Best Video Doorbells of 2017

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amandapery345

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Nov 19, 2017
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Skybell is hands down the top choice when it comes to doorbell cameras. The price quoted in the article is actually pretty high because Armorax has these same cameras for much less. In fact they even have an offer going on right now where they’re giving away doorbell cameras for free.
 

luzgus95

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Dec 6, 2017
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Just recently the Ring doorbell camera is compatible with the Armorax system too, so now you can use either the Skybell or the Ring doorbell camera with the system.
 

Khaydin1

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May 26, 2017
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I feel like August bought the top spot or the home automation systems that the reviewer owns affected the outcome. You barely listed any of the home automation / smart home products that Ring integrates with and made that a con against it. You also said that people regularly would knock on your door when the August was up. I think the fact that that happened and that it looks nothing like a doorbell make it an immediate failure.

I have never had anyone not push my Ring Pro Doorbell. Love having the chimes across my house since my home's mechanical chime isn't loud enough. Love being able to answer my Ring doorbell on my Echo Show or the Family Hub on my Samsung fridge. It also acts as a motion sensor for automations in SmartThings.
 

dalbrand

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Dec 8, 2017
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I have had a std. Ring for a few years. Motion sense wasnso bad I disabler. It rings when noone is there. Great delay in ring & opening app. Many hours with tech support useless. Garbage!
 

richarddozier

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Dec 8, 2017
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You forgot an extremely important consideration: sound quality. I have the Ring Doorbell Pro and, because of its size, it has a minuscule speaker-driver inside. What this means is that the sound level which the visitor hears when you try to talk with them is extremely low. In fact, it is almost completely inaudible. Most people don't even realize that there's someone talking to them. This is a big minus for their system. The other one is there very flakey Windows app for managing the Ring. They actually made it worse in a recent software revision.
 

adrianhayden

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Dec 8, 2017
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Doorbird? Has an API available too. More expensive, but has more inbuilt connections, better build, and even supports SIP for those who wish to use a local existing tablet. And no ongoing subscription service. Installs over wifi or Poe, plus Doorbird have a range of supporting products for it.
 

iisaac

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Jan 31, 2018
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European doorbell such as Doorbird or Fenotek - Hi should have been on this list...
Way more expensive but their features are mad (4G, dry contacts, virtual keys).
Both were the best I've seen at CES this year...
 
Jun 7, 2018
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That really SUCKS that all of these doorbell manufacturers (Ring, Nest, August, etc.) are trying to hawk their cloud pay services. I have multiple Trendnet cameras and every one of them has FTP and SMB saving of stills and video based upon motion detection zones. Why is it so "hard" for the doorbell ones to have this feature. Upsell your cloud "service" to people that aren't technically adept enough to have a network share/server, and let the rest of us manage our own video/images! The first company to implement this NECESSARY "feature" gets my business...
 
Jun 12, 2018
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Regardless the features, these, like much other tech (phones) are ridiculously over priced. I've been in IT for nearly 50 years. I understand that miniaturization costs more, but also know that these things are built on automated assembly lines with little human interaction. Most of the price goes to CEO pay and maintaining stock prices.
 
Dec 12, 2018
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which of these video doorbells work with dual-band and tri-band mesh routers? It seems odd I can't find any up-front information about this common problem. I have a google mesh router setup (2.4 GHz & 5GHz) and a SKYBELL HD which requires 2.4 GHz only. I'm looking for a workaround at this point, or I have to find a new setup and I'm open to anything that will work. any suggestions?
 
Jan 13, 2019
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The battery life on Ring Doorbell is unacceptable. When you first purchase it, it will last for around 6 months. After the warranty is up, the battery will only last for 2 to 3 weeks and takes about 8 hours or more to recharge. I bought my doorbell in 2016 and by 2018 was having issues with battery life. I called customer service and they advised that it wasn't under warranty and I would have to buy another $250 doorbell! Unless you want to buy another doorbell every couple of years, I do not advise purchasing this device!
 
Apr 18, 2019
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Recently I bought Hogar Video Door Bell, and trust me it’s working beyond my expectation. Features like two-way communication, auto visitor video record, remote door unlock trigger, and excellent night vision etc. made it an apt choice for my home. It also supports and integrates with any major smart home systems and works smoothly without any need for additional devices.
 

TheAncient

Commendable
Apr 6, 2017
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I wish you would consider climate in your reviews: Ring only works down to minus 20°C and Nest only works down to -10°C. Here in Canada, it frequently gets colder than minus 30C making both Nest and Ring "iffy" propositions at best. (If you live in the southern US, they probably work fine - unless the moisture gives you grief)
 
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