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Customer Ratings & Reviews

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Customer reviews

Rating 4 out of 5 stars with 55 reviews

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  • Value

    Rating 3.7 out of 5 stars

  • Quality

    Rating 4.1 out of 5 stars

  • Ease of Use

    Rating 3.9 out of 5 stars

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78%would recommend to a friend

Customers are saying

Customers are delighted by the SmartCamera's excellent camera quality, wide field of view, and ease of setup. Many appreciate the night vision capabilities and the convenience of voice control integration. However, some users have noted that the motion detection could be improved, and the lack of a battery backup is a drawback for some. The camera's pan and zoom features are also frequently praised.

This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.

The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
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Page 1 Showing 1-18 of 18 reviews
  • Pros mentioned:
    Camera quality, Field of view, Pan
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Fantastic Camera, need Haven for Full Capability

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I truly have no hardware design issues with the ecobee's home monitoring line up (SmartSensors, SmartSensors for doors/windows) and this new SmartCamera is no exception. It’s a premium piece of hardware that has shown some capabilities that I’ve not seen on other wireless camera systems that share the store shelf with it. At the same time, I feel that the other brand offerings do show a lot more capability in terms of software and services. But it all depends on your desirements. To name some pros, the camera’s field of view is wide…...VERY wide. If centered in a room against a wall, you’ll be able to see almost 180 degrees east to west as well as about 60 degrees north to south. The camera doesn’t move mechanically, but “zooms” and “pans” the frame while maintaining a level of recording quality. You are able to control zoom and pan via the ecobee app. Also, SmartCamera will do this automatically when a person is in view and follow that person during recording. Which leads me to the Haven Service itself. Ecobee’s answer to “home monitoring” is for a consumer to pay a monthly service for Autopilot, 14 day cloud recording and…….entry alert notifications! If you’ve got SmartSensors, you won’t receive any activity notifications unless you sign up for Haven. Most other offerings provide basic sensor notifications as a free service. SmartCamera does offer basic notifications; enhanced with Haven. There, that’s that. Haven’s Autopilot is a pretty cool feature as it utilizes geofencing to arm and disarm your home. The caveat is that each person in your home will have to install ecobee on their phones and link to your account. This is how Haven recognizes friend from foe; there is no actual facial recognition. If everyone is away from home, it will arm and if at least one person is home, it will disarm. There is no central key panel to arm or disarm, although you can do this manually from the app, if you choose to. Pretty cool stuff. The big con I see with Haven is its reliance on….you. Haven doesn’t actually call anyone in the event of a break-in. It doesn’t even ring an alarm after a standard countdown. It will send you a push notification and ask you for a course of action, which is to either dismiss the trigger or sound the alarm (that comes from the SmartCamera). The idea here is to assess the situation and make a decision, which can eliminate any false alarms. What we don’t realize is that oftentimes we do not have our phones on our persons, or may even have them silenced. It isn’t until many minutes later that you see the notification and find that your house has been hit. C’mon, you can’t say I’m wrong about missing a notification every now and then. It would have been nice to have a fall-back. Going back to the SmartCamera, the cloud recordings can be triggered to run on any motion or set to only record when a person is in-frame. I have it set to person-triggered recording and most of my clips are at 2 minutes long. That should be ample time to see who has entered your house and then some. When the SmartCamera performs its person tracking, it will crop in and pan to follow that person, which is awesome. It did struggle to follow me at times, especially when I moved at a faster pace. With Essential Haven, you are given a 14 day recording cache for a single camera; Extended will allow an unlimited number of cameras for twice the cost of Essential, monthly.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Cons mentioned:
    Battery life, Motion detection
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    For an indoor security camera, I'd say its good!

