20 Best Home Security Systems For Renters (2023 Updated)

I haven’t yet had to use tech support because everything has worked as it should: appreciate the ability to change settings to adjust for humans only so every bird flying by doesn’t set it off. Set up wasn’t too challenging, although you do need a specific drill bit size that’s fairly unusual (instructions say 15/64″ but I rounded up a 64th of an inch and just used a 1/4″).

I think I’ve had these up for a month now and they’ve gone through several rounds of rain with no problem and still showing all bars on the batteries. I have the video doorbell, an indoor cam, and this set with the HomeBase and 2 outdoor cams.

Happy with the prices on all of my equipment and with operation thus far. Only complaint is that HomeBase should have a microSD slot for expandable memory, the 16 GB is pretty low to run multiple cameras.

If you’re concerned about privacy (I am a big fan of the microSD local storage option for this reason), be advised that I have all of my eufy cams isolated on a guest wi-fi network and haven’t had any issues with operation that way: they don’t need access to discover other devices after their initial set-up with the app.

Quality products at a reasonable price, I’ve had their doorbell for over a year & love it reason why I buy & recommend there products. Pros – Captures motion great doesn’t capture spiders or flies like other motion cameras I won’t mention.

Secure storage with home kit no need to elaborate on this. Light can be adjusted to motion or turned off. Also has a cool feature an alarm. If someones on my property lurking around I can scare them with a push of a button.

Cons- Battery life, you’ll be lucky if you get 6 months. A few months isn’t enough especially when I’m gone on training or deployment. To fix this I would buy a solar panel or run a cable to an outlet.

IR started having issues. Keeps flickering on & off. Might just be an update on Eufy’s end? Or a defective camera? Half the time motion picks up when the person is already walking away. Might need to adjust the settings to fix this.

Overall if you want the 2c you might want to invest in a solar panel or run a cable to an outlet. App works great with a 2-3 second delay. Hopefully Eufy makes a live view of all cameras option. I would love to turn on my TV to be able to monitor all cameras in live view at once.

This is definitely a deal breaker for some.

The Ring Floodlight Camera Wired Pro is the best new technology we’ve gotten in a long time! The security camera and dual floodlight system is amazing for their picture quality and motion detection. We are able to adjust the sensitivity of the motion detection so it picks up the movement of a tiny insect flying by or the movement of a large animal that comes sniffing around on the darkest night.

We love going over the videos captured by our Ring overnight because we live in a very rural, wooded area. The camera catches all kinds of animals at all hours and even at distances more than 100 feet away! The floodlights are extremely bright and very helpful when we arrive home or leave the house, and they are especially great when we take our dogs out in the dark.

The audio on the alarm system can be set to go off, or an alert to the phone that someone is at our house allows us to set the alarm off remotely! This is a great security tool and it’s an even better version of a trail camera! We bought one for the back of the house, too!.

I bought this over a week ago and just got around to installing it since it finally stopped raining. I removed an existing floodlight and installed the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro over the existing junction box.

First you flip the breaker and remove the existing floodlight, if you have one, including the metal crossbar. Then you install the metal crossbar that came with the Ring and then the backplate. Next part was somewhat challenging given I was about 20-25 feet up on a ladder doing this above my head.

The ring backplate comes with a “holder” where you hook the camera/light portion of the device onto the backplate/wall that you’re installing onto. This frees up your hands so that you can connect the electrical wires from the house to the device.

Then you have to tuck the wires & wire nuts into the j-box and line up the mounting screws to go through the camera/light portion of the device and attach the lug nuts. Word of advice, insert a lug nut into the orange handle first before climbing a ladder to screw on to the mounting screws.

I initially hand tightened the first nut before placing the nut in the orange handle to tighten for the second, which went much smoother. Now that the device is physically installed, you flip the breaker on and the Ring will talk to you and let you know it’s performing an update.

Once that finishes, you can configure your specific settings in the app. Overall, the picture quality is great and installation was simple. The lights aren’t the brightest, and glow a warm white temperature (more yellow than white).

I would have preferred the color temp to be more pure white (4000-5000k), but it does well enough. I would highly recommend this to any of my family or friends.

Let me start by saying I have a few Ring Cams, they all have different applications. But this Floodlight Cam Wired Pro is by far my favorite yet. I already had a floodlight mounted to the front of my garage so installation was literally a few mins.

Ring did an amazing job supplying me with ALL the tools I would need for the job, even different size screws to perfectly fit your existing floodlight mount. Plus a perfect little 2 in 1 screwdriver.

Okay so you know installation is a breeze connecting your new Floodlight Cam to the Ring app and getting your settings all dialed in is a snap. Ring walks you through each step one by one, making it easy for even us Technology challenged folks.

