Best Self Monitored Home Security (2024 Update)

This SimpliSafe 12 Piece Wireless Home Security System w/HD Camera is nice. It comes with 12 pieces & the setup was easy. The base station plugs in and controls all of the sensors. I use the motion sensors in bigger rooms & the entry sensors for bedrooms & doors. The siren is loud 95 decibels which is what I want in a security system. I set the wireless keypad by the door, so I can arm it before leaving & while I’m at home if I feel like it. The entry sensors come with adhesive tape so you can just stick them on. They also have a chime feature, so if a window or door is opened the base station chimes. The motion sensors have a nice range & can be turned off when I’m home so they’re not set off. This set also comes with a key fob which lets me arm & disarm it, & it also has a panic button on it. The camera is great and has HD quality. I can look at it from my phone when I’m not home. This set is well made and easy to use. I’d recommend it.AlexM

So far I like this system. The setup was very very easy and fun. I appreciate that nothing has to be screwed on, each sensor has those adhesive strips that last a very long time and the kit comes with more for when you need them. Each piece is individually packaged, which is very convenient if you don't plan to use each sensor right now, they're easily stored. I'm using the ios app. I didn't realize I'd need the apple home bridge in order to add simplisafe to my apple home. I was finally able to add the camera widget to my widget home page, so that's what I'm using primarily. The widget defaults to the camera but it also serves as a shortcut to the app. I also added the simplisafe integration to my Google home. It just tells me the status of my system and I can arm it to home or away or off completely. I used some adhesive strips to place the camera on the wall – the kit does not include a wall mount. The camera is just okay. It doesn't always pick up motion and sometimes the motion it detects is after someone has already left… But I can't see who because the camera didn't detect that part, just the door opening ::face palm:: Also, my front and back doors are directly across from each other, just barely 10 feet apart and the camera never detects anything at the back door. That said, I rely on my other camera for details. I wish I could add more than one user to the app account too, we're a big family and I'd like everyone to have access, or at least one extra person. I'd also appreciate a blinking light or something on the motion detectors but I like that they can be mounted or sat on a shelf. The details of the system can be viewed by double tapping anywhere on the keypad. It's easy to set up and use. I mostly use the app. It'd be nice to add on bases too, our place is 3 stories. For now this system has some annoying UT reasonable limits. I imagine that as time goes on, we will have everything that's needed for both security and convenience. I do appreciate that each sensor has its individual setting so you can arm one as away and one as home and even set instant triggers. There's countdown options for when leaving or when the system is accidentally tripped too. The service is a requirement of you want to actually use anything but there's like 3 tiers. I chose the one with monitoring. So far, so good and I'm looking forward to the improvements.Justnatalie

The system works well. There are pros and cons to it though. The alarm is loud, which is good. Sensors work pretty good for doors and windows. Camera is a little meh, and nothing is particularly useful without the subscription other than making a loud noise. I kind of feel like something using my internet should alert the police or me when the alarm goes off, but that hasn't been my experience yet. The app has very limited functionality without monitoring and push notifications have a delay. I'm unable to monitor my camera unless I'm on Wifi for some reason, even with 5g. Hopefully burglars are scared off by the wailing?krislovejmt

I've been very impressed with this system and what comes in the box is a great mix for the first time setting one up. I have a lot of windows on my lower level so I will be purchasing a 6 pack of sensors but I like that additional items can be purchased separately so I'm not stuck in some specific package. I work in software development so I'm very techy but this system was incredibly simple to set up and the app guides through each step so even if you aren't great with technology I don't think you should have any concerns on that piece. One area non-tech people would struggle with is moving all of their existing non-security devices (like you phone, computer, smart TV, etc) to using this WiFi…if you go that route. It is great because the Alarm Pro router (the big device) has excellent WiFi, pairs incredibly easily with the WiFi extender (one of the other devices in the box) which will solve most issues if your house doesn't have good WiFi coverage, AND it has backup cell service built in which could cover all your devices. Meaning, if your normal internet from Xfinity, AT&T, etc, goes out then it automatically switches to use the built in cellular backup and you won't even notice other than it'll be slower speed. You do have to pay if you go over 3gb which you likely will if the outage is long, but it's nice to have it available. I already have a great router and tons of devices connected that I don't want to change to a new router so this system is plugged into my other router and just being used for the Ring security devices. The only downside is if my internet has an outage I won't be backed up but I'm ok with that and it made the setup really simple so I don't need to do anything to my existing devices. As far as the security system goes, I love it! the sensors respond immediately, setup took just a couple minutes per sensor, and I've had no false alarms. You can also customize everything so for example during the day I have the system disarmed so there will be no alarms but I still get beeps when a door/window is open (you can customize the tone or if there is a sound for each sensor which is great). I set the schedule to arm the alarm at night automatically and I can control which sensors will sound the alarm and how long before the alarm sounds so if I forget and open a door late then I hear a quiet notification for awhile before the loud alarm wakes up my kid. The only thing I don't love about this is that it is kind of odd requiring two apps, one for the alarm portion and one for the router/WiFi. It makes sense because this is combining two independent (Amazon owned) company devices into one, and they make it clear when to switch between the two apps so it's not terrible and at least means they are two apps that function very well instead of messy broken stuff in one app. But for example the Ring app will let you change how bright the blue circle LED is (which is pretty bright by default) but then to turn off the white LED which is an inch away on the same device you need to go to the eero app. A lot of devices won't let you customize these things so I'm not going to complain, just an example of how some small areas can be a little strange using two apps for the same device. Overall this is certainly a 5 star system. I love that I can add monitoring if I want (costs $ but is cheap compared to others) or leave it as just a system for me to monitor (free). I think it's also wise to go with Ring because they keep adding more devices and innovating so you don't have to worry about the system becoming obsolete in a couple years, it is worth getting!JonC

