After a few looking sketchy characters showed up on my porch with what I hypothesized were bad intentions, I looked into security options. This camera fit the bill and had pretty good reviews. Install was extremely easy. I ran the power cable through the attic crawl space (had to use an extension as well) and then installed this camera right above my door. It uses a magnet (held on by a screw to the wall) to keep the unit actually attached to the wall. My first thought was: This could be relatively easy to rip off the wall. So, I made sure to wrap the attached power cable (it does NOT unnattach from the unit BTW) around a rafter to attempt to deter that. But, that was never an issue. The picture is good but don’t be expecting to be able to read license plates from the road. In your driveway, maybe, but the distance is not anything more than should be expected of a camera of this size. Connection to Wi-Fi was easy and I was up and running in less than 15 minutes after the install which took me probably about 45 minutes (longest part was running cable through crawl space and fishing it through the siding). Keep in mind a part of the power cable is roughly 3/4 inch wide, so that is something that needs to be accounted for when doing your install (as it CANNOT be detached or at least could not on my version). But, this was not a show stopper for me. Once installed, I was happy with the picture. Night vision is surprisingly good as well (close range). You will be able to make out a face if they get close enough to the area you have selected to overwatch. The app is very user friendly and allows you to attach and link other cameras, however, the montly price goes up the more cameras you add. But, the subscription service is a must have as it keeps 10 days of recorded material on the nest “cloud”. I paired with one indoor camera as well. (Of note, I hung some decoy cameras and also put up some Brink’s Home Security for additional deterrence). The notifications that the cameras send you can get old but it does differentiate between “motion” and “person”. Expect to get a notice everytime a car drives by or a bug crawls in front of the lens. But, this was not an issue for me. Also, the noticed stop when the app smartly detects that you are “home” once you link the app to your location. I used this product for over a year and the only time the camera quit working was when my internet or power went down. (That is the only draw back – no internet: no access to the camera from your smart phone which is the biggest plus of this product)WAYS TO IMPROVE: There needs to be an option that if a “person” is detected during late night hours (ex. When you are sleeping) that you can set the app to wake you up. I know this was one of the things I wished that app had.Also, removable storage in the camera that keeps recording when the internet is down so that it can be removed and viewed at a later time (with maybe up to a week of storage?) not sure how feasible this is since there is probably limited space.Overall: highly recommended for peace of mind. Durable. Easy to install and de-install.Note: I did not use this product in the extreme cold. Also, the spot I mounted it left it covered from rain/snow. It did survive Georgia heat with no issues though (do not mount in an area that is exposed to direct sunlight). Hope this helps!

I’ve been on this DIY home video journey for about several years. It started about 2 years ago with my purchase of Ring. It’s motion detection was lousy. A UPS guy would deliver a package to my front door and Ring would start recording when he was 4/5ths down my driveway. This journey actually seems much longer because this has been a very frustrating journey. After Ring, I paused in my search for a better video system because I was waiting for Ring to get better. But my recent search for a system started about 6 months ago when my neighbor across the street noticed that a guy was lurking in front of my house and approaching my front door and wandering around the side of my house into the backyard. This was at 11:30pm and I was sound asleep in bed. My neighbor called me (I didn’t answer because I was asleep) and then called the police. No break-in or damage but it spooked me enough to begin investigating a video system. I wasn’t interested in ADT or CPI or any of the large companies that were going to charge me $50/month to monitor my house 24/7. I just wanted to know what was happening outside of my house when either I was asleep or not at home. So I first started with Amcrest. I bought an 8-camera system that needed to be wired for power and internet. My electrician told me that the way my house was built, he could install cameras in the back of the house but not the front. The cost for wiring a system in the back and a totally separate system in the front was $1600 (Just for the installation!). I passed on that. He said I needed to look into a WiFi system, which then led me to ARLO Pro, which has rechargeable batteries (cool) that last about a month or two (depending upon how often the motion detector goes off), and it was connected via WiFi. I’ve used the ARLO system for about 3 months. The thing that I like most about ARLO is that you can position these cameras anywhere since they don’t require a power cord to plug in and they connect to WiFi, and it was a very user-friendly interface (which Amcrest was not. Amcrest is really for IT guys and not for the lay DIY person who just wants the thing to work). The thing that makes me crazy about the ARLO system is that the cameras only turn on when they detect motion and by the time they detect motion, the activity has almost left the visible screen. There were also times when I would pull into the driveway, walk into my garage and a camera that is pointing AT the house would not turn on. But if a leaf blew in front of the camera then it would turn on. There