Now your all set up the features on this Cam are ” AMAZING ” yes AMAZING with Night vision in color, to 3D with Birdseye view that maps the motion detected. The video that’s recorded is top notch. You can dial in the brightness on the lights to your liking but let me say I live way out in the county and the light is brilliant.

Honestly there is a setting to dial everyone of your preferences to your specific liking and needs. You can dial in the exact location you want to recognize motion, even times you want all your features to work.

Ring has really done an amazing job with this one of a kind floodlight. I can’t think of a single thing they could do better on it. I definitely recommend this floodlight cam if you have been on the fence.

I purchased this camera because I have had the ring doorbell for over a year and still love it. the only thing to be aware of is that the battery DOES NOT last as long as the ring doorbell. I installed my ring doorbell October 2020 and it is now dec 2021 and the battery is at 65%.

I have not had to charge it at all. I installed the ring stick up cam and within 3 to 4 weeks the charge is at 20%. what sucks about that is, I am out of the country and now I cannot access footage for part of my house.

I suggest if you really want this camera to purchase an extra battery to switch out, purchase the wired version or get the solar panel.

Never worked correctly. Have 2 of the battery stickup cams. System says connected and gives movement warnings, but no live video or recording. Taking battery in and out will return live video and functions, but only for a couple hours.

Ring support kept saying it was my home wireless was causing the issue, but never once had an issue with any of the other 9 ring devices. Every couple days it would return to a default setting and needed reprogramming.

Always getting stuck at updating for hours. Range very limited, followed by short battery life. Battery takes 8-10 hours to charge, so you will need to buy another expensive battery. Big hassle and not worth all the issues.

don’t buy the battery version. Buy a plug in version, much better.

We have become empty nesters and thus the house is often “unwatched” while we are at work, away for business or vacation. As a result, I decided to get the Ring Stick Up Battery Security Camera. I chose this version because I could hang it up anywhere without needing a wired hook up.

The camera came with a bracket and screws and was very easy to install. Before mounting the camera, I first got the Ring app so that I could make sure it worked before putting all the time and effort installing it! Having the app prior to installation also allowed me to move the camera around to see what the best angle for optimum results was.

Once I was able to determine that, I affixed the bracket onto the side of my house. This camera gives me a full clear, view of my backyard both in the daytime and evenings and the app alerts me when there is any motion in the yard.

The camera records up to 1-minute video and it is saved until I delete it. The only part I am having problems with is being able communicate using the app. Both my voice and the voice of the person outside my home, is muffled.

Thus, if I wanted to alert someone that I see them in my yard, it may not be clearly communicated. Otherwise, I am happy with the ease of installation, the clarity of the video, and the amount of square footage it covers.

The camera comes with rechargeable battery which took about 12 hours to charge before initial use. The app shows the battery life and because I have not had the camera long enough, I do not know how long the battery will last before it needs recharging.

I highly recommend this camera because it does not need to be wired, you can have peace of mind while away from home and the easy to use app with saved video recordings.

I actually went out of my way to get this first gen camera even though the second gen had just came out. Reason: first gen works with the Nest app (and Google Home) whereas the second gen only works through Google Home.

If you like the Nest video layout better or you want to view video on a web browser you need the first gen camera. Also with the nest app you have increased sharing options. With google home your sharing options are limited.

Currently you can not share select items like a single camera under a ‘home’ in google home – instead everything in the home will be shared with full read write delete access. If you want to share a single camera for instance you will need to create a separate ‘home’.

So in some ways, yes the 1st gen one is better. However, I’m sure this will be EOL soon.

I have 3 other Google Nest products. The set-up for all of them was simple. The Nest cam…different story. When I scanned the QR code the app took me right back to the home page. Live chat with Google was disappointing.

I tried the QR on 3 different devices, so the devices weren’t the issue. In fact I had set-up a Nest Hub minutes earlier. The cam was the problem. Tried the different route using the “key. ” Still nothing.

Quickly drove to Best Buy and got my money back. (While chatting with Google rep, was left hanging several times for minutes. Arabella was juggling several customers obviously-normal procedure, I know.

But she was forgetting things we had already discussed. ).

Arguably best cam system. I previously used Canary, and the app, including the devices themselves we so buggy. Sometimes you would get an extreme amount of alerts and then sometimes you would get none at all.

With nest cameras you get alerts depending on what enters or exits the cameras view and it doesn’t force your phone to make a ringing sound. Several reviews point out the nest aware subscription as a point off of the whole product, but I paid for a product and had a subscription that was subpar.

Quality: the cameras are decent weight, leading to a fair structure and sturdiness. The camera quality is excellent. You have clarity to actually see what is going on and very little pixelation. Price: The price is really the kicker for some people, but you’re either paying for quality or nothing.

Peace of mind is worth the cost. Overall I am very pleased with the product and the programming works as intended. 👍.

So I just had this go off for the first time. Prior to that I have never heard the alarm. When it went off, my housemates couldn’t figure out the sound and thought it was Carbon Monoxide. So they left the building and called the fire department.

