Eufy

Eufy Security Mini-Review

Low-cost home surveilance system

DISCOVERY
My goal was to find a camera system that did NOT require monthly subscription fees, was wireless and affordable. I used Google and YouTube to research quite a few systems and settled on EUFY. I wanted to start with a doorbell camera and gradually add more cameras as needed.

V2 HOME BASE
The first component you typically work with is the base unit which holds the storage and connects to your Wi-Fi. Inside the box is the unit and the power cord. Thats about it. The minimalist instructions tell you to use the Eufy smartphone app to set everything up. Place the base unit in an area thats somewhat near your other Eufy devices. It will use a proprietary Wi-Fi signal to communicate with them. The base unit also holds the storage for your videos.
Configuring the base involves downloading and installing the Eufy app from the app store on your smartphone. Create your free account and follow the step by step instructions to connect to your base unit. Now you are ready to add your cameras. Easy peasy.

S220 DOORBELL (UPDATED 12/28/24)
Inside the box is the S220 doorbell, charging cord, access key, mounting bracket and screws. Ideally the doorbell must be charged by connecting it via the supplied cable to the base unit. This will take a few hours. Once charged, you can go into the app and add the device to your free account. (The base unit will automatically detect any cameras within range.) Once added, there are several self-explanatory options such as video length, motion sensitivity, night mode etc. These settings are a matter of user preference, but some settings will shorten the battery life. The last part is to mount the doorbell by your door - a mere 2 screws. When motion is detected, you will get a notification on your phone, and you can watch the video. The videos are stored on the base and the number that can be stored depends on length and recording quality. Use the app to view the videos.
One of my complaints is that the little pinhole that is used for removing the bell from the side of the wall so you can charge the battery. This pinhole is at the bottom and hard to locate. Its probably not a big deal in the summer time, but you'll freeze looking for it in an Illinois winter.
I did run into a problem with the doorbell itself. After about a year of use, the blue ring light around the button stopped working normally. The LED wasnt burned out as it comes on during charging. It just didnt work when a person was in front of the motion sensor. All efforts to reset/reconfigure have failed. I contacted tech support and they were unable to resolve the issue. They suggested trying all things I had already tried on my own. Everything else still works without issue. I have since moved the S220 doorbell from the front door, to the door between the garage and kitchen. On some occaisions, the garage door is left open so it made sense to have a camera to capture any activity in the garage. The front door gets the new E340 doorbell.

E340 DOORBELL (NEW 12/28/24)
This is the new model doorbell that has been redesigned to include a second camera for packages and also incorporates an LED light. Inside the box is the doorbell, charging cord, access key, mounting bracket and screws. The doorbell must be initially charged by connecting it via the supplied USB-C cable to and standard phone charger. This will take a few hours. Once charged, you can go into the app and add the device to your free account. The doorbell will even walk you through teh process with voice prompts! Once added, there are several self-explanatory options such as video length, motion sensitivity, night mode etc. (The setup is essentially is about the same as the older model) These settings are a matter of user preference, but some settings will shorten the battery life. The last part is to mount the doorbell by your door - a mere 2 screws. When motion is detected, you will get a notification on your phone, and you can watch the video. The videos are stored on the base and the number that can be stored depends on length and recording quality. Use the app to view the videos.
I was MUCH more impressed with this new E340 model vs. the earlier S220. The second package camera is great for persons who shop online and receive package deliveries. If your away from home you will know that you have a package waiting so you can bring it inside before it gets stolen. If it does get stolen, you'll have a video of the theft. Luckily I don't have that issue in my area, but its a nice feature.
One of the features I noticed is that the pinhole for the access key is now at the top. Yay! The battery is now removable from the doorbell and you have the ability to add a second battery for a quick swap. The mounting bracket is bigger than the prior version but it uses the same mounting holes. That means I didn't have to make any extra holes in my doorframe. I just installed this unit so I havent had it long enough to form any additional opinions, but it does look like its improved from the prior version.

S220 SOLO-CAM
I picked this particular camera as it has a solar panel on top. I unboxed the unit and discovered it had very little documentation. I initially charged the unit with the USB-C cable. Then I used the app to add the camera device just like I did with the doorbell. That's it! I was able to get the first video recording within a few minutes of installation. All that was left was to mount it using the 2 screws in the desired location and within Wi-Fi range. One of the advantages of the Solo-cam is that it works on traditional 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi. This means the camera can be located farther from the home base and the use of a range extenders is possible. My camera is in a location that is just far enough away that it sometimes has connection and buffering issues. (I plan to resolve this issue with better Wi-Fi coverage. This camera stores video on the camera itself and NOT on the home base. If storage becomes full, the oldest video is eventually overwritten. The camera has a solar panel and thus never needs charging or external power. Hopefully it will withstand our cold Illinois winters.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS OF THE ENTIRE EUFY ECOSYSTEM
Video quality seems to be quite good. The doorbell will do its best to capture facial shots for identification. I quickly discovered that I needed to reduce the sensitivity so that it wouldn't catch every car going down our busy road. The first day the camera triggered over 700 times! It's also funny when mowing the yard. It will trigger as we go back and forth across the yard. We do have a tree in our front yard that's directly in the line of sight of the camera. On windy days the tree sways just enough to fool the camera into thinking it's a person. It's kind of annoying to get a bunch of videos of the rustling tree on a windy day. Otherwise, it works as intended. Everyone’s situation is unique, and it will require some adjustment to get the results you desire.

FUTURE
I plan on adding at least 1-2 more cameras. I may get the new dual camera doorbell as it has the package camera. I would move the original doorbell to the door to the garage or the patio door. My other option is to add a regular camera in the garage as visitors will come in via the garage if the door is left open.

I am in the process of running a network line to my garage where I will install a range-extender that I already own. In theory, this will help with the occasional connection issue and latency.

BIGGEST DRAWBACKS
 #1) There is no continuous recording of video. It records when the motion sensor is triggered, and it makes a short recording up to 1 minute in length. The camera's record video to the base ONLY, they do not record to a DVR system.
 #2) There is no ability to connect to the EUFY cameras without the EUFY app or website. It's a very proprietary system. Internet is REQUIRED for viewing videos.
 #3) There is a several second delay before between real life and receiving the video on your device. I think the delay is caused by latency with either the home network or the Wi-Fi.
 #4) EUFY recently had a class-action lawsuit for uploading and storing videos despite claiming the opposite. Eufy claims the videos were being used to train and improve the motion detection portion of the system. In my opinion, this is not a big deal for exterior cameras. However, it could be an issue if you have indoor cameras where privacy could become an issue. You should never put cameras in areas where you desire privacy such as bedrooms & bathrooms.
If any of these drawbacks are an issue, you may wish to investigate a closed-circuit system with DVR.

CONCLUSION
Eufy is not a perfect system, but it provides good value for the price. It's one of the easiest systems to install and configure. Consider getting the cameras that use Wi-Fi for greater range as opposed to the cameras that store video on the base unit. As always, make sure the system meets your needs before purchase. I will continue to update this article as needed if and when I expand my system with more Eufy products.