Eufy Video Doorbell Dual Review
The smart doorbell that spots everything
Verdict
Adding a second camera into the mix, the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual can spot and keep an eye on your packages in a way that other video doorbells can’t. With its high-resolution main camera, quick response times and no subscription fees, the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual is a fine alternative to the bigger names in video doorbells.
Pros
- Smart AI features
- Can clearly see what’s going on
- Excellent video quality
Cons
- Homebase requires an extra plug
- Need to remove doorbell to charge
Availability
- UKRRP: £229
Key Features
- TypeThis is a smart video doorbell with two lenses: one pointing forward, one towards the ground
- Recording optionThis model records to its internal storage
Introduction
Video doorbells are smart, but only in regards of what they can see. Features such as package detection only work to the point where the package drops out of sight. The Eufy Video Doorbell Dual aims to solve that with two cameras: the standard one for talking to visitors and one pointing down to see what’s happening at ground level.
Some very clever features and no online subscriptions make this a good alternative to the bigger names in smart doorbells, but there are a couple of slightly rougher edges.
Design and installation
- Wired or battery-powered
- Requires Homebase near doorbell
With two cameras inside it, plus a battery, the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual is a little bigger than other doorbells, such as the Ring Video Doorbell 4. Longer rather than wide, the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual will fit on most door frames. There’s a corner wedge in the box if you need to angle the doorbell.
The doorbell can be wired to a transformer, which will keep the internal battery topped up. If you don’t go for that option, then the doorbell has to be removed and charged. With Ring’s battery-powered doorbells, you can just pull the battery out and charge it separately, or even have a spare battery to swap out.
Rather than connecting to Wi-Fi, the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual connects to the Eufy Homebase wirelessly. The Homebase connects to your home network via Ethernet. I found the connection to be strong and it does eradicate problems if you have weak Wi-Fi, much in the same way that Arlo cameras can work better with a hub.
This hub has 16GB of onboard storage on it, which Eufy says will last for 90 days, although that depends on how often your doorbell is triggered. There’s no SD card slot for upgrades.
Features
- Facial recognition
- Clever package detection options
- Two video feeds
It takes only a few minutes to pair the doorbell with the Homebase. Once connected to the app, the doorbell acts much like any other smart doorbell. Tap the live view and you can see what’s going on, only here you get two video feeds: one looking straight out, as with other doorbells and one looking down at the floor. It’s a neat point of difference, as you can see what’s in front of your door.
As with the competition, the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual can act as a security camera pinging you when it picks up motion. Here, the camera has an array of tools at its disposal. First, there’s radar to pick up motion, similar to the system used on the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2. That’s followed by a PIR motion sensor that picks up the heat of people.
So far, so good, but then the camera is set to detect people only. I found that, similar to the Eufy Video Doorbell 2K, I only got alerts as people walked toward me, rather than coming in front of my property. There’s an option to be warned of all motion, but I don’t recommend turning this on.
While the Doorbell 2K had facial detection, this model has facial recognition, letting you store profiles of the people that have visited you. I found that it worked well in my tests, recognising me during the day and night. As with the Nest Doorbell (wired) you may need to do some training and manage profiles to get the best results.
Rather than simple package detection, Eufy has a host of AI tools around this. Uncollected Package Alert lets you set a time to be warned about boxes that you’ve forgotten to pick up, and it works brilliantly.
Then, there’s Package Live Check, which highlights packages in a blue box when you enter live view and displays when the package was delivered (this is a link to the delivery footage) and also collates clips when anyone approaches it. It’s useful to see both when a delivery was made and quickly find out if something went wrong. It’s not an infallible system, though: very large boxes that go outside of the field of view can confuse it, as can piles of packages. Still, for the most part, I found this system very reliable.
Package Guarding is similar to the Loitering option in that both play automated messages when they spot people, respectively, approaching the package or hanging around outside your home for ‘too long’. I didn’t find them that useful.
When someone hits the doorbell, the Homebase rings with your choice of ringtone. It’s not that loud, so my advice is to leave it out on display. Notifications come through to your phone, and they’re fast: better than RIng and Nest’s battery products in my opinion.
I found chatting with people clear and easy to understand, plus there’s an option to send quick automated responses if you don’t want to actually answer the door. That’s a nice little time saver.
With the Amazon Alexa Skill, you can have the doorbell ring your Echo speakers, although you can’t answer the call: this is a trick that’s limited to Ring’s own doorbells. Both Alexa and Google Assistant let you stream video to a smart display.
Video clips appear in the Events section, and you can filter by device and event type, including humans and packages (pets and crying are options, although they’re for separate products).
Battery life is rated at up to six months, which seems about right in my testing, although how often the doorbell is triggered will affect this.
Video quality
- High resolution video
- Streams capture both top- and bottom-views
- Detailed night vision
The main camera shoots video at 2K, while the bottom camera shoots at 1080p. It makes sense this way round, as you want higher resolution to see what’s approaching your door, and lower resolution for keeping an eye on packages. During the day, the video is well exposed and detailed, and you can see what’s going on, right into the back of the frame.
At night, the camera can shoot in colour if there’s enough ambient light, but it usually switches to black and white with IR. Range of the IR lights depends on where the doorbell is installed. Close-up with people approaching your door, the camera maintained a good degree of sharpness and detail.
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Should you buy it?
If you don’t want subscription fees and have a lot of deliveries this is the doorbell for you.
If you want better Alexa/Google Assitant integration or want cloud storage, look elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
That second camera is a lot more useful than it may initially sound, particularly when used with the more advanced package detection options. High-quality video and no subscription charges make this a great video doorbell for those that don’t want ongoing costs.
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 remains the best-quality doorbell that I’ve tested, and is a good choice if you have Amazon Alexa and other ring devices. You can find out more in my guide to the best smart video doorbells.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every security camera we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Used as our main security camera for the review period
We test compatibility with the main smart systems (HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, IFTTT and more) to see how easy each camera is to automate.
We take samples during the day and night to see how clear each camera’s video is.
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FAQs
It saves all video to 16GB of storage on the Homebase.
This camera monitors what’s happening outside your front door, and can keep an eye on packages.
Full specs
Jargon buster
Alexa
Amazon's smart voice assistantGoogle Assistant
A voice assistant which is Google’s take on Amazon’s Alexa.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
