#1:Zmodo SD-H1080P-Z Outdoor Wireless Security Camera, HD 1080p WiFi Smart Home Surveillance IP Camera
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5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Product, Subscription not required in order to make great use of cameras
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I really like these security cameras. They are pretty easy to setup and function as described in the product description area of the page. One question I had before ordering was about the subscription requirement that is mentioned. You do not have to have a subscription in order to make use of these cameras in the way that I want to use them. I can view the camera output on my cell phone in real time and I can switch easily from one camera to the next. I can also set the cameras to capture a short video when motion is detected. I get a notification on my phone when motion is detected and can review the short video that was recorded. I can then switch to real time viewing and can see the camera output in real time. The subscription will provide additional capabilities but is not required to use the cameras like I described.
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TylerTman
5.0 out of 5 stars Don't let the negative reviews fool you...
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2017
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Purchased this set through amazon recently. To be honest I was skeptical at first due to some reviews. After using them myself for a couple weeks I could not be happier. These cameras were extremely easy to set up. Turned them all on near the router and downloaded the app. Within 10 minutes they were all connected to my wifi.
--Install--
The longest part was figuring out where to install. Installing them is easy, just make sure you got decent wifi signal and plug it in. Yes, like other reviewers stated the power cord is not very long. Maybe ~10ft or so. This makes it so you will probably need to use some sort of extension cords. But nonetheless as long as you expect it, it should not be a surprise.
**Update 12-18**
As mentioned the cord is short so you need to plug it in close to power source. I found I very simple fix for this. if you search Micro usb Male to Female Extender Cord. Any cord with that setup will extend the length of your cord, I bought a 16.5ft one for around $10. easy peasy.
--APP--
Alot of reviewers complained about the application for zmodo. I found the app to be very easy to use with a lot of different settings and options for the camera. Maybe the app was recently updated, I am not sure. But my experiecnce with the app so far is great. I occasionally notice minor bugs in which i notfify support right there on the app. It is nice someone is always there to answer questions.
--Motion--
Again, I was worried about buying these because people complained about motion detection, which is most important feature. If you follow the instructions for install there will be no issues with motion. I have tested my setup multiple times and the motion is always working. Hell, it even sometimes goes of if tree branches blowing around in the wind. One of the top reviewers stated "i feel less safe". I have no idea how that is even possible. The motion works if set up properly. Even if some chance it misses a motion the fact you have cameras is a huge crime deterrent. Plus if you are worried about motion alerts you can always buy the cloud which has now been released for 24/7 recording. I feel the cloud is over priced for my budget at around $7 a month per camera I believe, but hopefully that cost will go down.
I initially did have an issue where I was not getting motion alerts but I found it was user error. In the app you can click to say if you are home, away, sleeping, etc. Each of those options has specific alert settings. My "home" setting was default to not give motion alerts. This is easy to change but if you are not aware it may confuse you.
Overall I am very pleased with this system. You can definitely not find a better system for the price. With the new cloud feature, you can't go wrong. I have no issues with motion where my cameras are installed and the setup and install was a breeze. I did not post pictures/video for privacy concerns. Any questions feel free to ask!
**UPDATE**7-8-18
I have had these cameras for almost a year now. They are still going great and everything stated above is accurate. In the past year, I have caught on video a hit and run accident which occurred outside my house on the street. I was also able to assist police in getting video footage of a possible suspect in a burglary which occurred at my neighbor's house. The motion alerts are still going as expected and I am pleased with them. I do wish the motion alerts recorded longer than the 8sec or so. The app is still working perfectly for me with no issues and seems to be getting updates very regularly.
***Update 11-23-18***
I recently had a bike stolen out of my garage. My camera I have set up back there caught them on video running from my garage with the bike. I also found them up front scoping out my house (they apparenty did not do very good if they did not see the cameras). The bike was only around $100 value to me but I posted the video on facebook and someone was able to identify the suspects from watching the zmodo video. It was super easy to download video to my phone and post on facebook. I was in contact with police and am happy to say the suspects are caught and my bike was returned all in less than a week thanks mainly to zmodo. Now that being said I did miss some important motion alerts fro the incident but got what I neded. I am highly considering getting the 24/7 cloud recording. I have not had a major issue with motion alerst but I know it does not get everything. I am hoping to purchase a 5th camera for the holidays to get even more protection.
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Neuburn David Edwards
5.0 out of 5 stars An Inexpensive Alternative To Home Security
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
When I purchased my Zmodo wireless 3 pack Cameras , I never imagined that they would be so convenient and simple to install. I have two cameras monitoring my elderly sister's home in that she has dementia and she need close supervision all the time. The other camera overlook my office/shop providing 24/7 security as well. As a retired law enforcement officer, I am elated with the performance of these cameras. The cloud monitoring and night vision features and the clarity of these cameras is super great and I would highly recommend purchasing them.
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ShantAli
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome easy cameras!
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2017
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Love love love these!!!! We needed to find out who's been walking in our back yard.... lol we got'm! unfortunately you can see that he turned and saw the camera... but at least we can see who's been walking back there and now he knowwwws we knowww??????
So easy to set up.. turned them on in 5-10 min just cuz I was taking my time and exploring all the info. They work amazing for so cheap!
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Irwin Electronics
5.0 out of 5 stars I keep buying more of these
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
We've been robbed before, and we've caught people casing the property. We've filed police reports. Each time the police ask if we have pictures or video. I put up 4 fake cameras that look 100% real, and they did not deter anyone. I bought these to cover the trouble spots months ago, and no one has been back since. I keep adding more, however, to add coverage. The front and back doors were first, then I added one to cover the back yard and now another to cover the driveway and front yard. While the picture is very clear, the colors are subdued. That doesn't bother me.
UPDATE: I was experiencing a weird network problem. During the day, all was perfect. In the evening my local wireless network would all but stop responding. Wired devices were okay. I tried replacing the router, changing access points, range extenders, etc.. I also noticed 1 camera would go down in the evening and come back online in the morning. I attributed this to the network problems. Turns out it was the other way around. When the Infrared on this cam came online is when I would start having trouble! I replaced the cam and all is back to normal. Apparently something went wrong with the infrared where it started making so much noise around 2.4 GHz, it would shut down my network. Local ping times were over 1000 ms if the packets were not completely dropped, as most were. I bought that camera refurbished, and it worked well for a year. It was out of warranty now so all I could do was buy a new one. The new camera works perfectly, and all my network trouble suddenly cleared up. Thought I'd post that experience in case anyone else was pulling their hair out trying to chase an intermittent problem like that. I thought perhaps one of my neighbors were doing something. Turns out, I was the bad neighbor. Off to the recycle bin with that one. Not even going to attempt to repair it.
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Gino Avolio
5.0 out of 5 stars I swear by Zmodo!
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
I use Zmodo cameras at my home and 4 business locations. They work great! Zmodo has been the best cameras I have found. They are easy to install and work fantastic! I would not use anything else!
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Yeimy R.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
Works really well I have it in my vacation home , downside is the cloud storage fee
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Ryan
5.0 out of 5 stars READ Before Buying
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I’ve had these for a very long time. Construction is excellent, it’s all made out of metal.
Offer free storage for 3 full days. I always set mine to away so that it records as much as possible. I have not seen a company offer that for this price.
Importantly! Huge bonus over some very expensive set ups: You enter your wifi password and it then automatically reconnects during wifi issues. If I unplug it all i have to do is plug it back in and it works perfectly with the app and all settings are the same
Motion detection will be useless during rain or wind if pointed outside. but you can set the motion area.
The motion detection sometimes stops recording when the movement is still happening and this can definitely be a problem. But it doesn’t usually do this.
The video quality is excellent.
The app works reliably.
You can also buy your own infrared light that is very powerful and set it up next to the camera on a timer for outdoor night viewing since the lights on the camera cannot illuminate a wide angle. Perfect for inside, and outside porches and doors etc.
On my iphone, when movement is detected you are notified after about 6 seconds of the movement occurring.
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Rilla H. Mewbourn
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice security cameras
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
Great product! Easy installation. They would be great if my wi-fi signal was strong enough...my AT&T signal works at a snail's pace :(
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POETFM
5.0 out of 5 stars Great product
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
The cameras work as advertised, with very functional motion detection, & convenient playback. BEWARE that any outside connection should be waterproofed as it will short out/'fry' the camera if not. I learned the hard way!
5.0 out of 5 stars Great buy.
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2017
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I've had four of these for several months now. One at office and three at home, all running on same app. It's great to have instant access to both locations. The motion sensor works great if you reduce the 'motion detection area in settings. I had to disable my firewall for a minute during setup, then it was simple.i have two inside the house in Windows and they are still very clear. I haven't experienced other cameras for comparison, however I'd say these are a perfect solution for my needs and at an incredible price.
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Hector Hugo Vega Nava
5.0 out of 5 stars Great product, really liked them
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
They are really easy to install, night vision is great, looks like if there were a light near the camera, I already bought a few more an can be added to the same view
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Enrique Fuentes
5.0 out of 5 stars Durable, easy to install, integrates with Google Home
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2020
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
After 2 years of daily use, some outside and some inside, I can recommend these with my eyes closed. They are convenient, cheap and easy to use.
If you have issues with setting one up after it being installed in another WiFi, check the forums. I found a solution which is kinda a pain in the butt, but works.
The manual and support on these sucks, but they are so simple that keeping them running requires little effort.
24 hours of cloud recording for free (for motion sensed) is enough for me. I love that they integrate seamlessly with Google home, and I can tell google to "show Office Door on Room TV" or "Show Baby Crib on Patio TV" to check any camera in the system if I get a motion notification at night.