Fire Department comes in, doesn’t know what the sound is. I come home to see whats going on and I rush to the alarm. Its so loud!! Totally embarrassed that the fire department came, but this thing was incredible loud and is to date, the loudest emergency alarm that I’ve heard in a residential setting.

I extended the alarm sensor cable (bell wire) about 10 feet so that the actual (sounding) alarm unit was on my first floor. My basement ceilings are insulated so this set-up the alarm can be heard clearly.

I soldered the connections and used heat shrink to cover and seal the wire connections. The water sensor was located in the sump pit 3-4 inches above the “normal” water level. Tested this set-up and it works fine.

I hope it works as others have described. Easy install. UPDATE 3-2021 HW HTE LEAKED. Sensed water right away. Alarm SHRIEKED LOUD!! Great product saved me hundreds of dollars and untold aggravation.

So I bought 4 of these for assorted locations in my home. The instructions are fairly simple to install EXCEPT the instructions DO NOT tell you how to program the location of the alarm. When you test it the alarm will say “Evacuate, smoke detected in.

( you can program you location to verbalize here. ) As I said, the directions have no script as to how to do this. I called First Alert and asked how to do this. I was spoken to like I was a first grader and told, “It’s fairly simply, I’m making this as easy as I can for you.

” After trying to do what I was instructed to do three times and being put on hold for three minutes twice I was then directed, by the person from First Alert, to try it again and if you have more trouble please call back again and we’ll be happy to assist you.

I was then told, “You can also go on you tube and watch a video. I was not happy with this direction. After all I purchased this unit and called the manufacturer for help with the programming. I wasn’t expecting to be told to call back again if I had further issues.

I wanted the issue resolved. What good is a smoke detector that tells me smoke detected in the basement if my unit is upstairs in one of the four bedrooms? Being somewhat insulted by this individuals condescending tone, I went on you tube and my question was resolved in less than two minutes.

Good product but why have a feature like location if you’re not going to tell us how to use it? Even the representative said it wasn’t in the directions but probably should be. Would I buy it again, yes.

I can easily see people buying this and being frustrated with the absence of proper directions to “correctly” program the location. What good is a location unit in the panic of a home emergency when it tells you incorrect information.

Purchased in April of 2021, lasted a little over a year before it started giving off false a false fire alarm in May of 2022. The silence function doesn’t really work even when used for the first time.

After several minutes of trying to hold the button down, I managed to silence it, but then within 5 minutes, it turned back on and the silence function was totally ineffective, so it had to be taken down, smashed with a sledgehammer, then thrown in the trash.

The 10 year battery is completely useless if it can’t last even 2 years without needing to be destroyed because the silence feature does not function. I’m pretty sure they make them too sensitive on purpose so that you have to pay for a new one every year even though they claim they will last 10 times that long.

When I first bought it in 2021, it was $36, and now in 2023 it is $50 and change. So if you can tolerate the constant earsplitting noise without smashing it, it may be worth it to try and get a refund, so First Alert doesn’t keep making a profit for their willful incompetence.

Unfortunately pretty much all fire alarms use this non-working silence button now, so they are all bad no matter what kind you get.

This smoke alarm is well-equipped with the latest technologies, including voice and location capabilities that will sure keep any family safe should an emergency occue. This Battery-Operated Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Voice and Location has a slim and modern design to it, and blends perfecty within my living room.

I can barely notice this smoke detector as times. I am really impressed with the compact design of this smoke detector, and this product combines some innovative technologies that will prevent any fires.

There is no sound coming out of this product once installed. The battery-operated smoke and carbon monoxide detector alerts you to possible smoke or carbon monoxide and can be installed anywhere with no wires required.

Hence, the nstallation process was a breeze. Overall, this is a high quality product based on design, performance and integrated features. I recommend this smoke alarm product.

I appreciated the detailed installation instructions, both in the included booklet and in the app, and easy set-up. The Ring Pro 2 video doorbell has some nice features. I like that I could talk to and/or listen to whoever is at the door.

I like that I can snooze alerts after being notified. (This is helpful for me when my spouse comes back from running and stretches outside. ) There is a way to adjust the motion sensitivity, but there seems to be only four settings to choose.

I don’t have a need for it with my doorbell location but you can set up motion zones. It’s great that the video shows what happens just prior to motion being detected. I also like that the videos are encrypted and that I can control how long they are stored via a browser.

There are other features that I don’t need to use, like Alexa Greetings. I didn’t notice any colors in the night vision. I wish that the history feature in the app had a filter or another way to choose the date and time instead of having to scroll through numerous events.

We use the front door a lot so there are many events during the day. I like that I can filter by type of event, favorite videos and download videos. If I login via the website on a PC I can filter by date but still not by time.

