Nest Doorbell (Battery) - Smart Wi-Fi Video Doorbell Camera - Snow

With the number of packages we get delivered these days, we have been looking at getting a smart video doorbell for a while now, and decided on the Google Nest Doorbell. It was very easy to set up, and comes with all the hardware needed for installation. It also comes with a 45 degree wedge if you need to change the installed camera angle a bit. The doorbell can be wire to your existing doorbell, or you can charge the internal battery to run the device for up to 8 weeks depending on use. My only complaint with the doorbell is that the mounting bracket the doorbell locks into comes with a special key for dismounting. I like that someone can just grab it and go, but the key can easily be replaced with a small slotted screwdriver. The Google Nest doorbell uses the Goolge Home app, that also runs other devices we use, which is nice to have them under one app. We are still experimenting with all the cool tech features, but some of our favorite are that it notifies your mobile devices when someone approaches your door, and you can easily go back and see event history videos. Another cool feature is that you can talk and listen to people remotely. You can even have it give canned replies to people with the push of a button. The video and audio are very crisp and clear. I really am impressed with the doorbell overall.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] As with all Nest products that I have worked with, the setup on this product is very straight forward and simple. They have great step by step instructions. It took me longer to locate my existing doorbell circuit to turn off power. I used the included wedge and spacers to adjust my viewing angle just right. This product comes with a battery option too, but I prefer not having to bring it in the house to charge. Overall, I’ve been very happy with this product!!!

I have my own personal gym out back of my home. I wanted to add an indoor camera to monitor things as even though I'm retired from training individuals, I still let a few friends come in. I received this camera through the HD Seeds program, and I have to say I'm impressed! The build is excellent, meaning that the camera is of good weight, solid, and sturdy. All hardware came with it (as expected) EXCEPT for the external speaker which I had to purchase so that I could chat with people if they ever 'rang me' from in the gym. The doorbell has a speaker so they can hear me, but I need to be able to hear them as well, hence the additional speaker. I'm not marking down for that as this review is on the doorbell, but perhaps a package deal would be nice in the future.The install was quick, easy, and straightforward. As I charged up the unit via the USB cable (took a couple of hours), I installed the base plate. Two mollys with screws to attach the base plate, then click the camera into place. There were no install instructions via paper (makes sense as everything is moving to online) so a quick watch of an installation video verified what I pretty much expected to do. The link to the online video is included on a blue rectangular small piece of paper. From there I downloaded the app, added the camera to my Wi-Fi, and presto-bingo, I'm seeing what's out in my gym from the comfort of my home. Couldn't be happier. Highly recommend!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The Nest Doorbell really works well. Quick and easy install since I didn't have to run wiring. Setup was fairly easy and I'm really appreciating being able to see who is at my door even when I'm not home and since I have quite a few packages delivered I like knowing when they get there. Video and sound are good quality and the look is sleek with a slim design. Highly recommend.