Simple and low cost camera system that has worked flawlessly for my home and office for 2+ years.
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Gloria
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good for Cameras for the price
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
Very good for the price
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Bella79
5.0 out of 5 stars They are very reliable
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
Great cameras, good view & detection. You can view right from your phone anywhere & anytime. Plus you can go back and view all motions alerts. I Give Zmodo 10 stars ?? I recommend all their products. Excelent price too! I am a happy ?? customer.
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Andrew Folsom
5.0 out of 5 stars Zmodo cameras
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
Great product works nice!
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Linda Cooper
5.0 out of 5 stars Reset when power black out
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
I love these cameras
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Carolyn Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Going to purchase more!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified PurchaseEarly Reviewer Rewards(What's this?)
We're going to purchase 3 more to finish the coverage of our home.
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K from Ohio
5.0 out of 5 stars Connecting with Alexa
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2020
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Zmodo - Model ZP-1BH23-W 1080p Full HD Wireless Cameras
Setup was very easy. Connecting to my home WiFi was easy. I found instructions on the internet on how to connect to my Alexa. The instructions that come with the camera does not have instructions.
Alexa Connection (from my iPhone)
- Complete the setup of your Zmodo product
- Open the Amazon Alexa app and select "Skills & Games" on the "More" menu
- Search for the Zmodo on the "Skills & Games" screen
- Enable Zmodo skill
- Go to your Alexa device and ask Alexa to open the camera by its [name] "Alexa show me [Front Door]"
- Your camera should open :-)
Hope this helps....Enjoy
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Lisa desmarais Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
Great
4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best!!!
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2019
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I have 13 Zmodo Camera's all through My house as well as all around the outside. At 1st it's kinda hard to figure it out to hook them to the WIFI, However once you do these are some of the best Camera's I ever have owned. I have 3 - 2 way Audio video Zmodo Camera's in house and 13 outside. I have 5 on the 7 day cloud service only on main camera's coming into our home. I watch these camera's anywhere I am including Tablet's and Computer's. I highly recommend I have been a Zmodo owner of Camera's for over 2 years and Grateful I have these for my Family and home.
If you read negative review's it's because they didn't read instruction's well enough to hook them up. You have to pay attention to directions and Once you connect you'll figure it out better each time. Highly recommend. Just bought 2 more to put somewhere outside and yes More than likley you will either need extension cord or 10 ft charging cord for a extender. I think the plug they give you is 6ft. Ive had to use extensions as well as extension cords running on ceiling in garage for front driveway Camera's. Well built and have lasted through snowstorms and heatwaves. Highly recommend.......P.S There is no sound on these outside Camera's only on the 2 way indoor camera's.Hope this help's someone
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Y. S.
4.0 out of 5 stars works great!
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
These cameras are great. We can view live or event from any motion detection for up to 12 hours back, without subscription. I wish they had 36 hours as they used to in the past. I am giving only 4 stars as they did not print the QR code in the start guide, which is required to start the installation process. Alternative solution to use the bar code on the camera unit does not work as it asks to update meShare app as the verison I have is not compatible. meShare app was only installed a few days ago and there is no other version in the App Store. Fortunately, I had installed a Zmodo Greet video doorbell a few days before and the start guide for that one had the QR code printed. I was able to use it the start the installation process for the cameras also. I was able to connect to Alexa and now can display any camera on my TV via FireStick. Four camera images are attached below. I had to install two new outlets near the cameras to give power to them. I wish they had camera covers as the winter snow accumulation might impact the camera angle. I was able to purchase H1Kvision covers, and installed them recently.
I know some have had difficulty in the installation process. Please try to complete the installation of the camera in your cellphone when you are in the house, and then screw the camera to the wall outside at the location of you choice. You may need to hold the QR code in the phone about 8 inches from the camera for about a minute or two. Sharing with family members is fairly easy. Overall, I am happy with my purchase.
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Brian
4.0 out of 5 stars Good product, EZoomTek Support was Helpful
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2017
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
UPDATE: 7/8/17
I increased my rating by a star since yesterday, as EZoomTek Support emailed me to explain the Motion Sensitivity issue is known, and a Firmware update is pending.
The support rep was also kind to include an Amazon link for a USB Extension cord, which I also appreciated:
UGREEN 15 Feet USB Extension Cable USB 2.0 Active Repeater Extension Cable A Male to A Female with Built-in Signal Booster Chip
7/7/17:
Good product. Fairly easy to set up, but motion sensitivity doesn't seem to be an adjustable feature. I constantly get notifications literally every time the wind blows. I reduced the motion triggering area to the smallest available coverage setting it goes to, (focusing only on the patio entry door), and I get 40 or so notifications every day just from gently swaying palm fronds.
OK, and on what planet does a 10-foot USB power cord make sense for an outdoor camera ? I had to buy an add'l 10-ft USB Male-Female extension cord, (which was nearly impossible at local retail places for under $40, by the way), wrap it in white electrical tape to make it weatherproof, and plug it into a nearby GFCI outlet. It was kind of a pain in the a$$ to physically connect, but I do admit, that the cost of these guys is actually pretty damn good over all for what they are.
I question the true 'HD' clarity of the picture, but it's good enough for me. I can certainly tell who is entering [my patio], if I already know who they are.
It may not be completely reliable for law enforcement investigation purposes if it's someone you don't recognize, and especially if it's at night.
I will say though, the iPhone App is pretty easy to use.
Has black & white night vision that offers a pretty good picture compared to similar competitors' models.
I would happily recommend these to someone who has a little knowledge of this sort of system, and the ability to modify the product as needed.
This is not so much a pair of 'HD security cameras', but more of a 'remotely monitor the kids and pets' kind of system, or maybe a 'prowler deterrent', if you like.
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Joycee Joyce
4.0 out of 5 stars Safety
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
I was hesitant about purchasing the zmodo security cameras. But made the decision to give them a try. I was well please with my product. Looked a little complicated, but after reading and following instructions,My zmodo cameras are working great.
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Cheeky1229
4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, Easy to Use Security Cameras
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2020
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I've been using these wireless Zmodo security cameras for probably about 4 or 5 years now. I started out with 2 of the Zmodo indoor dual audio cameras, which I purchased so that I could keep an eye on my 2 yorkies during the day while I was working. I always felt awful having to leave them and with having the cameras it gave me peace of mind to be able to see and even talk to them.
Now I am disabled and unable to work, many days it's difficult for me to maneuver around my house. My Husband loves that he is able to keep an eye on me at home while he is working.
We also have the Zmodo outdoor wireless cameras. Originally we only had 1 in the rear of our home and another in the front of our home, by our front door but now we have 1 at our basement door, 1 on our back deck, 1 under our deck, 1 in our garage, 1 at our front patio and yard, etc., etc. We have many, 12 at the moment to be exact, plus the wireless NVR and Beam. I've even given one of my older cameras to my nextdoor neighbors, which after all of these years still works great. They love it, they can't believe how clear the camera is is and will probably be ordering themselves a few more for their home. We live in the city of Philadelphia, crime is extremely high here so it's best to have the extra security!
In addition to their clear picture quality, they're really easy to install and wireless to where you only need to plug them into an electric wall outlet and they will connect/operate with your homes wifi. If you have your settings to receive notifications, you will receive an alert on your cell phone that movement has been detected and you'll be able to view a cloud video clip of what it was that was detected on your camera/s.
I recently purchased the wireless NVR (Network video recorder) for my Zmodo cameras as well, which records 24/7 and saves the recordings going back at least 30 days.
I obviously love Zmodo, their products are reasonably priced and the quality is great and if have any issues (which I've only had one or 2 over the past 4/5 years, Zmodos tech support is always there to help and quickly, whether it be through chat or email.
I'm not really sure how to upload a photo here to show you how clear of a view these cameras have but if I figure it out I will edit my review here and upload a screenshot of my cameras crisp, clear view through my Zmodo app.
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WaterHorse59
4.0 out of 5 stars Compatible with Alexa (missing instructions for setup)
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2021
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
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I purchased a total of 4 cameras years ago and found the setup and the smartphone use and monitoring to be simple and straightforward. I was disappointed that I could not control them (at the time) with Alexa and the product did not advertise. Since then, I noticed them to be compatible (updated advertisements) but still could not discover them through Alexa. The instructions that come with the cameras do not have instructions.
Alexa Connection (from my iPhone)
- Complete the setup of your Zmodo product
- Open the Amazon Alexa app and select "Skills & Games" on the "More" menu
- Search for the Zmodo on the "Skills & Games" screen
- Enable Zmodo skill
- Go to your Alexa device and ask Alexa to open the camera by its [name] "Alexa show me [Front Door]"
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Learning after 1 year of use and NEW setup instructions (8/2020)
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2020
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I have been using these ZMODO Cameras for about a year and have learned a few things about them. I recently bought 4 new cameras and experienced some of what other reviewers complained about with difficulty setting them up - as I have this down to a science I will write the process that worked for me at the end of this review.
Functionality:
These cameras provide a decent but somewhat grainy image as far away as 150 feet when mounted high on a an outdoor pole. They are stable - in a full year never needing to be rebooted or repaired in any way. The picture quality is good - and the refresh speed is not bad at all. This camera is also a fairly low bandwidth device with good compression.
They motion detection is fairly sensitive but not discriminating - broad changes in lighting (IE the sun went behind a tree) will cause them to send you a real time alert. Sometimes minor changes are so hard to see I have to watch the clip replay several times to see what the motion detection was even triggered by. If you compare this to Amazons cloud cam "Person Detected" feature - it is really lacking.
