Here, we are gonna give out our thoughts and impressions on the new Eufy Dual Smart Video Door Bell. Watch Eufy Video Doorbell Dual Review:
Eufy Video Doorbell Dual: Overview
The new Eufy Dual Video Doorbell is totally in a separate league of its own as it comes with a dual surveillance setup. One focuses right on the floor and the other on the outdoors. The Eufy Dual is simply a one-step solution to hack all those porch pirates out there. The dual-camera setup on the Eufy Dual bell captures everything, the breeze, the leaves, “Your Delivery Packages”, rain, and many more. The main camera comes with 2K resolution and the package monitoring camera can record HD footage with enhanced HDR. The package camera is the new of addition, that make this camera standalone. With this dual cam, Eufy bring the door camera to the next level, by effectively dropping the blindspots. And Eufy not only did erase the blindspots but also enhanced the overall surveillance with the dual-cam setup. Eufy Dual also offers smart connectivity, app-based setup, and smart assistant support. Once configured with the Eufy Home app, you will get real-time notifications and alerts right on your phone. The doorbell rather works with the usual doorbell chimes. If you are having a Alexa devices like the Echo Dot, then you can easily configure it to be your home audio chime that calls out when someone is at your door. eufy changed the local stage form micro SD card to the Homebase device. You can keep the Homebase 2 inside your home and connected the network either via. network cable or Wifi. The Eufy Door Bell has quite a lot up its sleeves. And we will be walking through the installations, technical specs, video performance, and many more. Also, we will talk about the smart features and the App-based setup that requires special attention.
Eufy Video Doorbell Dual: Specifications
Before going any further, let us take a peek at the overall technical specs of the Eufy Dual Video Door Bell. With 2K primary recording along with prior light sensors, this dual video doorbell is something that is going to change the whole league.
Design
There are no fancy gimmicks to talk about but Eufy has maintained its class even while crafting the Dual Doorbell camera. The dimensions are pretty much standard and this makes it suitable for every home. But, compared with the recent model from Eufy, this one flaunts a bit bigger size. The flashy black appearance is something that caught my eyes. The front panel has both camera modules. The first thing you will notice is the front primary camera. The front-facing camera offers a max resolution of 2K along with 160° fiend of vision. Right beneath the front cam includes the light sensors and beneath it, is the Doorbell button. The doorbell button is pretty big, bigger than most of the doorbells I have ever seen. Well, there are additional LEDs at the bottom that can also activate at night time after detecting the motion. These two LEDs are good enough to give you the light in the dark to guide through the porch. The ring-light will also respond when you press the door bell button. The bottom panel is where you will find the second camera, which records in 1080p HD. The camera unit is aligned in order to get the right angle of the porch to keep an eye on the packages. Apart from the LED sensors, there is the PIR sensor on the top for motion detection. Right next to the PIR sensor the mic located for two way conversation. The speaker is right at the bottom with the outlet grill shaped protector. The speakers are pretty good and loud enough for a conversation with visitor. The smart WiFi doorbell is rated IP65 and can withstand harsh weather conditions like heavy rainfall or snow. Eufy door lock with WiFi can operate at a pretty decent temperature range of -4°F to 122°F. We installed this door bell in a location that hit the direct sunlight on it. The temperature went up to 102ºF in this summer in Florida and we don’t see any issue with the bell. On the rear, you will first notice the micro USB port for charging. The inbuilt battery is pretty much powerful and offers a battery backup of up to 6 months. We will talk about the battery and power in detail as we go on.
Installation and Setup
Eufy offers both wired and battery-powered versions of the Video Doorbell Dual. If you have an existing doorbell and want to replace it with this smart doorbell, you can choose the wired version. Both the battery powered and the wired ones have pros and cons itself. We will review the wired video door when eufy launch the new model March ’22. The package comes with two mounting brackets for the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual, one, a normal mount, and another, a wedge mount with a 15-degrees angle. Once the suitable mounting bracket is placed, the next thing is to place the doorbell on the mount. The doorbell module pops in right into the brackets with ease. The whole setup for me just took around 15 minutes. Once you manage to get the physical setup done, it is time to move on to the app-based setup. Almost all features and stats of the device are best accessed from the app.
App-Based Setup
Before diving into the app-based setup, you should power on the eufy Homebase 2 that connects to the doorbell and stores the recorded footage. Once you connect the Homebase to your home internet router over an ethernet cable, you can begin the setup using the Eufy Security app. According to Eufy, the Homebase 2 can support and control up to 16 cameras and 16 sensors at one go. The Eufy Security app is the all-rounder controller for this Dual Door Bell. This app is available on both Android and iPhone. The app works like a breeze and there is an array of app-based features that await you. Once you open the app, you will need to connect the device with the app via WiFi or Bluetooth following the Sign-Up. On the app, you can get info related to the battery status and other related information. You can toggle footage modes, set power saver mode into action, and customize custom alerts. Within the app, you can adjust the video modes of both cameras. You can go with the Picture on Picture mode which shows the auxiliary cam’s footage as on the primary cam’s footage. Then there is the split mode that I prefer. The split mode ideally shows footage with the best aspect ratio, making the visuals more pleasing. Right from the app itself, you can quickly record a video clip, take a snapshot, and communicate with the person at your doorstep. There is even an option to record the person’s voice only and then send a preset voice response. From the app settings, you can snooze all the camera alerts and motion detection without affecting the chime option. There are bunch of additional settings that you can go with the app, and you can see in details on this video. Another excellent thing that I loved about the new Eufy video doorbell app alerts is that it even shows you notifications on the Apple Watch whenever a package is delivered, or when someone is at the doorstep. We will be talking more about the features that you can access via the app as we go on.