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This is a decent home security camera and for that purpose, I'd say it is a decent product. Right up front, please note that you need to pay the $5/month subscription fee to take advantage of reviewing recorded video, it is not included with the purchase, only live video is available without ecobee haven. You get 30 days free, then $5.00 per month. This service, ecobee haven, provides you with more than just recorded video, it gets into notifications and other features. For this, I am deducing one star because it only seems reasonable that this service in a basic format should come with the system for at least a short period of time to download and save clips for the last 24 hours, or something. Back to the camera review. You'll notice it is a well built and solid camera. There is no doubt about the quality build of this. As for clarity of images, it does not contain video adjustment controls like backlight compensation, contrast, brightness, etc. You get what you get. The settings provided and features it has makes it a decent and comparable home security camera. The notifications for motion detection are spot on....it never misses. Now, I will say that it takes a snapshot at the time it detects motion and while that would be okay, it often misses the subject. So to see what it was, you have to go back and watch the video clip. Those clips cut off in 2 minute increments, which is okay because they are manageable at 2 minutes. I wish they would stop recording 15 seconds after the activity stops but they all seem to be 2 minutes in length. I've looked for a setting for this and have not found one. In addition to being a security camera, you can add door/window sensors. These sensors work well to detect the opening of doors and windows (not glass breaking, just opening/closing). So, intruder kicks in your door and that will send you an alert. Motion detected in camera, you get an alert for that too. You can then go LIVE and see what is happening or with the ecobee haven service, you can review what was happening before/after the alert occurred. They also have a smart sensor that is like a motion detector that can be paired with this, but I do not recommend that product for the purpose of detecting an intruder. But they are available. The camera is easy to place and can also be wall mounted. While it is WIFI, you will still need to power the camera. It has no battery backup. This can add to the complication of where to place it, but you also won't have to change batteries every week. Note that this camera gets warm, not hot, but kind of warm, so don't be concerned something is wrong, it is normal. The app is the only way to interact with this, so you'll need your smartphone to view/change/etc. anything. The app is not buggy, it works really well. No matter how much I flooded it with video and live recording, it never crashed. There are some anomalies I noticed that are superficial and I emailed support about them for future fixes, but nothing that affects the performance of the app. The 2 minute clips are easy to view, download, and message to others. You can also use autopilot mode, which turns on and off the camera detection based on if you are home or not. Nice feature if you are not wanting to manually control it or are the forgetful type. Some things to consider is that if you are in your house and want it turned on, you need to do it manually anyway. And if you are home, you probably want this on, at least when you are sleeping. In manually turning on/off the detection parts of this while in the app, you can adjust what gets turned on for the "home" and "away" modes. So, if you want to have it ignore the camera motion detection, but have the doors and windows on, you can edit the staying home mode to do this. Or for away, if you want it all on, you can do that too. This is the only system I've seen offer this kind of flexibility knowing you might be staying home and leaving the system on so you would not want it going off each time you walked in front of the camera. The real value of this as a system comes from using the ecobee thermostat, camera, sensors, etc. as a complete system. Additional cameras on the ecobee haven push the monthly price to $10/month vs. $5.00 for a single camera, but this is comparable to other similar products. This is one of those VHS vs. Beta conversations, who has what and which will outlast the others. I think this one will be there for the long haul, they have taken great steps to feel the pulse of the consumer. I like what ecobee stands for, very environmentally friendly and conscious, which says a lot about them as a company and staff. They have been very successful at saving the environment from wasted energy at home by offering their smart thermostats. I like their back story and enjoyed reading about who they are. Very cool. Ecobee is also very sensitive about your privacy and data use. They have a mode that can turn off the camera when home and also mute the microphone with the app or touch of a switch on top of the camera. In summary, this is a good home security indoor camera system with the ability to get some burglary detection devices to augment your camera(s). While I'm more of a separate alarm and separate security camera kind of guy, I can see good uses for this system such as a small apartment or small home, or for those who don't want to spend the money or attempt to install separate systems. It makes it convenient to interact with your system vs. systems, so that is a big plus that it is all in one.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Field of view, Pan
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Has a two way walkie talkie feature!