If I view the video full screen I can’t stop or pause it. I also can’t zoom in via the browser. I can download videos via the website. I need to be able to filter events that occur during specified time periods, like overnight or while I am away.

Without this feature it takes forever to find specific events. I hope that Ring adds this feature soon. The live video quality could be pixelated. Apparently this is by design in order to get the video to us ASAP.

I expected the videos I access from history to be better quality but it is mixed – some are good, some aren’t. The device health portion of the app doesn’t really help – it only tells you what to do if you get a poor signal notification without really telling you what the signal quality number means, although it is displayed in color (mine is green).

Apparently the closer the number is to zero the better the signal quality is.

I replaced my standard doorbell with the Ring doorbell pro 2 and couldn’t be happier. Installation was simple even without having electrical knowledge. The Ring app walked me through installation. It’s fully compatible with my existing doorbell wiring and included the part to chime inside my home.

This model is hardwired so you don’t have to remember to charge the batteries. The video quality is amazing and it does a great job at detecting people and objects if you choose that option in the app.

This particular model has the head to toe feature which is nice because it allows you to see close up areas at your door. The built-in Alexa Greeting is fancy! I’m always asked how does your doorbell do that?! Alexa will even let delivery drivers know where to leave my packages.

Notifications come through to my phone instantly even when I’m not home. I love being able to answer the door without having to be home using the two way talking feature. The neighbors community that’s built into the app is nice way to alert neighbors of suspicious activity.

I’ve had ring service for two years and it’s worth every penny. I’m very satisfied and highly recommend it to everyone!.

I absolutely love all my RING products. I started out with the Ring Doorbell (wired – first generation) & when the RING VIDEO DOORBELL PRO I immediately upgraded mine. Everything is much better. I also have a RING SPOTLIGHT CAMERA WITH A SOLAR PANEL above my porch (alerts are turned off) that records everything in the front of my house including the street so I can refer back to those videos if I need to.

I was able to see how a delivery guy got my package out of his truck which answered a lot of questions why my package looked like it did – my door bell camera didn’t pick that part up. I ALSO RECOMMEND GETTING THE RING SOLAR SIGN – I believe people that capture crooks or porch pirates on their camera wouldn’t even have them come up to their house if they advised them they were going to be recorded.

Also, so nice to know ahead of time who’s at my door (wether I’m home or not) – prevents awkward conversations or confrontations & I can talk through the doorbell or not. I usually do let them know someone is home but not interested or – don’t bother breaking in.

The hardware is unreliable. I’ve had two of these systems. Neither satellite worked on the first one. They replaced it. Only one satellite works on the new one. Even on that one the ethernet connection port doesn’t work.

The main router is the only piece of hardware that seems to function correctly, but I already had one of those like most people buying this will. The software is even worse. First there is the irritation of having to set up an account and create a username and password just to turn on your expensive new system.

You also have to agree to a 30-day trial of some security crapware, just to use your hardware. Once the app is installed you will get the full extent of its uselessness. It will tell you it “can’t connect to the router” even when you are on the router’s network and able to go online through it.

It will tell you random things about the satellites status that have no connection to their actual status. And from time to time it will lock you out until you re-enter your username and password, or agree to the privacy policy, or click through offers to buy the crapware once it’s trial is ended.

Do yourself a favour and buy something better than this.

I was very excited to purchase the Nest x Yale Lock thinking it was going to be an upgrade over my existing Schlage Z-wave smart locks. I happily installed the lock imagining how awesome it was going to be to have my house a fully functioning Google smart home.

After an hour, my lock lost connection and I was not able to re-establish the connection with my network. I called Nest support who informed me that these locks are actually NOT compatible with the Google mesh network.

WHAT?! So apparently, because Google wifi will constantly switch from 2. 4 to 5 GHz to establish the best connection, the Nest x Yale smart lock cannot reciprocate. It will need to latch on to a single frequency.

As such, whenever the frequency changes, the lock will drop it’s connection and cannot automatically re-establish the connection. I would have to setup as new. Every. Single. Time. The other alternative was to create a guest network just for the lock as a work-around.

That’s just unacceptable.

I read about connection issues in the reviews before purchasing but it wasn’t until I actually owned it that I realized just how bad the issue is. I have a GOOGLE mesh network and this lock can not stay connected.

After spending quite a while googling for answers I found out why. This lock for some reason does not like dual band networks that use a single SSID. It was very frustrating to not even find this issue through Google itself, but in forums where people were trying to solve the issue themselves.

So DO NOT purchase this lock if you are going to be connecting via a mesh network that is dual band with a single SSID. When it’s functioning this lock is excellent. Remote unlock, temporary codes, a complete log of what codes were used.

It’s the whole reason I bought the lock. Unfortunately, it does not work with my current internet set up. The fact that what I am trying to connect it with is another Google product makes the problem all the more frustrating.

