Review: The Arbor Video Doorbell Lets You See Who's at Your Door With No Monthly Fees

[MacRumors]

Available on Indiegogo, the wire-free Arbor Instant Video Doorbell from Arbor Home lets you keep an eye on your packages from shipment to delivery, and it lets you see just who's at your door when the bell rings.

Prior to the Arbor, I hadn't used a video doorbell, and I wasn't sure if I needed one, but ironically, waiting for the delivery of the video doorbell itself taught me how valuable these products can be.

Arbor shipped me a video doorbell on May 21, and on May 22, I got a notification from FedEx that the package had been delivered. There was just one problem -- there was nothing on my doorstep. I got in touch with FedEx, as did Arbor, but there was no sign of the package.

Right around the same time, I had a package from Amazon go missing. It too was marked delivered but never made it to my doorstep. I've had problems with both FedEx deliveries and deliveries made by Amazon's in-house delivery service in the past so I don't know if this was a case of two shipments gone wrong, or if I had a package thief.

I won't know what happened to those packages, but with the Arbor Video Doorbell, there are no more mysteries.

I can see exactly who comes to my door throughout the day, from delivery people to solicitors, and while I haven't had another package go missing, if there is a package thief haunting my apartment complex, I'll have footage of the perpetrator.

Speaking of solicitors, this is another area where the Arbor Video Doorbell has come in handy. Just a few days before it was delivered, someone in a safety vest knocked on my door. I thought it might be a construction worker from my apartment building, but no, it was someone attempting to sell gas insurance who had worn the vest to attempt to look authoritative.

I had to deal with this in person, but using a video doorbell, I can now screen who is at the door and send them away without an awkward situation where I have to listen to a sales spiel. It's also just nice to have the peace of mind of constant monitoring of my front door.

Design

Design wise, the Arbor Video Doorbell looks a bit odd, especially compared to more traditional doorbell-style video options like the Ring. There's a big button at the top of the device, which is what you press to ring the doorbell, and underneath that, there's a built-in 1080p camera.

The entire Arbor enclosure is made from plastic with the exception of a black metal mounting plate, and it's available in either black/silver or all black. While this looks fine outside of my apartment, it is a bit modern looking and may not match some home styles.

Compared to other video doorbells, the Arbor is taller and narrower. This is an entirely wire-free video doorbell option (which means you can't replace an existing wired doorbell with it), so it's powered by batteries, which are inserted into a removable battery pack at the bottom of the device.


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Article Link: Review: The Arbor Video Doorbell Lets You See Who's at Your Door With No Monthly Fees

 

[karmakat]

Great review! Quick Q: what is a “tgtermhe speaker”?

On a more serious note, this looks great, but I have to say that satellite-dish ringer button would confuse me as a visitor looking for a button. Perhaps it looks more like a button in person, but from the photos, it seems very non-button like.

 

[chr1s60]

Your packages from Amazon probably got delivered to the wrong location. The Amazon courier system is horrible. I've had nothing but trouble since they switched to handling their own shipping.

The product here seems decent but they're going up against big competition.

 

[jclo]

Great review! Quick Q: what is a “tgtermhe speaker”?

On a more serious note, this looks great, but I have to say that satellite-dish ringer button would confuse me as a visitor looking for a button. Perhaps it looks more like a button in person, but from the photos, it seems very non-button like.

Not sure how that typo happened, but it's been fixed. I agree that it's not entirely button like, but I have had an Amazon delivery person press it, so works to some extent!

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Your packages from Amazon probably got delivered to the wrong location. The Amazon courier system is horrible. I've had nothing but trouble since they switched to handling their own shipping.

The product here seems decent but they're going up against big competition.

Yeah, I've definitely had that happen before because Amazon's in-house delivery service is the absolute worst. I've also had issues with FedEx, but still not sure if it was a coincidence or a package thief. Haven't had issues since then, but I've been a little more vigilant watching out for deliveries.

 

[ignatius345]

Here's another device that lets you see who's at your door with no monthly fees:

 

[bluespark]

Nice review, but what's up with that angled light between the two doorways?

 

[Anonymous Freak]

With no monthly fee, I wonder about their ongoing revenue stream to support the "free" service. Is it cloud-only? Is there any method for local storage, so that if/when the company goes out of business, it will continue to work in at least some capacity?

 

[deeddawg]

FWIW, Skybell also has no monthly fee. Plus Skybell works with Honeywell & Alarm.com alarm systems.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Here's another device that lets you see who's at your door with no monthly fees:

View attachment 767834

See who's at your door.. with no monthly fees*

* You have to be home.. and looking out your door.