The night vision is awful. It does illuminate out to maybe 30 or 40 feet but you really cannot distinguish anything unless it is right in front of the camera.
You DO have to pay for the Zmodo service to store data in the cloud. If you have one of their DVR solutions you can connect this camera to it but I have not tried removing the cloud based subscription.
To set these cameras up you they used to have an 802.11 share with the ZLINK process - none of that applies anymore. They no longer have QE codes and you DO NOT use the MESHARE application no matter what you read online.
To set these cameras up -
Start by plugging in the camera and making sure it is flashing green
1. Download the ZMODO app from the app store (NOT the MESHRE APP)
2. Launch the App and Click the + button in the upper right (not clearly a button but it is there)
3. Choose the right 802.11 network and supply your password
4. The app should generate a QR code on the screen of your phone (if the app instead opens your camera and is LOOKING for a QR code - try updating your zmodo application or rebooting your phone, once this took me 4 tries its a bug I believe)
5. When you phone is displaying the QR code hold the ZMODO security camera up so that the security camera can read the QR code on your phone - (put the phone down on something so it is still) and move the camera closer and father away adjusting the angle and tilt until the camera scans the app. If the app shows a QR code but it will not scan on the camera try making sure your screen brightness is maxed out on your phone - remove other ambient lighting hold the camera very still and very slowly pan it in and out. (this eventually worked for all 4 cameras)
6. At that point the cameras light will turn from green to blue and you should be good to go forward with the free trial.
Overall these are fairly decent cameras, the cameras are very reasonably priced but the Cloud service is fairly expensive and these cameras make no sense without it. I gave them 4 stars for value and stability.
Do your research before buying and make sure this solution is right for you.
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nlisella0905
4.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT VALUE -- LOW COST
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2020
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I was seeking a new security camera system, and searched for MONTHS here on Amazon, as well as elsewhere throughout the internet. I weighed the pros and cons of each device, but had specific things that were MUSTS, including: MUST be able to work OUTSIDE, Connect with Amazon Echo - Alexa Show Devices/Fire TV, Wireless IP with remote access ability, Clear and High Quality Video and an AFFORDABLE Cloud Storage Service Plan. With all that in mind, this camera hit all points... but at variable degrees, and this is the reason I am giving it only 4 out of 5 stars. The outside operation is flawless and even during heavy rain I can still view the camera no problem. It easily syncs with Alexa and I love being able to say "Alexa, show me the front yard" and it will come up either on my Fire TV Cube, FireTV Stick, Show 8 and Show 5! The wireless connection took me a while and I struggled/got a little frustrated with the setup process. Everyone made it sound so simple... follow instructions and then when QR Code shows, put in view of the camera. For whatever reason, my camera would not recognize the QR code when on my iPhone 11 Pro Max. (I think it may have possibly been due to the tempered glass screen protector that I have on my phone... but pretty much everyone has that on their phone, as well...) The only way I was successful in setting up that first camera with the QR was by logging into the application through my iPad (no glass screen protector). That said, it is GENIUS that you only need to setup/activate ONE camera. I got the 4 pack, so all I had to do was ensure ALL cameras were plugged into power... then once that first camera recognized the QR code, all cameras then became active and come online without having to do anything further! GREAT FEATURE! It also allows to set up an individual password for each device, which is very important to prevent unauthorized access. The second thing I was seeking was a high quality image and though this is not the best you can get, for the price...its phenomenal! I didn't realize at first that you have to press a small button towards the bottom left of the live view and then it switches from SD (with a better refresh rate and smoother picture) to HD (which slightly reduces the refresh and occasionally gets 'jumpy'). But the quality is significantly better and I was able to view features on a face without a problem, day or night! *The night vision is VERY strong.* My third aspect I was looking for was the Cloud Storage... unfortunately, I think Zmodo could do better. It can get pretty costly, because it is a per camera pricing. Yes, every second camera added to storage is given at a 50% discount... but still, I think that they should develop different price points and levels, with the highest level being unlimited cameras. Instead you have to decide how long you want the video clips available and decide how many cameras you want included on that. I chose the Premium Cloud for all 4 of my cameras for $12.49 a month and I can access the video for the past 7 days. I think for that price I should have at least 30 day access and if they want a level above that it should be a higher price for unlimited. That all said, I do love these cameras and for the most part they met all of my expectations. Things to keep in mind... it does NOT have a mic or speaker, so no two-way audio, nor does it have a removable storage (micro SD) slot. All in all, excellent camera and 10 out of 10 would recommend and purchase again, as well as other devices from Zmodo! Great customer service, also!!
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Elder Dorslam
4.0 out of 5 stars Decent camera for the money - See review for how to use with 5ghz wifi network.
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2019
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
First, for those of you that having trouble figuring out if you can use this on 5ghz. As long as you have a dual signal you are good. (Most 5 ghz also throw out a 2.4 ghz as a second channel) The trick is to set your phone to log into your 2.4 ghz channel, just long enough to set up the cameras. They will continue working well on your router at 2.4, after you set your phone back to 5 ghz. You want to use 2.4 since it is a longer wave length = greater distance you can place cameras away from router. 5ghz barely penetrates outer walls (but is a faster network) I have one camera about 30 yards from the router and working well.
The picture is ok for the money. I'm running four at the same time and no problem so far. Really happy with the ease of use and the app.
Mounting tip: On the base, before you screw it into the cam, loosen up the adjustable turn screw and pull the swivel part out of the base. this gets it out of your way so you can get a power drill in there. Then just screw the swivel part into the camera and snap it into the base. Tighten and enjoy.
I got 4 pk cameras for 99.00, so for a $25 camera they are pretty awesome.
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Sasha Keplinger
4.0 out of 5 stars perfect cameras for your home or small business
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2017
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
The Zmodo Smart Wireless Security Camera 4 pack is the perfect home security system for a home or small business. The cameras need to be plugged in to power, but I was able to hide the cables behind furniture etc, easily enough to not be a hideous mess in my house. Very easy to set up. The cameras run wirelessly on your home wi-fi. The security footage can be viewed on your smart phone through the Zmodo App. When motion is detected the app is notified and you can view the footage in real-time or go back and watch footage from a few days before or even longer if you pay for the service. The video quality is very good. The night vision is a nice feature. I was not able to watch footage thru the app on LTE or slower, but on the home wi-fi it seems to work fine. If I was going to purchase again I would buy the Zmodo camera 4pack with 1TB data to store footage longer. Overall this is a great security camera set-up for the price.
4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
**Update** Hopefully these stay functioning so my updated review isn't a waste. Yes, the setup is not clear. Yes, it sends relentless motion alerts. Two points on this: (1) when I went through the setup process, I never once got a confirmation that the camera connected to my wifi. Instead, the best way to know is to let it try to connect for about a minute (have the camera right next to, if not on top of your router). If it says it fails, you may still be ok. After a minute, move the camera from side to side. When I did this, I got a motion alert. When I went to the app home page, the camera appeared. Again, never once did the setup actually say it worked. (2) For the constant motion alerts, click the camera, click live view, then click the the dot ellipsis in the top right. You'll be able to see the camera settings from there. The easiest is to set them to "home" so that alerts do not get sent. You can also set specific motion alert stuff and light sensitivity settings here. So far, they have been performing well. I don't have the greatest internet connection, but I can still remote view and all that just fine. I'll let you know when/if they take a crap.
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Willie G
4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly impressed
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2020
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
They work pretty good all things considered.
Camera image is fairly wide angle. Looks remarkably clear in daylight or even artificial lighting at night. Typical black and white IR, night image. Better illumination at center than edges. Projects about 30 feet strong and clear but diminishes substantially beyond 50 feet.
Biggest issue for most is getting power to the camera. Many plug the power adapter into a receptacle inside the home and drill a hole to the outside for the power cable. I really dont care for that.
Since I have several motion lights around my house, I attacked the power supply issue by tapping into them. See photos.
Not recommended in places where outlet is exposed to rain/weather but this works perfectly under a sufficiently protected overhang like my front porch ceiling.
Search for Leviton 1374-1, snap in receptacle on Amazon or Home Depot.
Requires 1"x1" square hole cut in weatherproof light cover. Easily cut with dremel or oscillating multi tool.
Some other items I found helpful for my install were micro USB splitters (allows one power supply to energize two cameras and micro USB extension cable where runs longer than 6 feet from the power source are needed. See photos.
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Average Bob
4.0 out of 5 stars Wireless (Just need AC power source), Easy Set-up, Works with Echo Show
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2020
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
These cameras were very easy to set up following the included instructions, which basically said to install the Zmodo app to my smart phone (Galaxy S10 here), add a camera, point the camera at the Q-code that displayed on my phone screen, and done. Reliability has been good, although after a power outage, I had to power down the camera and power it back up again for my network and it to find each other. UPDATE: 01/16/20 - Had a 6-hour power outage. When power was restored, camera automatically reconnected to network and Zmodo app. Nice!
I don't subscribe to the Cloud services, which means I get random motion clips that can only be triggered every 10-20 minutes, so if something important happens just after something unimportant triggered a recording/clip, I'm going to miss it.
Still, overall, these cameras are great for looking in on things when you are gone or whenever.
One thing people might find useful, is that if you have an Amazon Echo Show device (I have a 2nd generation), you can ask Alexa to show you the camera (by the name you gave it in the Zmodo app), and you can view whatever your cam's pointed at on the screen of your Show.