This Ring Alarm Pro kit is a great value! I love that the Alarm Pro base station serves as an eero router! eero is the best mesh Wi-Fi solution on the market right now, and I love having the option to extend my mesh Wi-Fi network with additional access points in the future as I add more devices to my home. The Alarm hardware itself is quite nice. The individual sensors were surprisingly small and have a sleek modern/minimalist look. The dedicated hardware keypad is very convenient. I like that I can control my home's alarm system with Alexa, the Ring app, or the keypad for extra convenience. I was able to do a DIY install without much trouble. The hardest part was swapping out my existing router with the Alarm Pro base station and getting everything on my network reconfigured. However, if you've ever set up a Wi-Fi router before, it's very similar. Mounting the contact sensors, motion detector and keypad was very easy. The keypad includes a handy bracket for mounting to the wall, and the motion detectors adhere to the wall near windows and doors. I'm not sure how long the batteries will last in each component, but hopefully they work for the claimed 1-year without any hassle. The included range extender is great for flexibility. I had trouble getting reliable connectivity to a contact sensor located in my garage, but placing the range extender halfway between the base station on the sensor eliminated all reliability issues. The Ring app is very simple to use. It's very intuitive to switch between Home and Away, or disarm the whole system with a single button. The Ring app itself is a little annoying. I don't like that it it's trying to upsell me a subscription or advertise other Ring products. It gets the job done, but it's a bit bloated for my needs. I also don't like that I need to use the separate eero app to change my Wi-Fi network settings. It'd be nice if I could control everything from a single, dedicated app. The Ring Protect Pro subscription is a great deal, compared to other monitored security solutions on the market. I found that you can qualify for a home insurance discount from some providers. My insurer offers a 10% discount on my premium for having a monitored alarm system in my home. These savings nearly offset the entire cost of the subscription! I love having access to a backup LTE Internet connection through the Ring Protect Pro subscription. It's very reassuring to know that my home will continue to be protected and that I'll be able to continue to get on the Internet even if my primary connection is down The included eero Secure web filtering, ad blocking and usage stats are very compelling features! Overall, this Ring Alarm Pro kit offers a great value for everything it provides.KyleH

This alarm kit comes with a decent amount of features- key pad, four contact sensors, motion Detector and a range extender. From what I had read, the eero Wi-Fi 6 router has great reviews for speed but did not realize it only covers up to 1500 square feet. Which depending on the size of your house- that might not be adequate. Unfortunately that has been the case with our house. But they do offer eero extenders which are also sold separately. I personally had a tough time with set up, as I am not that skilled with technology, and using the two different apps became confusing during the process. The keypad is easy to use, and I really like that there is the opportunity to have access to alerting local police, emergency responders, and 24/7 professional monitoring (with additional subscription) but I still this this is a great option if you can afford the addition subscription. Also, it will send notifications right to your phone. I really like that there are no commitments and it can be month to month. A lot more affordable than other security options! The base and the keypad both give off a siren noise when the alarm is set off. The base sound is a lot louder than the keypad so it can easily be heard. Just by testing the system it seems accurate and I have more peace of mind when it is installed. Additionally, the sensor pieces are easy to set up and easy to change locations without much effort which is a really nice feature. The key pad can be plugged in or used wirelessly which is a great feature! It’s also cool that you can adjust the keypad settings in the ring app easily. I personally did not like that our internet had to be set up through the router that came with it. For me, this was a disadvantage as it didn’t provide enough coverage that we needed for the size of our home. Due to that reason I had disconnected it until we are able to purchase the additional extenders.Ginger20

I would advise anyone who buys the Ring Alarm system to thoroughly read the instruction manual, lay out the products and accessories before starting. Installation will go smoother if you are familiar with the manual, products and accessories. The instruction manual is very helpful and it guides installation step by step from beginning to end. The instruction manual during set up mentions the Base Station will need to update the software when it connects to the internet. I would suggest connecting to the internet via an Ethernet cable to the modem instead of using WI-FI. This will speed up the software update to the base unit. Once the Base Station has been set up the rest of the installation will go very quickly. The white contact sensors and white motion detector is a breeze to install and are inconspicuous. When each sensor is installed verification is performed to ensure the sensor is working. The Ring Alert product has great features such as being able to purchase additional products, like contact sensors. The Base Unit and Keypad contain audible settings for volume of chimes/tones. Different audible chimes/tones can be selected for each door entrance into the home. Even if you choose not to have your home monitored by a third party, the system is still functional for home monitoring. Home monitoring without a third party will still allow alerts to be sent to your cell phone. I would recommend this product to anyone.norris47

I have been using the gen 1 Ring system for a couple years now and love the service. The system is incredibly easy to set up. You just take it out of the box, install the app, and follow directions. At the end, you're set up with a security system that rivals the big names that require expensive subscriptions and professional installation. You can monitor and control status away from home, set up custom codes, and many other cool features that are too numerous to list. The function from gen 1 to gen 2 seems to not have changed much, but the design and form of the hardware has improved dramatically. You can see in the photo the gen 1 system on the right and the gen 2 system on the right. The motion sensor and contact sensor have improved size considerably. The keypad has improved as well, and is way more attractive visually, and also more intuitive to use. Ring also made some good improvements on battery selection on the devices. The gen 1 motion and contact sensors both use CR123A batteries. Ring has now made it so the motion sensor uses AA, and the contact sensor uses CR2032. While it was nice that both gen 1 use the same batteries, they are not as readily available as the gen 2 selection. You can go to any local store and find both easily. Overall, Ring knocked it out of the park with the design improvements. They have taken an already great platform and improved the hardware in both size and aesthetics. Bravo, Ring!Rodney D

Before you purchase any Ring alarm system you must know that the app doesn't require your code to disarm. If a home invader knows this then the Duress code used on the keypad is worthless. All the invader has to do while you are under duress is to have you disarm from your smart home. I unfortunately invested in one of these systems found this out after getting to know the app and getting to know the system. Sure, the app can be deleted but what good would that be when you are away and not able to monitor from your smartphone? The Ring company builds their reputation on being able to use the app to monitor your home while away while away so you wouldn't want to delete the app. The app is a friend of the home invader since a code isn't needed to disarm your system. Perhaps readers might I just tipped off home invaders with this review. Well maybe because of this Ring will correct this major mistake. I already informed Ring about this. Ring also doesn't have a review section on their website for anyone to use to write a review. Buyer Beware!!!Disappointed

I am so disappointed in this system. My husband works 24 hour shifts, so having a reliable security system means a lot to us. Ever since we got this system two years ago, it’s been full of issues. Our camera rarely detects cars pulling into our driveway, but senses every large truck driving by. It will send the “camera motion detected” alert every minute for 10-15 minutes straight when you leave the house or set the alarm and there’s nothing there. I can never view the live doorbell camera. Every time I have tried, it says it is offline. The tower is so close to the Wi-Fi and we have full bars at all times. And whenever the alarm has been set off, it takes them 20-30 minutes to call and see if we are okay. The delay in the microphone is so bad as well. I’m only giving two stars because I feel bad leaving one because it does *occasionally* work.Lauren Richards

