Another option to consider while searching for HomeKit supported doorbells. Good for consumers!!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Belkin's Wemo Smart Video Doorbell With HomeKit Secure Video Now Available From Apple
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I had issue with Logitech doorbell. Till the firmware upgrade which took months. The issue for me was largely due to some network issue which was fixed after the update. Spent weeks working with there support team to get it fixed.
The issue I have now is due to how home hubs work in HomeKit it wont record sometimes. I don’t know completely why but I’d assume it’s having issues connecting to my homepod. I wish I could disable theor home hub capabilities.
The issue I have now is due to how home hubs work in HomeKit it wont record sometimes. I don’t know completely why but I’d assume it’s having issues connecting to my homepod. I wish I could disable theor home hub capabilities.
HomeKit is the problem. When my one of my OG HomePods is the hub, it won’t save any HKSV recordings. I have to restart the HomePod until one of the Apple TVs or a HomePod mini takes over.
That sucks, is this a known issue? Possibly having to do with the hardware media encoding capabilities being weak on OG HomePod?
Completely agree. There are a few necessary points of failure with a camera, namely power and connection. In my philosophy these should be consolidated. I would prefer to not buy any cameras that are not PoE capable, but then my only doorbell option is the Robin ProLine.
Unfortunately that thing is only capable of 2 concurrent streams, HKSV takes one, my device would take the second. Two people would never be able to use the doorbell at the same time, and if I had an Apple TV, zero people would be able to.
So I’m waiting for next gen hardware from them, or maybe I’ll build my own dumb-IP Cam doorbell attached to ROCK5 SBC for media encode and use homebridge for HKSV upload.
It's pretty well known from posts on Reddit reporting the same thing, but it's unknown if Apple can (or will) do anything about it. At the very least it would be nice to have a way to disable OG HomePod from acting as the hub.
The Circle does turn off for about an hour. once this week - in full hot 11am sun.
Would be interested to see if this one can survive out there on hellion
I had the Logitech Circle for the last 6 months. I experienced occasional issues (like going off line a few times and once missing a small package that was placed directly below the unit), but mostly it worked well and I liked it. I can't speak to its performance in heat, as I didn't have it during the hottest months.
I moved and installed the Belkin Wemo yesterday. Initial impressions:
I moved and installed the Belkin Wemo yesterday. Initial impressions:
- I think it looks nicer than the Circle
- I like the expanded view compared to the Circle, but it makes it harder to recognize faces etc.
Appreciate the initial impressions. I'm looking at getting a HKSV compatible doorbell camera for my mom, and right now I'm trying to decide between this one and the Logitech (which I currently own).
More thoughts after a few days of use:
- Working well - no issues
- Detection and notification of people seems to work well
- I haven’t had enough deliveries to know how well package detection works
- Night vision is black and white and a little grainy. I prefer the clearer color night vision of the Logitech Circle. However, the Circle uses a very bright light to accomplish this - probably blindingly awkward for anyone nearby
I believe the detection of people, vehicles, cars, and packages is a function of HomeKit rather than the cameras, but there could be differences due to the nature of the images (distortion, noise, field of view, etc…) produced by the different cameras.
I turned the Circleview‘s light off because I thought it was too bright. I rely on my porch light and the street lights for illumination at night, which works fine in my case.
One more update. The Wemo went offline briefly today and the message stated “This camera needs to cool down before it can be used”. It was in the sun and about 85 degrees F outside at the time.
Thanks for the update. Just ordered the Logitech as a Mother’s Day present. This is going to be a long-term support issue considering the state of HomeKit and doorbell cameras.
Yeah, a hard wired ethernet connection would make it even better. We live in a 100 year old farmhouse, so that would require some serious wiring. But there’s no reason why for any new construction where something like that wouldn’t be fairly easy to achieve.
But as it is, the Logitech Circle has already paid dividends. Our son got bit by the neighbor’s pit bull and we captured most of it on camera. Also a weird Uber Eats delivery sent to the wrong house was instantly sorted out. This whole living in the future thing is pretty great.
I don’t own a single HomeKit compatible device in my home, but I use Homebridge running on a dedicated Ubuntu VM and associated plugins to make my devices (lights, security panel, cameras/doorbells) compatible so I can view and control on my iPhone and Apple Watch. And I didn’t have to pay a premium or recurring extortion fee for the privilege.
