Amcrest SmartHome Video Doorbell Camera, 2.4 GHz WiFi Doorbell Camera, IP55 Weatherproof, Two-Way Audio, 140º Wide-Angle, AD110_UK

Firstly, note that this Doorbell is wired, so is a brilliant replacement if you have a wired doorbell and chime currently. The benefit of this is that you never need to charge it like a Ring system.Initially, this doorbell would not work for me, but this was due to my transformer not being powerful enough. I am now using a "Navaris Door Bell Transformer 8V 12V 24V" (around £10 Amazon) running at 24V which is working perfectly. It was easy for me to replace my existing one. The chime kit inclded does work well with my current wired mechanical chime - I did notice though, that even though I have a mechanical doorbell, I had to choose the "Electronic chime" option in the App to get this working. I believe this is a bug in the Smart Home, as I found this solution on the Amcrest forum.I find the night and day quality of the doorbell camera very good, and the recordings are always high quality (currently using the 1 year free cloud storage). After a year you can either pay for the cloud storage, or insert an SD card, which means there is no subscription like other models. I have it set to SD quality currently.I also find the 2 way speaker communication very good - quite clear for a small speaker, even though we live on a main road with a lot of traffic noise.I have also connected this up to Camera monitoring software "iSpy" using an RTSP feed successfully.One thing I am struggling with is motion events. I hoped this would be better as the doorbell camera says to have a "PIR" sensor, rather than working based on image changes. However, I am not sure this is the case?- What I have found is that when no "Motion Detection Zones" are set, that you literally get no motion events, even from the PIR sensor of someone walking/waving right in front of the doorbell. By setting the "Motion Detection Zones", you get motion notifications for every shadow that casts over this area. This leads me to believe that there is no PIR sensor in the camera?What I would like to do is have all of these movements recorded (even false positives), but not notify my phone all the time. BUT, I still want the notifications to my phone when someone rings the doorbell. I can't see this is possible though, it seems to be either "no motion detection - and hence no recording at all", or "use motion detection and get notifications for all the false positives, and the doorbell button press".Despite this, it's still a very useful product. I'd been looking at fitting a secondary doorbell chime in our detached garage so I don't miss anymore parcels - but I don't need to know, as my phone rings whenever someone presses the doorbell.Another thing I did find, is that when fitting the camera, there is no where for the wires to sit without crushing them between the backplate and the door frame - see photo I've attached. Due to the location of my camera, it worked best to angle it slightly, which helped leave a gap for the wires.So, in summary, I think it's a nice camera, and certainly a contender for the other makes like "Ring". However, I would like to have more control over notifications, like just getting "PIR alerts", not "Image movement" alerts, which are mainly shadows etc. so I've given it 4 stars.

This camera has the essentials to be excellent:Works with NVRMotion detectionPIRHard wiredBut the camera needs resetting every day or so otherwise it fails. (Edit: I have been sent a new camera which has resolved this issue) The doorbell and basic video functionality always work but the PIR/motion detection break so easily. If this would be fixed and stabilized it would be a 4 or 5 star product.Other weaknesses are that the 24v requirement is a US standard but is difficult to make compatible in the UK. Also there are no plug adaptors on the market so you will need to buy a transformer etc and possibly hire an electrician to get this working.You cannot charge the exposure in the camera settings so if you have an object close to the camera, this is an you will be able to see as it will be bright due to the IRUpdate:Camera still spots working, now no notifications come through.It takes so long for the call to get through to my phone that often the person has gone.Amcrest UK have decided to ignore all my contact. I get sent to the US customer services who are not able to help and it is a very laborious process.

The doorbell kit comes with everything you would expect plus a little more. They include a screwdriver and a drill bit to match the wall plugs they included. They also include two bezels, one black and one silver. If you do not already have powered doorbell you will have to get a transformer to power the camera. This also applies to the chime. The instruction are pretty straight forward and easy to connect once you have the wiring setup where you want it. Connection to the application is quite simple as well, it is light enough to mount with decent double side tape but I would still recommend screwing it in place if possible. The video quality is excellent both during the day and night, you can choose between SD and HD video quality. The audio is clear in both directions when chatting to someone via the app. Although I could not seem to be able to adjust the volume in the app, the slider would not move. I had a similar issue when selecting the movement detection zones, when connected to the same wifi network it kept giving me “failed to get config” error. I managed to get around this issue by disconnecting from my home wifi and accessing the app via mobile data. This then allowed me to configure the zone I needed. Included with your new Amcrest device you get free 3 day cloud storage for one year if you choose not to go the micro SD route. The app notifications work well although some of the videos don’t playback the first time accessing them. Apart from some app glitches the doorbell itself works great and would recommend it as an alternative to more expensive brands.