This alarm system is perfect for scaring away people that try to break in or trespass in the middle of the night. The siren is loud and the call center calls within 2 minutes of the alarm being triggered to check in. The call center can also dispatch the police if needed. It's also easy to install. The package I purchased came with everything i needed for my property. The app is easy to use to turn on and off the system. My only complaint is that you can't set up automatic arming and disarming of the system through the app. I got this system after my garage was broken into on July 4th. The thief got away with $1000 worth of power tools. The system was easy to install on my property. The same theif tried to break into my garage on August 4th, but this time i was prepared. The thief triggered the alarm before he could enter my backyard. The cameras around my home captured the man running away from my home immediately. This alarm system has given my family and I peace of mind.TheReviewer

The absolute worst system. We have kids and use the indoor cameras in their rooms. You would not believe the amount of times they go offline or don’t detect the motion of a toddler climbing in and out of bed. Grown adults walk through their line of sight and it detects nothing. The outdoor cameras might be worse as they don’t pick up cars driving through the driveway. The motion sensitivity is set as high as possible. They’re trash cameras. And you can’t credit the cameras going offline to poor wifi. Our wifi is too notch with a Google Mesh system broadcasting throughout our house. We never have issues with any other wireless device. OH!! And the doorbell just doesn’t work. Period. We even bought a mechanical doorbell to replace our analog doorbell and troubleshoot. Didn’t work. I wanted to return the whole system but was three days out of the trial window and they denied that request. Window and door sensors seem ok.

Poor customer service. Poor quality equipment. And the app is the worst I’ve ever used. It’s so fun to get motion alerts when you’re away from home but the image won’t load and then you get “camera is offline” leaving you to wonder if you’re being burgled again. I urge everyone to consider another alternative. The crappiness of SimpliSafe cannot be understated.Christina Hayden

I have had the Defender 2K wireless cameras on my house for a couple years now so, when the new Pro 2K units came out I figured I would give them a try. Here are my PROS and CONS of the new cameras. Pro: 1. They are easy to install and setup with the WIFI 2. The only have a power cord to run and then it's wireless video 3. They have a very small footprint 4. They mount almost anywhere 5. They have very good video quality in the daylight Cons: 1. The cost is a great deal more the the Standard 2K Wireless 2. In night mode the camera gets a great deal of light interference from even the slightest amount of light even it's own LED. 3. If you mount the cameras under an eve or close to another wall, you will get huge light blooms. To the point of being useless in Night Vision mode. I had to turn mine off completely to be able to see anything at all. 4. There is still no PC/Windows software for the cameras so you are hindered by having to use only your Cell Phone and your carries data cost to be able to view your cameras. 5. They require a much larger SD card to hold the information without having to clear old data everyday 6. The Human Detected mode is pretty much Detect Anything mode, so really not very helpful. Overall: The are a nice camera with a lot of features that I can't use because of lighting issues and they are more expensive then my older cameras but, I do like the Two Way Communications they offers. If the Cameras functioned at night without issues, I think they would be worth the cost. Unfortunately for me they don't. I would have been just as happy with the $69.00 2k Wireless vs $179.00 Pro 2K WIFI.Wmlipe

As an owner of another competitive brand, I have decided to try this new model. My issue with previous brand was I was receiving too many alerts for triggers such as rain drops, flies, snow flakes, etc. The Defender Pro model was claiming it had a human detection and it would help to avoid false alerts. After using the Defender Pro model fo a few months, I can say that it is not as efficient as I was expecting it. I am still receiving false alerts on rain, snow, etc. Although the image is very precise and that is what I like about this new model. Don’t expect not to receive false alarms anymore with this model. My conclusion is if you really focus on this, you need to buy higher end equipment.FranceP

I was looking for a camera that I could install under my carport. I wanted to video any activity when I wasn't home. I want to say that the camera is awesome and so much more than I expected! I have tried other cameras in the past but nothing like this. Not only will it send me the alerts I am interested in, like when a human is detected, but it also helps me see in the dark. I wasn't looking for a motion light but it also serves that purpose for me. When I forget to leave a light on at night, I don't have to worry about coming home in the dark. As soon as it picks me up on the camera the spotlights come on. It’s just what I need to unlock my door and get in my home. Thank you for making such a great product and helping to protect my family.Justin C

Super easy product to install. Excellent choice to satisfy the most basic home security needs even with the un-monitored option. Only reason this did not get 5 stars is due to the delay in alerting. All other aspects are good. When you trip any of the devices – Ring Doorbell, motion sensor, door trip, etc., it takes at least 10-15 seconds before the alert hits the app and let's you know. In the event of a break in, that's potentially a lifetime. Not sure if it has to do with the cloud component, but highly suspect it is. If that's the case, Ring should offer a small local storage option that then moves the data to the cloud so they can continue to make their money by forcing you to sign up for their cloud service option. When it comes to home security, I want to know the instant movement is picked-up so I have time to react to the situation. This much of a delay doesn't meet that mark. I could use cans and a string and get better results. So if you're looking for real time, move on. If near real time works for you and a delay is acceptable, this is a great option. I also had to purchase Alexa as the Ring system doesn't support Google Nest.Jill S

Ring’s reputation in video doorbells is incomparable, but I did not realize the company produced alarm systems as well! After using this 2nd Generation Ring Alarm (5 piece kit), I understand how Ring rightly earned its prestige as the premier manufacturer of home security systems! The installation of this system was surprisingly quick and simple— merely download app, plug, stick, and turn on! I was pleasantly surprised that there was no charge for using the Ring app! However, I definitely recommend purchasing the Ring Protect Plus Plan if it is not cost prohibitive (It does include a complimentary month to try out for yourself as well.) As for the device, I thought the keypad was intuitive with its picture icons and its simplicity in contacting either fire department, police, or medical help with just the push of the corresponding button. The design of all the components is modern, sleek, and unobtrusive. The alarm siren is rightfully loud and blaring. I love the seamless integration with Alexa Echo enabled products as our home is already using them— this is definitely one of my favorite features! Lastly, I appreciate that different generations of Ring systems and products are all compatible—a major convenience if I choose to add more products in the future. Overall, I highly recommend this product! It gives me peace of mind during these uncertain times for my family and my home, especially when I’m away.Ticowjw8

I got this system 2 years ago at Costco and I love it. It’s affordable and works great in apartments, duplexes, and houses as I have lived in each category with this alarm system. The alarm itself when triggered is very loud and I found out by mistake when I lived in apartments. You can monitor the system yourself or pay a monthly fee of around $10 I believe for professional monitoring. In the phone app you can check the systems and each sensor in your house to see if they are open or closed and you can manually set the system to armed or disarmed when you aren’t even near your home (I armed the system from over 400 miles away a few times while visiting family). I also love that anytime the windows or doors are opened the system sends an alert to my phone about which sensor has been tripped. Great product and I highly recommend it.madison .c

I like these cameras a lot so far and I feel they are a better upgrade to my old blink cameras. The app is a million times better than the blink one. I would like to get the solar panels that go with these but they have been out of stock. I purchased the 5 camera system and have the hub connected directly to the router. The only real issue I've had is trying to get the battery out. I don't know if it's the cold weather but I could not remove the battery after the cameras were placed outside. I could easily remove them when they were first out of the box but once outside in the cold, I just couldn't. So I brought them in and recharged them with the cord that way. Either way, I'm still happy with these and I do want to get a second system with 2 more cameras to cover further out in my backyard. Hopefully, the solar panels will be available soon.Amy E.

