How do those door cameras (e.g., Ring) work? Do they require a smartphone?

I don’t have one, but a good friend of mine does. She has the Ring doorbell with an app on her phone. Every time someone comes up toward her door, she has a notification sound that goes off on her phone. She can see who is at her door. When they ring her doorbell, she has the option to speak to them through her phone so they aren’t aware that she’s not home. She also has the option when at home to use it on her Alexa Show so she can see who is at the door before she has to go to the door. I think it also records all activity going on as long as somebody is moving. I’ve seen vids on YT where porch pirates are recorded stealing packages but the faces aren’t always very clear. You’re probably going to need a wifi connection in order to get it to work properly

I have an Arlo camera system. It does not involve my doorbell, however i have one camera aimed at my steps to my door so I can see anyone approaching my door. I have 3 cameras, one at my side door and the other at my back door. They are motion sensored and record only when someone or something triggers them.
They are connected to wi-fi via a box they supply and I have an app that alerts me when someone is near. I can turn off certain cameras if they are continually going off due to squirrels running back and forth, heavy winds, a spider spinning his Webb over the lens, etc.
I do have to charge each of them as you would a smart phone, but I have only needed to do so about once every 3 months. In saying that, you would want them to be easily accessible to you to get down. I do feel safer with my system. It was easy to set up and use.
The picture is clear.
I like the idea of having a camera up that someone can notice and think twice about stealing something.
I do have mine a little high up so that I have to use a step stool to reach them. That way, someone can’t just snatch them.
Hope this wasn’t too windy and helps.

The ones I’m semi-familiar with involve motion sensors and your home’s wifi network, and are accessible via phone, though I don’t know where they can store the video they take – I expect it’s saved to a web site and/or a computer.

Arlo doorbell and cameras almost three years

• smartphone – - – Yes and use their “hub” to connect Arlo pieces

• Alexa/Siri software – - No

• QRC codes – - – No

• phone apps – - Yes double authentication on mobile phone

• special wiring – - No the doorbell wires into existing doorbell wires, need to add a dongle to ringer inside house to make the doorbell ring. Cameras are wireless.

Cameras can recognize the difference of vehicle, animal, package and person

I think I asked a Q about this also a while back and I’m still confused.

I switched away from cable TV to using an Amazon stick (I’m going somewhere with this) and the Amazon stick uses Alexa.

Amazon home security is called Ring and the Google system is called Nest. I was struggling with do I need to coordinate everything?

I still am not sure what I’m going to do, but I thought this might add information for you. I do know some people with Nest who are happy with it.

With Ring you can see your doorbell camera on your TV from what I understand. Probably, the same with Nest? The advantage of the smartphone is not needing to be in front of a TV. I would think you can turn off or silence your notifications on your phone. I silence my iPhone using the side button near the volume.

Not sure if I was any help.

You don’t need a smartphone. The cameras just require a good wifi signal and a decent internet connection. Good upload speed is important since the video clips and stream when you are viewing go to the cloud. You want the camera running at its best resolution. A smartphone with the app for your device will allow you to receive notifications from the camera and you can easily view the camera feed wherever you are. Most of the cameras have Alexa integration. An example is Google Nest. There is a smart thermostat also and Alexa can control it. If you have an echo show or something you can tell Alexa to display the feed.

Setup is usually a single USB cable to a power supply. If you’re installing outdoors there will be options for that but running the power can be tricky. A smartphone does make setup easier because you can use it with QR codes and the phone app to setup the camera on the network, find good wifi position from where it is installed etc… Otherwise you will need to somehow connect it to a computer. I would not recommend putting one inside your house except when you are gone. We would put one inside when we were going to be gone for a day or so to check on our dog and say hi to it. Otherwise that camera was disconnected. IMO there are too many ways these can be hacked to consider having one inside but they’re invaluable to have outside. When you hear something in the middle of the night and you get a notification you can just reach over and grab your phone to see what it is. Could be racoons in your trash or someone trespassing. Now you know which. Good piece of mind whew on vacation too.

So much helpful information! Thanks, everyone.

So I’m coming to the conclusion that I can’t have this kind of security if

• I don’t want to involve my phone
• I don’t want anything to do with Alexa or any alexalike program
• I don’t want to install a QRC code reader
• I pretty much don’t want to add or install any apps other than what necessarily comes with the phone
• I don’t trust anything that puts hackable information out there where I have no control over it (and yes, I do order things online, etc., but I’m aware of the tradeoff I’m making)

Is that true?—there’s no such system for me if I have all these reservations and don’t want to compromise?

We do have wifi at home, and there are several computers in the house.

Thanks and more thanks.

I had a video camera through my cable wiring and I could see who was at my front door on my TV. I don’t know if the wiring can easily be added after the house is built. I didn’t even have a smartphone at the time.

You also can get motion detecting flood lights outside that run on batteries to deter people lurking around.

A complex password used only for the security camera will take care of most of your issues, the app is not intrusive !

Ordering on Amazon is more risky that adding a security camera.

@JLeslie, I did read your suggestions, thanks, and I should have responded to the TV part. I don’t watch TV, don’t use the TV as a TV, and am actually not sure how to work it. I just use the box and the monitor to watch DVDs. So a system that depends on TV not only won’t work but will force me to change settings all the time. It’s hard enough to get my DVD settings right, and then I want them to stay put.

@Tropical_Willie, can you please restate or explain your first sentence just above here ^^^? It assumes I know more than I do.

”• I pretty much don’t want to add or install any apps other than what necessarily comes with the phone”
”• I don’t trust anything that puts hackable information out there where I have no control over it (and yes, I do order things online, etc., but I’m aware of the tradeoff I’m making)”

If that is your position ^^^ don’t go on the internet.^^^^

Password and smart use of app will give you a security camera system.

Wait, I’m confused. You want a camera right? Where do you want to see the video of the person at your door? On your laptop maybe?

We have a Ring doorbell. It took a while to set up because the baseplate needed to be installed super flat because it has electrical contacts to the power supply and in-house doorbell. Designed by young engineers I guess. Aside from that I pay $30 a year and it sends video to the cloud every time it sees someone or if someone rings the doorbell.

I use their iPhone app to view. It is slow to connect so sometimes people ring the doorbell and I can connect fast enough to answer and talk to them. But it’s nice to have for door-to-door salesmen because I don’t feel bad to hang up any time i.e. I don’t have to make a sorry face to them or shut the door in their faces. My wife can access our Ring from her Amazon Echo Show and her iPad.

Another advantage is that people know they will be caught on camera just walking up to the door. Our neighbor does not have one and her place got robbed. The robbers observed her habits and went in when she went to volunteer at a local school. I’ll bet they observed our house too, but saw that we had a Ring so set up for the next nearest house.