • Katy, TX, USA.
          • BT3000 vintage 1999

          #5
          Originally posted by twistsol
          If someone did steal it, at least you would have a video of the thief. My office is right next to the front door of the house. I can hear if anyone is on the porch and just look out the window and have no need for a video doorbell.

          The neighborhood girls discovered the joy of the game Ding Dong Ditch on Friday night. Unfortunately for them, nearly everyone else in our neighborhood has Ring doorbells and their parents all received videos of their transgressions. It’s been a quiet few days around here since everyone is grounded. I only knew about it because they were hiding under our deck … right outside my shop windows and I could hear them talking and laughing.
          The memory for the non subscription service is in the doorbell. So if they steal your doorbell, you lose the memory, too.
          Loring in Katy, TX USA
          If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
          BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

          Comment

          • capncarl
            Veteran Member
            • Jan 2007
            • 3564
            • Leesburg Georgia USA
            • SawStop CTS

            #6
            Not a Ring doorbell, but I have been using a Wyze outdoor camera since Christmas to keep an eye in the entrance door. I’m impressed with picture quality in the daylight but not so much with nighttime picture quality. The battery run time is months, I’ve recharged 2x since Christmas. Subscription notices? I get them every time I open up the App to view video. My gripe is opening up a photo and viewing the windmill saying it is downloading from the cloud, when I think the video has already been sent to my iPad when it was taken, not much good if it is not a live feed.

            Comment

            • LCHIEN
              Internet Fact Checker
              • Dec 2002
              • 20920
              • Katy, TX, USA.
              • BT3000 vintage 1999

              #7
              Does it bother anyone else that someone with a paperclip can walk up to your highly visible front door and steal your $200 doorbell in about 10 seconds? Or am I just paranoid and I should go out and get one with the midnight discount, haha.
              Loring in Katy, TX USA
              If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
              BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

              Comment

              • cwsmith
                Veteran Member
                • Dec 2005
                • 2737
                • NY Southern Tier, USA.
                • BT3100-1

                #8
                Neither 'security' or 'surveilance' are very good if it can be breached that easily! I once had a security class in which the instructor said, that security doesn't necessarily keep people out, especially someone who is intent on getting in! What it does do is let you know that your perimeter was penetrated. I thought at the time, that was sort of ridiculous statement when it came to physical property, as I figured that the loss itself would be evidence enough. (Works for computer breaches though.) I feel the same way about surveilance, what good does it do when your surveilance camera is taken and your only evidence is the missing camera. Sort of a joke on the property owner, isn't it?

                For that reason, I think I'd want my camera located where it can't be easily taken, and best if it would warn me that someone was making such an attempt that I could stop it from happening! Ideally, I'd want my camera (or camera's) located so they cover my space, AND cover each other. I'd locate them to cover the entry points to my yard, driveway or sidewalk, as well as the entry door/mailbox area and any other accessible points to my property. That would probably mean four to six additional cameras as well as 'identity' cameras at the entry doorways.

                The Doctor who lives next door has a camera located on his front roof where it can see his sidewalk and the curb area in front of his house. Two other cameras cover his front and side doors at the entry point where they can identify the person. He also has two additional cameras cover each of the side yards, in case someone comes over the fences, and then he has a camera on the back garage roof, which points toward the back of the house. Likewise a camera on the back of the house pointing toward the garage. Both of those also cover the parking lot from 90-degree angles.

                Of course, that's both his office and his home so he has to be concerned about breakends when he is away.

                For my house I just keep the doors secure (both are blocked and locked when we're home. I use ADT Security with it's breach detection devices, as well as motion detectors. I haven't installed cameras; but the only concern I have is who's letting their dog use my lawn for a toilet. (Even if I caught the on camera, the cops won't do anything that they "don't see themselves". Cameras might be a good addition at some time in the future, but I'm not quite there yet.

                CWS
                Last edited by cwsmith; 08-11-2021, 07:15 PM.
                Think it Through Before You Do!

                Comment

                • capncarl
                  Veteran Member
                  • Jan 2007
                  • 3564
                  • Leesburg Georgia USA
                  • SawStop CTS

                  #9
                  The Wyze camera I’m using sets on a utility room ceiling height outside window ledge where it views the driveway all the way to the road and garage door. I’m not advocating this for everyone, but at least the defendant would need a short step ladder to steal it….. if he even saw it. Anything more complicated will require the minimum subscription cost as well.

                  Click image for larger version

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                  • LCHIEN
                    Internet Fact Checker
                    • Dec 2002
                    • 20920
                    • Katy, TX, USA.
                    • BT3000 vintage 1999

                    #10
                    Actually I have a front door camera. Its behind the window so its not so easily purloined.
                    However, its just a camera so its not a speaker nor doorbell so its functionality is much less.

                    Click image for larger version

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                    Loring in Katy, TX USA
                    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                    Comment

                    • woodturner
                      Veteran Member
                      • Jun 2008
                      • 2047
                      • Western Pennsylvania
                      • General, Sears 21829, BT3100

                      #11
                      Originally posted by LCHIEN
                      Does it bother anyone else that someone with a paperclip can walk up to your highly visible front door and steal your $200 doorbell in about 10 seconds? Or am I just paranoid and I should go out and get one with the midnight discount, haha.
                      Yes, one reason I don't have one. Seems like theft of Ring doorbells is a common issue.
                      --------------------------------------------------
                      Electrical Engineer by day, Woodworker by night

                      Comment

                      • Condoman44
                        Established Member
                        • Nov 2013
                        • 178
                        • CT near Norwich
                        • Ryobi BT3000

                        #12
                        I do not have any sales connection to Wyze. I have 7 cameras set up. Parking area in front of garage with pan feature, foyer door (our entry door), back of house with IR flood for night animal viewing, garage for knowing if doors are closed, XM radio because it is tucked away and cannot easily be seen and I want to know what is playing, LP tank so I do not have to go outside to see the fill gage and finally the water meter I installed to see water use if I am away (my leak detection hack).

                        Each camera has a Wyze plug so I can power cycle the camera without going to it, a necessity for the high mounted units. Also, each has the micro SD card for saving past events. On schedule the cameras are power cycled each day in the early AM. I do not have any connections issues. These units were installed starting in 2018. The outside cameras are in food cannisters to keep them dry. The IR lights reflect off the housing and that is why the back camera has an IR flood. The front camera has light from an all night LED spotlight for light.

                        The doorbell is 1960 vintage with newer lighted buttons. I did not know until recently that the plungers in the solenoids need cleaning or no ding-dong.

                        Comment

                        • radhak
                          Veteran Member
                          • Apr 2006
                          • 3058
                          • Miramar, FL
                          • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw

                          #13
                          Does the Wyze camera need subscription?
                          It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
                          - Aristotle

                          Comment

                          • capncarl
                            Veteran Member
                            • Jan 2007
                            • 3564
                            • Leesburg Georgia USA
                            • SawStop CTS

                            #14
                            I am not using my Wyze camera on a subscription. We have incredibly slow internet so the camera to my iPad response in not real time. If I pay for a subscription the internet speed will not increase, so I see no need for the subscription.

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