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This camera was a pleasant surprise as it exceeded my initial expectations. This is my first camera with a 180 degree angle view that can pan around as I control it from the Ecobee app installed on my smartphone. If you want a user friendly, home security option, the Ecobee is definitely the “smart” option. Here are my personal Pros and Cons: PROS The action of the camera finds the person in motion and “follows” them as they move around the room. Pairs perfectly with Alexa snf really becomes another Alexa device. You can even play music or also just say “Alexa, turn my camera on" Autopilot feature automatically turns your system on and off according to the GPS of your smartphone device (you can turn this feature on and off as you please) -- Consistent clear audio — no dropouts or dead spots as of yet -- Two way walkie walkie feature where I can speak into the room where the camera is via my smartphone app and those in the room can speak back to me! I even talk to my dog when I'm gone and he recognizes my voice! CONS There are quite a few options that are only available with the paid subscription (taking snap shots, recording) The paired smart sensors were a bit difficult to figure out until I read the manual and found that they are supposed to work with the ecobee thermostat that I don't have and can't afford as it is a bit on the pricer end. All in all, I would highly recommend it but only if you satisfy two things: 1) Purchase the ecobee thermostat with the built in speaker ($249) 2) Pay for the full subscription and have access to everything to make your experience complete.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Camera quality, Field of view
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Really good camera with great features...

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The ecobee SmartCamera is a really good camera that has a lot of great features to protect, monitor, and communicate around your home. This indoor camera allows you too see everything in a 180 degree angle inside your house. We chose to have it monitor our sliding glass door at the back of our house. According to the instructions, I could have installed it to monitor the outside from the inside as well. I might check that out at some point. When you first open the box, you are can see the instructions, the camera, a base, and a power cord. For now, I installed this as a standing camera, but I plan to mount it at some point. It's nice to know that you have options and the base is flexible for your needs. I will say that the mounting aspect brings up one flaw in my eyes...the power cord. You have to have this plugged in at all times. That makes it difficult to mount it at a higher point which is what I really would like to do. From a performance perspective, I was really impressed with ecobee SmartCamera. It has a great picture and you can even use on screen tools to pan and zoom. I think that is terrific. When you pair with ecobee Haven, you start getting alerts and you can look live to see what the camera detected. From there, you can a couple of things in app. You can watch as the motion detection follows the subject that it picked up on, sound the alarm to distract and deter then, or you can dismiss it and carry on. I was really amazed by the reaction time of the motion detection and the ability of the camera to keep up with a moving subject. Well done! Then there's also the history that it keeps for you so you can go back and check video footage. I do want to say that the viewing angles and crispness of the picture can be impacted by the ambient lighting of the area. I am still working to find the best place, but I am not seeing the best pictures for night vision or super bright days from time to time. It's not a deal breaker, but it would be nice to have that aided just a bit. Another interesting piece is that this has Alexa built in. Yes, that means that this camera has a mic and speaker. While not the greatest quality, you can use it to ask Alexa things or even play music. I don't see this being your main source for tunes, but the option is interesting. However, this does present the option of an intercom like system. You could use this to chat within the house or even drop-in on your pooch to talk to them. All in all, this a pretty good indoor camera that pairs well when you have other ecobee sensors and cameras. When putting them altogether, you have a solid security or monitoring system for your house. While it won't alert the authorities for you, you can still keep on eye on things and react when needed. For a $5-10 monthly cost, the ecobee SmartCamera and Haven could really compete for the business of those DIY home security guys. I never believed in the $20-30 per month solutions so this falls right in my alley.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Night vision
    Cons mentioned:
    Motion detection

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Good Homekit camera for the price

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I wanted to use this camera because it worked with AppleHomekit. It paired into the Apple system with a quick setup barcode scan and worked instantly with all my devices. I bought this device on sale at a reasonable price. I can't say how it works with the ecobee only system as I did not try it. Have not tried the motion detection feature or face recognition features yet. Has expected recording options as well as activity zones and control of status and night vision lights. Would recommend

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Camera quality

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Better then Arlo

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    Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    These cameras are fantastic, especially if you’re wanting to incorporate them into your Apple HomeKit smart home. I’m currently replacing my Arlo cameras with these as they go on sale. I’m hoping for an exterior camera next.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Good camera, image quality needs some improvements

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I'm only giving this 4 stars because of night vision quality. I like the quick set up and integration with my ecobee system. The extra wide view is nice.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Ease of use

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    A good product.

