- HD VIDEO performance conncet with your smart phone
- 30 sec auto record when montion is detected
- Message reminder fuction when miss call
- Easy set up
Doorbell placement is key
07/27/2016
This review is from: Zmodo Greet - Smart WiFi HD Video Doorbell
Pros:
• Easy install for a normal setup (see notes)
• Easy connection setup to Wi-Fi
• Clean styling
• Minimalist packaging
• Good daylight video from camera
Cons:
• Some lag from the time the doorbell rings to receiving the notification on the MeShare app
• Runs warm and causes a constant buzzing from the doorbell chime
• Low mounted doorbells aren’t a great candidate for this install
• Needs to be a mounting situation that keeps the bottom of the unit away from an edge surface (or you can’t use the screws to secure the main unit to the bracket
• Customer service was reasonably responsive, and helpful
Overall Review:
Was pretty excited to give the Greet a try, as it has a lot of features that my wife could really appreciate. Mixed results overall. I could see right away that the install placement was going to be an issue because our doorbell is mounted low, and to the far right of our front door. This limits the camera to “seeing” just one side of the porch, and at best, you are looking at someone’s waist, and that’s only if they don’t just reach over to push the bell. Not the fault of the product, but I did walk up and down our street, and nearly every doorbell placement was comparable to ours. To install it in an alternate location takes away any ease of install, so not really an option. I removed our existing doorbell, and there were two wires coming out of a hole (home built in 2003), so any efforts to drill a new hole, run the wires higher, etc., would have been a challenge. This lead to install issue number two. We have a flange that runs along the bottom of the area the doorbell is mounted by. Without significant modification, the Greet ends up being mounted so close to that flange, that it is impossible to use the two bottom edge mounting screws. I just ended up wedging it on, and calling it good.
Connection to Wi-Fi wasn’t very easy using the instructions, but completely doable by just monkeying with the options, and knowing your SSID + password. Once connected, playing around with the MeShare app was pretty simple. Like some of the other reviewers, I would say the app is definitely setup to be used with a wide variety of devices, so was lacking in some of the polish you would see with a device specific app. Actual use wasn’t too bad, but there was definite lag on the notifier, usually over a minute. This was inconsistent, because when I uninstalled the Greet, I triggered the camera multiple times, and I was receiving notifications every 15-20 seconds.
I noticed on day two that there was a constant hum coming from our doorbell chime, and the Greet itself was really warm. I spoke to a friend at work, and he guessed it was receiving too much voltage. I went ahead and emailed Zmodo customer service, and received a reply within two days, with the replier saying that she would need to talk to one of their experts. It took a few days, but I received an email back suggesting the same voltage issue. I checked the information on our transformer, and it was within the 16v parameter, and the existing doorbell worked just fine before I installed the Greet. I’m not proficient enough with electricity to replace a transformer, run wires, etc., and I wasn’t about to do it for a device that I couldn’t even mount in a way that worked for our situation.
In the name of finishing the review, I went ahead and ran the Greet as is for three days. In that timeframe, I never ran into any disconnection issues that were impactful to me, nor did I have any issues with the camera recording street level movement, stuff like that.
I think that overall, the Greet just wasn’t for us. Install situation didn’t work (despite doorbell placement that was common to our neighborhood) and the lag on the notifications made it feel useless when we were home. Nice looking unit that setup easy (despite the instructions), and good customer service has me recommending the Greet for the discerning user. Think about how your doorbell is setup, have strong internet connection, and hope your actual doorbell wiring is a match. If you can check these marks off, the Greet might be a good fit for you. I did a little internet cruising, and it seems that comparable devices are in a similar price range, so it really comes down to doing your review homework.
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