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Buying guide 5 min read

Choosing a video doorbell: battery or wired, subscription or local storage

You choose a video doorbell by power and storage: does it fit your doorbell wiring, and where do the recordings go? Here is how the brands compare, and what privacy rules ask.

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Short answer: You choose a video doorbell on two questions: can it run on your existing doorbell wiring (wired) or does it need a battery, and where do the recordings go (to the cloud with a subscription, or locally on a memory card or base station). If you already have a doorbell with a transformer, a wired doorbell saves recharging; if you want no monthly fees, choose a model with local storage.

The details below come from the makers Ring, Eufy, Reolink, Google Nest and EZVIZ, and from the rules of the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) as summarised by NOS and AVROTROS Radar. Domotto tests nothing itself. Leave work on the doorbell transformer or the fuse box to someone qualified.

Battery or wired

Wired. A wired video doorbell uses the wires and transformer of your existing doorbell. It never needs recharging; with some brands only a wired doorbell can record continuously. Mind the voltage: Ring gives a doorbell transformer of 8 to 24 volts AC for the Video Doorbell Wired and 16 to 24 volts AC for the Wired Video Doorbell Pro. If your transformer delivers less, Ring also makes its own DIN rail transformer for the fuse box. Each model's installation requirements say so.

Battery. A battery doorbell can go anywhere, also where there is no doorbell wiring. You recharge the battery now and then; how often depends on how much happens at your door and on the settings. Many battery models can also run on doorbell wiring: Ring states this for the Battery Video Doorbell Pro, at 8 to 24 volts AC, and Eufy for the E340, which runs on its battery or on existing wiring.

On a battery or doorbell wiring

Subscription or local storage

This is where brands differ most.

  • Ring: without a plan you get alerts, live view and two-way talk, Ring says. Saving and watching back recordings needs a Ring Protect plan.
  • Google Nest: for the battery Nest Doorbell, Google gives three hours of free event history; longer is available with a Google subscription (Google Home Premium, formerly Nest Aware). The battery model cannot record continuously, according to Google.
  • Eufy: Eufy names local storage without monthly fees for the S330 and the E340. Some Eufy doorbells work with a HomeBase, an indoor base station that keeps the recordings. The name then says so, as with the Eufy C30 with HomeBase 3 or the Eufy S220 ("HomeBase required").
  • Reolink: Reolink names local storage on a microSD card (sold separately) or a recorder (NVR) for its doorbells, without monthly fees. Reolink names continuous recording for the wired Video Doorbell WiFi.
  • EZVIZ: on the DB2 and the DB2 Pro the microSD slot sits in the indoor wifi chime, according to EZVIZ; cloud storage costs extra.

With local storage

Wifi or PoE

Most video doorbells connect over wifi. If your router is far from the front door, first check the wifi there. Reolink also makes a wired PoE doorbell: it gets power and network over one network cable. Then the doorbell does not depend on wifi, but you must be able to run a network cable to the front door.

Hearing it inside: the chime

A video doorbell sends an alert to your phone, but you also want to hear it in the house. There are three options: your existing bell keeps working (with many wired models), a wireless chime in a wall socket, or both. Ring has the Ring Chime for all Ring doorbells and Reolink the Reolink Chime. Many sets include the chime, such as the Eufy E340 with Chime and the TP-Link D235 with Chime. EZVIZ says the DB2 Pro works with 16 and 24 volt chimes.

Sets with a chime, and separate chimes

Picture: head to toe

With a doorbell, not only the resolution counts but also the shape of the picture. Some models have a tall picture instead of widescreen, so you see both the courier's face and the parcel on the doorstep. Reolink calls a 1:1 or 3:4 aspect ratio "head to toe", as on the Reolink Video Doorbell Gen 2 with 1:1; Ring calls the Battery Video Doorbell Plus "head to toe view". The Eufy E340 has two cameras according to its name, one of them for parcels on the ground. Also look at person and parcel detection, so you don't get an alert for every passer-by.

Privacy: what may you film?

A video doorbell soon films part of the pavement or street. According to the Dutch Data Protection Authority, as NOS and AVROTROS Radar summarise its rules, you may use a camera or video doorbell to protect your own home, but in principle you may not film the public road or your neighbours. If your front door opens straight onto the pavement, limit the picture as much as possible, for example with privacy zones in the app. The authority also advises telling visitors they are being filmed, with a sticker. Read the authority's current explanation before you set up the doorbell. Outside the Netherlands, check your own country's rules.

All doorbells and locks are under smart locks and doorbells. For a camera indoors there is the guide Choosing an indoor camera.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a subscription for a video doorbell?

That depends on the brand. With Ring, recordings and history are only available with Ring Protect; Eufy and Reolink name local storage without monthly fees.

Will a video doorbell work on my old doorbell transformer?

Check your transformer's voltage against the doorbell's requirements. Ring names 8 to 24 volts for the Video Doorbell Wired and 16 to 24 volts for the Wired Video Doorbell Pro.

Can I connect a battery video doorbell to the doorbell wiring?

With many models, yes. Ring states this for the Battery Video Doorbell Pro and Eufy for the E340.

May my doorbell camera film the street?

In the Netherlands, in principle not, according to the Data Protection Authority. Limit the picture to your own property, for example with privacy zones.

Keep looking

Domotto doesn’t test devices itself. This guide sets out what manufacturers state.

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