I've been researching the best doorbell camera for the past few days because I want to upgrade my home security. I read detailed reviews on The New York Times (Wirecutter), Consumer Reports, and Popular Mechanics, and these two models keep showing up at the top:
Google Nest Doorbell (Battery)
Arlo Essential Video Doorbell Wired
However, I'm having trouble deciding which one would best suit my needs and would love your expert advice.
For context, I’m looking for something that works well day and night, offers smart notifications, integrates with Google or Alexa, and ideally has local storage or good cloud options. I live in a regular-sized home with a front yard and a porch. Package theft and unknown visitors are my main concerns.
So which one should I go for? Or is there another model you’d recommend over these two?
Any recommendation will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
I can't speak to the google, but at my last house I had a ring, and my opinion was it sucked. Now that was 6 years ago and perhaps they have improved, but I won't buy another.
Just reread and realized you said Arlo. I had an Arlo for awhile and it worked pretty well, but after about a year and half it died. So I decided to try a the Eufy. The Arlo can also be integrated with HE using the Alexa integration.
I am now using a Eufy. Like ring and google it does not integrate directly with HE, but I do have it integrated through the Alexa integration. Actually I read somewhere there is a local integration you can do but it requires setting up a always on server to host a another app to interface with the Eufy API. It was more than I want to mess with.
I can only view video with the Eufy app, but I get motion notifications and doorbell press notifications in HE.
I second this. You can still find the original wired doorbell (look for Nest Hello 1st gen) from nest. I have been nothing but happy with it using the community nest app.
I had Arlo in the past, one of the original versions. My issues with that have more to do with the way they treated existing customers and deprecated features. The other issue I had with that Arlo was the delay to record ensured that all I ever captured was people leaving the area of concern. So, it was useless from my standpoint. The nest is always recording, and depending on what you are willing to pay, the nest aware subscription can get you a long history of events. I used this to help my neighbor catch someone taking a package out of our shared driveway over a week after the incident.
Not saying that Google isn't susceptable (and even likely) to deprecate hardware. But, Arlo was particularly nasty about it. They also have a very closed system so that you can only access certain modes (or they did). This was the particular feature that they deprecated.
I would tend to stay away from battery ONLY powered devices.
Also, IF you go with the wired the Google Nest, make sure you disable the indoor chime function if you are not using it to replace a standard powered doorbell. The issue is that it has a small battery to power the doorbell for the second or two that you are pressing the button. So, your camera will start dropping out (rebooting) everytime someone presses the doorbell once the internal battery dies.
I had the Arlo camera doorbell as well. Though it was ok when i got it, you couldn't pay me to deal with that company again. Arlo has changed allot since it was part of netgear. They make every attempt to squeez money from their customer.
About 9 months ago i got the G4 Doorbell and run protect on a Unifi Cloud Gateway Max. It is so much better then the Arlo. I also connected a Unifi AI Port to it. It is awesome and gets so many more smart detections then Arlo. This stuff isn't cheap as it is more costly initially but no subscriptions. The Package camera is also nice. There are also a few integrations to choose from.
The big catch is you also need something to run protect on. The easiest way to do that is with a UCG-Max with 512GB storage.
I think the obvious assumption is an Ai doorbell cam will come at some point. G6? G7? Who knows.
I picked up an Ai Ptz industrial. Waiting on black G6 Ptz. 3rd quarter I guess. I'm sold on alarm manager and ptz. Would like a smaller updated Ai 360 outdoor.
The port is a transitional item.
I'm still running alarm.com Ai doorbell cams as they integrate with my security. They work pretty good. I may switch to unifi access keypads. Access is pretty cool.
If Hubitat integration isn't important, and you didn't really mention it, I'll put in a good word for my 1st generation Blink Doorbell. They just released a new one in the past week or so. Local storage. Connects/uses hardwire plus integrates with the rest of the Blink world. The Hubitat integration is meh - not because of the herculean efforts of the community developer - but because Amazon killed 3rd party APIs when they bought Blink a few years ago. Anyway, We're happy with it and will probably upgrade to the new one the first time it goes on sale. But even at full prices - it's a bargain.