As with all Google products, you can immediately tell the care and attention to detail that they take when they make products for the world. Everything from the packaging to the setup and installation, and even the features just makes practical sense. They even have privacy practices and best practices included to help educate you on the proper use of video recording devices. The package comes with everything you need to physically install the new doorbell (assuming you already have a wired system to start with, if you intend to wire your new doorbell to avoid having to recharge the battery every so often). The doorbell kit also comes with an angled mounting piece to help support a variety of installations. The only unfortunate thing is that in my particular case, the doorbell can only be realistically installed one way and that is right where the existing doorbell is due to how the wires were routed before I bought the house. In order to be able to hide the wiring, the new doorbell has to be extremely thin, basically the same thickness as the basic push buttons that come with most mechanical chimes. I am not sure if they will ever be able to create a video doorbell that slim, but I am hoping that in time, they will eventually be able to. This model has a battery, but also has terminals that you can easily wire your two existing doorbell wires, which will keep the battery charged. I really don't see wifi video doorbells being installed any other way, since charging the battery repeatedly after a few months just doesn't make any sense (it takes several hours on a 2.4A charger). The product settings do offer several user settings options if you don't have a power source (in the US: 8-24VAC, 10VA minimum, 60Hz transformer) and need to use the included rechargeable battery (everything from high quality, high battery usage to low quality, low battery usage). After watching the installation video, provided there is enough clearance and space for your new video doorbell, I can tell how easy it really is to install this device. Setup with the Google Home app takes minutes and it's so easy and intuitive, even on an iPhone. You can set it up from your desk very easily just by simply connecting it to power, then scanning the QR code on the back of the doorbell. Then you simply follow the video instructions to physically install your doorbell and finish the the setup in the smartphone app. That's really the best part about Google, they make their products work seamlessly across a wide variety of different devices, even from other manufacturers. You really can't go wrong. The intelligent package id and facial recognition (familiar faces) is built right in. Comes with 30-day trial of Nest Aware for those who want to use the video doorbell as a security device (nest aware costs a monthly fee after the trial period and allows you to keep 60 days of event history). Please note that because this is the battery version of this device, continuous 24/7 video recording is NOT available, even if you wire the two terminals on the back and power this doorbell. If you want the 24/7 video recording feature (for security), then you will need to purchase the Google Nest Doorbell (wired) and NOT the battery version. Please keep this in mind depending on your specific situation. Overall, everything worked perfectly, I was able to setup everything in the Google Home app in only a few minutes. The doorbell automatically updated itself and automatically connected to the selected wifi during setup in the Google Home app. They really could not have made it any easier to install and use. I imagine most people have a normal doorbell installation and plenty of space to work with, so you will find this to be very easy to install, especially if your existing doorbell is a simple push button and there is space on either side (the new video doorbell is 1.8 inches wide, by 6.3 inches tall, and 0.95 inches deep). I am hoping that in time, they will make one as slim as the push button doorbells they are meant to replace, even if that means making them a little taller. Consider the wired version if you already have an existing powered doorbell system, that's definitely the way to go. This battery version is perfect for anyone who can't power the doorbell with an existing system. I did not see any information on being able to connect a solar charger to this device, so keep that in mind too, it just has the USB-C charging connection, which can only be accessed from the back of it, which means you would have to remove it from the wall in order to charge it if you don't connect it to a power source. Just something to keep in mind.

This Google Nest Doorbell is a great overall doorbell. I enjoy the sleek, modern, thin look of this doorbell. It does not take up much space and looks neat and modern when installed outside of the home. Installation was easy and without issue. Works well and functions as designed, with notifying with motion and/or people (this model can tell the difference between a person and motion from an animal, which is impressive)! The only con to this model is that it does not allow for 24/7 recording, even when hardwired (which is an option if done correctly). Overall, very impressed with this model.

This doorbell is a perfect solution for a home which doesn’t have an existing doorbell or a location that doesn’t have an available power outlet. However, wire clips are included to connect it to an existing wired doorbell for constant power and to use an existing chime as long as the transformer and chime are compatible. The compatibility checker on their webpage is a good tool to use if you’re unsure. This doorbell is NOT waterproof though so take that into consideration when selecting a mounting location. For my purposes, I wanted to try this doorbell out on my covered patio at the back of the house for a few reasons: the occasional high value package gets left on the rear patio instead of the front porch, my neighbor uses the patio when he comes looking for me, and I don’t have any source of power or existing doorbell wiring. Installation is simple and took 3 minutes. Drill your holes, screw the mounting bracket in, and clip the doorbell on. Setup through the Google Home app was quick and easy since I already my home is full of other Nest and Google products. I was done literally in 10 minutes. The daytime video quality is superb and the night vision is very clear under 10 feet. While it doesn’t activate my existing chime (which is connected to an original Nest Hello wired doorbell at the front door), it’ll announce through your phone, through an Alexa, and through my Nest Guard security speaker, which is more than loud enough to get my attention. Now here are some things I noted which may be crucial to making a decision on purchasing this product versus the wired option: 1) you can’t add the battery doorbell to the Nest app, only the Google Home app, 2) it doesn’t record 24/7, it only activates on events like a button push or motion, 3) it must be charged occasionally which will depend on how much it activates. I don’t mind not having 24/7 recording of the back door since not much happens back there, but I have piece of mind now knowing if somebody is back there while I’m not home I’m going to find out about it instantly. As for battery life, Google indicates with minimal activity it’ll last up to 6 months, 2.5 months for average/typical usage, and 1 month for busy/high traffic conditions. I expect probably 3 months or so per charge based on how much activity I anticipate.