I recommend this lock, but with a warning. Be aware that the Nest X Yale door lock needs the Nest Connect in order to connect to WiFi and allow control through the app. While the Nest Connect comes with the lock, note that it needs to connect to a 2.

4Ghz network in order to be set up. This becomes difficult if you have a dual band or tri band wireless router and haven’t or can’t separate your network names for your 2. 4Ghz vs 5Ghz networks in order for you to connect the Nest Connect specifically to the former vs.

the latter. I could not, so it took me a very LONG time to figure out a way around this. The solution is to create a WiFi hotspot using your laptop (not mobile phone) and use the hotspot to set up the Connect and then the door lock.

Once setup, you can update the network connection from the hotspot to your regular WiFi network. Wish I had known this before I started and that it was made more clear in the setup instructions. Other than, after many many hours of hunting for the solution, it’s now setup, has been working fine and I am happy with it.

I’ve been extremely impressed by the second generation Ring Alarm system. These new contacts for windows and doors are very simple to install and just plain work. I’ve had mine installed for about a month and have had zero issues.

If I open the door/window, the base station immediately knows it is open (you can turn the chime on or off from the app). It’s not even a full second. It’s a nanosecond. I don’t know how it does that over wireless but it’s impressive.

and convenient.

Although most window/door layouts allow easy installation of these sensors, sometimes you have to be a little creative in making them work. For my windows, I had to make a small metal bracket so that the sensor would clear the screen.

It works and is a reliable part of the Ring Alarm System. Buying in bulk makes them a good value.

Had this for a few months now and pretty satisfied. Gives great flexibility with how to monitor your home as the hub is also a motion detector. The 2 Nest detects are small enough to blend into your walls if your walls are painted white.

I like how they can either be used as motion detectors or sensors that sound when contact is broken. Supposedly can also detect glass breaking, but haven’t had first hand experience of that. Alarm is loud enough that can be heard outside with door closed (but I doubt neighbors will hear unless window broken or door open (or if they live close enough to you and it’s quiet).

Very easy to install. Love how can monitor home without having to pay for a subscription. Can easily set it to guard via app (or smart speaker). Can also set it so that it doesn’t go off if you have small pets.

Lastly, can deactivate with either typing in code, tapping key fob, or via app. I’ve tried to deactivate with my voice on my Google assistant and it doesn’t let me (which I’m happy since I know no home invader can just turn it off by asking it to).

So far, have not had any false alarms yet. I know Google discontinued this, but if you find it somewhere and it’s at a price you can afford, I’d recommend it.

We loved this system, it was so well thought out and easy to use. Unfortunately, Google disconnected the Secure less than a month after we purchased it and and for several weeks didn’t respond to customers’ concerns about what would happen to the product and service.

We lost faith in Google’s commitment to home security since they discontinued after this was only around for about 3 years and they left very vague comments or refused to comment on the service after its discontinuance.

If Google didn’t have faith in their own product for the long term then we took that to meant that they did not either so returned it during the return period. Such a shame, it was a great system but we couldn’t even purchase more parts to add on so it was only half-functional as a basic system covering half our house with no known date of when other parts would be available.

Bummer, I wish they hadn’t done this because we went with Simplisafe instead and it kind of sucks compared to Nest but at least they are committed to home security whereas Google was/is not and that matters more in the long run.

Ok, let me start by saying that this camera is actually very nice. The picture is clear as day in day and night vision, there’s a lot of customizable settings, it’s overall a great camera and definitely holds its own.

BUT, there is a HUGE issue when trying to connect more than 1 camera. We bought 2 of these yesterday, along with the hub, and we also received a google doorbell for Christmas. Before purchasing/receiving these items, we already had the nest minis and other products that are Google compatible that were all connected/synced within the Google home app.

We have yet to set up the doorbell but last night after purchasing the two cameras and the hub we immediately set up the hub. Connected perfectly with no issues. We then proceeded to set up the 1st camera in our living room.

The set up was extremely easy and took about 15 minutes from start to finish. We then went upstairs into our bedroom to set up the 2nd camera and here is where the HUGE problem was that I’m very disappointed/surprised that Google has not addressed yet.

We plugged the camera in and followed the same steps we did for the first camera. Plugged it in, went to the Google home app, clicked the “ ” button in the left hand corner of the app to “add a new device”, and waited for the device to be found.

We tried over and over again and we kept getting a message that said “couldn’t find assisting device” or something along those lines. We tried every troubleshooting solution that we could possibly find and absolutely NOTHING worked.

We tried unplugging the WiFi router and plugging it back in, we tried airplane mode with WiFi and Bluetooth turned on, we tried removing the 1st camera from the app entirely and then connecting the second camera to only go back to reconnect the 1st camera and that STILL didn’t work.

