[Closed] Cctv door bells

Couple of guys at work have ring.com door bells. Not used myself but seen in action and they're pretty awesome. They easily answer their ringing doorbells at work and deal with deliveries, etc.

Nest are bringing one out which promises to be good.

Ring ones are good but not sure if they record when the doorbell isn’t pushed so may be no use in your scenario.

The latest trick is something that knocks everything off your WiFi network. I guess wired should be safer.

Surely those ring.com doorbells are a victim of their own success?

Instantly recognisable (even have brand name on the ringer) meaning a serious perp may still be inclined to give the house a pop?

If you want one the Ring is very cheap at Argos right now. https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ring-doorbell-19-argos-2868821

Don’t want to be a pooper on this but surely someone could approach from the side of it then place some tape over the lens, then ring the bell..

The concept is good, but flawed.

Instantly recognisable (even have brand name on the ringer) meaning a serious perp may still be inclined to give the house a pop?

I thought that too, but then it was pointed out you may be in the house anyway. They can't tell. And given most thieves are cowards and would move on if there's a chance of anyone being in and them being caught, wouldn't take that risk. Same as leaving your lights on, you might have just left your lights on but many won't risk it anyway.

If someone's absolutely determined to burgle YOUR house though, I don't think lights, CCTV doorbells or anything else will deter them. The asian family opposite us have been done twice for their jewellery in targeted attacks despite having all the gizmos. Absolutely targeted, left phones, iPads, etc., and just took what they came for.

We have a Ring doorbell - excellent so far. Not missed a single parcel delivery in the run up to Christmas and great when I’m working in the garden office.

For our house - you can’t get to the doorbell without being seen - so not worried about that. Also as pointed out by others - a thief can’t tell if you are in the house or not.

Not really a security device thought IMHO but more a convenient doorbell.

Thanks nickjb. Great psa. I sent the argos link to Mrs D last night when it was £89. When she said yes this morning I was a little surprised, as its now £19 it all makes sense

The latest trick is something that knocks everything off your WiFi network.

You can buy GPS/Wifi/2G/3G jammers quite cheaply, take out all wireless comms in the immediate vicinity.

was a misprice apparently. But some people paid for express service and picked them up quick. £19 was a bargain!

We've got a Ring doorbell.

You can set it to notify you when it detects motion, or when the doorbell is actually pressed. The range of the detector can be set to suit it's location/your drive/house. It means can access the live view and speak to people on my drive via my mobile.

If you pay £25 per year, all motion detection and doorbell rings are saved to the cloud and can be recalled at will.

I know when my kids are leaving the house if we're out and who's arriving. We never miss deliveries anymore and we have the Chime bell in the house set to 'Dog Barking' so when we're out it sounds like we've got a mental dog locked in the kitchen!

I feel safer for having it and the convenience is worth the money.

Recommended.

I prefer full time CCTV - a well placed camera front and back is usually sufficient to cover even larger gardens, frontage etc.

Then a cctv doorbell for added security / convenience.

Thanks, I managed to pick one up at the wrong price. I hope others got lucky too

nickjb - Member

If you want one the Ring is very cheap at Argos right now. https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ring-doorbell-19-argos-2868821

Are these any good for checking if anyone has parked over the dropped curb outside your house?

If anyone managed to get in on the argos deal and fancys making a profit. Id be interested, been after one of these for a while.

Drop me a PM

Thanks

All gone by the look of the site!

How securely are they fixed? I've always been a bit worried someone will just rip it off/unscrew it and I'll lose a £150 doorbell...?

How do people using them 'never miss a delivery'? I can't say I ever miss a delivery..if I'm out they'll usually leave the parcel in my recycle bin if they're allowed or a neighbour or at the local PO. If I could answer a courier when out I'm not sure how that will change? If a parcel needs a signature on delivery then even with one of these fancy doorbells, they would still need to leave the parcel with a neighbour or the local PO to get a signature.

I had a look at the ring doorbell in john lewis at the weekend and quite fancied one as it's a nice idea. But after checking the reviews on john lewis I won't be buying one. There's a couple of good reviews but the rest are pretty poor.

I “never miss a delivery” since I’m working in the garden office. Doorbell rings (or detects motion) and I tell the delivery person that I’ll be there. Simple really!

I've had the doorbell fitted for a few days and my initial thoughts on this are.

1) easy to set up and install. Well mine was, but the one I bought for the father in law was a real pain. His windows phone app was terrible and then his sky broadband couldn't find the device. I think it needs its band changing. So set up seems hit or miss.

2) picture quality during the day is fantastic.

3) picture quality at night from a distance is good but get too close and your face is just a glowing light and you cannot make out any features.

4) battery life says it lasts a year. Mines using 30% battery a day with minimal use. No one has phoned me yet.

5) doorbell. The door bell rings to my phone straight away but there is a delay between answering it and getting a live feed. Again picture quality and sound a very good.

6) motion detection is slow to record. I think a cat set it off but no sign of the cat.

7) recording. This backs up to their cloud. You get a 28 day free trial. After that it's 30 dollars a year. You cannot change the settings and record to your own cloud so you are tied in. You don't have to have the record feature, you can still use the interaction and live features but I think the whole point of this is recording the thief that stole your car so the police can identify them.

Overall I'd give it 6 out of 10. At £19 I paid for it, very happy but I think at full price there are better options that come with free cloud storage.

Overall I'd give it 6 out of 10. At £19 I paid for it, very happy but I think at full price there are better options that come with free cloud storage.

Which alternatives do you recommend?

battery life says it lasts a year. Mines using 30% battery a day with minimal use

Is the 30% a typo or will the battery only last 3 days? Even if you meant to type 3% a day that's still only going to last a monthish.

No, it's 30%. I've emailed them to ask if I have a faulty battery.

If it's not faulty then I'll have to hard wire it to power.

After 3 of my neighbours have had break ins and the car keys stolen

This sort of car crime is massively on the up, sadly. And certain cars are real thief magnets (e.g Golf R, Audi S3, etc.).

From plenty of anecdotal evidence I've read, a lot of this activity sounds very organised (cars like the Golf R as so discreet and fast they're ideal for committing crimes). This suggests to me the sort of people you're dealing with won't be put off by a CCTV doorbell.

So don't take your car keys to bed with you and assume you won't [url= https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1629890&i=0 ]dominate the stairs[/url] if some ne'er do wells do break in....

I don't think you will put everyone off but the idea is that you make your house more secure than your neighbours, better lighted and covered by cctv so that the thieves go for easier targets and leave you alone.

My car is not fancy, my neighbours cars are more desirable than mine. I don't think it's wise to keep up with the Jones anymore.