You Get What You Pay For – Review Geek

Even if you’re interested in home security, dropping hundreds of dollars on a smart doorbell probably isn’t a priority right now. But what if you could buy a competent video doorbell for just $100? Well, the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro certainly fits the bill. Just don’t put your expectations too high.

I was very excited to receive the Wyze Video Doorbell, especially because it runs on battery or wired power and comes with a smart chime. But my excitement slowly wore down as I kept running into small annoyances—I guess small problems are the trade-off for such a low price.

Installation and Design: Easy and Renter-Friendly

• Mounting Options: Adhesive or hard mounted
• Power: Wired power or 6-month rechargeable battery power
• Charging: Micro USB

Wyze says that you can install the Video Doorbell Pro in under a minute, which is more or less correct. The doorbell has an incredibly simple setup process, it works on battery or wired power, and it comes with several mounting brackets (plus small tools). There’s even an adhesive mount, which is perfect for those with a deep fear of handiwork (or an annoying landlord).

I live in an older home without doorbell wiring, so I’ve only installed and tested this device using battery power. But the option to go wired could come in handy if I move to a newer house or apartment and continue using the Video Doorbell Pro—it’s a great feature to have at this price.

The Video Doorbell Pro’s battery should last you around six months, depending on how often it records people visiting. And charging it isn’t too much of a hassle. You just loosen the screw that holds the doorbell to its mounting plate, remove the doorbell, and bring it inside to charge on a Micro USB cable. (That screw keeps people from snatching the doorbell, by the way.)

Unfortunately, this video doorbell looks very cheap, plasticy, boxy, and massive. It doesn’t seem like Wyze put any real thought into the design, but again, I guess that’s a trade-off for the price. A more pressing detail is that you can’t turn off the blue ring LED, which may be bad news if you have an aggressive HOA.

I should also mention that weather can affect the performance of battery-powered doorbells. While I haven’t noticed any problems in 100-degree temperatures, those who experience sub-zero temperatures in the winter may want to consider a wired smart doorbell.

Video and Audio Quality: Appropriate for the Price

• Resolution: 1440p
• Field of View: 150 degrees
• Night Vision: Yes (B&W)
• Two-Way Audio: Yes
• Detection Zones: Yes
• Person Detection: Yes
• Package, Pet, Vehicle Detection: Yes, with Cam Plus
• Local Storage: No

Wyze’s original Video Doorbell fell short on video quality. It was extremely pixelated, and it had a narrow FOV that didn’t provide a full picture of people or packages. Wyze Video Doorbell Pro mostly fixes these problems.

The Video Doorbell Pro provides a very wide 150-degree FOV at 1440p resolution. The video feed is a bit grainy, and the wide FOV warps subjects a bit (especially when you disable the fish-eye styled view), but the overall experience is great for the money. Subjects look clear, the colors are fairly accurate, and night mode works well (even though it’s just black and white).

A recent update added Motion Zones to the doorbell, so you can tell it to only look for activity in certain parts of its video feed. And while you can adjust motion sensitivity on this doorbell, I found that it always records guests a few seconds late. For that reason, I don’t have any images of people actually standing at my door.

As for the audio quality, it’s good enough for the price. Audio from recordings is clear enough to understand, even with the busy street that’s near my home. Just don’t buy the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro if you’re obsessed with two-way audio, because its built-in speaker is practically unintelligible.

Here’s my big problem; Wyze hides too many key features behind its Cam Plus subscription. And you’re forced to know what you’re missing, because a 14-day Cam Plus trial activates the minute you set this puppy up (it isn’t set to auto-renew, thankfully).

Without a subscription, you get 12-second video clips, person detection, and a 5-minute cooldown between each recording. But the lovely Cam Plus plan, which costs $2 a month (and doesn’t apply to your other Wyze products), gives you full-length video without a cooldown period, plus package and vehicle detection.

I’ve tested the Video Doorbell Pro for a few months, and I spent some of that time without Cam Plus. It was a disappointing experience. The 12-second video clips aren’t long enough to record the entirety of a guest’s visit, especially since the recordings tend to start late.

Obviously, Wyze can’t just give its customers a ton of free cloud storage. But if cloud storage is the problem, why not give me a local storage option? Wyze says that the doorbell doesn’t have a microSD slot for security reasons (someone could steal it). But if that’s the case, why can’t I just pair this doorbell with my Wyze Base Station (which is required for my Wyze Cam Outdoor) and save local video from there?

The Chime: Well, Maybe You’ll Like It

Chime Included: Yes

One of the big selling points for Wyze Video Doorbell Pro is the included doorbell chime. This small chime actually doubles as a hub for the doorbell, which makes setup easier. It also eliminates the need to buy a separate chime or pair the doorbell with a smart speaker.

For most people, this chime will do its job. It gets nice and loud, comes with over a dozen tones, and has adjustable volume. Just set it at the center of your home and call it a day.

But I’m not a fan of the chime. Aside from the fact that it sounds like a tin can, it’s just way too restrictive for a smart home product. You cannot add multiple Wyze Chime Pros to your home, for example. If you want alerts across your home, you have to use Echo or Nest smart speakers, which many customers (myself included) would prefer to avoid. Let me buy more of your stupid chimes!

Not to mention, the Wyze Doorbell Pro can’t work with a home’s mechanical chime. I don’t know if this is a physical restriction or if Wyze just really wants people to hear the chime’s crappy little speaker.

I’m also concerned about how this chime affects the lifespan of the doorbell. If you unplug the chime, the doorbell stops working (because the chime is its hub). So, what happens if the chime breaks? Wyze doesn’t sell replacement Chime Pros, and there’s no guarantee that the company will continue producing this very specific chime for the next five or ten years. It’s just weird.

The Wyze App: Still Awesome

A Note About Security

Wyze sent me this video doorbell in February. Obviously, I’ve waited a long time to publish my review. Part of the problem is that I have a big stack of review units sitting in the corner, but I also delayed things a bit because of Wyze’s recent scandal.

Way back in 2019, security researchers at Bitdefender warned Wyze about three vulnerabilities in its security cameras. Not only did it take Wyze three years to patch all of these holes, but the company never told its customers that there was a problem.

Now, these vulnerabilities were actually quite mild. The worst vulnerability only affected customers who modified their Wyze Cams for port forwarding—something that always makes devices more accessible to hackers. My big concern is that Wyze ignored Bitdefender’s warnings and didn’t have a proper security team or plan until very recently.

The Wyze Video Doorbell Pro is a decent product for the price, but I believe that all customers should be aware of this scandal.

The Gist: I Mean, It’s Only $100

On paper, the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro boasts some impressive specs. It’s got high-res video with a wide FOV, a night vision mode, two-way talk, and loads of other features. It even comes with a chime, which is unexpected.

But this doorbell doesn’t really hit the mark. At least, not in my opinion. A bunch of small problems (and very odd choices on Wyze’s behalf) make this affordable doorbell feel pretty mediocre.

Now, getting a mediocre video doorbell for $100 isn’t necessarily a bad deal. But if you want features like unlimited recording, you have to pay $2 a month for Cam Plus—that’s an extra $24 per year. At that point, you might as well splurge on something that offers longer recording times without a subscription. (Or a doorbell with local storage, like Eufy’s Video Doorbell 2K.)

If you don’t mind missing out on Cam Plus features, or you’re a Wyze fan who just wants everything in on app, then go for it. The Wyze Video Doorbell Pro doesn’t cost much and gets the job done. It’s just not very exciting to use.