Imilab Smart Wireless Video Doorbell Review - PCMag

Video doorbells tin assistance you debar undesirable oregon perchance unsafe situations astatine your beforehand doorway by letting you spot who's determination from a harmless spot. That's the main crushed to see the battery-powered Imilab Smart Wireless Video Doorbell ($189.99), which installs successful minutes and tin prevention crisp HD video to either section oregon unreality storage. Support for Alexa and Google Assistant dependable commands adds immoderate value, but it remains a spot pricey for the features it provides, and the required plug-in hub (included) makes it a spot little seamless than competitors. Our Editors’ Choice winner, the $93.99 Wyze Video Doorbell Pro, offers much capabilities and tons of third-party integration options for fractional the price.

Bulky and Requires a Hub

This two-piece strategy includes a doorbell portion and a hub that connects it to your Wi-Fi network. You get consecutive and angled mounting plates, a micro USB charging cable, and a idiosyncratic usher successful the box.

At 5.6 by 2.4 by 1.3 inches (HWD), the doorbell constituent is 1 of the bulkiest models we’ve tested. For comparison, the Ring Video Doorbell 4 (5.1 by 2.4 by 1.1 inches) is simply a spot shorter, and the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro (5.5 by 1.8 by 1.1 inches) is noticeably slimmer. The Imilab exemplary has an IP66 upwind absorption rating and runs connected a rechargeable artillery that should past up to six months betwixt charges with mean use.

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The doorbell's matte achromatic enclosure houses a glossy achromatic camera unit. The 4MP camera has a maximum video solution of 2,560 by 1,440 pixels (which Imilab bills arsenic 2.5K video) and a 150-degree tract of view.

On the front, there's a circular telephone fastener with an LED ring, a airy sensor, a passive infrared (PIR) question sensor, and a microphone. The LED ringing blinks bluish erstwhile idiosyncratic presses it, oregon flashes orangish erstwhile it detects motion. A pulsing greenish LED indicates that the artillery is charging, portion a coagulated greenish colour means the artillery is full. There’s a talker connected the bottom, and the backmost includes a micro USB charging larboard (outdated, not USB-C) and a Sync button.

The hub plugs into an interior partition outlet and measures 4.1 by 2.2 by 1.3 inches (HWD). It has 2 adjustable Wi-Fi antennas, 1 connected either side. The beforehand of the hub has a talker (for doorbell chimes) and a tiny LED indicator that blinks bluish erstwhile the hub is trying to link to the network, glows coagulated bluish erstwhile the transportation is active, blinks orangish erstwhile the doorbell and hub are pairing, and is coagulated orangish during a firmware update. There’s a Reset fastener connected the apical and a microSD slot (supports cards up to 256GB) connected the close broadside for redeeming recordings locally. Under the hood is simply a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi vigor that connects the hub to your network.

The doorbell records video erstwhile idiosyncratic presses its fastener oregon erstwhile it detects motion. If you don't privation to grounds locally to a microSD card, unreality retention is different option. The company's $1.99-per-month (or $19.99-per-year) program gives you 7 days of video history, portion the $3.99-per-month (or $39.99-per-year) enactment unlocks 30 days of video history.

This doorbell does not enactment Apple HomeKit oregon IFTTT applets, which means it can't link with galore third-party smart location devices. However, it does enactment with Alexa and Google Assistant dependable commands and routines.

Imilab App Experience

The doorbell uses the Imilab mobile app that's disposable for Android and iOS devices. It appears connected the location surface successful a sheet that displays its sanction and a inactive representation of its past capture. Tap the play arrow successful the halfway of the representation to presumption a unrecorded watercourse with buttons for muting the sound, switching to a scenery (full-screen) mode, and stopping the unrecorded stream. For much controls, pat the bladed sheet underneath the stream. Here, you tin prime the video prime (2.5K oregon SD), dependable a siren, initiate two-way talk, instrumentality a snapshot, and manually grounds a video clip.

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Tap the Events fastener connected the bottommost of the surface to spot thumbnails of lawsuit recordings, which you tin past play, download, oregon delete. To entree the doorbell’s settings, pat the cogwheel icon successful the precocious close corner. Here, you tin cheque the doorbell’s artillery life, configure a low-battery notification, prime a ringtone, set the ringtone volume, and alteration nighttime imaginativeness settings. There’s besides a Wide Dynamic Range mounting that helps heighten contrast. Other options let you to configure motion-detection sensitivity, question zones, and question notifications; presumption recordings from the SD card; trial the hub’s Wi-Fi signal; edit the instrumentality name; and update the firmware.

Simple to Set Up

Installing the Imilab doorbell was painless. I started by downloading the app and creating an account. Then, I tapped Add Device connected the location screen. I selected Video Doorbell from the database and utilized my phone’s camera to scan the QR codification connected the backmost of the doorbell. I plugged successful the hub, confirmed that the LED was blinking blue, and pressed the Sync fastener connected the backmost of the doorbell. After I pressed the doorbell fastener to verify that the hub rang and entered my Wi-Fi credentials, the hub took conscionable a fewer seconds to link to my web and brace with the doorbell.

Next, I charged the doorbell for astir 5 hours and utilized the included mounting screws to connect the mounting sheet to the extracurricular of my house. I snapped the doorbell onto the mounting sheet to implicit the installation.

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The instrumentality performed good successful testing. Daytime video shows bully colour prime and crisp representation detail, portion black-and-white nighttime video looks sufficiently agleam and contrasty. Doorbell property and question alerts arrived instantly, and the question sensor did a bully occupation of identifying people.

At first, I was incapable to get the doorbell to watercourse video to Amazon Echo Show and Google Home Hub displays, but a speedy firmware update resolved the issue. The doorbell had nary occupation pursuing an Alexa regular I created for a Wyze Bulb to crook connected erstwhile idiosyncratic presses the doorbell button.

Pricey for the Features

If you’re successful the marketplace for a astute doorbell that does not necessitate wiring and is casual to install, the Imilab Smart Wireless Video Doorbell fits the bill. We similar that it delivers crisp 2.5K video and punctual alerts successful testing, but we expected amended third-party integration enactment and built-in Wi-Fi for the price. If a wireless installation is simply a must, the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro is simply a overmuch amended prime and our reigning Editors’ Choice victor for astute doorbells. It records elaborate HD video, has dual-band Wi-Fi, and works with IFTTT applets.