Input for Aeotec doorbell 6

I'm looking at one of these for our home because we have two separate bells at the moment. One on batteries anyway. The other one is junk. I was wondering if anyone has one? I'd like to weigh the pros and cons of it. If there's something else that you suggest, I wouldn't mind hearing about it and why you chose it. Thanks!

It isn't loud at all. It works so much better if you tie it into Echo Speaks instead.

I like mine... I upgraded from the doorbell 5.. Don’t use it for doorbell functions as we have ring.. But it works great for our door chime, siren, etc.. It has a good selection of sounds on it

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I don't think it's quiet (perhaps Scott was thinking about the 5, or other tiny and tin-ny sirens like the Dome?), though the aging Utilitech is still the most piercing true-sounding siren I've owned. A friend has had bad luck with quick-draining batteries in the remote/doorbell unit (about one month), but I'm guessing that's not normal...

I just put one in but I have it on the transformer power. Nice selection of sounds - some mellow, some obnoxious. I am just using it for a doorbell at the moment.

I have one. Its loud. Much louder than the Aeotec Doorbell 5. Seems to work fine. I'm not sure why the unit Scott (@anon61068208) has is not loud enough.

True, slight gross, story: My co-workers complained that I was going deaf. I thought I'd be told I needed hearing aids during the annual physical last month. Turned out I just needed my ears to be syringed out. :crazy_face:

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It's probably not loud enough because I live in a very old house and small, built in 1912, and not enough outlets put in the right places. The only place I was able to put it was in my bedroom.

I use Echo Speaks to tell me someone is at the front door when the button is pushed.

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I've written handlers for 11 different siren/chimes and the Aeotec Doorbell 6 and Aeotec Siren 6 are the most reliable and versatile.

The most common complaint I've seen with the doorbell is that the LED will start flashing on its own and can't be turned off, but it does that when it thinks the battery in the button is low.

A small number of users occasionally see the device report a low battery level and start flashing when the battery is really fine which appears to be a bug in the firmware.

If that happens the battery might report the correct value on its own after a few hours, but you can also tap the refresh button at least 15-30 minutes after it started flashing or take out the battery for a few minutes, put it back in, and click refresh.

If none of that works then the battery is probably actually low and needs to be replaced. One of mine came with a battery that was less than 100% so the life of the battery it comes with isn't a good indicator of the expected battery life going forward.

The sounds that come with the device play at different volumes so some of them aren't really loud even when the device volume is set to 100%.

I personally think the doorbell sounds it comes with are loud enough, but it's probably possible to use a siren sound with the intercept and repeat settings to create a louder sound that's bearable.

That being said, Echo Speaks is a good choice, but I'd probably make it play the doorbell sound too so that it would still do something if my internet went out...

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I have the Doorbell 5 (using just the chime part nowadays) and the siren 6, The 5 is nice because you can add custom sounds. Still using it for doorbell chime and exterior door opened alerts. Havent done anything yet with the 6..

I'm still using the 5 for a lot of my alerts too.

I think the only z-wave device still being sold that supports loading custom sound files is the Zooz Multisound Siren.

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It does.

Mine, I believe, was due to the battery getting damp. Even though there is a gasket, we had one particularly strong torrential downpour this past summer and I have a southern facing house with no awning or overhang at my front door. So, the doorbell is very exposed. I got the funny flashing LED, so i took the doorbell down, opened it up and the battery was slightly damp. Dried it off, put the cover back on and tightened it VERY tight this time and have not had this problem pop up again since. So, I dunno. :man_shrugging:

April,

I have two of the Siren 6 although one is loud enough to be heard easily throughout my small home. Why two? Redundancy. I already had a Ring Doorbell setup to announce through the Amazon Echos which are in every room of the house. But I'm going to pull the Ring doorbell down and give it to my son. I didn't opt for the Aeotec doorbell version because I'm automating rather than using manual switches. So rather than counting on people using the doorbell button, I have motion sensors on the front porch and have the sirens ring on motion. A good example of why this is a better solution for me is that often delivery drivers (USPS, Fedex, UPS) put a package on the front porch without knocking or tapping the doorbell button.

The only downside I had to using the motion detectors was that animals were setting them off in the middle of the night. Using zone motion for false reduction helped some, but adding a small shield below the sensor to limit it from seeing very low eliminated the issue.

Bill

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An excellent point and use case.

I have the Ring Pro and floodlights and have been happy with the setup. As I mentioned I have the doorbell integrated using a virtual switch and the Alexa app with an Aeotec 5 chime from the old doorbell combo. I do get some glitches with the chime periodically - seems to fire multiple times on occasion like for a door opening. Likely the 6 would not do this due to newer hw but am not sure have not tested.

At any rate the Ring setup provides decent video coverage around the exterior of our house. I am okay with the privacy issues for that purpose (interior is a different story however).

Thanks, the next time someone reports the false battery report I'll mention that as a potential reason and solution.

I've been keeping an eye on it. It's possible that I didn't have the gasket inside the cover seated correctly when it happened because it has not happened again since. Hopefully it doesn't happen again. :crossed_fingers:

I still use a dumb doorbell, but I have a beam sensor at the end of my driveway and it triggers an announcement on the GEN5 doorbell and Google Mini saying someone is in the driveway. If they get to my porch my Arlo camera triggers them to play another message saying someone's on the porch.

I had a bear set off the Arlo camera once and people walking dogs occasionally set off the beam sensor, but overall I've been really happy with the reliability.

Most chimes don't play well with Hubitat so I'm still using the GEN5 with ST, but I don't believe I've ever encountered that on either platform with the 6 and I'm only aware of one user that has.

If I had to guess I'd say their issue was caused by their mesh, but I could be wrong.

I wish it came with a spare gasket because the one it comes with seems like it would stretch out and/or break really easily.

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Thank you for all of the input on this. Maybe I'll use this summer to come up with something that works for us. We're in the midwest, so weather is definitely an issue. Our front step is only covered by a soffit, so everything would set it off. Any alternative ideas would be welcomed.

I live is western NYS and have had no trouble with my DB6 all winter. So, I'm not sure why you think this wouldn't be an option for you. There are folks in Canada using it too...and they're colder than you are. But, its up to you. :man_shrugging: