r/homesecurity

I am new to camera security systems (previously had an ADT security system with only motion and door/window sensors). From what I understand a POE system is strongly preferable to wifi, but I am still unsure of what a POE system's vulnerabilities are. If a POE system is fed to a NVR that is connected to wifi and/or feeds to a mobile device app does that defeat the purpose of going POE in the first place? Or does it create a vulnerability that I can patch another way? What I want is to be able to access the live and recorded camera feed from a mobile device but I don't want anyone else to be able to access that feed therefore compromising the whole system.

I need recommendations for camera systems that can be set up at a residence, pointed at the street, and can reliably notify me if a certain license plate drives by or if a certain face is seen, day or night. Not trying to do anything illegal, just trying to protect myself from someone

What’s the most secure door bell camera someone without any back ground in tech of any sort can install themselves? I am not about to run networking cable to my front door just so I can tell a sales person to scram without having to go down a flight of stairs. It is beyond my capabilities to set up a VPN or POE or whatever I see you guys talking about on this subreddit. I don’t even know what those are. I’m not even really interested in security. It’s like I said. I just don’t want to make an effort to open my door if it’s someone here to sell me a cell phone plan, or a religion, or hell, once someone from the actual Marines came looking for my 21 yr old son trying to get him to sign up because his cousin recommended him. For the record, no, my son is not interested in joining the military and never has been. He’s in college full time.

I want something simple, without relying on a cloud subscription that I would need to keep paying for. Bonus if law enforcement actually has to get a warrant before accessing the video the camera takes, just because of the principle of the matter. I understand this rules out Blink and Ring. Is Tapo decent enough for this? Any other suggestions? I have a working, wired, door bell currently, and I can at least handle switching off the breaker to wire in a new one. It’s the whole creating a secure network for it part you guys talk about that I know I can’t do. Or, I think I can’t do, because I know nothing about it.

If anyone wants to explain the process of setting up something like Reolink, or Ubiwhateverthenameis like I’m Steve Rodgers who just came out of the ice after 50 yrs, maybe I’ll give it a shot. Otherwise, please, just a simple door bell camera that stores the video locally, rather than in the cloud?

I’m looking to supplement my home security cameras around the exterior of my home. My current system works on WiFi and wireless cameras. The thing is with my current cameras is that they have a lag when they first detect motion and start recording. It often misses events (or the bulk of the event) like deliveries at the door and people walking up my small driveway. If someone intentionally was to bolt up my driveway, it might miss the whole thing and wouldn’t offer any good information.

I’m looking for a simple security camera to supplement my system. Ideally I would like it to record all the time but doesn’t necessarily need to send me notifications based on motion. It can be plugged into the wall and point out the window down my driveway or other areas of concern so that it does necessarily need to be outdoor rated. The ability to review video is crucial if it’s need. Ideally no subscription or a small fee per camera is acceptable. At least look to catch a porch pirate in the act if I need to review footage.

Anybody have any recommendations?

I’m planning to put an outdoor camera near the side of the house, but the walkway I want it to cover starts around 20–30 ft away. My main concern is the camera not picking someone up until they’re already pretty close, so the recording only catches the last part of them walking up.

What kind of detection distance should I be looking for at that range?

I got 3 HON cabinets I’m going to keep in my car port at my house. The home is surrounded by a metal chain link fence with a large moving gate, so they are pretty easily visible. I’m not going to keep anything nice or expensive in them; mainly extra coolant, oil, grease, etc.

I live in a pretty safe area, so I’m not overly concerned. The cabinets are 72” tall with “french doors” and locking handles on each door. If you’re curious, they are HON SC2472 in beige; i just ordered new keys for the handles. I just want some sort of security that’s more blatant without becoming tempting, if that makes sense.

I know this is silly and maybe stupid of me, but having an extra lock or something on there will make me feel better

I really want a home security system. ADT came over and quoted my $3500, then it went down to $2700, then $2100, plus $85 a month for like three years. I about fell out of my chair. We live in a small house, less that 1500 sq ft. I had no idea they were so expensive. I cannot wrap my head around this amount of money. I also cannot find an alternative. We need help putting in our system. We're not going to DIY it. I saw Vivint has a promotion. If all the providers are terrible, what is a person to do?