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    Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This indoor ecobee camera is a good choice i made. The set-up was easy and am really enjoying it.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Camera quality, Field of view
    Cons mentioned:
    Motion detection
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Great Camera, Great App, No So Great Smarts

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I really liked this camera albeit a few very big flaws. I've owned several smart and semi smart camera's and the Ecobee Smart Camera ranks as one of my favorites despite some flaws in the smart features and Ecobee Haven, both of which I feel like could be fixed in updates to the software. Setup is a breeze. The Ecobee app makes pairing the camera to your network really simple. Plug in the camera, and attach the metal base to the bottom or back of the camera to set on a table or hang on a wall and follow the in app prompts to get things set up. You also have an option to set up Homekit here as well. I don't use homekit for this camera, because I think it actually has less features in Homekit than through the native app. The build quality is great, it's sturdy, the microphone and speaker are both very clear. Though I wouldn't expect this to double as a great option for listening to music, it's not that good. But, as far as being able to use Alexa to repsond to questions or use the two way talk function I'd say it really does the job well. Speaking of two way talk, it works great, some of he best quality I've seen on a smart camera, both individuals voices are crystal clear and come through with considerable volume. It works great for an intercom. The video quality is where this camera really shines. The images in both night and day are very clear and easy to see. The camera has a 180 degree field of view, which is like nothing I've seen before. You really do have the ability to see everything going on in the room. The Ecobee app makes controlling the camera a breeze, the pan and tilt options are easy, using the intercom function is super simple. There's nothing cover complicated with this app at all. Now for my issues with the camera. The first is the smart features built into the camera. The camera has the ability to focus on people and follow them around the room to keep them the focus of the image. This is really cool when it works, but awful when it doesn't work. For example, while I was away and had the home monitoring active, the camera thought a sombrero on my couch was a person and proceeded to notify me of that person for the next 4 hours while I was away. I've also had several instances where motion or a person was detected, but the resulting alert and image showed an empty room. I think the motion detection could use some work. My next complaint is Ecobee Haven, the $5 a month home monitoring service. With the service you unlock the options to add entry and motion sensors to really build out a security system and monitor your home. Unfortunately, To get any real use from a system like thisyou have to subscribe to the service, because without it, you don't get alerts, nor do you get access to video history. The video history isn't surprising really, but lack of notifications without a subscription for a camera of this price is slightly ridiculous. Not to mention the actual notifications for intrusions from Ecobee Haven are not great themselves. Rather than telling you in the notification where the intrusion was detected, you are prompted to open the app and then view the details in app. In my opinion, notifications should be immediately useful, in this case, they are not. Also, there is no option to automatically sound the alarm in the case of an intrusion when the system is armed, relying solely on you seeing the notification to trigger the alarm. Now there are some cool features with Haven, the biggest being autopilot, which auto arms and disarms the security system based on the location of your phone or anyone on your Ecobee account. Lastly, I don't like the lack of third party integration, currently only Homekit is supported. This really limits the cameras functionality in existing smart homes. Overall, I think the camera is great and if I wasn't required to get a monthly fee, I'd exand my ecobee setup with motion sensors, ecobee Switch + (for motion detection and siren), theromstat (motion and siren). But, if none of that bothers you I think the camera is a great option if you don't think you'll want to go without the Haven service.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Excellent security camera

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Overall, this is an excellent camera. It does 180 degrees, but it is a little distorted around the edges.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Camera quality, Field of view, Night vision
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    A solid home monitoring camera