 

[BrentD]

As the above mentioned, Skybell is also free of monthly fees. ...and the picture doesn't look like trash, unlike the one in this "review"/paid advertisement. Skybell might look like trash for a split second until the camera adjusts for the current lighting, but at 11 seconds in like the review photo shows, you'll be able to see MUCH more than a furry blob with an animal of some sort like this camera does. Let's not forget that Skybell gives you 7 days of storage for free, not the skimpy 48 hours of Arbor. I can see why they only used Ring and Nest in their comparison infographic on the Indiegogo page...

 

[centauratlas]

I have been happy with our Ring for the past 2.5 years or so. I wouldn't mind having additional options though and this seemed like one, except they don't have a wired option. Hopefully they do well and eventually add one!

I think with Ring, you can view without monthly fees, but you don't get any recordings.

 

[BrentD]

I have been happy with our Ring for the past 2.5 years or so. I wouldn't mind having additional options though and this seemed like one, except they don't have a wired option. Hopefully they do well and eventually add one!

I think with Ring, you can view without monthly fees, but you don't get any recordings.

I'm not sure they're interested in a wired option, as that should actually be much easier to do. I'm sure the 1-year rechargeable battery is by far the most expensive component in this thing as it is.

 

[jclo]

As the above mentioned, Skybell is also free of monthly fees. ...and the picture doesn't look like trash, unlike the one in this "review"/paid advertisement. Skybell might look like trash for a split second until the camera adjusts for the current lighting, but at 11 seconds in like the review photo shows, you'll be able to see MUCH more than a furry blob with an animal of some sort like this camera does. Let's not forget that Skybell gives you 7 days of storage for free, not the skimpy 48 hours of Arbor. I can see why they only used Ring and Nest in their comparison infographic on the Indiegogo page...

This isn't a paid advertisement, FYI. I've never tried the Skybell, but it looks like it's not battery powered and won't be suitable for people who don't have an existing doorbell setup (like me). I also suspect ANY video doorbell would have similar issues adjusting to the lighting in that hallway -- it's pretty poor.
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With no monthly fee, I wonder about their ongoing revenue stream to support the "free" service. Is it cloud-only? Is there any method for local storage, so that if/when the company goes out of business, it will continue to work in at least some capacity?

Yeah, it's cloud only. There's no built-in storage. Edit: It looks like they're going to charge a small fee for cloud storage beyond 48 hours.

 

[pubwvj]

Fine until someone steals the Arbor Video Doorbell.

 

[C DM]

Here's another device that lets you see who's at your door with no monthly fees:

View attachment 767834

How well does that device work when you aren't inches away from your door when someone is there?

 

[Fzang]

How well does that device work when you aren't inches away from your door when someone is there?

If your house is that big, don’t you usually have a butler?

 

[C DM]

If your house is that big, don’t you usually have a butler?

Not sure what the size of the house has to do with what I asked.

 

[cb3]

Nice review, but what's up with that angled light between the two doorways?

Oh - thats the new "press on" outdoor wall lantern. Stick it wherever you like - with not monthly fees. When you move, just take it with you. Leave that old loud neighbor in the dark!

 

[bLackjackj]

See who's at your door.. with no monthly fees*

* You have to be home.. and looking out your door.

OMG,..there's always one..or 3! It was just a joke guys, no need to explain how a peephole works, Lol

 

[C DM]

OMG,..there's always one..or 3! It was just a joke guys, no need to explain how a peephole works, Lol

It's not really a joke as there's nothing funny about it. Seems like the poster also essentially effectively confirmed that as well.

 

[usarioclave]

What someone really needs to do is make a "home cloud" server that vendors can use to stream content to, using some simple discovery and authentication protocol. Saving video content to an SD card is a bad idea, because the thief can take the evidence. Streaming to a box somewhere inside the home is a bit more secure.

This looks nice, but it's just...big looking.

 

[ignatius345]

How well does that device work when you aren't inches away from your door when someone is there?

It doesn't. But then again, it doesn't have to. If nobody is home to look out and see who's there, it's not like we're letting anybody inside anyway.*

* assuming we had some internet-enabled lock installed in the first place, which is a non-starter for me, thanks

 

[C DM]

I don't particularly care, thanks!

Sounds like it's all moot then anyway.

 

[LiveM]

No NFC, no deal.

 

[C DM]

It doesn't. But then again, it doesn't have to. If nobody is home to look out and see who's there, it's not like we're letting anybody inside anyway.*

* assuming we had some internet-enabled lock installed in the first place, which is a non-starter for me, thanks

Well, it's not just about not being at home, but perhaps being in the backyard or upstairs doing something. But even in the scenario of not being at home, even though you might not be able to let someone in (although even that differs as well for those who have remote locks, for example), you can still know who was there. And in the cases of deliveries, for example, that can be of even more use as at times they get dropped off without the use of doorbell or knocking.

So, certainly not something for everyone either based on their use or just like/dislike of something, but it's different enough from a peephole to have value and use for plenty others.