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Monica
4.0 out of 5 stars Good not great still worth the buy
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2022
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
I love how simple these were to set up, picture quality is ok. They wouldn’t be able to capture license plate details or distinct face features from where ours are set up. It would capture vehicle model and color though. BUT I do like that people can see they are set up and actively recording. I’ve had these for over a year now and they don’t exactly capture every movement (it’s only if the object is moving fast enough). I do love how they never shut off (unless the internet or power is down). Night vision only works in the area the camera is set up. I installed them inside my living room but facing the window outside so night vision doesn’t work. It will if the cameras were inside facing the room it’s in. Overall worth the price I paid even knowing the features it does and doesn’t have. I might buy more.
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T Greenwood
4.0 out of 5 stars Caution - 2.4g Only
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2021
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
While the camera's are nice and very affordable, they only work with 2.4g wifi. If you don't have the option to select 2.4g or 5g, do not buy these cameras. They are great for the price but I had to return because my provider does not provide a split option. There are very few cameras that work only on 5g so not necessarily the fault of this brand but need buyers to be aware. I spent 8.5 hours trying to trick the system into working. Good cameras but just caution before you buy.
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JZ
4.0 out of 5 stars Decent Cameras- Used for first time setup
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Well, I did a lot of reading and researching on buying my folks some security cameras. They had some stuff taken from their back yard on different occasions, so it was time to place something to see if they can see anything. This is my honest opinion on my install to the use.
Set up- 2 out of 5 stars.
So my parents have AT&T, which has a dual router for 2.5 ghz and 5 ghz, however the cameras were not picking up the router. I had to change the 2.5 ghz network name as a result to split out 2.5 and 5 ghz. The actual process of getting them on the network was a pain, because I had to restart the application after 20 mins of failed attempts to getting them on the network. With that said, if your network is not detecting the camera’s make sure you have a 2.5 ghz modem. If you have verified that, then try closing the app and start over. I still have one more camera to install because I was not sure of the install piece as it was one that detected the network.
Install 4 out of 5
I cannot put much of the install on the product, as with any system that is not battery operated has to have a cable installed. The reason I am not giving this 5 stars ie because the wires are not extremely rugged, meaning running them through ceiling, wood, or sheet rock I feel you have to use great caution or you will mess them up. The cords are not very long either, but you also have to find a power source, so finding a plug can be challenging, but again this is the owners issue not the product. I was lucky enough to have plugs close to where the installs were done, so a few drilled holes and I was good to go. However, I do recommend having extensions cords available.
App Interface 4 out of 5
The UI is ok, but the response is pretty solid. You can easily view these cameras as needed and you will receive notifications as motion is detected. You have the cloud, but can pay 4.99 a month to have a 7 day recall of footage. You can cut and trim footage as needed, you can also take screen shots of footage. You are also able to crop the area for motion detection, I am sure most people want the full picture to be detected, but if not, you have that option available.
Camera’s 4 out 5
The cameras seem durable and although they are light weight, look like they could take a fall, but obviously you do not want that to happen. The overall image is pretty good, I mean 720p is 720p and not 1080. When you go into the app there is an option of LD and HD. Not sure why LD is even there, because obviously you want the HD. The cameras have a good detection system of night and day and you get a decent picture even at night. There is no audio, so do not get these if you’re looking to scare of a potential robber through 2 way talking because there is 0 audio.
Overall I am satisfied with this purchase, not bad for $120, which included 4 cameras and 1 day shipping. The brand I had not heard of and was told the bandwidth on owners internet would be boggled down and customer service is nonexistent, but I can say I have not had any issues with either. Customer s service was available and provided screen shots in the app of what I needed assistance with (setting up a camera that was already on the network). I do look to buy 2 more of these cameras in the future. Another set up of eyes at the house when we are not there.
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Mari27
4.0 out of 5 stars They are good
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2020
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
*Things I wish I knew before I bought it.
There is a charge 4.99 per camera but 50% off for the second one so about $8 a month for this after you download the app.
You have to plug it into the wall which is obvious. The chord is a regular size.
The view is not so clear.
Also one arrived broken because the camera wasn’t showing a clean image it showed a lot of purple lines through it so I returned it.
*Good things about it
The sensor works great.
I bought them for a good price, on sale for $49.99.
The night vision is clear.
The app works great and is easy to navigate through.
Incase you are wondering like I was... it does start recording only after it detects motion. It doesn’t just continuously record. There is also an option for live streaming but again you have to pay for that service.
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Steven Delaney
4.0 out of 5 stars Mounting not thought out *update
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2021
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
I haven't hooked these up yet. But I have to say whoever designed these and whoever approved the design should be fired. The wifi antenna sticks out farther than the mounting bracket does. Which mean the antenna will hit the wall. Which means you have to aim the camera downwards a lot if you want to use the antennas. This wasn't thought out well. I will say the cameras are high quality constructed. Not plastic. Metal casing. I'll add to this review once I get around to hooking them up. But I am going to have to buy something to put between the circular part of the mounting bracket and the wall to keep the antenna from hitting the wall. Just stupid imo.
Update Changed from 2 stars to four after setup. These cameras have two holes to mount the bracket. Thankfully one of them is closer to the back of the camera which allows room for the antenna. BUT, to use this mounting hole means the camera will be upside down. Have no fear, there is an 'invert' feature in the app to flip the view. Overall these are great. Much better than the Yi system/cameras. Lack of notifications/not sensing stuff in view is why I did not give 5 stars. It did give alerts but not enough to my liking. Setup and connecting to wifi was very easy. I puchased the cloud service and it offers more activity sensing and recording. It records 24/7 and shows highlighted clor on timeline where activity was noticed. Cloud service is ust under $5 per camera. You will only get a few seconds of playback without subscription. High quality cameras. Best system I've had so far.
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Darlene Neisess
4.0 out of 5 stars Good product, easy installation but distance is an issue
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2021
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Bought these to put in a barn located not even 100' away. Decent path of sight to barn. Purchased with a wifi extender due to distance but we were able to only put up one camera, not enough wifi signal to add 2nd camera. Biggest issue is that there are a lot of "glitches" to where you do not get a picture at all and you have to back the computer up to see what is going on. A lot of refreshing has to occur too, this could be due to poor wifi signal. Several times camera went off line and I strongly suspect it had to do with Zmodo cloud as it should not be going off line. A friend watched the camera quite a bit from her cell phone and for the most part, she often got a signal better than I did. Just wish I could add the 2nd camera.
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Meteoro
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth every penny!
Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
At first i was a bit skeptical given the price. But I am pleasantly surprised with the product. The cameras are very well built, solid. The set up was fairly straight forward. I set up in my family room first before installing. Follow the directions, and in 5 mins they are up and running. Word of caution, do not use the UPC bar reader set up. That did not work. I followed the instructions on the manual set up, and worked like a charm. Once they were connected to my wireless network, I took the cameras outside. I made sure i had good wireless connection before i installed permanently. They have been up and running for a couple of months now. No issues. Picture quality is decent. The biggest drawback is with the lack of storage. If you want to keep your videos for longer you have to pay. I am ok with the two day freebie cloud service. Debating whether it is worth to pay.
The app is Ok, sometimes it gets a bit flaky, but i close and reopen and it takes care of most of the issues. A couple of times, the cloud recordings have not been available. A few hours later, they are back on.
Wish i had an option as far as the sensibility for the motion sensor. I can only change the position and size of the motion sensor range.
Overall a good solid product and cant be beat for the price.
3.0 out of 5 stars Good package for starting a home security system. Installed 4- might install more after stress test
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I got the four pack of these cameras in order to satisfy my requirement for getting some kind of surveillance for my house. There has been a recent number of car break-ins and house robberies in my area, this would satisfy my requirement to deter this.
My requirements were:
1) Wireless
2) No requirement for additional power as I don't like running power cables outside the house (I want my cables ran professionally so this gets expensive)
3) App compatible
4) Option for recording in the cloud
5) Night Vision
6) Motion Detection
This was a middle ground purchase. I did not want to store my stuff in the cloud however buying a unit like my neighbors meant I had to sift through video that is relatively useless if there is nothing happening. I would rather have more cameras with cloud storage as an option for recording than a unit that is housed inside my house. I am relatively tech and hardware savvy, so that should tell you that I can manage all this pretty easily.
I have a mesh network setup using Ubiquiti APs. These are connected to a Cisco Firewall that is pretty robust and is attached to a FIOS via Verizon. My Wireless APs can push a lot of data so that is a requirement that you should know about well in advance, if you have any deadspots expand your wireless AP network using a mesh network it helps a lot when installing anything wireless. I have a two story house that is well covered by this mesh network. AP placement is in the garage, in the living room and then one in my Master Bedroom. The coverage easily give 5 bars throughout the house and well within the backyard and front yard. I have the cameras running using reserved IPs in a separated DHCP scope in their own VLAN via the wireless units. Getting the units setup and ready is easy once you have the app downloaded to your phone. You plug them in, download the app, it will detect the cameras and you can assign them to the WAP Network(s) you are using. You do have to sign up for an account within the app so that you can access the live feeds through the app.
Physical Setup - Easy - The units come with all the necessary hardware. Tightening these things so that they don't move is a gripe. Also the antennas on the cameras can get in the way if you are installing to a tight space or a corner (like the front door, see my picture). I installed three of the cameras outdoor and one indoor. During the day the cameras work flawlessy - the night time is a little more testy. I'll go a little further into this later. After installing these I had to buy extended Micro-USB cables in order to power them up. I have a lot of spare Apple 5W plugs that I used to power the devices. I don't like the fact that the cables are attached to the power source. I think a better way to go is to include varying distances of micro USB ended cable with a standard male USB end so that you have a better option for running power. I literally used none of the supplied power cables. I bought longer cables and ran those as I needed to the 5W Apple power supplies. This means its more modular and robust and I can run different lengths of wire depending on the distance from the power.
