Finally, after about 12 months of owning this, I can post my review on the Wyze Doorbell, the OG as their is another, the Wyze.com. A Ring “wired” video doorbell with a chime is $64.99 (plus required monthly subscription) and Arlo is a whopping $149.00.

What makes Wyze stand out is not only the price, but also on the subscription. The two competitors require a monthly or annual subscription to get the “free” features Wyze gives you. With the Wyze Video Doorbell you get the following included at NO additional monthly cost.

  • Instant Notifications,
  • 12 second recording and 14 day cloud storage with Cam Plus it’s only 1.99 a month with unlimited recording, vehicle, pet and package detection
  • Smart Alerts on you mobile/table or PC/Mac
  • Motion Detection with Live Stream
  • See anywhere outside your own Wi-Fi network

With the Wyze doorbell, you receive instant push notifications when motion is detected at the Wyze Video Doorbell or when physically pushed. You can pull up a live stream of your visitor before responding to decide whether you’d like to ignore a solicitor or answer the delivery driver. With a 3:4 Aspect Ratio and at 1080p Full HD Video, people crisp, clear and taller than they are wide so you see exactly what you would if you opened the door. You’ll also be able to see packages left on the ground beneath your doorbell vs others 16:9 ratio due to the 3:4 ratio.

What’s great is that the Wyze Video Doorbell lights up brightly when motion is detected nearby alerting visitors and would-be porch thieves that they are being recorded the second that light is on. Alerts on your phone are great for the most part so make sure yours are turned on with the Wyze Door Bell. This will make sure you are aware of what’s happening on your front porch. Let’s break it down on the goodies.

What you get in the box

The Installation:

  • The instructions are very well documented and easy to follow (most if not all of the instructions are on the WYZE app under “add device” when you select the doorbell if you want to see for yourself). It’s self guided which makes it a very friendly install.
  • I don’t really have much to say about the install… its what you would expect for a DIY home project. Simple and Easy with video and written instructions.
  • One thing I noticed is that if you ever need to uninstall the unit for whatever reason, it may be a big cumbersome to disconnect from the wall bracket and wedge. I cant really explain it other than their is a clip that holds it in place (on top of some slides to keep it from falling off) and I feel if I ever need to uninstall it, I may break the clip. Hopefully WYZE can provide us (if there isn’t already one) an uninstall video so we don’t break the mounting bracket or the clips.

The Quality:

  • THIS THING IS SMALL, its about the height of a Coke Mini can (if not smaller), and super slim. Double points to WYZE for pulling this off. I’ve seen RING and other products in the past and the doorbells are hideous and massive. Its a total eye sore, but with the WYZE doorbell its not as big. It’s also barely noticeable as it only comes in one color so it blends well with most paint and siding finishes.
  • The unit is well built, doesn’t feel cheaply made. WYZE provides you with all the screws and stuff in the box as needed to get this done.
  • When you approach the WYZE doorbell (regardless of night or day) the WYZE logo lights up to provide some light to the area as to get a good picture of who/what is at the door. The light surprisingly makes a decent difference at night time even though its probably only like 70-150 Lumens (like the V3 light)
  • This doorbell does not have a SD card slot… so all footage is thrown to the cloud. To be honest I prefer this as no one could take the recordings if it had an external SD card.

The Video/Audio

  • Video is 1080p, great quality in my opinion. 4K is just too much for video right now, especially if you don’t have the best internet.
  • Unfortunately, this camera does not have the color night vision (big bummer), when night vision is turned off, the image is quite dark but its still viewable to a certain degree. I want to say this sensor is either a v3 sensor or a v2 sensor with some minor improvements to video quality. The good thing is that the light on the doorbell helps somewhat.
  • VIDEO DELAY: the video delay is maybe 1s to .5s from live feed to the app (in my case, but usage and internet speeds may vary).
  • I tested the audio from the app and to me the doorbell is loud and audible (not that much distortion or muffle).
  • The aspect ratio 3:4 which makes a big difference. I can see all I want and need to see. Full vertical.
  • The wedge WYZE provides you to put the doorbell at an angle is suggested since even though the aspect ratio is 3:4, it still has a large FOV. (worst come to worst, you install with wedge, don’t like it, and can take it off). I personally didn’t think I was going to need it, but I’m glad I did.

The Integration/App/UI and Usage

  • No issues with picture, I mean at all. Super crisp and clear
  • You can pair the chime it comes within the settings of the doorbell under a section called “Extended Devices” and doesn’t look like there is a cap as far as how many chimes you can pair.
  • Detection settings only list “motion detection sensitivity” and is at like 5-6 for the default. (scale of 1-100).
  • Advanced settings allow you to change the night vision mode, white LED light, show WYZE logo, Timestamp watermark, sound, and sync time.
  • You can tie it to schedules and automations for more smart tech control.
  • The layout of the live footage/playback view is different than the rest of the cameras.
  • The camera allows for taking photos on demand (as like other Wyze products) as well as a “record this now” button when you click on it, it starts recording. then you tell it when to stop. When you stop the recording, it asks if you want to save the clip to your device (phone, tablet, or whatever you have the app on).

The Specs:

  • Weighs about 1.7oz
  • Image Sensor is a whooping 2k resolution at 2048×1536
  • Camera has an F2.0 aperture which is pretty good
  • Image Quality is only 1080p and 480p with 8x digital zoom
  • Audio has a built in speaker and microphone with a 2-way audio connection and noise cancelation
  • IR Night light 4x940nm Infrared LED
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n for 2.4GHz (no 5GHz Wi-Fi)
  • Weather Resident IP65 withstanding the elements
  • 120 degree field of view x 88 horizontal
  • App requirements is iOS 14.0 or later and Android 7.0 or later
  • 128-bit encryption which makes it secure

Conclusion

For less than $60 bucks, the

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