were a hundred false alarms per day as something tripped the motion sensor but when actual people (like a UPS driver) would walk up my driveway, put a package on the ground and walk away – the motion sensor would pick him up AT the door and as he was walking away. ARLO picked up a LOT of false motion and failed to pick up or was slow on real motion. That kind of stuff made me bat shit crazy. I worked with ARLO’s discussion board to try to fix the issues (Ghosting; Pixilation; and slow detection times) but the product is what it is at this stage. So I went searching for a system that would give me 24/7 video, would have high-quality cameras (1080p), night vision, audio, microphone and look nice. I had heard about Nest but I also didn’t want to pay the monthly/ yearly subscription, but I looking into what the subscription meant (what features were available) and thought I’d give it a try. The purchase comes with a free trial period, so I thought maybe the 3rd time is a charm. And it IS! I only ordered 1 camera because I wanted to test it out and my camera came this morning. I followed the easy installation steps and got it installed and operational within an hour. I have an outdoor outlet in the front of my house and I bracketed the wire down the trim of the house and then plugged it in. (I’ll get an alert if it is unplugged or the wire is cut). At some point in time, I’ll have an electrician come and drill a hole in the exterior so the wire is not exposed, but I’m really happy with the product as it is. I’ve left the house several times and checked my phone to see what was happening while I was away. The phone app is easy to use, the video is really 24/7, the installation was easy (I ran into zero issues getting up and running), and I now get alerts that are meaningful. The Nest Aware actually has algorithms that know when a person is in the frame, rather than a bird flying by. AND, I can scroll through the entire video of the day within minutes, AND download a video clip to my Photos on my phone. I’m so happy with this purchase, I just purchased another one that will arrive tomorrow and I’ll install that one as well in the back. And, as I learned more about the subscription, I’m Ok with the cost. It’s 100/year for the first camera and then $50/year for each additional camera. So for $150/year I can have both the front and back of my house monitored 24/7, and I have use of all the advanced features that come with Nest Aware. I’ll still use my ARLO inside (they do work quite well inside), but the Amcrest cameras will be donated to charity.

I LOVE these cameras. I cannot recommend them enough to friends and family. The picture quality is better than anything that’s out there right now (in this price range) and the recording 24/7 is what really takes the cake.I have a RING Doorbell PRO for the front door, and three of these to cover the other areas. The RING says it’s 1080P, but side-by-side comparison shows that’s it not even close. I’ve even had SWANN 1080P wired cameras to a DVR, and the quality wasn’t this good. Daytime and nighttime.The price for the NEST Aware is a little steep. $10 for the first camera and $5 for every additional for only 10 days of archive. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not that expensive. If you have one camera, that’s the cost of two cups of “designer” coffee. The best feature, which I think is downplayed a lot, is that it records 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most other cloud based cameras (RING Included) does not do this. They only record when it detects motion. If it misses something, it DOES NOT RECORD. The NEST has a very easy app (and website) that you can view and save your clips. The motion settings are also very nice (must be setup in web browser). You can custom draw and color coat the motion zones. For example, my garage door code pad, I had that a separate color. I can quickly look through, and see if anyone tried to use it based off the color of the motion. You could also opt for local storage cameras too, but if you’re worried about theft, guess what’s going to happen to a camera that is storing data local? Get stolen with it. 10 days may not sound like a long time, but if something happens to your house, or something gets stolen, you’re most likely going to notice right away. And if you are worried about extended vacations, then just up your plan to 30 days while you’re gone that month.I’ve also read other people talking about a 1 – 2 second lag with the live video. Unless you have a local hardwired system with a monitor plugged into it, you’re always going to have a lag. Especially if you are not at home viewing over your internet. 1 – 2 seconds is HIGHLY acceptable for 1080P content to stream to your phone, LIVE.The only downside to these is installation. The hole required to fit the cable is almost an inch big. That’s a big hole to drill in the side of the house. I really don’t think anyone at NEST was thinking about that when they decided to use an USB connector for the power. The cord length seems to be sufficient, and the mounting bracket is very easy to use. It’s magnetic, so you mount the part on the house, then it “sticks” to the camera, so you can fine tune the direction. If you have metal anywhere, you don’t even need to mount the bracket, just stick it up there. Also, if you ever (for whatever reason) need to change the wireless network name, the only way to connect them again, is by scanning the QR code on the bottom. Make note of that if you are going to mount these 50 ft in the air…I have three of these cameras, two I have NEST Aware subs on, and one I use for monitoring when I need to. These cameras are great if you just want to stick them up and go, without messing with setting up local storage, running wires everywhere and hoping if someone comes and robs you, they don’t take the computer the data is stored on.