If you have power outlets sitting outside your house you can use the included power, but remember if you're going to do that you better have lockable housings otherwise you can just pull out or cut the power and the camera becomes useless.
Functionality - the cameras work great during the day. The picture is a great however the cameras are using a wide angle lens, so there is a little bubble lens effect that you get. During the night the camera can get a little grainy. I have these pointed to the front of my house with very little sight gap so I see things transition from one camera to the next. Night vision is OK, and it does the job, but there is a pretty big difference in the quality of the play back video when using night vision. Another pointer - adjust the camera to point at designated location so you get a decent picture a individual and the full approach. Some of my cameras don't identify the individual because they walk past the camera frame too quickly. This is handy if you want a clear face. Most people walk with their head down, delivery guys use hats, you can't get a clear identifying picture if this is the case.
The phone app - So I found out this app is actually a rebranded app. I think on their site it indicates to download another app if some options aren't available and this is when I realized that the ZMODO app is literally a rebrand. I tried to update the firmware on all my cameras as its required by Amazon Alexa Fire TV. I was not able to upgrade them manually which is a major gripe. I had to call them and the support tech initiated the download - this is somewhat of a security flaw in that the company can upgrade the cameras without my permission and this is a major gripe. I should be able to manually upgrade the cameras and stop the vendor from doing anything. The point is I own the cameras and the vendors should only be given access if I permit them to. This is not necessarily the case if they can push the upgrade of firmware to the devices, also it makes me wonder if they have that root privilege they also have eyes onto what I am doing. It's a double edge sword - store things in the cloud you possibly have security flaws, store the data at home means I have to support more equipment. FireTV worked OK, I was able to ask Alexa to show me the cameras from outside and even inside. It would be nice if ZMODO made an app for showing all the cameras in one pane so that I can see whats going on inside/outside the house.
The phone app also lets you group the cameras, however you can only group the cameras in one group, not multiple. It does work great for live view, the picture is clear and a slight delay. You simply select the camera you want by tapping on it. I think that would be much more handy so that you can see all the cameras. I have them segregated them out logically so that I know which ones point to the backyard and front yard, the ability to be part of multiple groups will allow me to see the cameras in their subgroups or part of the overall security.
The scheduling of the app is not that great. You have to create multiple schedules and have them execute on a time basis. (Ex: Dusk, Home , Away, Sleep, Dawn) Each profile has a schedule to be executed at a certain time. So Dusk is activated at 7pm, then Sleep activates at 1030pm, then Dawn executes at 6am, etc. The problem is if you don't stick to a schedule and turn off the notifications, the the notifications start going off like nuts on your mobile phone. I had 250+ motion notifications my first night and this is from cars driving by or my dogs moving in the backyard. If a car passes both cameras I get two notifications, also I live in a cul de sac so that means a total of four notifications for every car that drives by to the end of the cul de sac. I had to turn off the notifications or put my phone in sleep mode the first couple of nights, so its a task to get these working the way I want to. Sometimes dust will activate the motion sensor. I had to turn down the sensitivity on all my cameras so that dust doesn't activate and set off a notification. The cameras sensor area can be changed within the app along with the night vision sensitivity (only low normal or high). Changing the night vision sensor area helps but the sensitivity still goes off for some minor motion. The sensor area is great because I do not include the street so driving by cars don't set them off, instead if they get to my sidewalk the notification is sent.
Durability - so far the cameras have worked fine. I do not live in a snow area, so its heat that should be the main factor of durability. I haven't had to clean the lenses yet and it is cooling off. The real test will be during the summer where it gets in the 90s+ frequently. I want to see how they hold up after being exposed to sun and dry air conditions. At that point will I make a determination to buy more.
Support was decent, the app does one of those ping until you get a response form a tech via text support in the app. I just made it a point to call them and get support, this is where I discovered that the techs can push firmware without you doing anything - something that sets off my security bells as I worked in IT security as a consultant a couple years back. Also the fact that the features indicated in the app that say update firmware don't exist is puzzling to me even thought it exists in the documentation.
I would rate this 3 1/2 stars because of all the nuances I discovered after installing them (I'll round down to 3). I hope the company upgrades the cameras via firmware and continues to upgrade the features within the app. I docked them starts because of support and the lack of features in the app. It was a fairly easy install but the cable and power need to change. The app and settings is where a lot of the modifications have to be made in order to get them working the way you want them to. If you are highly into customizing these might be for you, however if you are a set it and forget it, then you might want to install a different system.
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TrippMe
3.0 out of 5 stars Kinda disappointed in what I got
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2016
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Kinda disappointed in what I got.
Here's the deal, the camera is good and well worth the money. The picture quality is very usable and it satisfies my general requirements especially for the cost.
The problem I have, which seems to be specific to this seller (I think) is the camera mounting base is too short. The ones I previously bought had long shafts so you could mount the camera on a vertical surface and point the camera straight out. With these you can not and it substantially diminishes the value. Now I have to modify the mounts to extend the shaft or use a block. Unfortunately, this means they are not plug and play from an installation standpoint. I added a picture to illustrate it
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Mojo Master
3.0 out of 5 stars Ok for the price (you get what you pay for)
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I have installed 8 of the Zmodo cameras around my home; 6 of the basic wireless, the "sight" 180 degree camera and the swivel and tilt camera. The 6 basic and "sight" are installed outside with the swivel and tilt inside. All the cameras were easily installed and configured. The easiest way to install them is to run extension cords in the attic to the point in the soffit where you can drill a hole to pass the power adapter cable through. Once that is done, you just screw the cameras to the bottom of the soffit and connect the power cable. Under the soffit mounting also keeps these cameras out of the weather. I would recommend upgrading the mounting screws to something bigger that what is provided in the mounting kit. I also installed cameras using a 4 x 4 junction box and UF-B cable that tied into the outdoor GFCI outlets in my home.
I did have to contact the Zmodo support via chat at one point as one camera wasn't getting online due to an update being needed. The help desk walked me through the process and I got it to work. I have access to the cameras via the App and through the Zmodo website. The website view could be better, as there is no ability to tile the camera views. You can only look at one at a time after selecting the view from a camera roll selector of the various views.
The Sight 180 camera is my favorite as it gives a great view of the front of my house from its position above the garage door. Tipping your phone horizontally gives a nice panoramic view of the entire front of the house and street.
The tilt and swivel camera works ok, Was able to swivel camera around using phone in poor bandwidth condition from South America. The talk and listen feature is highly dependent on bandwidth of where you are outside of your home. If you don't have excellent bandwidth on your cell phone, these features won't work remotely.
Pros:
Very reasonably priced
Easy to install and configure
Image quality is acceptable
Ability to set motion zones works well
Free storage of clips for a limited time (I think its 36 hours)
Cons:
Motion detection is completely random; sometimes it works, other times not. I'll see my son walk out the front door and not trigger the front door camera that is directly above the door. The 180 Sight camera will pick him up crossing the driveway. Then again, just the opposite will occur. There seems to be no explanation as to why motion detection is so random.
No ability to manage the motion sensing beyond the zone. You should be able to manage reset cycle time on motion sensing so that you don't get a trigger every consecutive detection if not wanted. There is nothing in the documentation stating what the reset cycle time is on motion detection.
There are a lot of false triggers due to change in lighting. I have one camera aimed at an empty hallway outside my house. It will get triggered by a cloud passing over the sun. The 180 Sight will also get triggered by changes in sunlight on the driveway.
As I am not familiar with any other systems beyond the Zmodo, I am not prepared to make any comparisons. Again, for the price you get good surveillance capability for you home just in sheer numbers of cameras that you can put up. With 6 cameras on a small home, and a alarm system I feel confident that no one will want to select my home for burglary. Having the front door camera shows any packages left there and anyone who approaches the front door. The 180 Sight really covers the front of the house entirely. The other cameras leave no blind spots around the sides and back of the house. I also have on in my garage. Since all these installation took place this year, don't know how durable these cameras are. I'm considering purchasing the 8 channel FunFlux NVR 1 TB drive that is compatible with Zmodo cameras as it is reasonably prices at just over $100.
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David Foster
3.0 out of 5 stars A preview of things to come?
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I must say, I was TOTALLY IMPRESSED with these cameras when they first arrived. The build quality of these cameras is beyond excellent; they have a superb picture, even at 720P; motion capture works as it should (although, that's due more to the software, than the cameras themselves); and the night vision is almost as good as the day vision. Even the box they come in is worth saving!
So, why only 3 stars? Because I want an IP camera that works like ANY OTHER IP camera; not some proprietary contraption that forces me to use some monthly service! These cameras ONLY work with Zmodo software; which, while Zmodo DOES do an excellent job of cataloging and making your video accessible on the web (viewer page doesn't work in firefox, but that's not their fault), it is kept in ADOBE FLASH format, and cannot be downloaded.
SO .. If you're OK with Shanghai (or wherever) having video of YOUR HOUSE (or wherever) that YOU CAN'T EVEN DOWNLOAD in the event of, oh let's say... A BURGLARY... then THESE CAMERAS ARE FOR YOU! But personally, I prefer having access to MY OWN STUFF!
SO.. in conclusion... As NICE as these cameras are, I WON'T be buying any more of them. Buy I am giving them three stars just because they are TECHNICALLY a quality product.
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Sir Buys A Lot
3.0 out of 5 stars You get what you pay for.
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2021
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I did a lot of research before buying these cameras. They are great in the fact that they are wireless (other than power). However, they are not that clear. Anything further than 5-10 feet and it's not clear at all especially at night. In the day time they work great for monitoring the yard, but not good enough to see a license plate or to identify a person's face unless it's within 10 feet or so. I was impressed with the WiFi signal though. Mine are on opposite sides of the house and my router sits in the middle of the house and I have NEVER had issues with the WiFi dropping.
