HOMSCAM Video Doorbell Wi-fi Enabled Wireless Door Bells with Two-Way Audio Motion Sensor and Night Vision (Built-in 8G Card)

Inserted the batteries and it started smoking! I immediately removed the batteries and contacted the company. Although they said they were shocked, they keep insisting it is my fault and I should try again. Well I have tried again and told the company that it does not work, requesting a replacement. Ignored.Avoid.*Edit 1st March 2018. The company have now contacted me and kindly sent me a replacement, and now that I have a working product, I can write the review.The HOMSCAM video doorbell is based on the more famous product (rhymes with 'bing'), but a lot cheaper.In the box you get everything you need except batteries. You have the option of wiring it to a power supply but I would think that most people would just use batteries, so the purchase of two 18650 type batteries is essential (these are widely available on Amazon and elsewhere; I got two plus a charger for less than twenty pounds). Once you have inserted the batteries (the correct way around), the light on the front of the unit starts blinking red. At this point, you have to pair it with your phone. Download the 'ToSee' app and set up a WiFi connection between the unit and your phone, then connect the phone to your home WiFi, enter the password and you should be done. Everything is explained in the comprehensive instructions and I had no issues with setup.You then need to install the device on or near your front door. All the fixings are supplied but it is a fairly big job. The unit tries to be difficult to steal with a retaining screw, but it is not foolproof by any means. The other, more famous, brand offers a lifetime replacement guarantee if stolen, and I would have liked the same to apply to this product.Once installed and set up, the device constantly scans it's immediate surroundings for motion detection. This can be calibrated in the app if it is too sensitive. The unit works equally well day or night, thanks to built in IR.The big blue flashing button is obviously what visitors press instead of a doorbell, and when they do, you will get a notification on your phone via the app. There is no separate bell (not included anyway), the only ring you get is on the phone. It is possible to add a bell device to it at a later stage. Once your phone dings, you have the option to answer it or ignore. Once answered, you get a vey good wide angle video image of what the unit sees. Inside the app, you can also talk to whoever it is as well. I found the video quality to be excellent, with only a very slight lag for video and sound; perfectly useable, but I think it does depend on the speed of your WiFi; people with low speed routers may suffer.The unit has a built in 8GB memory to record all instances of actual callers and motion detected video, the videos can be viewed on the phone or transferred to your computer.The instructions are very comprehensive and easy to follow.After a dodgy start with a faulty product, now having the chance to use and investigate it properly, I really like it. It gives you peace of mind that you always know who is coming to your front door, and you can communicate with them even if you are not at home. It's a lot cheaper than the 'other' product but works just as well as far as I can see. It's well worth considering.Thanks for listening.

After reading the negative posts about the Ring unit I decided to purchase the HOMSCAM.First of all the manual is terrible and should be re-written.There is no instruction as to how to remove the back of the unit but in order to do this you have to slide the front up a few millimetres then pull off.You also have to purchase separately 18650 Lithium batteries plus a battery charger before you can even test the device.I downloaded the App for my iPhone and by a process of trial and error finally got the unit working in my office next to my BT WiFi hub ( latest model ). It worked with the doorbell push and the PIR sensor as well as live video. The App kept on showing unread events but the files were empty. When you accessed the device for any reason the blue light flashed until you quit the App and could not be disabled despite this option appearing in the App. Frequently the device stated the connection was intermittent and the WiFi required resetting despite being in arms' reach of the router. No other device in my household looses connection even when several rooms away from the router. When I tried the PIR outdoors hoping it would detect presence near my car on the drive it had insufficient range - perhaps 4 or 5 metres only. I then got a message stating I was using roaming data and the device was lost from the App. Having spent several hours checking this device prior to considering mounting outdoors I reckoned with the number of issues and the intermittent communications, even indoors and close to my router, the device was not fit for purpose and therefore decided to return to Amazon.

Firstly make sure you get some batteries and a charger as there are none “in the box”, these are high current lithium ion and not your normal rechargeable AA.The bell works fine, slightly wierd setup but not hard and after a couple of goes takes about 5 minutes. Initially I tried to download the Tosee app to an iPad which gave a lot of Korean instructions and no English, then realised that the whole point of the device was as an alert to my phone, loaded Tosee as a phone app and everything worked, would be helpful if this was in the manual.Alerts do take a little time approx 5-10 secs but connecting to see the camera output anything up to 30 secs but this includes picking up phone,Unlocking phone starting Tosee app and selecting camera. Maybe my procedures are wrong but this means missing the picture of who is ringing the bell.Upside local policeman said they had recently caught someone by using pictures from same sort of device.

Had this installed for a week and I am not that impressed. The camera does work but the motion detection is slow and even on most sensitive setting its not records when I drive into my house and get out of the car and walk to the door and it starts recording as I am entering the house. I find I have lots of times when motion is triggered but the person has already left before being filmed. The doorbell also has a delay which can be annoying. When its triggered I have had instances of the app not being able to connect. The app itself is a bit clunky and you can record footage taken if you have a live stream of the camera but you cant download any automated video that was triggered. Also when you view automated video you cant pause to look at the person that came to your property. Its not all bad and does work to a degree but just not that well for my liking.