I’ve put off video security for years because I couldn’t make heads or tails out of the complicated systems which require a DVR, hard drive, etc, not to mention having to send cables through the crawl space.This is a game changer! It’s all in one little unit – NO OTHER COMPONENTS NEEDED!Power: Needs to plug this in, however it comes with very long length of cable so it should accommodate most situations. The only issue I could see is if the plug is low enough for an intruder to unplug the unit. Of course they would likely (but not necessarily) be filmed walking up to it, which would trigger an alert – so maybe that’s not a huge issue. A wireless unit however might be very convenient – except when it’s time to change batteries ;)Having an all in one unit like Nest Cam is a life saver – yes, it’s pricier than the DVR kits but you get no muss, no fuss installation and the data is stored to the cloud so no one can simply take the hard drive and make off with evidence. Yes, there is a subscription fee – $100 for one year/ten day monitoring, which I believe means it will save ten consecutive days of data before it records over it. They also have a thirty day option. It’s well worth it.Set up: Easy to get up and running and attach. Can I just say the magnet option is AMAZING! I needed to attach one screw!! The instructions are blessedly super clear and well laid out with text and graphics – thank you! I typically dread setting up new electronics – there are always hiccups and lots of frustration – Not with this one!Coverage: I thought I might need two cameras for the front of my home but the angle of the lens is wide enough that one gets the job done. I may need two for the back as there are some trees that obstruct the view.Picture/audio: crystal clear and audio is very sensitive (also can be turned off).I’m really impressed with the features: alerts if the camera detects a person in view, camera will shut on and off if it detects your phone in/out of the house, you can monitor on your phone or computer, and lots more features.Cons: The upper limit for heat is 104 degrees – as I live in the desert where it can regularly be 110-118 degrees, I’m wondering if I need to bring the camera in or if I can take my chances. I’d hate to cook a $200 camera (or multiple as I plan to get more). I suppose I could bring it in during the day and put it back out at night as it cools off – but what a pain – not to mention not feasible when I go out of town in the summer for a few weeks.I may experiment with setting the camera up indoors near a window – wonder what effect the glass will have on it?I can’t recommend this enough – go for it – it feels so good to have this level of security for just a few hundred dollars!I’m on the fence as to whether to purchase the indoor camera – it’s received some mixed reviews – so going to mull that over for a bit.

Great for the NEST software.We have several cameras so adding this was easy.Here’s the deal though. I went to a box store to buy one that was magnetic and rechargeable, the newer version of this one. Got home and put it up, tried to connect it to my Nest account. Wouldn’t go. Google had them set up to only connect to Google Home, not Nest. We don’t like the setup on Google home as we can’t see all of the cameras on the screen at once. I packaged that up (and btw it isn’t easy to get it all back in the box). The migration to Google isn’t all it is cracked up to be for sure.Ordered this version which is actually an older version, with the hardwire. SO.MUCH.BETTER.It linked so fast and easy to the Nest software, all it took was scanning the QR code on the back of the camera and boom it was done. I had this up and running in less than 15 minutes, hardest part was getting the adjustment for the viewing angle of the front yard.Night vision is great, day vision is great. This is the 5th camera we have installed and if I needed another for our property, I’ll get one of these hands-down. My only concern is that they will stop supporting the Gen 1s, because they are the best and still connect to the Nest software which I fear Google is trying to eliminate by forcing a migration.Absolutely recommend 1st Generation to anyone and everyone.