Do yourself a favor and read this honest review! This is my second time at posting this review… let’s see if Lorex lets it stay up. I purchased this camera system in the 6 camera setup in December ‘21 and now 7 months later I’m having to invest in a different camera system. I live in a newer home with a great internet connection. I’m relatively good with technology and electronics. TLDR version (too long didn’t read): this camera system is all show and no actual protection. Lots of headaches and now heartaches. Long version: It took about 3-4 hours to fully install the 6 cameras because the cameras just wouldn’t link up with the hub. Regardless of distance from router and hub, the cameras wouldn’t connect for one reason or another. Once each camera was finally connected the physical installation was easy. At first the cameras worked great. The notifications were great and the battery life was on point. Then I got no notifications randomly for anything. I realized that at some point the 6 cameras needed an update in firmware which caused them to no longer record or alert. So I did the update and the cameras still wouldn’t work. I reset them, deleted them, fully charged the cameras, deleted the app, signed out of the app, did everything possible with no solution to the cameras coming back online. I contacted customer service and was told to just give it a few days (!?!?) to let the update take place.. even though it was already 2-3 days since the update happened, and I had done everything under the sun. The customer service rep said there wasn’t any more she could do, and we just had to wait it out for the cameras and the hub to catch up. I ended up having to take each camera down from its installed position… which was like another 3-4 hour evolution hauling the ladder around, and playing circus in the delete the camera-reinstall-patiently wait as the Hub-God determined whether or not my camera was satisfactory to connect ring-around. All because of a firmware update?? The rep was no help and I had to go about a week without any cameras working. So here I am now 5 months later and I’ve still had problems. Anytime I have a firmware update it’s the same issue. Customer service does nothing, says nothing realistic, and never offered to do anything because of the issue. Now I’m out 3 firmware updates (in 7 months) and there’s major dead zones with each camera. I can be standing squarely in front of each camera (that had previously worked to provide alerts) with no notifications coming up. Packages dropped off? Nope. Child locked outside on back patio for 20 minutes? Nope. Car leaving garage? Nope. Nothing in regards to alerts comes up now. Even after attempting to reposition the cameras. This all leads up to last week where I had fallen victim to a break in and theft on my property where the cameras should have, could have, and would have help provide me with at the very least some evidence to give the cops. But no, not even one notification. Even though it happened in plain view of a camera. So please learn from my demise and do not trust Lorex to give you any semblance of security.Rachael F.

The camera quality and picture on the camera are good. However I initially had issues and set up with pairing the cameras to the hub. And calling tech-support, I was on the phone for almost 2 hours with them. Sometimes difficult to understand the tech on the other end. Issue was still Not resolved and he gave me a case number to escalate the ticket to someone else and told me to call back. I eventually got the cameras working without calling back. The cameras have been installed for several weeks now and went off-line. I followed all the instructions on how to get the cameras back online to no avail. I had to call the support lying again. Similar issue. It appeared that my hub disconnected somehow from my Internet service. It did not allow me away to reconnect easily going through the app. It kept wanting to connect to a hot spot even though the hub is directly plugged into my router. So I called again and he walked me through some options but nothing worked. He then told me that I needed to remove my hub device and re-add it. I asked if with this would then cause me to have to pair the cameras with the hub again and he said yes. This was so much of an inconvenience because the cameras are installed on the outside of my home. I do not believe that that was the correct solution and that someone else should have been able to correctly tell me how to reconnect to the Internet service without having to remove the devices And go through set up all over again. So now I have to take the cameras down and start from beginning. Not happy about the turnout of this. I know the Internet can hop off-line but there’s got to be a different solution for reconnecting without reinstalling everything.Laura M.

Blink cameras aren't loaded with extras that complicate the issue and make setting up more of a hassle, plus they are less likely to have major technical issues (which was the case I found with another far more expensive "wireless" system that was one technical issue after another). I ordered these to add to an existing set up I have. I didn't need the extra sync module or the Blink mini, but the deal was so good for two outdoor cameras I couldn't resist. My original set of Blink cameras have deterred a porch pirate on two occasions. They see the Blink yard sign, they look around and see a camera with a blue light staring back and they leave empty handed. During the day and even at a distance the facial resolution is good enough in most cases for easy recognition (if a crime is being recorded). At night the resolution admittedly isn't as good but in one case for me the system alerted me that someone was checking out my car, and using the built-in speaker I informed them they were being recorded and the police were already on their way. Needless to say, they found somewhere else to be and quick. I also like that the cameras are unobtrusive. Yes, the yard sign warns people the property is protected by Blink, but the cameras themselves aren't these huge ugly things. I have one camera that is approx 90 ft from my sync module and a further 20ft from my wifi router and it functions perfectly. Another is approx 75 feet from the module and the signal has to penetrate a number of walls, including wood and stucco, and again, no issues with signal strength or image quality. I did have a small, recurring technical issue with one of the cameras I'd bought earlier, and rather than waste my time by trying to trouble shoot it, Blink immediately replaced it, which I really appreciated. The technicians are friendly, patient and knowledgeable. The only down sides, hence the 4 stars, are 1. I do not like the way the camera attaches to the mount. It is hard to get it to snap into place securely and once you have managed that, if you go to reposition the camera just a bit, or clean the camera to remove any smears or fingerprints left from getting it seated in the mount, the camera pops off the mount, which is aggravating, 2. the lag time between when I get an alert and when the recording is available to view can be up to 20 seconds. I also now know just how many raccoons visit my garden every night. I had no idea. The area near my composter is clearly the Studio 54 for raccoons. I have to commend Blink/Amazon on just how fast these cameras arrived. I had them within two days of buying them and they were up and running the next morning within 15 minutes of me unpackaging themHappy

I liked the size of the cameras and the advertised ease of setup. Immediately had to get technical support involved who said I needed to change router settings on my wifi. This was due to my sync module just going out all of the time and not recording to local USB.

