What is the best battery powered smart doorbell?

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I live in an apartment which isn't wired for a doorbell so that's out of the question.
We've had some robberies (along with murders) in our neighborhood recently and I'm looking for something to act as both a deterrent and to capture the faces of anyone who tries.
While I was at work yesterday, someone went around robbing apartments in the neighborhood while my girlfriend was home. They knocked on our door to see if we were there. She answered, they made up a lie, and left to rob our neighbors.
I'm willing to spend a couple hundred bucks and even pay a bit for a subscription, but I need something that's reliable enough to work consistently.
I've heard bad things about the Ring, are they true? Is there any better options?
 
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David L

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I live in an apartment which isn't wired for a doorbell so that's out of the question.
We've had some robberies (along with murders) in our neighborhood recently and I'm looking for something to act as both a deterrent and to capture the faces of anyone who tries.
While I was at work yesterday, someone went around robbing apartments in the neighborhood while my girlfriend was home. They knocked on our door to see if we were there. She answered, they made up a lie, and left to rob our neighbors.
I'm willing to spend a couple hundred bucks and even pay a bit for a subscription, but I need something that's reliable enough to work consistently.
I've heard bad things about the Ring, are they true? Is there any better options?
 

Shockwave199

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All battery doorbells suck. Don't waste your money on them. You can use the ring pro doorbell with a wall wart power adapter and run the wire along the baseboard/door jam and under the door without drilling holes. People do that all the time in apartments. 30 bucks a year for the subscription for video history is nothing really. Just don't buy the battery crap. The battery wears down fast and the way video recording is handled in the battery doorbell is subpar compared to powered versions.
 

mat200

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I live in an apartment which isn't wired for a doorbell so that's out of the question.
We've had some robberies (along with murders) in our neighborhood recently and I'm looking for something to act as both a deterrent and to capture the faces of anyone who tries.
While I was at work yesterday, someone went around robbing apartments in the neighborhood while my girlfriend was home. They knocked on our door to see if we were there. She answered, they made up a lie, and left to rob our neighbors.
I'm willing to spend a couple hundred bucks and even pay a bit for a subscription, but I need something that's reliable enough to work consistently.
I've heard bad things about the Ring, are they true? Is there any better options?
Hi @bearsethi96

There are some peephole cameras out there now... check if those could be useful
 

Shockwave199

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The peephole camera depends on the willingness of the landlord to remove the existing peephole so the camera can be installed. Plus, it's a battery camera. The battery wears down quickly so a second battery needs to be purchased so there's no downtime while charging a battery. The biggest drawback to ring battery cameras is that there's no video buffering so you don't get anything but the start of the motion, which is usually late to boot. The video compromise is not worth it, imo. A powered camera such as the ring pro can be installed by cleverly installing the power adapter wire and using velcro on the outside of door installation. You could try with a power adapter wire you have from something else just to get an idea if it'll work to run the wire for your install. Can they swipe the doorbell? Yes but with the subscription plan you have that archived. You could also just go for inside cameras as well and not deal with a doorbell if that can't work out. Good luck.
 

David L

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The peephole camera depends on the willingness of the landlord to remove the existing peephole so the camera can be installed. Plus, it's a battery camera. The battery wears down quickly so a second battery needs to be purchased so there's no downtime while charging a battery. The biggest drawback to ring battery cameras is that there's no video buffering so you don't get anything but the start of the motion, which is usually late to boot. The video compromise is not worth it, imo. A powered camera such as the ring pro can be installed by cleverly installing the power adapter wire and using velcro on the outside of door installation. You could try with a power adapter wire you have from something else just to get an idea if it'll work to run the wire for your install. Can they swipe the doorbell? Yes but with the subscription plan you have that archived. You could also just go for inside cameras as well and not deal with a doorbell if that can't work out. Good luck.
So EZVIZ has a Battery DB, but not sure where to get it:

 

looney2ns

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I live in an apartment which isn't wired for a doorbell so that's out of the question.
We've had some robberies (along with murders) in our neighborhood recently and I'm looking for something to act as both a deterrent and to capture the faces of anyone who tries.
While I was at work yesterday, someone went around robbing apartments in the neighborhood while my girlfriend was home. They knocked on our door to see if we were there. She answered, they made up a lie, and left to rob our neighbors.
I'm willing to spend a couple hundred bucks and even pay a bit for a subscription, but I need something that's reliable enough to work consistently.
I've heard bad things about the Ring, are they true? Is there any better options?
Study this: Cliff Notes.
Avoid anything that use's WIfi or a battery. Buy a real camera.
 
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