I do have an issue with one of the cameras. Within about 6 months one camera just stopped working. I unplugged and plugged it in and it worked fine for about a week. I've had to do that several times. The last time I did it, there seems to be a "ring" around the image. Too far out to send back to Amazon and the tech support requires me to send in the camera which I am not willing to do. In summary, you get what you pay for.
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Mike
3.0 out of 5 stars Just ok. 1 camera failed in less than 2 yrs of use. Tech support not that great. But price is fair.
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2020
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
These cameras are great for the value... When they work. This is my second time purchasing the 2 pack. Tech support when I had to work with them wasn't the best and was very scripted. Then one camera failed and stopped working after about a year and half. I still decided to buy another set because it was easier than dealing with support and was a great price when on a deal. They also have great picture quality and decent night vision range. They are a subscription based service, however, for general alerting, live view, and looking at short clips from the alerts, it's free. I was also a paying member for some time which allowed playback of at least a week of footage. The motion alerting works, but not the most intelligent. Leaves from trees and bugs would set it off all the time even after tweaking the zones. But still, like I said, for the price, I can't really expect the best of the best. I would recommend these cameras for a basic setup that you want to access from anywhere with little work to configure. Sometimes seeing up the cameras can be a real pain, but once they are setup, it seems to work well long term. Summary here, you get what you pay for, but if you don't mind a few kinks and maybe a failed camera on a year, then this is for you.
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Anonymous
3.0 out of 5 stars never used these
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2021
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I had ZMODO cameras but they were old so I decided to get new. I bought 8 and I still have not set them up because they only use 2.4GHZ band . My Wifi says 2.4GHZ but when I go into settings for Comcast it says 5GHZ. I tried changing my preference to 2.4GHZ and clicked OK but in my settings it still says 5GHZ. These look like good security cameras but basicly if I can't get my band set to 2.4GHZ they werea waste of my money.I am quite disappointed. For the price I paid they should have been dual dand cameras.I have lost faith in ZMODO
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Ryan
3.0 out of 5 stars Possibly better options
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2019
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Well I've had these installed for over a year now, one outside off my back deck, another at my front door. The details -
Pros
- Night vision is pretty good.
- Value/ price for two cameras
- Clarity is okay (Faces can be difficult to make out sometimes, but you can tell people a part)
Cons
- App is terrible. Motion alerts sometimes don't come through at all, and I need to close the app and restart to get to work
- If you don't pay monthly, motion alerts are roughly 4-6 seconds, which sometimes doesn't fully allow you to see the actions of the person, because of the alert.
- Night vision can get funky if there is a light in the viewing area (car headlight, overhead street light) and can black out the screen so you're basically looking at nothing.
- Clarity is just okay.
Overall, I'd recommend another option. There's plenty here on Amazon and although the price is attractive, I'd spend a bit more for some extra app support and video clarity.
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Graham England
3.0 out of 5 stars Not for PCs
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2021
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I'll be returning my setup because while this is a great system for phones, it's hopeless for monitoring on a Windows PC. You cannot view more than one screen at a time, unless you open up four browser windows, and even then after 10 minutes the refresh speed slows right down, and after a few hours grinds to a halt. I wanted this to monitor four areas of my house, like a security system, but it's no good for this. I'll be switching back to an EasyN system instead. Also, almost certainly you'll end up subscribing to their cloud service, if you want to go back more than 12 hours in time.
However, I will say that the cameras are well made (metal casing, not plastic) and get a great picture. Also, crazy simple to set up. So, if you want to monitor from your phone and check what the last motion alert was, and pay $14 per month for the cloud service, this is a great system for you!
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bobbyblades
3.0 out of 5 stars flakey playback and alerts ?
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
after one week so far it's a crapshoot watching live is good but the cloud recordings are junk sometimes you get alert sometimes you don't and when i tried to replay a few alerts there were 10 second gaps in playback ?? too many people got these units and they are clogged up in memory storage ? who knows as i go thru the reviews it's reviews of another product hello amazon ? whats up with that Zmodo Wireless Security Camera System ( 2 pack ) some people report great sound but this model has no sound ??? sothis review is wrong or for another product? how do we trust the reviews when they are questionable for example of one playback the ups guy pulls up at top of the drive next thing he's getting out of the truck then the truck is out on the street leaving what happened to the pulling in and out ??? thats not proper security footage . oh well. are these recyclable update all camera blink green but no connection to router the ZMD_SAP never shows up on the wifi network
3.0 out of 5 stars Great security cameras at a great price
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2021
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I have 5 of these cameras (used to have 6 but 1 died). For the most part, these are great security cameras and the app works very well. A few drawbacks...The WiFi antenna limits mounting options in some cases. The mount is very short so when planning to mount the camera, ensure you have enough clearance to accommodate the antenna. The option to invert the image is a tremendous help. The cameras occasionally have issues when sunlight turns from dusk to dawn, switching back and forth between night vision and day vision resulting in excessive camera alerts to your app. Overall, a great security camera at a very competitive price. I have purchase a few more to cover the back of the home so recommend.
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Laura Stone
3.0 out of 5 stars Cameras are not that great
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2021
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I bought these cameras for a good price so I thought, the cameras work but you can only view what they recorded after you get back to the same WiFi connection you set these cameras up on, example I have a 5ghz snd 2.4ghz these cameras only connect to the 2.4 ghz so when I’m not at home I get an alert there is motion but It’s unavailable unti I arrive home to see what was recorded next there is no sound and thirdly these cameras pick up on motion and this is what they record do as long as there is motion it records but if someone comes into the room snd stoop automatically the camera stops recording so there are a million 7 second videos of nothing unless you want something very basic pass on these cameras
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Jason W Hammack
3.0 out of 5 stars I think the Zmodo can be a good system with you use it wisely
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2019
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
The motion detection works fine Force sensitivity, but it needs to reset itself at a quicker rate.
If you have motion and it stops it should set within three or four seconds so the next motion turns the camera back on the free services in the subscription services need to put the new marker on the bar every time it sees motion so if it sees motion for 5 minutes it should have a solid 5-minute bar if it sees it for 30 seconds should have a 30 second bar if it sees it for 2 hours that should have a 2-hour of notification notification bars. I have 16 Zmodo IP cameras but can't afford to pay subscriptions on all of them.
maybe if they were a little smarter when one sees motion maybe you could associated so that a couple other cameras even if they don't see motion they start recording.
The picture quality is great night vision could be better but it works the cameras can be a little better in low-light.
I waved my all my options and this seemed the best me a bunch of cameras with a few critical ones on subscription
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Linh Huynh
3.0 out of 5 stars Footage becomes unrecognizable at night
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2021
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
For start, this camera is good enough for picture quality. The camera looks durable to withstand the weather. That’s the only good things I can say about it. The lack of an SD card slot on this camera is a very big bummer. I can’t save any footage to my SD card to view later or watch the extended footage later. The only way to do that is to buy their cloud subscription service which feels kind of greedy. The lack of a microphone is also a bummer since I can’t hear any conversations or sounds outside. However the biggest gripe I have with this camera is that the night vision quality is very bad. You can barely see anything. I often clean the camera lens and footage still looks bad.
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Lori Cline
3.0 out of 5 stars installed very easy. image pretty good in day
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2017
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
had camers for 3 days now.cameras, installed very easy. image pretty good in day, and good in the dark., I got 6 month free cloud, but can only access from computer. I have all ALERTS Turned off except for when I am gone. When I get Alerts and go into app and delete them, I still keep getting the same ALERTS even after I delete them. I found that you must delete them from the cloud to keep this from happening which I can not because it tell me to subscribe. There should be a login button on app to log into your cloud. The App stays on top of all application on my phone, when I hit home button the app leaves but will revert back to default setting, instead of keeping my setting. fix theses thing and will give 5 stars
I am going to give these a month or two then update my review.
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Paul B.
3.0 out of 5 stars Good Camera for the money, but don’t change your WiFi name
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2020
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I have 3 of these cameras working currently and I use a DVR. I do not use the cloud service. Maybe I am doing it wrong, but it does seem that there is no way to change wireless networks for these cameras after you initially configure them. I had a camera in my garage ( the garage is detached) and added a new access point out there as the one in my house was not providing a good signal or the camera could not send its video that far. Anyway, I chatted with tech support and they couldn’t figure it out either. If you don’t have to ever change your WiFi name these are good cameras and I have had mine for a few years. I won’t be buying any more of them due to the WiFi issue, but I’ll keep the ones I have as long as they keep working. The motion detection is ok. The app is good. I can easily go in and look at the history on the dvr. For the price they are pretty good. To replace the one in my garage I bought a Reolink camera and have been pleased with it so far. It has much better resolution and sound and was around $50. It is also wired and not wireless which probably makes it a little less expensive.
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Allen
3.0 out of 5 stars Great cameras for the price!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2021
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
For the price, you won't find a better option. Easy install using AC power so that does mean multiple extension cords in most installs but that's not uncommon. Image is good...not great but better than I had expected. Setup is very easy, using QR code pairing to connect to the network. Very smooth method for setup. Cameras seem to be reliable mostly. I have had a few minor issues loosing connection with the WiFi but havn't been able to determine if the error is just a typical WiFi error or an early sign of connectivity issues. Daylight image is very clear while Nighttime is a bit over exposed but still workable.