Specifically they said: "The errors that are appearing are related to configuration settings on the router itself, not the signal strength of the system. Some settings like AP isolation, subnetting, if the system is set up on a guest network, firewalls, and more may impact the ability for the cameras to send data across your internal network to the sync module."

I would not call that an easy setup. I did not have this issue with other brands.Jeff Sanford

These cameras are very unreliable. My wifi signal is strong, yet these cameras work whenever they want to. I have kids in my home that need to be monitored when I’m away. If anything happens, I cant count on the cameras to catch anything. Live view is laggy, and thats if its even “available”. The picture quality is terrible. So even if you did catch something, you better hope they’re in close proximity to the cameras. You wont read any license plates on these cameras.THOUSANDSMITH

I’m a long time Nest user and have an outdoor IQ cam, Hello doorbell, and this cam with the power cord. The new cam has decent image quality but still appears grainy to me sometimes despite being set to high resolution. I’d have given it 4 stars if that was the only issue. The bigger issue is that as of March 2022 the Google Home app’s support for the camera is still lacking and I’m losing faith that they have plans to improve this significantly. The ability to look at camera history is clunky, sometimes when clicking push notifications on iOS I get taken to a view that says the video stream isn’t available yet, and you can’t seem to save a custom period of time to a clip. You can only save a clip of the chunk of time the camera determined there was an event. For example I had a suspicious vehicle driving around one night and I could only save the 30 seconds to a minute or so of time that it considered it an event. I couldn’t save the rest of the time that the vehicle was moving around outside my set alert zone. It’s an ok camera, but if I wasn’t already invested in Google Nest I may have considered another option like Ring.A3ARoc

Contrary to some of the reviews, I found this new outdoor camera from SimpliSafe to be just what I hoped it to be. My home security system is SimpliSafe, and after a couple of years of experience with them and their products, I am still a happy customer. Before installing, be sure the battery is fully charged. If you don't already have the SimpliSafe app, you need to install it. When you have decided where to place the camera, the hardest part of the project, installing the magnetic mounting, begins… took less than 5 minutes. Attach the camera to the magnetic mounting…takes a second or so. Using the app, the final step is aiming the camera to cover the area you wish to monitor. The camera works as advertised. The wide range of vision and sharpness of view is excellent. Mine is mounted over the door to my raised deck. It shows the entire deck, as well as either side and into the tree line about 30 feet away. For a entirely wireless operation, it works great. Easy to install, works great, and competitive pricing makes for a nice package. For me, it's another great product from a brand in which I have total trust. Plus, SimpliSafe has excellent customer service should you need assistance on any products or service. I definitely recommend it.cipher469

This is hands down one of the worst cameras, let alone outdoors cameras I have ever used. We bought into the Simplisafe system and have several cameras, sensors all of that, but the design and integration of this one is mind boggling. Problem #1- Constant Disconnects and Inability to View This thing will not stay attached to our system no matter how hard I try or where I place it. For some reason they designed it to operate almost like a standalone camera? And you can forget live view. By the time it connects and brings it up, whatever you wanted to see is long gone. Problem #2 – Inconsistent Motion Detection We placed this by our front door since our home is historic and doesn't have the hookups for a doorbell. No biggie. What is a biggie is that this camera will miss movement 8 times out of 10 and if it does pick it up, it's ALWAYS delayed. So it will catch someone leaving instead of coming up. Problem #3 – System Treats Like a Third Party Camera One of the things I loved about simplisafe was the video capture when the alarm was armed or disarmed and when movement is detected. Guess what? No video provided from this camera. So when you disarm your system or arm it, only video feeds from internal cameras or the doorbell show up. Unacceptable if trying to figure out what family member just arrived home or is leaving. One more issue we have been having since this was installed is now the whole system is out of whack. Not sure if it's a coincidence but we get constant restarts and the home base saying "Welcome to Simplisafe" at least once a week. I used to give Simplisafe a pass since they were considered a more budget friendly option, but with the price of this camera and their monitoring fees being higher than the others at this point, I think it's time to look elsewhere.Tjggator

Really LOVE this security system! Such a huge upgrade from my old alarm. What my husband liked the most is that he didn't have to install so many pieces compared to other security alarms we looked at, and it gave us lot more detection options.Soundy

This SimpliSafe security system is very durable and quality made. It was so easy to install and required no screws or drilling, which is fantastic! It is so easy to control and access cameras with the app on the phone and easily picked up motion and movements with the cameras. Works great indoor and outdoors, for door and window security as well as detecting any nefarious activity around home perimeter!Angwags1

The SimpliSafe 10 piece wireless system is the best I’ve owned so far. Starting with plugging in the hub and grabbing the keypad, I was able to easily set up every piece of the system from cameras to motion sensors to door and window sensors. I was able to get them all on board in no time. The outdoor camera posed a slight challenge because I think we have a bad battery. On a full charge, it didn’t last the full night. We did have slight difficulty setting this up and the battery may have been why. We now have piece of mind while away and at home.Angie4u

Security and home monitoring is always prevalent in my mind. For years I was paying for equipment that was to be "top notch" only to see new products hitting the market and it made mine look obsolete. "The old saying if it is not broken don't fix it " did not apply in my case. This SimpliSafe program allows me to be IN charge of my security . The 10 piece system came with a base station, a keypad, 4 entry & 2 motion sensors, the outdoor camera, Cam , batteries, decals and the yard sign. This is way more product than I was currently using. Before you begin, read the instruction manual and download the Simpli-Safe app. You will be able to install everything and be up and running in about 45 min to 1 hour depending on your internet- Wi-fi Strength. With installation I did not have to drill holes or run additional network lines all I needed to do was add the mounting tape-pieces to eat item and place where I wanted it. Something to keep in mind … If you live in a area that is not surrounded by trees or additional houses you will need a stronger adhesive to ensure stability. There are a number of nice factors with this system including the night vision in color, the motion sensors, additional monitoring if I choose and the app works with Alexa and Google. Overall, very pleased with the system .DIY22!!

