Video doorbells help you keep a watchful eye on things
Smart doorbells make it easier to keep an eye on your home while you are away — or at home — but finding the right option for your house can be tricky. Consider the following tips when shopping for a video doorbell, learn how to protect your new doorbell from hackers and steer clear of tech scams.
The Better Business Bureau of Greater Houston and South Texas offers the following information on purchasing a video doorbell:
Research companies. Check out any business selling smart video doorbells with the Better Business Bureau at BBBHouston.org and read consumer complaints and reviews before you buy.
Consider the tech capabilities. Some video doorbells use AI to distinguish between people, animals, vehicles, and even packages. This is a useful feature if you don’t want to receive an alert every time a car drives down your busy street. Some video doorbells allow you to limit the area they send you alerts for as well, meaning you can remove the busy street from your camera’s alert range altogether.
Know your power source. If you have an existing doorbell, check to see if it is hardwired or battery powered. If it is connected to two small wires, it’s hardwired, which means you can purchase a hardwired video doorbell and use the existing connection with relative ease. If there are no wires, or you’ve never had a doorbell installed, a battery-powered video doorbell may be the easiest option.
Think about video storage. Doorbell cameras start recording when someone approaches your doorstep or a car or animal passes by. Some cameras house mini SD memory cards to save these recorded events for later viewing, but memory cards can only store so much data. You may want to pay for a cloud service that uses WiFi to save every event the camera records.
Think about video quality. When buying a video doorbell, think about the factors that can affect a camera’s video quality, such as resolution of the camera, HDR capabilities, field of view, whether or not you can zoom in on recorded videos, and how well the camera performs at night.
Ask yourself if you need audio. Many video doorbells, but not all, give you the ability to talk to and hear the person at your doorstep, even if you aren’t home. If this feature is important to you, make sure the video doorbell you are considering offers it.
Understand smart platform integration. Many video doorbells are compatible with other smart platforms. If you want to use your video doorbell in conjunction with your smart assistant, make sure they are compatible.
Protect your video doorbell from hackers. Keep your doorbell safe by using a unique user ID along with a strong password. Don’t use the same user ID and password for multiple accounts, or a single data breach could expose several of your accounts all at once. Take advantage of two-step verification to add an extra layer of protection to your account. Other measures you can take are keeping your camera software and antivirus up to date. Finally, don’t share doorbell videos to social media, and never share your login information with anyone. If you want a second person on the account, add a shared user instead.
Avoid tech support scams. If you need tech support, always make sure you call the official tech support number or visit the official doorbell camera website. Scammers often use ads to make fake customer support numbers or websites appear high up on a search engine’s results. If you get in touch with a fake service, they may ask you for your login credentials or other sensitive information to “confirm your identity.” Worse yet, they may ask for payment in return for their assistance. Always doublecheck the URL of the website you are visiting and confirm tech support numbers on the company’s official website.
Visit www.bbbhouston.org or call 713868-9500. Leah Napoliello is BBB vice president of operations. Send questions to Leah Napoliello, Better Business Bureau, 1333 West Loop South, Suite 1200, Houston, TX 77027, or e-mail lnapoliello@bbbhou.org with address/phone number.