Wyze Video Doorbell Pro Review: Cheap Smarts

The sq. 150-degree view is sufficient to cowl most of my porch. There is a blind spot straight beneath the doorbell, however the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is the one various I’ve examined that doesn’t have the identical downside. Unfortunately, that expansive view comes at the price of a pronounced fish-eye impact that just about makes you are feeling such as you’re wanting by way of a peephole. I like that I can zoom in, however there may be pixelation, even on the highest video high quality.

The audio is nice sufficient to get an concept of what’s going on, and you may have a two-way dialog, albeit with some lag. But it does sound tinny, and any distant noises sound distorted. I like the short responses—you’ll be able to faucet to inform guests you’ll be there shortly or inform a courier to go away a bundle, however it will be good to have the choice to report customized responses in your individual voice.

Smart Performance

Testing quite a lot of situations, I’ve been impressed with the accuracy and responsiveness of the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro. It by no means missed a customer, the chime triggered instantly on button presses, and alerts got here by way of to my telephone comparatively swiftly. There was some delay once I was away from residence and a few occasional lag, however Wi-Fi or information sign energy is an element wherever you’re.

Loading the reside view takes between three and 5 seconds. I just like the clear timeline beneath that reveals occasions as blocks. Video is saved within the cloud, and playback is fast, supplied you’ve a good connection. You can set sensitivity and create a detection zone to scale back false positives.

With a Cam Plus subscription, you get sensible detection and might select when notifications ought to set off. The sensible detection AI can precisely decide whether or not an individual, pet, car, bundle, or some mixture is at your door, and video occasions sport the related icons. There is help for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa too. I discovered the doorbell feed comparatively fast to load on a Nest Hub (it in contrast favorably with the Eufy).

The Catch

You get one month of Cam Plus free with the doorbell. Without it, there’s a 5-minute cooldown between recordings and a 12-second restrict on movies. You get free cloud storage, however there isn’t a native storage possibility. It additionally allows sensible detection and the choice to filter alerts. If you do not have a subscription, any movement will set off alerts. Without the subscription, the boundaries on the digital camera can be a deal breaker for me. Thankfully, it solely prices $2 per thirty days, or $15 ($1.25/month) in the event you pay for a yr up entrance.

Another query with the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro is the battery life. Wyze says as much as six months, however my testing suggests extra like six weeks. My porch is sort of busy, and I’ve set it to the very best high quality with no cooldown and as much as 30 seconds for recordings, so your mileage might differ. You additionally need to take away the doorbell to cost it. Wired doorbells typically have higher efficiency, so it is a lot better to wire it in in the event you can.

My remaining concern is Wyze’s lax perspective towards safety and software program updates. For three years, the corporate did not fix a major bug that will have let attackers remotely entry movies and different photos saved on system reminiscence playing cards. It would have required an area community breach, which is unlikely (right here’s the Wyze response), however nonetheless. Privacy-conscious people may additionally balk on the cloud-only video storage, though Wyze has said that it gained’t share footage with no warrant or courtroom order.

Then there’s the truth that Wyze discontinued help for the primary model of the Wyze Cam shy of its fifth birthday, giving clients scant discover. Sadly, none of that is particularly uncommon for the trade, and Wyze has beefed up its safety crew since, however it could nonetheless provide you with pause.

Ultimately, the Wyze model is all about worth. At $94 plus transport, the Video Doorbell Pro delivers on that entrance with a formidable vary of options and strong efficiency. It simply surpasses the opposite price range video doorbells I’ve examined, so for people on a strict price range, I don’t see a greater possibility proper now.