This is a excellent Outdoor Security Camera. The instruction manual did not give enough information for set up so we ended up looking up detailed instructions on line. The camera itself works great and it is nice not to have to worry about wires. It does have batteries that are recharged by the the solar panel so you have to make sure that you place it in an area that gets a lot of sunlight. The picture is clear and the app you use to view the footage it pretty simple. If you want to record however you do need another component that does not come with the camera. I do believe that it was worth the extra purchase and I'm so glad that I did. Overall, this is a excellent system, user friendly and convenient without the wires.Jeni Purl

I found the Blink outdoor+ solar charger to be a little frustrating. I couldn't get it to work because I'm guessing it was because I didn't have the sync module mentioned in the brief instructions on how to set up. The instructions are brief as I said and don't go into a lot of detail. There was some assembly required to install batteries and remove a tab on another set that the solar part recharges. I even found the connector to plug the camera into the base to be a finicky item. Overall if you have a sync module in your house then you might have better luck than I did. This is not what I would call a plug and play item And if I had known other parts were required to get it to work I wouldn't have gotten it.parkerdog

I will start off by saying I have experience with the Blink system as I have a video doorbell so I am already hooked up to blink. This is a very nice camera and very durable. The thing that could be improved on is installation instructions. It comes with a small booklet that shows you how to sync the actual camera but does not give you the actual installation. I spend twenty minutes trying to get the battery open on the back of the camera because there are not clear instructions. The actual camera itself works really well and gives notifications on the blink app so once you get past the installation part the rest is a breeze. It does require a blink sync module 2 and a USB flash drive with a memory that can go up to 256 GB if you want to save your video.lynnc35

I've always wanted these Blink cameras since they were released. Ordered these cameras for the back of my house. I was going out of town for a week and wanted to see my driveway and rear of the home while I was gone. Fairly easy setup. Fairly easy mounting procedure. The included wireless connection dongle did end up having to be moved to the rear door so the cams would connect to my internet. Overall the cameras did work fairly well watching over where I park and my back screened in area… during the day. At night it's another story. While the camera under the screened in porch worked fairly well, the camera overlooking my driveway gave me images of an extremely foggy night. Every night. I could not even see my vehicle 8 feet in front of it due to this fog that cam created. Trust me whomever was on my property had zero chance of being recognized with that camera. The included app worked fairly well as in I was able to see something on my screen that the camera was displaying – however it was laggy and timed out many times. It was definitely not as clear or as responsive as my Ring doorbell camera which caught thieves across the street at night enduring a rainstorm! The batteries lasted all month. In the end, I returned the cameras significantly disappointed in their performance. I believe these would work fairly well in indoor environments or to capture closer events during the day. I did order cams from that other abovementioned vendor which are working absolutely fantastic.KenJr

It is very easy to set up and interface not bad at all. It is useless as a "security" surveillance" camera system. Not in any particular order but the shortcomings are: Mounts are too restrictive with respect to being able to have a full range of ability to orient the direction. I am certain it is not waterproof. No wonder there are so many aftermarket mounts and covers for it. Motion sensor is nearly useless therefore it is not usable as a security camera. By the time it triggers and starts recording, the motion is already out of the scene. I had one positioned over the front door under the eve. It did not catch the delivery guys (USPS, FedEx and UPS – they must be so fast…). I received a delayed notice that the motion sensed but by then the trigger causing motion was long gone and recorded footage did not capture anything. You can extend the recording time but only after the trigger and does not allow to extend the time to before. It cannot be used as a real-time monitor either. You can see the real time view but for about 15 seconds, I believe. I t has a nice motion "exclude" grid with a much smaller grid option to select areas to remove from motion sensor zone but I deliberately left the roadway to see if the cars or people walking their dogs would trigger the sensor. It did not at all across the yard (house is set back about 30 ft from the road). So, you cannot catch the neighbor who does not pick up after their dogs in your lawn either. Once the motion is sensed (I could simulate only indoors), it does not sense again for a minimum 10 seconds (lowest limit setting) and also because it is sending the recording already, it does not catch the next motion. Again, it is useless as a security camera. It did not capture leaving in and out of my garage several times. Even if the captured motion is continuous, it stops after the preset time. If you extend it, it would drain the battery. Same with the sensitivity. Default is 5, up to 9. I tried it all 6, 7, 8, 9. If you set it up over 5, warns you that it would reduce battery life. It did not help with the far cars but gave too many false alerts with no motion visible in the recorded footage. This camera/controller/software is good for making sure that you know the garbage bin is still in place and your shed has not been burnt. I used it on a very fast wi-fi (about 900Mb) mesh environment. I cannot imagine the door bell would be any use either. When I turned the audi on, the background white noise (tried indoor with no activity but speaking only) is intolerable although speech sound quality was very good. At the highest resolution, image quality is not something to brag about either. Poor image quality overall.RudyA

So it is a great product if you just want to access cameras on demand, however if you want to be notified of motion events and people on your property its completly usless. I have had this for a couple of weeks now and the notifications and recording of the cameras is horrible at best. I have had the system armed on several occasions and i recieve no alerts. I open the camera to verify the camera is working and i get a live view of the camera. Why are my alerts for motion not working? Well i thought ok a glitch or something so I disable and re-arm system after i view each camera and all of sudden instart to recieve alerts again. Great right? Nope the next day the alerts have stopped again. Its unfortunate cause i like the simplistic setup and the app integration with my Alexa devices but its just not reliable for home security purposes. Im also past my return time frame so im stuck with an item that does not work as it should. The only that does work as it should is the door bell i get an alert everytime someone pushes the button however the motion is not working on that properly either. I would also note that i called Blink support was on hold then told to leave a voicemail with my contact info for a call back. Its been 2 weeks and im still waiting no response by email either. I think they know they have a reliability issue and have decided to ignore my issue. I had also paid for $100 or a year of online unlimited storage i'm probably going to have to write that off too as there support is non responsive. Hope this review helps.Brian86

