Smart Home doorbell in the Test: No ring prank

"let's remove all that crap again, and put the old doorbell once again in operation." The electrician was from the beginning sceptical about our latest plastic toy, and now should confirm all reservations. The video doorbell with camera, motion detection, Cloud storage, and alarm siren supply is not simply.

Michael Spehr

editor in the Department "technology and Motor".

The speech from the Video Doorbell of the American manufacturer Arlo. You should work together with the surveillance cameras of the earlier Netgear belonging to company, so that synergy effects arise. The 200 Euro expensive camera than 13 inches high, oval plastic latch. At the bottom of the housing of the bell button, above the optic is located. The difference to a particularly high-quality video system, for example from Siedle is immediately seen, however, the Latter costs like ten times.

The Arlo package also has a 24-Volt transformer, which is installed in the fuse control box is located next to the doorbell. This is a task for the electricians. The Arlo needs 16 to 24 volts AC, the typical bell transformer German houses has eight volts. That's not enough. After the conversion, a new alarm must be 24 volts in the hallway mounted, and in Germany is hardly available. The electrician replaced in the first step, the transformer, and then continued on to the door chime a resistance to the existing Eight-Volt alarm further use. In addition, is accommodated in the housing of the ring a small control unit, which can be used to turn off the existing Gong.

on the Outside of the house was dismantled, the existing doorbell, and we found that the existing circle-shaped recess in masonry wider than the Arlo-plastic bar with its 4.5 centimeters. So a cover had to be tinkered with. The two bell wires to be connected on the rear with the Video Doorbell, and then takes the system via an App on the Smartphone.

there are two possibilities. Either the doorbell is integrated as a stand-alone product to the local W-Lan, or connects with an existing Arlo-monitoring system and its base station. That one finds no printed instructions, but some steps need to be processed in the App, is not necessarily an advantage.

we work in the first steps of the setup easily, and then it went on and on. The App couldn't find the Doorbell. While lit, the LED in the button flashes red and white.

We repeated each of the steps, watched setup videos on Youtube and tried the setup without the base station. A QR Code is displayed in the App, and then you should hold the Smartphone in front of the camera. Again, both worlds came together.