Video Quality and Performance
Quite a lot of smart video doorbells opt for whole screen 1:1 footage recording that is rather a pain for the eyes. eufy analyzed this and came up with a brainy solution, split it into two. The plus point. With this is that Eufy drastically reduced the fishy eye effect that blurs out important stuff. With the dual cam mode, the lower and the upper cams capture near real-life footage which is extremely useful. Eufy’s front camera captures things that the normal eye sees. It captures the full view of your porch and other things with better clarity. The visuals on the front cam are crisp and detailed. There are no issues of over-exposure even during those hot summer days in direct sunlight. The package camera, on the other hand, records footage at 1080p, good enough as long as you don’t want the details on the package. The downward-facing camera captures your packages and works in tandem to alert you of unpicked deliveries. But the thing here is that the rear cam also faces issues of blind spots. If your delivery guy places your packages right beneath the doorbell, then there is nothing the doorbell can do to capture or record footage. Also the AI feature works on the package camera. If your package is on the feed of vies of the main camera, you won’t get any alert. Make sure to cover the porch floor area with the secondary camera while installing the device on your wall. Both the live footages from the cams are good. The visuals are sharp and bright. The night vision is also pretty good but the normal mode is sufficient in most cases if you have fairly bright light coming from the street. But the thing is that there is evident clarity loss after a certain distance. Right up close, the night vision is pretty clear but when things are at a distance, Eufy failed to capture what the users really wish for.
Smart Features
The Eufy Dual Video Door Bell comes with quite a lot of smart AI-based features that are worth mentioning. Almost all these features are app-based and rather need you to configure the device with the app via WiFi.
Motion Alert
One of the main feature I’m looking for an accurate and speedy alert when the camera detect a motion. This is important, especially if you are in a community where package thefts are pretty common. We tested this feature very thoroughly. Initially the doorbell was hesitate to act fast and took more than 12 seconds. After we got the latest firmware update and app update, the door bell start to respond quickly for the motion. See the notification test in action in this video clip.
Package Detection
The Delivery Guard on the Video DoorBell instantly notifies you when you have a delivery at your doorsteps. The thing that steals the show is that it constantly alerts you of unpicked packages till you finally pick them up. The notification appears on your phone, smart display, as well as supported smartwatches like Apple Watch. The packages are getting detected even if they are at the edge of the camera’s field of view in most cases. The response was really quick and impressive, however, the alert sometimes gets some delay in showing notification, and not being able to identify some of the packages. Especially, the camera is not identifying the packages that are outside the FOV of the package detection camera, but still within the main camera view. We would like to have a package guard feature here. Even though eufy is offering this feature, and the response is pretty slow. based on our test with eufy, it took more than 13 seconds to get an alert for package theft. I believe eufy will improve the response time in future updates.
Loiter Detection
This is rather a handy tool that catches unwanted presence at your doorstep. Once detected, the camera can alert the intruder with the sound alerts which you can set using the Eufy Security app. You will get a quick notification when someone walks into your porch with motion alert. But for the Loitering, you have an option in the app to set a delay to notify you. It scares off any unwanted activities around your outdoors. the app also lets you set zones of suspicious activities, which require 24/7 surveillance. The distance and the delay can be changed in the app while you set the loitering detection with the dual cam door bell.
AI Smart Surveillance
The AI-Based smart alerts on the Eufy Dual Video doorbell are innovative. The real-time AI alert is one of the striking factors that make you go with Eufy this time. The AI-based surveillance modes include Package Detection, Human Detection, and Delivery Guard Technology. The features like Human Face Detection are those premium ones that are offered with a subscription fee by almost all other producers. But Eufy here has offered it free of any cost and that is worth praise. The Face detection mode, to be frank, is pretty neat. It recognizes people that you have added and alerts you with a rather personal chime or audio alert. Smart surveillance is also backed by dual motion detection. Instead of using the simple radar or IR sensor to detect motion, the Eufy Dual video doorbell uses the best of both worlds to combine and deliver 95% accurate motion alerts. From the app, you can set motion detection areas for the sensors as well. This feature comes handy especially if you are getting lot of false alerts, you can split the FOV into eight zones and adjust the intensity in each zones.
Face Detection
Getting alerts for everyone who walks towards the door is quite annoying, especially if it is your family member. Eufy takes this into serious consideration and includes a smart facial recognition option to let you opt people out of intruder alerts. You can either add people from the detected list on the app or add people from your camera roll. Although the Face Detection is under Beta at the moment, the Eufy Dual video doorbell manages to identify accurately most of the time.