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Right out of the box, the Ecobee SmartCamera was impressive. It was fairly bigger than I expected. Its 4.2 inches tall, 2.3 inches wide, and 1.7 inches deep. It comes with a small silver attachment that you can either use as a stand or as a mount. With the stand it was about 5.5 inches tall. The build quality felt excellent. I was really satisfied with the elegance of the camera. It was very easy to install. Like everything these days, you do have to use the app to access the features. Follow the instructions on the app, select the camera, connect wifi, choose some features, and you are all set! The app was actually fairly user friendly. I had no complaints about it. On to the features. It records 1080p video at 30 frames per second. The image quality was decent. It was not as clear as some other home cameras but they were still pretty crisp. There are no video settings that I could adjust such as brightness, contrast, etc. This was not a big problem but something to consider. It also has a 180 degree field of view. It has night vision. The night vision obviously is not as good but it is still good enough to see and track people. An interesting feature was that it can actually serve as an Amazon Alexa device and function as an Amazon Echo! Its functionality as an Echo device was sufficient. It's not meant to be a bluetooth speaker but it was a nice touch especially in the context of creating a smart home. Unfortunately, it does not connect to Google Assistant. Ecobee is apparently working on this. It is not water-resistant so I would not recommend outdoor use. One big thing for this camera is that in order to make full use of all the features of the camera, you have to subscribe to the Haven subscription service by Ecobee. It costs 5$ a month for a single camera or 10$ a month for unlimited cameras. You can try a one month free trial before committing. You can use the camera without the subscription service but you sacrifice some features. The camera has motion detectors which are very good. I couldn't fool it at all. When the detectors are triggered, it automatically records videos and sends you a notification on the phone. It has person detection so it that it only is triggered by people. I have tried other motion detection cameras and my dog really made that pointless. The person detection worked great. You can see the video instantly. The videos have a maximum time of 2 minutes long. They are stored for 14 days. Without the Haven subscription, it will not record video or send you a notification. It will take a snapshot instead. You can still use live-view but with no record function. I would say it loses its purpose as a home-security device without the subscription. All in all, it is a solid camera with good features. However, the biggest caveat is that you have to buy a monthly subscription to have full access to its features. Otherwise, its basically an expensive webcam. 5-10$ a month is not a huge investment, but it is added to the cost of this expensive system. Video is also only stored for 14 days. I would say that the biggest reason to have this system is if you want to integrate it with the rest of Ecobee's smart devices such as their smart thermostats. It's use in a smart home is where it will shine especially with the voice assistants.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Camera quality
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Great Camera, And Great With Haven

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Disclaimer: This review contains thoughts on features exclusive to ecobee Haven, which requires a subscription. We've not owned any kind of security system before the ecobee SmartCamera, so this was fun to set up and use, and helps provide better peace of mind now when we're away. We didn't have any problems setting it up, and it can be done within minutes. Adding family members through the app was also a breeze, though I was a little disappointed only one person can be designated to make any kinds of major changes to the system. The camera quality is great. The HD video is solid, and the audio comes through loud and clear. The mic picks up sounds very well, too. I'm able to hold a normal conversation through it. I enjoy privacy just like anyone else, so it's very reassuring to know that you can shut the camera off when you're home. Moreover, viewing the camera requires two-factor authentication, so it becomes incredibly difficult for someone to intrude. If you turn off 2FA, you can't view the camera. We also were able to integrate Amazon Alexa with the SmartCamera. We simply thought it would follow a limited number of commands, but it was a surprise when it when we learned it was built in, and can act like any other Alexa built-in device. I really like the idea of the Autopilot feature, but we've had issues with it working correctly. It can turn the camera on and off based on your phone location, and you can improve its accuracy by specifying your wi-fi network (it will detect when your phone connects to and disconnects from the network). With improved accuracy, we still cannot get the camera to turn on or off when we leave or come home. Sometimes it will turn on or off 20 minutes after the fact, or sometimes it activates the wrong monitoring setting. It becomes more of a pain having to do it manually, especially when the ability to automate it is right in front you but not working as intended. I also want to note that I don't always get notifications. In fact the only ones I've gotten were when it shouldn't have alerted me (when I was leaving home and when I just got home). All in all, we are pleased with the product. It seems silly for some of the features to be locked behind Haven (I totally get video recording though) when I feel it should be included with the purchase of the product alone. We hope that the Autopilot function shapes up, and we actually receive notifications for something important going on when we aren't home.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Ease of use
    Cons mentioned:
    Motion detection
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Almost took all my stars