I finally found an online forum with some answers. This is a HUGE software bug that google should be addressing as we wasted 5 hours of our life trying to get both cameras connected and usable. Here is how we did it; Set up the first camera and follow directions, it should worked perfectly and quickly.

In order to connect the 2nd camera, you will need to completely remove the 1st camera off the google home app by clicking on the first camera in the app, going to the top right, click on the settings button which is right next to the button with the 3 little dots, then click “remove device”.

After doing the above you will then go to your second camera, plug it in, and repeat the steps to set up the second camera and it should connect to the app with no problems. Now in order to set the 1st camera back up you will need to plug it in, and before you go to the app to set it back up, you will need to do a HARD reset.

The hard reset button is on the back of the camera. It’s a little tiny hole that you will need to use a toothpick to push in. You need to hold the button in until you hear a chime from the camera and the LED indicator on the front changes color.

It will turn orange at first and then change to blue (which is the color it needs to be). After doing this, you should be able to go into the app and set it up just fine, as you did the first time. This whole process took 5 hours from start to finish and it was extremely frustrating as it took me a very long time to find the online forum with these answers.

Even after finding the online forum with people having these same issues, a lot of the solutions people were posting did not work for us. We needed to do the hard reset on the 1st camera in order for it to able to reconnect.

This is a HUGE software glitch within the app and google is aware of these issues and has not addressed them, even knowing about it before the holidays. I felt it was imperative that I posted this as I’m sure a lot of people are returning their cameras and other google devices because of this.

You should not have to go through all of this just to set up more than one camera especially when they’re selling them in 2 packs and 4 packs. It’s extremely disappointing when the cameras are such good quality.

We almost returned the second camera as we thought it was faulty and thank god we didn’t because we would’ve had the SAME issue and would’ve wasted even more of our time going back to the store just to get another camera that doesn’t connect.

We did successfully connect our doorbell camera after all of this with no further issues and did not have to disconnect anything, which is a good thing I guess. But this whole ordeal was beyond frustrating.

I hope a lot of people see this before purchasing so you don’t waste hours of your life trying to do it like we did. Side note, we bought our cameras from Best Buy but I felt it was necessary to post this review in many places for people to be aware before they buy.

I am already a Google Home fan using the Google Video Hub and Smart lightbulbs so I was ready for the Google Nest Indoor Wired Camera. I am always so impressed with how Google packages their products.

The boxes are incredibly sturdy and streamlined so there is less box and less extraneous styrofoam. There is a hanging kit included that has screws and wall fasteners all standing neatly in their own separate cardboard box.

Not a plastic bag for those screws! The camera itself is sleek looking with a hefty feel to its base. This camera will not fall over if it is sitting on a shelf and the cat walks by. You have to download the Google Home app in order to use this camera and since I am very familiar with this app it was just a few seconds work to get the camera up and running.

The picture is vivid and clear and the viewing angle is large. You can adjust the settings to detect people or animals or vehicles (for outdoor cameras) or motion or all of the aforementioned. There is a feature that I love called Home Away.

It will turn your camera on when it detects your phone is away from where the camera is and will turn it off when it detects you’re back to the camera’s home base. So you’re not getting constantly notified of motion when you’re just walking around your house.

The microphone on the camera will also detect glass breaking or an alarm going off and will alert you. There is a monthly fee of $6 for 30 days of recorded event history but that includes ALL of your camera devices not just one.

This camera is wired but where I have placed it the outlet is very handy and the camera keeps a very low profile. I would highly recommend this camera to anyone wanting to keep an eye on your home remotely.

The Nest Cam is a great basic security camera for use inside your Google Home-based smart home. I got a chance to review the Frost version. It’s very attractive hardware in a compact form factor. It fit nicely on my kitchen counter and was able to capture my living room and family area thanks to its relatively wide FOV.

It captures video at 1080p and supports HDR. I found the HDR worked well to capture details in dark indoor areas in my living room while part of the room was illuminated by sunlight. The video footage was high quality and I was easily able to discern fine details in the footage I reviewed.

The camera supports on-device object detection and alerts for people, vehicles and pets. In my testing, the alerts are generated quickly, but it tends to generate too many false positive alerts. For example, shadows and trees swaying in the wind both generated notifications.

I would not enable the feature long-term. Supposedly the Nest Aware subscription improves the performance, but I think this is a basic function that should work well without paying for monthly service.

This camera really requires the Nest Aware subscription to unlock its full potential. You are limited to only 3 hours of video storage for alerts, so if you don’t review a notification in that window, you won’t be able to see what triggered it.

That said, it Integrates well with my Google Nest Hub and can review footage there without my smartphone. It also works with the Google Home app to review footage and settings on my smartphone. I like that I can have a 2 way conversion through the app.

This is an attractive, compact camera that captures decent quality footage. However, I was put off by the need to pay for a subscription to unlock all the features.

