Wired Vs. Battery source: Smart doorbells require more power than traditional doorbells. You may need a new transformer and you will probably want to hire an electrician to install it safely. The main advantage of wired doorbells is that you don’t need to touch them again after installation and they will ring your existing doorbell. Wired doorbells are typically cheaper and slightly thinner than battery-powered models.
The battery-powered smart doorbell is easy to install on its own and can be mounted anywhere you like. The main downside is that you have to remove and charge the battery every few months, which means some downtime unless you buy a backup battery to switch to. Also keep in mind that your regular doorbell won’t work with a battery-powered smart doorbell, so you’ll likely need to purchase a wireless alarm device to plug in somewhere in your home, although you can also configure smart speaker to act as doorbell.
Most battery-powered video doorbells can also be wired, which may be the best solution if you’re worried about power outages.
Resolution and HDR: The higher the resolution, the clearer the picture you get, but keep in mind that higher resolution videos also require more bandwidth for streaming and take up more storage space. If your front porch is subject to direct sunlight or strong shade, we strongly recommend choosing a doorbell with an HDR-enabled picture as it helps prevent highlights from being blown out or shadows that are too dark to be visible. see.
Field of View and Aspect Ratio: If you want a head-to-toe view of the person at your front door, then think about the field of view and aspect ratio your potential pick offers. A wider field of view will capture more but can cause a fisheye effect. Instead of the traditional horizontal aspect ratio, you may prefer a square or vertical view to make sure you can see your visitor’s face and any packages that may be on your porch.
Local or cloud storage: If you don’t want to subscribe to a subscription service and upload video clips to the cloud, make sure your selected doorbell offers local storage. Some video doorbells have a MicroSD card slot, while others record video to a central unit inside your home. You can expect to pay around $3 to $6 per month for 30 days of storage for a video doorbell.
Advanced features: Many video doorbells offer features such as package detection and person recognition. These features can be useful for filtering alerts, so you only get useful messages. Keep in mind that you may need a subscription to get access to advanced features.
Choose a brand: If you already have a security camera system or are planning to buy one, it makes sense to attach the same brand to your doorbell. That way, you can access everything in the same app and get a subscription if required. If you have a smart home setup, check if the doorbell is compatible with your preferred voice assistant and ecosystem.
Guard: Some of the things we recommend looking for are two-factor authentication (2FA) to ensure that someone with your username and password can’t log into your doorbell and encryption to ensure anyone accessing the manufacturer’s servers can’t see the details Log in to your Wi-Fi or watch an uploaded video.