TL:DR – This camera feels sturdily built and has fantastic functionality for its price point. The app is easy to use, but it's not without its flaws. I would absolutely recommend this product for someone with a similar usage situation. — I settled on this camera during my hunt for a security-typed camera that needed to have a specific set of criteria for usage by my parents on their property: 1) Inexpensive (less than $50 per camera) 2) No monthly subscriptions required 3) Wireless data transfer 4) Outdoor capable 5) Ability to view feed from a mobile phone The Wyze Cam v3 fit the bill for all of these. My parents were in need of a new camera/system for observing different aspects of their rural property including an overview on their pet chickens. They were running a fairly-antiquated camera system that utilized a wireless (non-WiFi) connection to a main handset receiver that allowed them to view the camera feeds. The system only allowed up to 4 cameras to feed to the handset, and none of the feeds could be viewed from a mobile phone… or even from out of a certain wireless range of the handset itself. I had only recently been able to get them set up with 5G-based WiFi (literally no wired internet services available to the property, so even this was a blessing to get), so this opened up a new set of options to choose from. They don't have a much in the way of disposable income, but they also refuse to let me buy things like this for them. I did a considerable amount of research for cameras under $50 from notable/trustworthy sources. After finding the Wyze Cam v3 to be well-within that price point at $36 per camera (along with the claims of it meeting 2-5 above), I bought one and tested it out once I received it. I was thoroughly surprised with what I got. Each camera comes in a box that's so tiny from the outside that I thought "Oh, there's why it only cost $36… this is a gimmick and actually requires something else to function." I'm glad to say that I was wrong. The only things you need to get it up-and-running are a mobile phone and a WiFi connection. It can stand on its base without needing mounting (if used indoors, for example), or it can be mounted directly to a metal surface (magnet in the base) or to a wooden surface with a screw. Getting the camera set up is incredibly straight-forward once you download the app. All of the instructions are easy to follow. I would recommend, however, that you do the initial setup under indoor lighting as I had significant difficulty trying to get the camera to recognize a QR code on my phone's screen under natural sunlight. Once the camera is registered on your account/with the app, you can unplug it from power and move it around to the final location without having to do the setup again. There is an optional monthly subscription if you'd like to accrue cloud-based uploads of events/activity that occur on camera, but it is not necessary. Each camera has a micro-SD slot for physical storage making the cloud-based service even less of a consideration. The WiFi connectivity is good and fast. My father planned to put a camera inside of a sheet metal barn detached from the house, but I was skeptical that it would work without a WiFi signal extender. After connecting the camera to the account inside the house, he moved it to the intended location (about 65-75 feet from the WiFi router and through a standard wooden wall and a sheet metal wall). There were no issues at this distance with these obstructions. Of note, the route does utilize WiFi6, so I'm unsure how much of an affect this would have over a "standard" WiFi signal. The cameras appear to be purpose-built for outdoor usage with no discernable areas for moisture to get it (save a speaker at the bottom of the device). The camera itself has a small cord with a female micro-USB shrouded in a rubberized material. Using the supplied standard male micro-USB cable (for connecting it to power) creates a seal with the rubberized collar that I would feel confident is truly water-proof under standard conditions. The power plug itself is NOT water-resistance in any fashion and must be utilized indoors or away from any potential rain or water sources. These cameras aren't super-detailed due to being only 1080p resolution, but that kind of goes with the price point. With this in mind, I (and my parents) are still very impressed with the sharpness that they're getting compared to their old system that was only 720p. My biggest gripe with these cameras is actually a shortcoming with a function within the app. Specifically, the app touts an ability to set an activity zone. Oddly enough, I was surprised to even see the function when I was looking around in the settings. This is a base feature and doesn't require a subscription to use. The problem is that it doesn't work at all when set. Further reading led me to believe that this is a bug in the software that Wyze is aware of but still has yet to resolve. There are several funDontDoIt

Nice inexpensive pack of 2 cameras. The wyze v3 cams are advertised as outdoors, but they still need to be plugged into an electrical outlet with an included power adapter. While the camera is rated for outdoor use, the power adapter is not. The cameras themselves are rated for outdoors because of its IP rating for being able to withstand water splashes, rain, etc. Depending on where outdoors you might be putting this, you may be better off with a wireless battery model (those however need to be recharged from time to time). More on this further on in review. The cameras themselves are very small, and about the size of my fingers. Super discreet and tiny, which is a good thing unless you are visually trying to deter someone. You can adjust the camera off its base up and down and side to side. The base of the camera is where you can wall mount the camera with a screw if you want, however I love that there is a magnet on the base of it too so you can mount it on something metal without needing to drill a hole. It also comes with a metal plate with adhesive backing so you can stick it up somewhere that isn’t metallic too. Camera has an SD card slot so you can actually continuously record video to it, without having to pay for a subscription. It can also just record motion events that it detects to the SD card. Downside of this is that if a thief sees the camera, they can just take the entire camera with them. Viewing the footage is done through the Wyze app on your phone, playing back directly from the SD card in the camera. Wyze app is pretty well thought out, and offers recording options, viewing options, 2 way conversation functionality, motion sensitivity control and much more. Camera has a built-in alarm, but it is not very loud. Camera video looks great either in day or night. Night vision works really well. I was surprised how well the picture quality was in the dark. While the camera works without any kind of paid subscription with an SD card, you can sign up for a wyze Cam Plus subscription trial for added features and cloud storage for a very inexpensive price compared to competing camera brands. My only gripe is that I wish that they were wireless. Had they been wireless they would have been perfect for outdoor use in virtually any scenario within reach of my router. As it is in my living situation, I don’t have an outdoor outlet close enough to where I want the camera that would keep the power brick safe from possible rain/snow, or even a potential thief just yanking out the cable. Overall, for the money these are a great set of very small and discreet cameras for most consumers. Just think about where those cameras will be installed as they are wired power cameras.blah

Having cameras around your property is always a good deterrent for thieves and is also just a great way to keep an eye on your property when away. I had 4 Wyze v2 cameras hooked up when the offer to test the Wyze v3 came to me. This review will be pretty short and sweet as most people are now familiar with Wyze cameras and how they operate, but I’ll try to detail the standout features of the cameras and the Wyze services that are offered. Overall impressions will be up first, followed by a breakdown of my experience with the cameras. Overall impressions: Wyze is still a leader in the budget home security and automation market. The Wyze v3 cams offer great performance in any lighting condition, fantastic basic features, and an sd card slot for local recording. The Wyze app has improved over the years and holds it’s own now with other video monitoring apps out there. Unfortunately, a lot of advanced functionality is behind a paywall, but I have found that most people will find the free Wyze cloud service to be enough for their needs and if you pair the camera with an sd card you can get around some of the limitations by recording continuously on the camera itself. Wyze has always been a leader in the value market for home security and automation, this doesn’t change with the Wyze v3 cameras. They retail at a very affordable price and come in multi-packs like the white ones I received. The marked improvements over the v2 cameras are weather resistance and color night vision. The build quality of the v3 cameras is much better than the v2 and the camera looks and feels like a much nicer product than the previous iterations. You’ll receive everything you need to install your Wyze v3 in the box and should be able to mount the camera just about anywhere that a power source is available. I have my cameras set up on the eve of my garage and on the outside of the house in the backyard area. These two areas are exposed to weather constantly and the v2 cameras took a beating in these spots. Those old cameras came down with yellowed plastic and dirt-filled SD card slots, but they still worked. These v3 cameras come with a cover for the sd card slot which should eliminate one of those issues, but only time will tell how well they hold up to the elements. Installing the cameras was as easy as mounting them on my existing magnetic mounts from my v2 cameras. If you’re installing these for the first time, it’s really as easy as mounting the magnetic mount with the included double-sided tape and attaching the camera to it. I’ve had no issues with the cameras falling or even shifting due to weather or wind using these magnetic mounts. If you want something more sturdy, screw mounting is also available. Setting up the cameras is also easy with the Wyze app. It’s a matter of scanning a QR code and following the setup procedures. A firmware update will most likely be needed, but after that, the camera shows up in your Wyze app and you can adjust settings, detection zones, alerts, notifications, and other settings like night vision. You also receive a free trial of the Cam Plus service that does allow you to add enhanced recording and other features to the camera like AI detection of persons, vehicles, etc. The service offerings by Wyze at the moment are a little confusing and a little expensive in my opinion. They are offering services on a per-camera basis, which is fine if you only have one or two cameras, but in my situation, I have 6 cameras and the cost is just a bit higher than I’m willing to pay. I do not use any of the enhanced services and have purchased sd cards for all the cameras so that I can locally record continuous footage in case I need to review something that doesn’t fit in the recording windows that the free service provides. Mind you, the services offered by Wyze will most definitely be helpful and utilized by many people, but they just do not offer enough to justify the price for me personally. I commend Wyze for giving us the option to add an sd card to be able to store continuous recordings though as some cameras, especially in this price range, do not have this feature. Well-lit areas will see the camera excel with the camera’s higher frame rate and crisper video quality, the v3 exceeds Wyze’s older offerings in every category. The Wyze v3 performs like a camera twice as expensive and I don’t think anyone will be disappointed with how it functions. Sure there isn’t any fancy zoom feature, it can’t rotate by itself and it doesn’t have a laser that shocks intruders, but it does have a siren now and records video in the direction you point it at. Detection settings are all adjustable within the app and work well to minimize notifications in areas that you don’t care about. The night vision is much improved on the v3, allowing for color night vision in certain scenarios. I like to leave all the night vision settings on “auto” as the setting seems to work quite well for me. The 2 cameras I have situated outsideKMed