I got the Nest Cam to monitor activity on the side of our home that leads into our yard. This area is a blind spot for us and faces the entrance to our cul-de-sac. We own a couple of other Nest products and it is a reputable brand that I trust with performance and longevity.

This camera also has several features which helped in making our decision to get this camera. It can be used indoors or outdoors, it is powered by the built-in rechargeable battery, and it can provide intelligent notifications (motion is caused by people, animals, or vehicles).

This product was very easy to set up and install. You will first need to plug the Nest Cam into an outlet, download the Google Home app, create an account and follow the steps to set up the camera by selecting Nest Cam(battery).

There is a sticker on the camera lens which has a QR code that you will need to scan to connect the camera to your home’s Wi-Fi network. After connecting, you will be given the opportunity to enroll in a 15-day Nest Aware trial period which one needs to view recordings longer than the most recent 3 hours and also the face recognition feature.

This is a con to me when subscriptions are required to reap further benefits. Installing the Nest Cam was quite simple as all you need to do is attach the mounting plate, with the enclosed screws and anchors, to the area you want to place the camera then lock the magnetic plate onto the mounting plate and secure the camera to the magnetic plate.

The camera holds steadily once installed. The beauty of it being battery powered is that you can place it anywhere! The video quality is superb for both day and night and the motion detection and intelligent notifications were precise.

I liked that these alerts can be tailored such as you may only want to be notified when a person causes the motion and not a car or animal. The app is easy to use and we are reassured that we can readily monitor our house while we are home or away.

This indoor/outdoor Nest cam with rechargeable battery is a great product. Upon unboxing, the camera is held to the base by a very strong magnet. The base can be mounted wherever you can get a couple screws into a wall.

It has two wall anchors and screws. Very simple install. The camera itself is solid and well built and has a nice aesthetic to it. I’m using it under the front porch overhang about 8 feet high so it’s outdoors, but protected from rain and elements.

The LED status light does shine green when recording, and while it can be dimmed, it cannot be turned off (at least not that I found). It does offer two way sound so you can talk in real time to someone in the viewing area, although I have not used it.

The video quality is good and sufficient for my security/monitoring purposes. It does a good job identifying the subject as person, animal, or vehicle. The battery life will depend on how much movement it detects, but for my light usage, it should easily last 3+ months before needing to be recharged, which is a very nice tradeoff from having to have it hardwired to a power source.

The Google Home app is easy to use and setup, as is the camera itself. The one detriment to this product is that without the Nest Aware subscription, you can only view recorded motion that has occurred in the last 3 hours.

If it has occurred over 3 hours ago, it will be gone and you will not be able to see it (without the subscription). It’s understandable they want to steer you into the subscription service (as nearly all of these types of products do) so just know that going into your purchase.

Knowing that limitation going in, the product is actually very good and it performs well for what it is intended to do.

This Nest Doorbell is wireless and uses a rechargeable battery. It’s very versatile and will work at any location whether it’s residential or a business. The doorbell is even capable of telling the difference between a person, animal, automobile or package.

It will send you mobile notifications according to what you select under settings. Some really useful features that this doorbell has are the ability to view what’s outside your home/office and speak to anyone out front while you’re somewhere else.

This comes in handy if you have to run errands or go out of town. It works with other nest products and comes with 3 hours of free event history recording. The video quality is great and allows you to see clearly day or night due to the high resolution and night vision.

As for the installation process, it was pretty simple since it’s wireless. I just found a spot I wanted to install the doorbell and using the metal base as a template drilled a couple of holes in the wood trim near the door.

I used the hardware it came with and it was done in less than 10 minutes. You have the option of connecting it to your existing doorbell wires using the wire connectors included in the box. The Google Home app allows you to view or replay videos as well as talk to visitors among other settings.

The downside is that you will need internet, wifi and a google account to be able to use this doorbell. Although it’s a Nest product, it’s not compatible with the Nest app or website. Battery life depends on several factors including amount of usage, outside temperature, and camera settings.

Overall, a nice wireless doorbell that does the job. As for product longevity, I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Love our black Chelsea gate with extension for our large open lounge room door space. The black colour (there is an option of black or white) also goes with our home decor which is a plus! Great quality and finish on the gate and extension.

Very handy how you can just make it as wide or narrow as you need with the optional extensions to suit different door spaces. The auto close is good as I don’t need to remember if I’ve closed the gate.

I also have a single gate (no extensions) on our laundry door which is very helpful to keep my daughter out of the room completely with the potential harmful chemicals there and also our kitten sleeps in there.

Highly recommend.

Fortunately we haven’t had to use this smoke and CO2 detector in the week we’ve had it, but the one of the same brand that it replaced was good. Almost too sensitive–my daughter lit a candle in her room with the door closed just down the hall from where it was installed, and it gave the alarm right away.