So why 3 stars? Dozens of notifications today for a labor day sale. I have clicked on it, dismissed it, read the promotion, and am about to fully block Zmodo notifications because nothing else stops this notification from popping up. Being annoying is definitely the #1 way to get a mediocre review. This may be the way they operate for every holiday as well, I would know as this is only my first holiday with these cameras.
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Jeff kruse
3.0 out of 5 stars Decent for the price but not ready for prime time.
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
These are decent cameras for the price. Setup was straight forward and easy enough. Picture quality is decent in daylight and night time.
Negatives are few and could be addressed rather easily by the company if they wished to.
These cameras send approximately 12 false alarms daily over an 11 hour period of time even with a small area setup to be monitored.
There is no ability to adjust the sensitivity of the cameras so the movement of leaves, rain, snow, even sunlight reflections, will set off a false alarm.
The alarm notification is set to match the text message notification and this can not be changed which is annoying with all the false alarms.
The app used to monitor the alarms is laid out well, but, when reviewing the alarms an error of "no video for this time period" will pop up. If you exit and re-enter the alarm video it will work fine then.
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Francisco Emilio Reyes Hernández
3.0 out of 5 stars Camera is okay... but cloud service very pricely & Zmodo customer support very bad
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2021
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I will be concice, the cameras are high quality and the price is ok... I installed 4 in my house then all my neighbours, friends and family wanted the same so I helped them to get their cameras. I was completely satisfied until the moment the Free Trial Period ended up, the cloud service is completelly unrazonable it is like you acquiere 1 suscription per each camera (doesn't make any sense), it is the same like if I get 4 Netflix suscriptions, why would I need 4 suscriptions instead of only 1? So Yes, it is the bussiness for this company Zmodo, they do not sell a suscription for all your cameras, they want to sell you 1 suscription for each camera which is completely pricely... It is like you get never be the camera's owner because you need to pay yes or yes.
I bought these cameras thinking that after the free trial I could be allowed to see the last 24-12 hrs at least... but it is not, the app only allow you to see real time or little 10 secs events after your sucription ends, this is not worthly and makes not any sense!!
Please take this into consideration before you purchase this camera: THE CAMERA QUALITY IS OK, THE ICLOUD SERVICE & ZMODO SUPPORT WILL REALLY GET YOU MAD.
I JUST STOPPED MY LAST ORDER THAT INCLUDED 30 CAMERAS FOR MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
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Faith
3.0 out of 5 stars Good camera if you're not using it for your home 24/7
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2020
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
My husband works nights and we recently moved closer into the country so to give us more peace of mind, we got these cameras. Set up was easy, connecting them was easy.
The camera's pic quality is good, but unless you know who it is on the camera (like if someone stole something or was breaking in) the resolution is poor quality.
Motion detection, boy do these suckers let you know when a LEAF falls. I played around with the settings where you can 'box it' what area you want it to pick up but we live around trees, it picks up the wind blowing, the sunlight changing throughout the day, THE RAIN, etc. but didn't pick up me or my husband a few times.
It lags, a lot, too. So there's that.
Overall, if you just wanted to peek in and look at a property or something, it's great. Actually using it as main surveillance, I'd look into something elese
2.0 out of 5 stars ZMODO solicits reviews
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
ZMODO solicits reviews with free products! Dont trust the reviews you read on any of their products. Recently I have been offered a free camera "ZH-IXY1D". I thought, wow that is nice. NOPE, after I sent my address info then they asked me for a screen shot of my review before they would ship it. Only when I copy and pasted Amazon's rules on soliciting reviews did they agree to send me the camera without the screenshot. Now I know why, the camera is CRAP. It loses connection all the time and the software is horrible. Also I hate the fact that the only way to record is to use their expensive cloud service. There should always be a local record option at least. The quality of the camera is average (hence the 2 stars vs 1).
I am a computer tech and have been using home surveillance wireless ip cameras for 10 years now. I have tried a variety of products and feel I have a bit to share on the subject.
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Tony C
2.0 out of 5 stars Please Read This Before Buying
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2017
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
First of all, I am not some crackpot that writes a bunch of negative reviews. Most of my reviews tend to be positive. If I love something, I will rave about it. If I like something, I will tell you what I like about it. But when something sucks, I will try to warn you away. That is what I'm trying to do now.
I feel less secure having these cameras.
The cameras themselves are okay. Not great, just okay.
The app that you have to use is junk. I would use a more colorful word to describe it, but there might be children reading this.
I bought these cameras to monitor my house. I have been having a problem with a trespasser. I need to get motion alerts and a short video. (The 5 camera stills probably would have been fine if the motion detection actually worked) (More on that later).
I need something that stores briefly on the cloud and lets me move the video clips to permanent storage on my phone when necessary.
I don't know if it's the fault of the camera or the app, but the motion detection is so bad that out of the 50 to 100 cars that pass by my house every day, it has caught 1 car in the last 2 days. It didn't even catch my wife's car or mine when we went to work, came home, or left to go shopping. This is particularly frustrating because I have one of the cameras set up to watch our cars in the driveway and another set to watch the road in front of my house.
I have Despicable Me Stuart Cams by Tend that work far better than the Zmodo cameras.
I will be returning these cameras. I just wish I could get back the time I wasted installing them.
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Savanna D.
2.0 out of 5 stars Don’t waste your $$ or time, it’s hit or miss
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2020
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I don’t normally do reviews unless the product is really good or really really bad. Now I’ve had these since 2016 it is now 2020. The first set was good for 3 years it has had its moments of losing connections but it served its purpose that’s why I bought 2 more to add to what I had. The new set I got, one connected no problem to WiFi second one took some time. One of the old cams finally went so I have 3. Only two are working because the same one I had trouble linking to WiFi is the same one going offline all the time. The other two will record wind blowing or cars going by but not people walking by or up to my property so motion sensors suck for people. I contacted customer support because I’ve had a cloud service for a long time and wanted to add new cameras but they said I wasn’t a customer their support was foreign and was not understanding what I was telling them they kept telling me to sign into an account on my phone or computer and when I did it said no devices were on cloud but I’ve been charged for 3 years for the service and it works on the old one. They then asked if I could read multiple times implying I was dumb. I sent multiple screen shots of what they wanted and they kept telling me it was wrong. Finally I just cancelled my card I had on file bc they wouldn’t cancel plan since I wasn’t a customer. Now I’m down to 2 cameras and I’m sick of it working when it wants so I’ll be buying new cameras and needless to say I’ll never buy another zmodo product.
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Aubree Miller
2.0 out of 5 stars Not reliable
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2019
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I have had these cameras for just about a year now and I have to say I’m not to horribly impressed.... It is nice to have that sense of security when I am home alone, I hear a noise, I can just pull up the cameras and check it out.. after waiting for it to connect... the slow connection might be due to our WiFi so I’m not going to fully blame the cameras on that. I will however blame them for the alerts I get, maybe 60% of the time the alerts are accurate but the other 40% they do not alert me at all. If I scroll back manually I can see the motion indicator on the time line that I never got an alert for, or I go back and nothing was picked up but I can see there was clearly something there that should have been picked up; like a car pulling into our driveway or stopping right by our driveway, someone at the door, etc. I don’t get alerts for stuff like that but if it’s windy and some branches move on the tree that is barely in frame or a bug flies past the camera I get alerted immediately...? Yeah I feel real safe, thanks for saving me from my own tree.... I hate the fact that unless it actually picks up on movement it will only record a frame every 10 seconds, so if I do notice something weird while reviewing the footage for the day I can see a quick frame of it and thats it because it didn’t actually record it...
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Dermit The Hermit
2.0 out of 5 stars Inconsistent detection, easy install
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I'm going to give these two stars for now. I've played with these for a couple of months and initially I loved everything about them. They were easy to unbox, install, hook to my network and set up in general.
My ongoing frustration with them is I guess you could call it sensitivity problem which I cannot find a way to adjust. I can go back at the end of the day and look at my alerts and identify two or three times out of maybe six when someone pulled into my driveway. The other times, nothing there was no event logged.
One day my front camera picked up my wife walking up the sidewalk with the dog but a hour later a teenager handing out pamphlets walked up the same sidewalk and nothing.
As i type this i justed watch the trash truck pull up out front through my window, pick up a bag of trash and empty my two large cans sit there for a minute or two and then drive away. I went to check my events log and there are none.
So they seem to be very inconsistent on what will set them off.
Oftentimes I get an alert multiple times a day because my wife's flowers are blowing around in a pot on the sidewalk or a butterfly flew in front of the camera or a spider passed by it in the middle of the night. But I can watch someone walk past that same flower pot and the camera may generate an event or it may not.
It occurred to me that it could be a problem with my Wi-Fi network but I've checked for problems and every single time if I go and watch the live cam it's working fine so I don't believe the camera is coming disconnected from my network.
I've waited this long to leave a review because I don't like to leave bad or mediocre reviews until I'm sure I haven't been doing something wrong.
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Rab
2.0 out of 5 stars Impossible warranty repair
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2021
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Good cameras, decent cloud subscription. But one stopped working. Chatted with customer support. Escalated to engineer who said it was a faulty camera after we'd tried every fix they could think of. They suggested I do a warranty return. I initiated that by sending an RMA request. Never heard back. Months passed before I thought to follow up. Sent a second RMA. Chatted again. Was told by customer service they couldn't help, that it was an RMA department problem. They said my RMA was never approved and to wait on the new request. So I am. But (1) why did I never hear back, at least to tell me my RMA, suggested by their engineer, wasn't approved? (2) Why can't customer service follow up on RMA problems? (3) I have now, between first chat where they had me do stuff I'd already tried, and now spent hours trying to get one obviously faulty camera fixed or replaced. Meanwhile, I'm paying for the cloud service that covers all 4 cameras. Also, I'll note that while their phone app works pretty well, they internet browser link that should do the same thing is primitive, for example, allowing only one camera to be viewed at a time unless you sign in, in my case 4 times, opening 4 separate windows. It also lacks other functionality of the phone app.
