Video doorbell settings you must change
When it comes to smart devices, you have a ton of choices. Not only are smart speakers and assistants affordable and easy to obtain, but so are smart plugs, smart lights, smart thermostats and a ton of other smart devices, too.
One of the more popular options is video doorbells. They come equipped with cameras that give you access to live feeds of your front door or other areas of the home where they’re placed. You can use them to monitor who comes and goes, what they’re doing or see when packages are dropped off.
But while these smart devices are handy for securing your home, they can also come with some issues of their own. In fact, five of the popular video doorbells recently failed security tests. Luckily, most of these potential trouble spots can be tempered by changing a few settings. Here are five video doorbell settings you need to change ASAP.
1. Tell your device what and when to record (and when not to)
What triggers your video doorbell to record will depend on the system you’re using. For the most part, your doorbell’s video feature will be activated either when someone rings it or when it senses motion near your doorway or front porch. When that happens, the doorbell will start recording automatically. You don’t have to do anything.
You can watch a live video feed from your front porch or view recordings later when you have time. It’s important to note, though, that recorded video clips require storage space. If you’re saving video footage to view later, you may need to pay for cloud storage or removable storage to access and store it.
In general, two types of recordings will be available in cloud storage:
- Motion-based recording, which starts when motion is detected near your camera.
- Continuous recording, which captures video 24/7 and stores it.
With these storage plans come extra costs. Let’s take Ring, for example. If you want to access old footage, you’ll need a plan that allows it. This video doorbell system’s basic plan gives you 60 days of storage for $30 per year per doorbell — which means that your footage will be deleted after 60 days.
On the other hand, Nest offers plans with either a 30 or 60-day history that you can access. That gives you access to the footage your video doorbell recorded for 30 or 60 days.
You can also stop your Ring or Nest doorbell camera from recording. You may want to do this if you notice the status light is on while recording. This light can show a recording in progress, which can lead to issues with security threats.
If someone doesn’t want to be recorded but notices that the light is on, your equipment could be damaged or disabled. There is no way to record without the status light illuminating on the Nest.
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4 settings you must change on your video doorbell
Many moons ago, we used to have peepholes. Kids, ask your parents about how they’d look through a little hole to see who was at the door to make sure it was safe to open the door.
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