We recently bought a house and upon settling the Dorani NVR box was dead, it was working during all prior inspections. Annoying because there wasn’t a monitor to test the security system at the time but whatever. Given there are 3 Dorani DORIP4-BLACK cameras already, we bought a replacement Dorani NVR box after speaking to their support. Now we’ve plugged the cameras in via PoE, there is an incorrect username & password error for all of them.

Dorani is saying we need to get them out to have a look but if the camera’s firmware hasn’t been updated in a few years, it may not be possible and may need to replace the cameras

Any recommendations on resetting the cameras or how to get the system working? Don’t have the spare change to justify a new system (particularly after getting a new NVR) or paying for Dorani to come out. When we asked for the CCTV passwords at settlement, the vendors just gave us the Dorani support email.

Any help would be appreciated!

I’m currently looking for a doorbell camera for my apartment (i’m in the USA!!)

I’ve looked and Eufy and Tapo so far, both seem good but they do have their pros and cons based on reviews.

My requirements for the camera:
\- must have no monthly subscription but I can still access all the important features.
\- preferably battery operated, but wired is fine too
\- can detect people and packages
\- has a good connection for live feed, fast and reliable notifications
\- must be able to use and have a good connection to check on the camera when we’re not home
\- I can go in and delete any saved footage in order to free up storage

I really want one that has no monthly fee because I just simply can’t afford that right now!

Thank you in advance!

TL;DR: Blink Outdoor motion detection has been limited to about 4–5 meters (13–16 ft) in my testing, across two different models and at maximum sensitivity. Someone can enter my property and walk past the camera without triggering an alert. Support hasn’t been able to help, and one of the wall mounts broke during normal handling.

I bought a Blink system to secure my small house in a city center: gate entrance, garden, and front door.

I had what seemed like an ideal location for the camera, with a completely unobstructed line of sight to the gate, about 7–8 meters (23–26 ft) away.

Unfortunately, my Blink Outdoor 4 never detected people reliably at that distance.

Even with sensitivity set to maximum, detection only became reliable when someone was around 4–5 meters (13–16 ft) from the camera. That’s surprisingly close for an outdoor security camera, especially considering Blink recommends mounting it around 3 meters high.

In practice, someone could enter through my gate and simply walk past the camera without ever triggering it. For a security camera, that’s a pretty fundamental problem.

I initially thought I simply had the wrong camera for my needs, so I was ready to return it. Then Blink released its newer 2K model. I bought one during a sale, hoping the newer hardware would solve the problem.

Unfortunately, it was actually worse.

I tested it several times and measured the distances. Even at maximum sensitivity (9/9), it would frequently fail to detect someone beyond approximately 4 meters (13 ft), despite having a direct and unobstructed view.

At that point, I contacted Blink support.

The EU support experience (it's bad)

I first tried the chat. I spent more than an hour troubleshooting with them.

During the conversation, the agent asked me to perform some tests. While I was doing them, the chat disconnected me after roughly five minutes of inactivity.

When I came back, support told me they couldn’t reconnect me with the previous agent. I therefore had to explain the problem again to another person, who then asked me to repeat some of the troubleshooting I had already done.

I eventually tried phone support instead. Unfortunately, they didn’t appear to have access to the troubleshooting from my previous interaction either, so I had to explain the whole situation again.

Both phone agents were polite, but the troubleshooting felt extremely scripted. They repeatedly went through the same standard steps even when those steps didn’t address the problem I was describing.

For context, I’m in France, so this may be specific to the European support experience.

Returning the cameras was another surprise (I couldn't)

I bought them through Amazon and expected to simply return the cameras.

However, because Blink provides manufacturer technical support, Amazon directed me through the technical support process rather than immediately allowing the return. Apparently, poor detection performance wasn’t sufficient on its own to bypass that process.

I then asked Blink whether they could arrange a refund themselves. They couldn’t.

To make matters worse, during the troubleshooting process, the plastic wall mount on one of the cameras broke during normal handling. The plastic seems surprisingly fragile.