It is very loud if you are near it. It was easy to install although the instructions were confusing; fortunately we were able to plug it in to the previous wiring for its predecessor and then it was a matter of screwing in the screws and testing it.

The test went as described in the instructions and so I think we are safe. The price on E-bay was about $15 less than on Amazon.

First, I love the interconnecting feature of this alarm system. When properly installed and programmed, when one alarm detects carbon monoxide or smoke, EVERY interconnected alarm sounds off LOUD AND CLEAR! This model can be programmed to identify with one of 11 different pre-programmed names, such as kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc.

When an alarm is sounded in your bedroom at 2am, the interconnected alarms all might say “CARBON MONOXIDE IN THE LIVING ROOM”, (or wherever the detector is located at). Oddly, there are two places where I worry about carbon monoxide coming from inside my house.

One is in my attached garage, where somebody might park the car, close the garage door, and neglect to turn off the engine. The second possible source of carbon monoxide is in the laundry room where I have a natural gas clothes dryer.

Sadly the words “Garage” and “Laundry Room” are not included in any of the 11 names you can program for your alarm. Maybe future First Alert Smoke alarm models will add these standard names in their vocabulary.

In my case, if the the garage and/or laundry rooms sense smoke or carbon monoxide, they will still trigger the alarms on ALL of the detector units, but the only thing that will be missing is the LOCATION of which detector tripped the alarm.

Another feature that I found annoying, was that the alarm test button (and temporary hush button) is inconveniently located at the very TOP of the detector. If it was located at the BOTTOM edge of the detector it could be more easily reached without standing on tp of a chair, or it could be activated with a push of something like a broom handle.

Overall, these interconnected First Alert battery operated smoke and carbon monoxide alarms work GREAT. I am a heavy sleeper (and more than a little deaf), and I really appreciate being able to instantly know if ANY of the smoke alarms in my house sense a fire.

I have replaced ALL of the smoke alarms in my house with First Alert interconnected smoke alarms of different models, and I have experienced no false alarms in the past 30 days.

Very pleased with this camera. I was skeptical at first, but very glad I made the decision to buy one. I think for the price however, it should include a way for it to pan, tilt and such from the app.

Subtracting that little flaw, it’s not bad at all. I’m very pleased with the clarity as well as the night vision on it. It responds very fast with my internet connection which is not the best. Compared to other security camera’s I’ve purchased in the past, this one responds quickly wireless with about a second or two delay.

But that’s with my internet connection, other user’s internet connection may be better or worse. Option for it to be wire free would be great too. In other words, a internal battery would be great in case you would like to move it to a specific location for a certain amount of time without plugging it into a wall outlet.

It’ll also be great if it had a slot for an SD card to record footage in case your internet goes out or someone disables your internet. It’ll be simple for a thief to just unplug your router to disable the camera/s and that’s it for any proof or footage.

The subscription plans I believe are ridiculous and painful for those that can not afford monthly payments on top of all the other monthly payments on things they’re paying for. An option to record to your phone storage or alternative storage would be ideal and better.

Everyone needs money I guess. And that’s where they get theirs. I just think they should reduce the price of the camera if they’re going to force people to pay for their pricey subscription. Lastly, I wish there was a way to save the recordings to your phone or storage location of your choice.

Despite all my wants and needs for it, I’m still glad I purchased it, and think it’s a great investment for your home.

The Nest IQ is an indoor security camera that stores real time data in the cloud. Should a thief unplug the camera, provided you had an internet connection at the time, the footage will be available.

Given the intended use you will want to set the recording quality to ‘high’, which may have an impact on your internet bandwidth; Nest claim up to 400Gb of a data a month can be used; not a problem if you have an unlimited tariff, but it costly if not.

Setup is straightforward, although it requires a smartphone. First you create an account with Nest and then simply scan a QR Code on the unit. Configuring the device with a number of simple steps. Video quality is excellent and includes Night Vision, however, even on the highest setting this can appear a little pixelated.

The camera is impressively quick to spot movement, my wife popped her head in the door during setup and the camera spotted her instantly. There is a built in speaker and microphone enabling you to hear what’s going on in the room and to talk in to the room if you so desire.

The camera can pay attention to specified Zones (e. g. a babies cot), it can zoom in on action to highlight detail, remember ‘familiar faces’ (when it spots someone new it asks if they’re familiar and adds them to this list) and can work with geofencing to automatically enable alerts when a phone leaves the house.

To get the most out of the camera requires a ‘Nest Aware’ subscription, starting at £8 a month. Without the subscription you’re limited to reviewing recorded video of events, rather than scrolling through a constant stream.

If the camera fails to log something as an event, you’re out of luck. I personally found the interface for reviewing clips to be a little confusing too. Overall, the Nest IQ is a good unit, it is of very high quality and offers genuine peace of mind, however the slightly confusing interface and extra costs that are required to get the full functionality offered rob of it top marks.