Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Updated 9/2018: I have tried several other known name cameras and the quality of this is very good compared those out there and with a good app. I just ordered another camera and actually read the privacy policy which I recommend you do, unless you don’t care about that stuff. Here’s my take in the camera itself. SETUP Very easy and quick. Only connects to 2.4G wifi. CAMERA / AUDIO Video resolution quality is very good. Probably one of the best if not the best i’ve tested (Blink and Canary). If you’re curious about doorbell cams, I currently have a Ring doorbell 2 installed and this video quality is noticeably better and clearer pointing out in the same area. Night vision works well and is clear which can be manually turned off if desired. Streaming is fluid and haven't experienced any buffering or freezing yet. Clear picture and good colors. Motion dection WORKS through dual pane glass window! It will record motion as it picks it up. For example, I have the detection set only on the floor section of the porch so it only detects motions as soon as someone walks onto my porch (not walk by). If someone delivers a package and puts it on my porch which will then activate mobile notifications, the camera playback will record BEFORE the person fully walks up to my porch (the detection zone). The motion notifications to my cell is fairly quick. The microphone picks up sound very well through dual a pane window and the speaker can be heard clearly from outside for example if you put this at your front door and want to communicate. APP Nicely designed and user friendly with lots of features. Here are just some of those features: set a 4 digit passcode or Touch ID to view camera feed, ability to turn camera and mic on/off, flip the image 180 degrees, pan view for wider angles in portrait mode (uses motion of your phone similar to the 360 videos or swipe), record while viewing live!, take and save snap shots while viewing live!, two way talk. Customize motion detection area size and placement. I've experienced live view connects in 3 seconds or less. STORAGE It has a micro SD memory card slot! Not available with Canary and Blink. With YI you get free 6 second motion clips with cloud storage and if you want to view full clips you will need to add a micro SD card. Clips are saved for at least 5 days (could be longer, I haven’t really paid attention). YI also offers different storage plans so check those out if you plan on using that. I personally just use an SD card. BUILD QUALITY First packaging is quality (not that you care but is a nice touch). Build quality is excellent. I know it's a knock off of the Nest dropcam design but I don't care, it's $30! now (I paid $60 at the time) and it's excellent for the price. The camera itself is rotatable and removable from its stand which offers more custom mounting ideas with its design. The camera has to be plugged into power though. It comes with a decent length power cord but I think it should be longer. Wall mount is not included. Bottom of the stand has a rubber pad for sturdier stance. FINAL THOUGHTS I am impressed with this camera and what YI is offering their customers. They are definetly competing hard with the more expensive well known players like Nest, Blink, Canary, Samsung etc. If you’re ok with the privacy policy then this a good camera. UPDATE 2/2019: A couple things we’ve noticed is 1) the quickness to view the camera and 2) the apps recording alerts. What I mean by the first “issue” is when someone rings/knocks at the door, it takes a bit too long to open the app, load and view the person at the door. We have a pin/fingerprint lock set up on ours so that could be a factor. As for #2, what ever update Yi did to the app is frustrating. EVERYTIME we get a notification alert and go to the app to view it, it stays on loading and doesn’t show the recording or the alert. Very annoying and makes it sort of pointless. I know it’s not the app on my phone because my wife has the same problem on her phone. Hopefully they fix this issue real quick.