Blue from ADT doorbell camera
"The boring hardware and an app that urgently needs redesigning make this experience uncomfortable."
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Clear video, even at night
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face recognition
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View all of the video feeds on the main screen of the app
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Boring hardware
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Sluggish app
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Buried camera controls
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Late notifications
What do you do when you're an old security company constantly challenged by newbies to the DIY space? Smart Home Tech makes the installation of security systems from complex to rudimentary accessible to the everyday user. ADT recognized this and passed a "If you can't beat them, join them" policy. So Blue was born from ADT.
One of the main focuses of the Blue by ADT security system is that Blue doorbell camera. This is a doorbell camera with a 180 degree field of view and facial recognition that can see who is at your door. Your front door is the center of coming and going around your home. Therefore, camera cover is critical to any security system.
It's a gray box
The hardware for the doorbell isn't particularly exciting. I checked out the Pearl Gray version which has a modern, if a bit boring, look. Basically, it is a rounded rectangle. At the top is a large black camera lens that is set to 130 degrees by default. However, you can expand it to 180 degrees if you don't mind a little fisheye effect. Every Blue by ADT device has a diagonal slash on the bottom that glows blue when the device is in operation. This is a nice accent. The ring light around the doorbell is a nice addition to the aesthetic that shows people exactly where the button is so they don't smudge the camera lens thinking it is a button.
This isn't the bulky doorbell I've checked, but it sure is a chunky boy. You want to make sure that the look of the doorbell matches your current front door decor. We tested the Pearl Gray version. There is also a darker graphite option.
The doorbell is mounted in an unusual way. It comes with a power plate that you connect the wiring to. Then mount this power plate on your wall. The doorbell itself has a tiny on / off switch that you have to set to "on" before you click the doorbell onto the power plate. The doorbell also includes a small battery backup for times when you lose power. However, our tests have shown that this is measured in hours rather than days.
After connecting the doorbell to the app, all the usual video doorbell tasks will be performed. You will receive motion notifications and when the bell rings. You can also purchase an additional carillon extender for around $ 50. This is a large gray box that you plug into an electrical outlet. The extender doubles as a doorbell, a Wi-Fi extender, or both. I loved having the extender plugged into a back room so I knew if someone was coming to the door and I couldn't hear our mechanical doorbell.
The doorbell also has facial recognition, which didn't seem to work very well for me. I only tested the doorbell for a few weeks, at a time when not too many people came to visit. It is possible that face recognition might show up on my face over time, but I give it the benefit of the doubt that I just haven't tested it long enough.
Crunchy video quality
The picture quality is quite good. The video is sharp with good detail, although there is a very noticeable fish-eye effect when the lens is set to 180 degrees. Even at night the video is crisp and clear. You can set the video quality between 720p and 1080p. Clips are recorded whenever an event occurs. However, these events are limited to movement and people. It would be great to see Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) step in here to interrupt the movements. I also want the doorbell to tell me if there is an animal or a package on my doorstep. You can get this from the Nest Hello doorbell. The app also lets you manually adjust the camera's brightness and contrast, which is lovely, but that leads to my biggest problem with the system.
Then everything falls apart because of the app
The app isn't that great. It certainly has some high points, but the overall experience is very slow. It takes 7-10 seconds for the doorbells to ring. Motion notifications can take minutes. So if someone takes Santa Claus off your front door, you will be too late to stop them. Videos take between 10 and 30 seconds to load. This is a very long time to stare at your phone and wait for it to take action. Switching between menu options started slowly, but that actually cleared up towards the end of our review period.
The first time you log into the app, each camera you set up will take a snapshot to refresh the main screen. Refreshing this snapshot can take up to 10 seconds, which makes it feel less like a guard guarding the base and more like a rent-a-cop trying to turn off the TV when the boss walks in. As I mentioned earlier, you can adjust the brightness and contrast, which is lovely, but the part of the app where you do the adjustments is four levels deep in a menu. Then you need to go back to the main screen and wait for another snapshot to be taken to see how your customizations have evolved.
Blue is constantly expanding the capabilities of this device so you should see upgrades in the future too.
The app isn't all bad. The first time you enter the app it will show all of the cameras you have set up and you can live stream them all at once which is lovely. The home page also has an up-to-date history of all recorded events, as well as a crime monitoring section similar to the Ring & # 39; s Neighbors app. You can also partition off parts of your porch that you don't want to detect movement from. When you use the talk feature to speak through the doorbell, your voice will be loud and clear.
However, when you factor in the app's sluggishness as well as some rare connectivity issues, it's not a good experience overall. I worked pretty hard with a product manager at Blue by ADT to resolve some of the connectivity issues and I think we resolved most of them. But in the days since that conversation, I still noticed the doorbell was occasionally disconnected from the WiFi. No other doorbell I have tested has such failures. ADT's Blue said there were more server-side changes released this week. Hence, it is possible that this will help clear up some issues.
Our opinion
There are some great ideas here. Not only is the hardware pretty uninspired, but it also checks a few boxes, including battery backup, easy installation, and crisp video quality. But the app, which is vital to the overall experience, is really making things sour. It needs to be revised. There are also some connectivity issues. It is very likely that updates to the app will fix most of the problems. However, for now, this is a doorbell that is difficult to recommend.
Is there a better alternative?
Yes. The blue doorbell camera doesn't do anything other doorbells don't. The 180 degree field of view is adjusted by the Vivint Doorbell Pro. The talk function is taken over by practically every other doorbell camera on the market. The doorbell doesn't record 24/7 footage so you no longer have to scrub through a timeline – like you would with a Nest Hello. Other than that, the motion detection is very accurate, so you basically get clips of everything that goes on outside your door. Unfortunately, the app and uninspired design hold that back.
How long it will take?
The Blue by ADT video doorbell is solidly built, so I can imagine it will last for several years. It's water resistant and can withstand temperatures of -40 ° to 104 ° F, or as we like to call it "September" in Chicago. In addition, the Blue by ADT video doorbell works with Google Assistant, IFTTT and Alexa and the offer is solid. Blue is constantly expanding the capabilities of this device so you should see upgrades in the future too. A one-year guarantee is given on Blue by ADT cameras.
Should you buy it?
No. In the video doorbell space, there are too many alternatives that work better than this one. The product costs $ 199, and while the video quality and expandable chimes are good, the app makes the entire experience untenable. There are just too many alternatives out there that do a better job.
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