Smart Chime Support
Unlike conventional doorbells or even video doorbells, the doorbell chimes are not limited to the Eufy Dual Doorbell. You can use the existing chime, or set up the Homebase 2 as a chime for the doorbell. If you have an Alexa speaker, you can use it as a chime for your Eufy doorbell as well. Apart from these, if you want an exclusive chime for the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual, there is an option to get and install a chime from Eufy. All these flexible options to choose your own chime make Eufy really a worthy choice.
Auto-Voice Response
The Eufy Video Doorbell Dual has a solution for the times when you are not home, and someone rings the doorbell. You can set auto-voice responses for those who ring the bell, or a stranger who walks into the door so that whoever is at the door can hear your message. You can set custom voice responses for outsiders, both for ringing and not ringing the bell. If you are expecting a package delivery, set the response to keep the package at the door. Or, you can ask the stranger why they are at yours using the auto-voice response feature in this smart doorbell from Eufy.
Voice Assistant Support
On the other hand, Eufy still continues to have a blind eye toward the Apple HomeKit ecosystem. Not sure why, but let us hope they will get things “HomeKit ready” as soon as they can.
Battery Life
Eufy offers a battery life of up to 3 to 6 months until you plug it in for the next time. If you get a lot of packages delivered frequently and many visitors in a short time, it is likely that the battery charge of your doorbell camera drops near to 3 months. With minimal detections and people passing by, you can extend the battery life up to 6 months. You can recharge the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual battery through the Micro USB port behind the doorbell unit. You can see this port once you detach the module from the wall mount. Plus, it even lets you extend the battery life by connecting the existing doorbell wiring to the doorbell. When you do this, the battery charge remains 100% throughout the year, which I loved the most about this piece of tech. If you do not have an existing doorbell wiring and completely depend on the doorbell battery, Eufy offers a handful of power-saving modes for you. You can choose from the battery usage options – Optimal Battery Saving, Balance Surveillance, and Optimal Surveillance.
Pros and Cons
Key Features: Dual Cam Design | 2K Primary Recording at 160° FOV | 1080p Auxiliary Camera Recording | IR Night Vision At 15fps | Package Detection | Dual Motion Detection | HDR | Two Way Audio | Inbuilt Speaker and Mic | HomeBase 2 offers 16GB local storage | WiFi Connectivity | Inbuilt Li-Ion Battery | Dual Powering Modes
No subscription involvedLocal storage with Homebase HubGood camera clarityExcellent package detectionBetter AI-based alertsPackage Guard
Inaccurate facial recognitionPackage theft notification delay WiFi limited to 2.4GHzBit pricey.
What Is in the Box
The Eufy Dual Video Door Bell is a great way to enhance your home security. It is a one-stop solution to nab all those porch pirates that are constantly on the run. This smart dual doorbell comes with almost everything you need to go on with the installation all by yourself. Take a look at what you will be getting with the complete delivery. With the full delivery, you will be getting;
Eufy Dual Door BellMounting BracketsCharging Cable and adapterEthernet CableScrew KitsWire AppendixEufy HomeBase 2 & kitQuick Start GuideWarranty and other relevant documents
The HomeBase 2 is the wireless unit that acts as the doorbell’s internal storage. It offers storage of 16GB and this is where the recordings and stuff are stored. The HomeBase 2 is connected with your router via the ethernet cable that you get with the full delivery. Also, there is an option to connect it via WiFi.
Pricing and Availability
The Eufy Dual Video DoorBell is a great piece of home security gadget that offers a dual cam surveillance setup. It captures every nook and corner of your outdoors and keeps a keen eye on your delivered packages. The splitting of the cameras into surveillance and package security has in fact made this one a game-changer. The most important thing that I would love to add here is that this video doorbell is free from any monthly subscriptions. You get free local storage of 16GB with the HomeBase 2 which equals out to at least 90 days of storage backup. There is also an array of free AI features and smart alerts which by the way are concealed under a paywall for most other video doorbells out there. In case you really need extra cloud-based storage, there is the $3 a month plan from Eufy that you could consider.
Final Thoughts
Eufy has really turned on the heat with the new Dual Camera concept with the new Video Door Bell. Apparently, this video Doorbell is in a different league of its own and its peers need to buff up their think tanks to catch up. The new Eufy Dual Video Door Bell offers quite a lot of features in a minimalistic way. It does not brag about its capabilities nor does it annoy with any of those subscription fallacies. Of course, the Eufy Dual Video Doorbell is expensive, but it is worth it if you are planning to map each and every corner of your front door and porch. With some cool features like custom audios, package detection, and many more this smart video doorbell is sure to turn some heads. But if you are rather new to the league of video doorbells, and looking for very basic features, then the expensive Eufy Dual is not the right option. You will need something that is rather friendly and easy to use. There are some good affordable alternatives like the Wyze Video Door Bell and the Ring Video Door Bell. But those demean very low initial cost, but cost you in the form of “monthly subscription” later.
Δ