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The Ecobee family really outdid themselves with something that’s elegant and sophisticated enough to make some of the most advanced cyber security specialists scratch their heads. I had a really great time getting to know this product and it slowly giving me a sense of assurance every time I leave my home now. Albeit far from perfect, worth the investment. Pros: 1.) Ease of use: All it took to install was downloading the app and following the prompts when adding a device. It’s extremely user friendly 2.) Security: You can control the whole system with your voice. Now I thought, “no way!” an intruder can come in and just know the system and automatically shut it off. Wrong! When you set it up with Alexa she asks for your code to unarmed the device if triggered. The login also has a two factor authentication and to make it even more difficult for someone with malicious intent to use the system against you. 3.) Complexity: 8 Core processor on the camera. This basically means that if there was somebody who were trying to analyze the system, the processor is complicated enough to virtually eliminate the chances of someone being able to analyze your extremely sensitive and DETAILED information that this system tracks. Cons: 1.) Possible false motion detection: we were recently on vacation (social distancing in nature) about a state away at a national park. And we got a motion detection in the room. We got back and everything was in place. Could have been faulty, could not? 2.) No continuous recording: Not a huge deal considering its motion detected and cloud based. 3.) Not the best motion detection on the cam: I basically jumped in front of the cam while it was set to away and armed and got nothing. No warning of motion detected. So I wasn’t sure what was really going on. All in all, this camera is high quality, safe, and secure.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Camera quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Motion detection
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Simple and works out of the box without fuss.

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I’ve had several other cameras that I’ve used for security and monitoring in the past and they all work ok. The Ecobee SmartCamera works just as well as any I have used in the past and overall quality of the video feed and feature set in general is better than what I have seen in the past. The first thing you might want to know going in is that to use the auto arm features and to record clips you must pay for ecobees monthly service. It’s not super expensive at 5 bucks a month for a single camera but if you are expecting to be able to record without it you will be disappointed. Beyond that though most of the features work well. The ability to auto arm the camera and any other sensors you may have whenever you leave the house is a great feature. Video quality for the camera is nice and clear and in low light is has IR LED’s to help illuminate even in the dark which is also a nice feature. The only strange thing is when the camera detects motion it zooms on the area where it detected the motion even though I don’t have that feature turned on. I’m not sure if this is a setting I have not found or just how it always works but it would be nice to just see the whole scene at once and not have it zoom in. (This may also be because I have set detection zones for the camera as well.) The only other thing to keep in mind is that this camera always requires a physical power connection to run there is no internal battery or anything. So while some of the images of the product make it look totally wireless, it does still require a power plug. For a simple plug and let go camera though this camera works great.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Camera quality, Pan
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Let me See Clearly!

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This device has a good solid feel to it - like it will last for a while. Lets take a look at the down side first. It is not battery powered or back up so if the power goes off it will not record for you. So far as I know they dont have a weather proof one which limits the usage some. In order to save video or take snaps you need to pay for a subscription. Of the smart home devices I have used, the subscription cost is a great value but depending on the cloud for these things is something to consider before making a purchase. Now on the plus side, installation was fast and easy. The app is straight forward and easy to use. It has a "window" mode which turns off the IR transmitter so it can see outside at night. The only thing here is without the IR illumination it doesnt post a very good image. Otherwise, image quality is great. Also, you can set the active zones very precisely making false notifications just about zero. Very nice touch. The ability to pan and tilt digitally is also nice. As a car or person comes into the zone you have set it will track the object within its field of view. You can set up geofencing and the system can set the system to home or away automatically All in all this is a nice device with an app that is easy to use. There are lots of people that this would work great for.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Camera quality
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Hi Quality Camera...