Purchased this for my phone along with a ton of cameras. We live outside of the village so there isn’t too much action. It’s helpful when I receive Amazon, FedEx, or UPS delivers. The drivers love to ring and say hello to us and let us know our packages arrive. It’s also helpful because there has been car jackings in the past and some burglaries around the area so we are able to make sure our home is safe. Love the Ring system and love how we are able to look at our phones to see the action around our home. The setting where you can alarm your home while you are away for a long period of time is my absolute favorite.chelsea.b

Plus: A pretty complete system! Everything, with the exception of the door/window contacts was super-easy to setup. The motion detectors do a great job and, once properly setup, the contacts do what they're supposed to do. Cons: Had a heckuva time getting all 3 contacts setup properly. Kept getting some silly error codes on two of them. 3rd one was just fine. I was finally able to completely eliminate the two problem contact modules, default them to OEM and start over. A bit of "nudging" but, got them working and have had no issues since. Bottom line: Yes, I would recommend this system! I also have the Ring doorbell and 2 additional cameras outside. Everything ties back into the phone ap. Well done!joh_miliu

Was in the market looking for a user friendly Alarm kit that was within my budget, easy to install and operate and provide the same protection that we currently have with our hard wired alarm. The RING Alarm was the perfect choice to get. The price was reasonable, the unit was expandable, up-gradable, portable (if you decide to move) and the optional monitoring service cost was lower than our current alarm service. The devices in kit were not 'cheap' feeling and getting them set up to our wifi was a breeze. Since the unit was expandable, I could add additional window and door sensors, keypads,motion detectors and even a smoke alarm if I decided to. The best part of this whole kit is the fact that the base unit notifies you directly (if not monitored) for any alarm activity. As we already have RING cameras, it was a plus to see all these devices in one dashboard. Will definitely recommend the RING Alarm Kit for anyone looking to secure their homes/apartmentsBoxerDude

Bought this to monitor a front door and works great so far. Had a little trouble setting up notifications on a second phone but the help desk was great. So far so good!!!Heike

No display on keyboard and system does not perform as most alarm systems and 90% of phone help have no clue how systems worksDen

The Wyze Home Monitoring Bundle is a GREAT deal at $60. including 6 months of monitoring. The system is very easy to install and set up. Wyze support is very good if you need them.Alex

Unit came as packaged, delivered on schedule. Never received the coupon to redeem for the monitoring service. Working with Wyze directly, but frustrating that I've got to go through this.Michael

I have had nothing but problems with one of the cameras for this system. I am unable to view live video, it continually reports 'Uh oh, something went wrong, tap to re-try'. When live video does show it only works for about 3 seconds then reports the same Uh oh error. Some days, the camera is completely offline. I have reset it, removed/re-paired it, reboot the hub, nothing has fixed it. The other camera in the set has no issues at all but the other camera is mostly unusable.Steve C.

I spent a lot of time researching outdoor security cameras including all the popular brands. Here's why I finally decided to buy the Lorex 2K WireFree battery operated cameras: 1. One of the few quality webcams with a removable, rechargeable battery. Most competitors have sealed batteries – not eco friendly 2. Wire free, Active deterrence, 2K, Outdoor 3. Solar Panel option 4. Records directly to SD card on Smart Hub 5. Lorex brand, reputation 6. Solid outdoor ready camera build quality 7. Decent Smartphone app 8. Great battery life – With default 1080p settings. Around 85% charge after more than 3 weeks. 9. Regular firmware updates for security vulnerabilities I only took 1 star away since the optional Lorex Solar Panel is rather expensive and the Smart Hub Wi-Fi strength could be better. Overall, very happy with my purchase and Lorex quality.Rajesh S.

Love the motion zones. Sure cuts out the trees and wind chimes motion. I'm having problems getting use to the delay in cameras waking up. Takes a little longer than I expected for a camera to start recording or to view live. But welcome to the world of battery power. You'd think if a camera was plugged into an outlet it would be on all the time or wake up quicker. Nope. Like the motion detection…On a single night (10pm to 5am) with my old Uniden system I'd get 35+ recordings (a lot of BUGS and tree movement on windy nights). I'm lucky to get 5-9 recordings a night with the Lorex – of what I call real events. Night vision has a big delay from the start of a recording till the the lights start lighting up an area.. Overall pleased with the Lorex LSHSC compared to our prior 12 year old system. I will be adding external lighting to suplement the the camera lag in lighting. Real wide angle view. Takes in a lot. Battery life – in a high traffic area on an indoor camera with no outlet nearby we got 10 days before the low battery warning started showing up. Cameras are heavier than I expected. ~1 1/2 pounds. Also, not crazy about the camera mounting system. ie mounting the camera to a wall plate. To get the camera pointed where I want it I have to dismount the camera from the mounting plate to adjust the angle. I invested in some swivel ball joints and they sure make camera positioning simpler.Joe B.