Home Kit - Surveillance cameras for iPhone

[ClutchThese]

Thanks for reading!

I'm trying to gain some information from the plethora of people here about home surveillance. Specifically I'm looking for:

1. A simple turn key scalable solution for home surveillance.
and
2. Ability to securely view feeds over cellular without a monthly subscription.

If you have a system you use currently, I would love to know more about it!

Mods, if this isn't the correct forum to use, please redirect.

 

[Coffee50]

Canary will be releasing a home kit version of its security camera this fall. Not sure if you're familiar with canary, but it's a pretty popular all in one security camera.

 

[ClutchThese]

Thanks for that, I'm familiar with Canary. The only issue with it is it's unable to be installed outside for exterior surveillance (driveway, front porch, rear porch, etc).

I think Canary is great for many people who are interested in a simple interior solution.

 

[meagain]

I have 2 Nest Cams. Just bought a 2-Camera Arlo bundle at Costco yesterday. No cords. I wanted to be able to put at least 1 outside and don't have an outlet on the front porch. So far the signal is strong from pretty darned far away. They say batteries last 3-4 months but that depends on settings/use. Rechargeables last less so. So far I'm enjoying these little cams and wish I had more. Arlo also has plug in types that might be good. I know they offer so many hours or days of free cloud. I think Nest just changed their cloud program also to include some free time but I'm unsure.

 

[rambo47]

I surveil my driveway at night with a Nest Cam. You don't need any subscription if you only want to view the live feed. If you want to record events when motion is detected then you need a subscription. I'm doing $10/month because I only have the camera outside until it gets cold. It's not an all-weather camera and the winter cold can damage it so I bring it inside. You can get an entire year of 10-day archives for $100/year. That's only about $8.30 per month. But for just viewing the live feed, no fees or subscription needed. And it's incredibly simple to set up.

 

[ClutchThese]

Yeah, I've used nest and the subscription is what turned me off. If I own a product and there's the ability to record, I don't think I should be limited to a cloud based subscription. So, I sold my nest cam and am on a hunt for a new system I can install and record locally while still accessing via IP.

I'm not worried about spending 1k or more, I just want something with great quality and is scalable.

 

[BigCLC]

While it is not homekit compatible, I just installed a blink camera https://blinkforhome.com/ and I really like it. The starter kit is $99 (hub and camera), has no fees even comes with cloud storage, is truly wireless (runs on 2 - Double A batteries which they claim lasts a year) and additional cameras are $70.

 

[Applebot1]

While it is not homekit compatible, I just installed a blink camera https://blinkforhome.com/ and I really like it. The starter kit is $99 (hub and camera), has no fees even comes with cloud storage, is truly wireless (runs on 2 - Double A batteries which they claim lasts a year) and additional cameras are $70.

Followed the link and these look good...thanks

 

[evoga]

Blink looks really good. I wouldn't mind buying them but the opposite of the OP bothers me - not paying a monthly sub.

How do they cover the cloud fees for all the users in the future?