Home + Security 4+

Great cam - great app

Cam is fab, easy to set up. Image quality and speed very good. Like the light settings that only come on after dark. Good as well that one can adjust the intensity all directly from within the app. Being able to save video feeds to the cloud at no extra cost is also a plus point for this cam.

The app and the alerts are also very good. The settings could be better though (hence only 4*). Too many buttons to push and places to go configure what you need depending on how many cameras you have. Some settings seem to apply globally across the entire setup, others only to that particular camera and then again others seem to contradict the global settings. A bit confusing. Also the interaction with Apple Home could be better thought through. One finally gets the alerts more or less set up within the cam app, then Apple Home does its own thing.

All in all a very good system and range of products that we have used for years now in three separate home environments. We continue to add on and help our family and friends connect up products so that they too can have peace of mind when not at home.

Almost awesome

This (talking about the Presence as well) is very close to being exceptional.

The main issue I have at the moment is I want to set it to record all activity but only alert me to activity within a certain zone. At the moment I can only get alerts for everything that it records. This means I get alerts for all the neighbours coming and going. I’d like this stuff recorded in case the police want to see it for anything suspicious but I don’t want alerts for it. However I do want an alert if someone comes into the garden.

Update after a week of use: the above is still as important as ever but I’m now finding that I really want to see its object detection exposed to HomeKit. I.e if I had a ‘motion sensor’ for each of the three object types detected, and they honoured the alert zones, I could set all kinds of brilliant things up in the Apple Home app. I.e animal detected in a certain zone, turn on sprinkler. Or, person detected at night time, turn on my living room lights. Etc. At the moment it’s just a single ‘motion sensor’ that shows in the Home app and it triggers for all/any motion and ignores the alert zones.

Update after a month:
Really wish the Watch app displayed the thumbnail feed so I could use it when away from my phone. Also the lack of ability to record all activity but only get notifications for a certain zone is still very frustrating.

Once this is all possible it’s a 5 star review without doubt.

Keeps loosing connection with doorbell

[updated - see below]
Just purchased the Netatmo Doorbell, and have been having many issues getting it to work reliably. I have contacted support 4 times for over a week, no response at all, completely ignored. I’ve managed to fix some of the issues myself, but the Netatmo app still regularly looses connection or returning errors. Strangely, the Home app still has connection. Unreliable app - rubbish customer support.

[Update (upgraded from 1 to 3 stars)]:
Customer support finally answered and have been very helpful once they did. Turns out Netatmo hardware doesn’t work correctly with many mesh WiFi networks (including BT Smarthub 2 with disks) - which is not stated in Netatmo’s promotional material. I’ve moved my main router to beside the doorbell, as advised, which has helped, so it doesn’t try to connect to a disk. App still seems buggy - with the connection still dropping from time to time, even though the Home app doesn’t lose the connection. However, other that this connection issue the hardware and app are good. I would check that the product is compatible with your WiFi set up before buying.

Developer Response ,

Hello, thank you for your review, we will help you resolve this situation so you can fully enjoy your product. Rest assured we reply to every request as soon as possible and we are currently taking measures to offer you a faster service.



Kate

Netatmo customer service