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I've been searching for an IP camera for a while to keep track of pets when I'm gone, and to just keep an eye on things when I'm out. Since I already use an EcoBee thermostat, I figured this would be the only logical choice. Setup is really simple, you add the device through the EcoBee app by scanning the QR code on the back of it and you're off and running. They included some nice features for automatic recording. I have the camera setup through Apple HomeKit as well, and am able to leverage my geofence settings to automatically turn on or off the camera. When I'm home the camera will set itself to not take snapshots or record any movement. When I leave then the camera will turn on and notify me of any movement it detects. Frustratingly EcoBee decided not to allow users to take advantage of Apple's HomeKit Secure Video feature added in iOS13, which offers free streaming and storage if you have a 200GB iCloud plan. They'd rather you pay EcoBee for their service. I understand it from a business perspective, but I would imagine that likely slows down adoption of devices to some extent. As for the camera and video quality, I will say that this is so far the best quality device I have used to date. They used a super wide angle lens to capture nearly an entire room wall to wall. If you set the device in the corner of the room, you likely could get coverage of the entire room. The pan/tilt feature doesn't actually move the camera, rather they are just cropping the video feed. But fortunately the lens is of high enough quality that only when zoomed in to the extreme does the video become grainy or poor quality. I don't understand the desire to attach Alexa to every connected device, and fortunately you can keep it turned off. I'm sure it's still listening even turned off, but since I didn't link my Amazon account, at least I'm not getting random product recommendations on my Amazon home screen. It's a quality camera, with some nice features, but some were intentionally omitted, and some are unnecessary. If you're already in the EcoBee ecosystem, I'd say it's a solid addition, but if you aren't I'd lean towards one that supports HomeKit and is without Alexa.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Camera quality
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Excellent and unique features with a catch

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I really want to like my Ecobee camera more than I do. I am a huge user of security cams in both my home and various businesses. I am no stranger to their setup and administration. I am not a fan of token ring cameras as they do not allow for third party monitoring software to be used. You are stuck with their app. This is the case with the Ecobee camera w Voice Control as well. Ecobees app is a very intuitive app and I had no issues using it at all. The camera is a motherstation for other peripherals like door sensors and room temp sensors meaning you cant use the mentioned peripherals without either a camera or a thermostat from Ecobee. I love that the camera can pan, tilt, and zoom even if it is only from a digital 180 degree camera view point. The camera can see me even when Im right beside it and seemingly out of its sight. That was impressive. As mentioned, the idea is to setup a network of smart devices that work together and report to one central app. It does all work very well but the catch here is that a monthly fee is required to use their video recording cloud. Its only $5 for the cheapest plan but there are competitors that provide the cloud storage for free. I will try their trial offer for free and see how it compares to the free ones. Build quality is excellent and everything seems very sturdy and well made. I love the use of rare earth magnets in the mount stand for the camera and temp sensors. Remove the monthly fee and Im in! One of the best cameras on market.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Cons mentioned:
    Battery life
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Great Cam for small places

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The Ecobee Smart Camera is considered the “brains” of the security ecosystem. The device itself is Fairly unobtrusive, and while it add’s Alexa’s AI assistant, I find that part a little odd for a security camera because “Alexa I’m home” said by almost anyone can easily disable Alexa Guard. So, I have it disabled on mine. Ecobee Smart Camera a solid camera that interfaces with my Home Kit and gives me a live preview of what is going on. It features a 2-way talk/listen feature, an awesome IR light to illuminate the area at night, and a very long power cord, which was appreciated. On the top of the unit are two touch-responsive areas to mute/call up Alexa, and the power port at the base of the camera. It has flexible mounting options, you can mount it to the wall or set it on a bookshelf, mine is aimed at our stairwell so I can see who is coming and going. I think one of the BEST features is the auto-pilot feature in which it shuts the camera off, meaning it won’t record while you are home. I was sort of paranoid about having a camera inside the home, but this eases that worry. However, it has been noted to have some lag time with communicating with my phone. One thing to note: There is no internal battery, once the power is cut, it’s disabled, which is slightly odd, but I guess it’s normal? Personally, I’d have it hooked up to a UPS battery. It’s not a total security system, like the Ring set up, but it’s great for small apartments or dorm rooms, so if you need to keep an eye on your stuff while away, Ecobee is a good place to start.

    I would recommend this to a friend