The August Home Doorbell Cam Pro is a way to turn your mechanical chime doorbell into a camera that works with an application to provide you with many security and privacy features. I have the second generation, which comes with the security camera, a mounting plate, a wedge bracket, electrical sealing putty, mounting screws and anchors, and a USB charging dock. The August doorbell is meant to replace your house chime doorbell–to mount and use the doorbell you need a surface of 2.9 inches by 2.9 inches, an existing wired doorbell, 12-24VAC wired power, a mechanical doorbell chime, wifi internet connection (802.11 b/g/n/2.4 GHz or 5GHz), a Bluetooth-ready iOS or Android smartphone, and the free August app.
The USB charging dock is used to give an initial charge to your doorbell as well as allow you to connect the doorbell with your home wifi network. You do this using the August Home app, available on iOS and Android. Once connected to your home network you can attach the doorbell to your house. With the electric power to that part of your house turned off, remove your chime doorbell, mount the wedge bracket to your house with the included screws and anchors (you may need to drill holes into your house first, so please seek someone who knows how to do this if you do not), screw the mounting plate to the wedge bracket, attach the wires for your house doorbell to the mounting plate terminals, seal with putty, then slide on the doorbell to the mounting plate. The wedge bracket is meant to angle the camera up towards the person ringing the doorbell.
The camera and app together provide a number of security and privacy features. The main use case is that the doorbell has an internet-connected camera–the camera can record video of someone coming to your house and ringing your doorbell that can be viewed realtime using the app, the doorbell contains a microphone and a speaker so you can communicate with that person, the August Home cloud service stores videos for your review for a period of time dependent on your chosen subscription level, your iOS or Android device can receive alerts and notifications, and videos can be downloaded for sharing or your own use. In addition, the doorbell works with Amazon Alexa for voice control, pairs with August Smart Locks, and has an LED light to help with nighttime illumination. The free level stores video clip for 24 hours while the premium and premium plus subscription options includes storage of full video clips, 15 or 30 days of stored video, and theft protection of your doorbell camera.
All in all, the August Home Doorbell Cam Pro is a significant upgrade from your mechanical chime doorbell, with a camera, microphone, mobile app, and cloud storage options. However, be aware that there are a few aspects of the camera that could be improved. First, the camera is easily stolen–the doorbell clips onto the mounting plate–the camera is easily lifted from the mounting plate. In fact, August is aware of this limitation–premium subscriptions come with replacement of the camera in case it is stolen. The mounting plate does come with two mechanical theft prevention mechanisms you can choose to engage, this may help prevent theft as long as the thief is not familiar with flathead screwdrivers. Second, the wifi antenna on the doorbell is weak–this is a limitation for wireless devices that are meant to be installed outside the home. Tellingly, the app comes with a wifi strength meter. However, my doorbell frequently goes offline, despite (when online) my doorbell app reports a good connection. You really need your wifi access point to be within about 15’ of your doorbell, assuming no stone, brick, or stucco walls intervene. Third, the notifications are a bit wonky, though I don’t know if this is due to the doorbell app or Apple. As an example, you can specify to receive a notification (eg, an iOS notification) when the camera goes offline, but this notification was sporadic and not dependable. Over the course of a day’s use the doorbell can report being “offline” multiple times, though I often would only receive an “offline” notification when I powered off the doorbell, not when the doorbell was offline due to weak antenna wifi reception.
Finally, in order to even use the doorbell I had to set up an account with August’s cloud service and was required to provide an email address as well as a phone number. An email address (with strong password) sure, but phone number, too? August sent a text for the phone verification and an email for the email address verification. Those limitations aside, this doorbell can provide the security and privacy features not available with your mechanical chime doorbell. Works OK for my home–I have a covered porch!
- Pricing and Availability on Amazon: August Home Doorbell Cam Pro
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