The first thing I thought of when opening the box for the Nest Doorbell was "wow, that's a big doorbell." It is about the size of my hand from middle finger to bottom of the palm. Gotta fit the battery in there somewhere, right?! It’s not ridiculous looking when you get it mounted, but it is definitely bigger than a traditional doorbell. Installation was pretty simple. My old doorbell is wired, so I’m for sure going to end up losing the little key that comes with the bell to allow it to be easily removed for charging (since I won’t need to charge it). If you do lose it, a flat head screwdriver should do the trick. If you do need the battery, Google says the it should last 1-3 months, likely depending on the settings you use and how many packages you get shipped from Home Depot… Setup in the Google Home app would also have been easy I think, except it turns out one of my Nest Thermostats has recently had its wi-fi go out. I could not proceed through the setup steps until I removed the now less smart thermostat from my Google Home device list. The doorbell did not like that the thermostat was not connected because I think it uses the home/away features of the thermostat to help with notifications on your phone (if you configure it to notify you in this way). If you do have a wired doorbell, you can have it set to ring the doorbell, and if you have an electric chime, it can hold the power on the bell for a few seconds so the full chime will sound. You can also have the bell ring your Google Home speakers if you’d like. I will say, the first few times ringing the bell, the connection between bell press and the ring on the speakers took minutes. Ringing the bell the next day and onwards, though, it has been a delay of just a second or two at most. It’s like Google had to do some server-side link-up to speed up the connection or something (ringing the bell sends a signal out to the interwebs and back to your house to sound the Google Home speakers, so it also requires an active internet connection; NOTE: if you have a physical doorbell, it rings instantly regardless of internet connection). This is the first camera that I’m installing at my house, so for now I don’t plan on using the subscription. Without subscription, you get 3 hours of activity alerts. Now, I was wondering if this was 3 total hours of recorded activities or that it would only record and keep activities from the past 3 hours. Turns out it is the latter, which is what I expected. There are two main things I didn’t like about the camera. First, I wish it had a bit better resolution. I understand that between battery and limited power from the house if you do have that option, Google probably can’t put a 4k camera on there, but a little better would be nice. The other issue I noticed was the camera is a little slow to react to adjust the color when a subject moves from the bright area outside of my porch to the shaded, poorly lit area underneath the porch. The UPS driver that dropped off a package for me moves pretty quickly, and the shot of him that would have best captured his face ended up being just a blob. The lighting conditions under the porch are not easy to deal with though. The porch is obviously shaded, but the outside is sunny. If you don’t have a covered porch, then you might have better results as the camera won’t have to adjust to the subject moving from well-lit area to poorly lit area. ===== PROS: 1) Easy install and setup (provided all your other nest equipment are fully functional…) 2) Works pretty well even without subscription. Just have to open the notification on your phone within 3 hours, so if something happens over night and you sleep through it, you might not be able to see it in the activity history. 3) Onboard AI identifies people, animals, and packages. ===== CONS: 1) Onboard AI can help recognize familiar faces, but this requires subscription. If the onboard hardware that I bought can support it, I wish it would come without subscription. 2) Seems to struggle with color correction when a person comes from sunny outside to shady under the porch. The best shot of my delivery driver ended up being more of a blob that couldn’t make out facial features because the camera didn’t adjust quickly enough. If you don’t have a shaded porch, it shouldn’t be as much of an issue. 3) I wish the camera had a bit better resolution. This way, it’d be easier to make out facial features when the subject is a bit further away (in the better lit sunlight). 4) If you open the notification on your phone super quick, the video won’t open. It takes a few seconds/minute to load properly in the app).

Omg! I’m singing praises to this camera right here. This little device is extremely effective. Once you have a great WiFi this would work perfectly. My main this was worrying if someone can snatch it and go with it. Once you set it up, if you move it from that location, it goes offline and would not work. The video quality is really nice and clear and the app is easy to understand. You do have to download Google home to gain access to the camera. You can charge the battery and use the camera or it comes with additional pieces where you can link it to and outlet. Secure your packages and your home with this camera

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I received my battery powered Nest Doorbell around two weeks ago and it works great! The instructions were very clear, it was easy to install and only took around 5 minutes to completely set up. The best part about installation was, there are no wires. Since its battery powered it does need to be charged from time to time, but removal is simple and it doesn't take long to charge. The app used with this device is the Google Home app and the app is very convenient to have. I recieve notifications directly to my phone for people, vehicles, sound, the doorbell, seen and no longer seen packages and I can set it to recognize familiar faces. The best part about recordings and notifications is that I can set it to my own preference. No notifications for animals and insects, like my other cameras. The app also stores videos for easy playback and the audio and video are very clear, even at night! I can even talk with my guests through the nest doorbell, with two way audio. If I'm busy or not at home, I can send a quick reply straight to the doorbell. The only thing that could use some work would be the speaker on the doorbell itself. I have the volume all the way up, but the audio output is still pretty low. Besides that, it works perfectly!!