So after testing two generations of Blink cameras, my experience is:

• Human/motion detection has only been reliable at roughly 4–5 m (13–16 ft), despite an unobstructed view and maximum sensitivity.
• The newer 2K camera did not improve detection distance in my testing.
• €10/month (~$11/month) feels expensive considering how basic the cloud service is.
• The chat support system made me restart troubleshooting after disconnecting me.
• Phone support was polite but very scripted and didn’t seem to have any context from my previous support interaction.
• Returning the product through Amazon has been considerably more complicated than I expected.
• One of the plastic mounting components broke during normal handling. I now need a replacement mount that costs almost as much as I paid for the camera.

The detection issue is the deal-breaker for me. Someone being able to enter my property, walk through the camera’s field of view and potentially get past it without ever triggering an alert defeats the main reason I bought a security camera in the first place.

I don’t just want footage after something happens. I want to know immediately when someone enters my property, get a push notification, open the live feed, see who is there and, if necessary, react.

I’m now looking for alternatives. My priorities are reliable human detection at a reasonable distance, fast push notifications, and being able to quickly open a live feed from my phone.

If anyone has real-world experience with another system for this specific use case, I’d be very interested to hear about it.

My setup / things I've tried

• Blink Outdoor 4 (first gen, firmware 13,96)
• Blink Outdoor 4 2k (firmware 23,26)
• Video Doorbell (first gen)
• $11 / m subscription
• network strength good (4/5)
• connection to sync module (4/4)
• walking from left to right (right to left) at a measured distance of 6-7 meters did not active neither Blink Outdoor 4 or Blink Outdoor 4 2k at 9/9 sensibility.
• cameras were tested at 6 meters high (second floor) at around 30-40°, 3 meters high (first floor 15-25°) and closer to ground (around 1m, 0°) without any change in detection.
• tests were conduction in the middle of the day (3-4pm) during a cloudy day
• no direct sunlight or reflexion
• mid vegetation were visible (garden)

Note: I'm not a native english speaker so this post was corrected by Claude but it was written by me (a human, as far as I can tell).

Hi Redditors,

 

Hoping you can help me with some advice. I’m a single mom with an abusive ex-husband, and wanted to know what the best type of surveillance for my home would be. I have young children and want something that is easy to install, simple to use, and not too expensive. I don’t believe my ex-husband will necessarily break in, but he has been involved with shady people in the past (and may still be), and I need to install cameras at least above the front door and the back sliding door so that they serve as deterrents. I also need to make sure that my driveway can be seen, as he has taken off in my vehicle in the past (the police are aware of this). My main concerns are driveway visibility, front door visibility, and back door visibility. I’d also like something that alerts me on my phone if someone breaks in. I am also thinking that I should have a light or two installed which are motion-activated as a deterrent, though perhaps I should also have them installed at the back. I have friends who have Aosu cameras throughout their condo (different setup, I know), and I’ve seen how they monitor their feed on their phones. I don’t need cameras inside, but would feel much safer with them outside.

Any suggestions on:

 

-          Additional safety measures I can take?

-          Links to a good system that is not very expensive?

Thanks so much.

Costco? Sams club? Amazon? We live in a pretty good place but nowhere is perfect. Just got a video recording from a neighbor about some new neighbors kid stealing off their porch, arrested, and he has been throwing trash everywhere outside our house and others. I dont need high tech indoor outdoor, but would prefer plug and play for a good deal. Thanks!

I've been shopping for outdoor cameras and there seem to be a proliferation of dual lens cameras right now claiming to be 4K.

I have some single lens 4K cameras with 170° FOV that are exceptional both in clarity and night vision from Amcrest. The reviews of 4K dual lens are consistently complaining that resolution isn't very good or that they can see the gap/overlap between the cameras when something is moving across the FOV.

I'd just get another one like I have but it is PoE without wifi and I need this in a remote location with power and no wired network. (I know I can inject PoE and bridge wifi, but I don't want my garden shed to need a network closet for all that gear).

I'm not sure I want a very wide aspect ratio in the first place because in my application it would either monitor areas I'm not concerned about or redundantly cover zones of other cameras or even just look at a wall, but in any case, are these really just two 2K cameras being sold as 4K?

Vertical resolution matters, so 4K that's double wide and half as tall is not going to give you the same clarity as a single 4K image.