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wildcargo46
2.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT BUY!
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2021
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
PROS: Good pic, good night vision.
CONS: TERRIBLE motion detection!! Waisted my time and money on these. I bought these to detect people and animals. I get alerts there are people when there is NONE. I DONT get alerts when there ARE people and animals!! You literally have to watch 24 hours in fast forward to cat h anything and then it crashes half way through!! You spend at least an hour a day going through footage to try and catch any animals or people. But, it will pick up every bird, mosquitoes, and car headlights every time! Aggregating to say the least. I wished I would of just spent the money and buy a nice surveillance system or a Ring System. PLUS it's $40/mo for all 4 cameras to save and playback footage which is essential with this system. Also, it has detected a vehicle on my back porch 4 times now ??
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Tim Pro
2.0 out of 5 stars Changed from 5 to 2 stars after they all started going "purple".
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Review updated 4 months after purchase to degrade to 2 stars. Reason: Out of 6 cameras 4 are presently showing purple all the time. I can power cycle them to get them to go back to color (well, I have been able to previously) but eventually they go back purple again. The problem is though I have them mounted up high and powered from ceiling mounted power boxes so power-cycling is not small task. I think I'll replace them with another brand in the relatively near future. The only reason I don't give them one star is they haven't totally died. The purple thing seems to be common from searching the questions for "purple".
Original review:
My concern was how these would hold up outside as while some are under eaves, at least one is wide open on a t-post. So far they've gone through rain, snow, crazy wind, etc. and no issue. At first after the initial coolness of being able to see stuff on our Amazon devices worn off, I was kinda "meh" and I turned off all the motion notifications as they got to be too much. But then they released an app update where I could easily set a "home" and "away" mode. Then I got really excited about them as I use the "away" mode when I'm away and I get to see who comes down my drive, etc. So, the app update is what actually led to me really digging this and actually adding more cameras. So if you're listening Zmodo, keep improving the apps as it's appreciated!
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SpaceManSpiff
2.0 out of 5 stars Cloud service can not be turned on once registered, uploading 24/7 live video through your internet.
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2017
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
The cloud service offered with these camera's sounds like a good idea but is not. There is no way to stop the camera's from uploading live video to their servers other than unplugging the power. Before registering for the cloud service please consider the following. During the first 4 hours of use, they uploaded 4GB of data (my router has a data log). My ISP, a money grubbing despicable company, recently put a 1TB cap on my cable home internet. At 4GB every 4 hours, I would be using 720GB of data, leaving me with around 280GB left for the month. I contacted ZMODO and explained the problem and was asked to perform numerous resets with out any success of disconnecting them from the cloud. I told them that the serial numbers must be registered with them and automatically re-register when connected to the wifi. I also noticed a significant slow down in speed while they were in use. I have used ZMODO camera's before and they have a free motion detection feature that records 15 seconds when movement is detected, this is what I wanted. You can still use them with this feature but DO NOT register them for the cloud service.
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Misty Bernal
2.0 out of 5 stars Good Cameras
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2022
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Good WiFi cameras for the price. Had them a few months mounted outside and looks like they will hold up to the elements at least for one year. Draw back is the power supply. The power supply is similar to a cell phone supply. Can't install away from an electrical household outlet, so extension cords or dedicated power plug must be installed. The initial WiFi set up was easy. After a few months of connection to WiFi, the cameras went 'off line' on their own, I do not know why. It was very difficult to get them back 'on line'. I had to reboot router, repower cameras, uninstalled and reinstalled phone app several times until the cameras went back online. Seems there was a update to the software of the cameras which caused them to go offline and never come back online. Viewed via the phone app, which is very user friendly.
2.0 out of 5 stars Poor wifi, short power cable, not happy
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2019
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
The packaging is ok, but you definitely need extension power cable as the one that comes with is useless. It's extremely short, and won't be able to use it for anything.
WiFi connectivity is horrible. My router is literally 5ft away and the connection keeps getting lost. The one that's 20ft away couldn't connect at all. I have good quality router, all devices around my house are receiving full signals. It's the camera that has poor connectivity. You also have to make sure that your WiFi name is all 1 word. If you have a space in your WiFi name, it will not connect. Also this camera uses 2.4Ghz network only. 5ghz will not work.
Subscription option looks affordable, but what they don't tell you is that you need 1 subscription per camera.
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Ohm Slaw
2.0 out of 5 stars Anemic & unreliable
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
The Alerts are incredibly inconsistent. Sometimes they work; mostly, they don’t. Sometimes a package, for example, will be seen being delivered, other times, not. Sometimes, approach the door, it fosters an Alert. At other times, however, you can wave your arms, do a dance on the porch, walk to and fro in front of the camera, and nothing. No Alert. The app, too, could use beefing up. It’s functions are rather anemic. If you don’t subscribe to the cloud service, and it has failed to record something as a clip of an Event or Alert or movement, then you can’t review a full recap of what’s been recorded. Yeah, there is 36 hrs of past activity available to you for free review, but its only the Alert/ motion clips it haphazardly makes. If you want to review a continuous recording of the past you have to subscribe to the cloud service. That and inconsistent recognition of an Event, makes for a poor security component.
Edit: I have several Zmodo devices. The totality of how they intermesh/work, is terrible. They haphazardly record events; cameras that should be off, aren’t, and vice versa. The recorded snippets you get without subscription are few. The longer I have this system, the more disappointing I find it.
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Sean
2.0 out of 5 stars Two stars is generous - very generous
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2017
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Know what you are getting before you buy. Understand that these cameras are useless if your internet connection is interrupted or slowed. There is no way to view the cameras on your local network. They are not usable without using the company's web services. So if your internet is down and you want to watch the kids in the pool, sorry. A storm takes down your cable modem, and you want to keep an eye on your property from inside your home, not happening. This also means that when the company goes out of business, these cameras will be useless. Well, that isn't entirely true, you could use them as dummy cameras in conspicuous places to make people think you have security cameras. Motion detection is spotty at best. I have plenty of motion notifications from rain, clouds casting shadows on the ground, and insects flying in front of the camera at night. Yet I drove my car right across the field of view, and never got a notification. Walking in front of the camera provided mixed results. I gave two stars because "hate" is such a strong word, and the build quality is actually nice for the money.
---UPDATE---
I was contacted by the manufacturer after posting my review. They claimed the reason their product is "web only" was because of the super high grade "Bank Level Security" they use. This is ridiculous, if not insulting. First off 256bit AES encryption is not super secret, Wizbang, Hollywood level security. It is the same normal security used by most encrypted traffic. Second, regardless of how "secure" their encryption is, data instantly becomes less secure when it leaves your network even if Jack Bower and Jason Bourne are your security consultants. They also informed me that they are aware of the poor motion detection and they expect a fix in the future...
I was going to reduce my rating to one star for the silly reply, but the company thought enough of their customers to reach out to me, so that balances out.
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Aaron
2.0 out of 5 stars Detects more leaves than people, never had more than one working...
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2021
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Well, these cameras are just great if you want to continually stare at the live feed they provide. Thing is, the chances of connecting these things to your network are worse than roulette, in my experience. The tech support is a joke, just another way to waste more hours of your time. Out of the four I purchased, one has actually functioned as a camera instead of an assembled piece of trash. When it did work (it stopped randomly a week or two ago), I had to turn its motion detection notifications off on my phone because of how often some plants across the street triggered it instead of actual important things I wanted to know about, like trespassers and deliveries. Not super useful.
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Doc777
2.0 out of 5 stars Setup and running, but has issues.
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
These were easy to set up and start running. There are two issues. 1) I have them on the window ledge in the front and back and they record during the day with motion activation no problem. Great quality recording. But at night, all they record and can see it the refection of the camera. Nothing else. I tried black cloth around them, tried adjusting them, but at night all they capture is themselves, they can't seem to get past it's own refection. So they are essentially Day Cameras and worthless at night, unless I take and hang them outside which I don't want to do. Then I need a plugin, and wifi issues in the back. 2) I don't like that you can't use a 128gb sd card. You have to buy zmodo cloud which is expensive. Lowest is 99 a year, and 1/2 for the another camera, so 150 bucks a year for the cloud. So far I can't get a hold of zmodo support unless I want to spend a couple of hours on the phone to see if they can help me to fix the issue at night so it stops seeing it's own reflection and nothing else. So I can't tell you if they work good at night or not. I plan to send them back if I can't get past both issues.
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Hutch
2.0 out of 5 stars Motion Sensors Simply Don't Work
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
There are plenty of reviews on this camera that highlight pros and cons. My focus in only on the motion sensor aspect. Let me say why. Though Zmodo offers a free motion-sensor activated video clip service, the huge problem is that the motion sensors work sporadically at best. I connected all four and set them up in the house within 15 feet of the router, direct line-of-sight. I walked in front of them all one-by-one. Sometimes it would send me an alert and record a snap-video, most of the time not. I waited between tests just to see if the problem was re-setting of the sensor, but it was futile. By comparison, my Kodak indoor camera catches every motion, in rapid succession. The cameras only cost $125 bucks, and the live streaming is good. Without a motion sensor that works, however, you've got nothing. Someone could be dancing the jig in your backyard and you'd never know it. You could, of course, purchase the 7 day cloud service, but the cost for four camera would be $125. In other words, every year you'd be paying for your cameras again and again. There are other cameras out there - for a bit more - that have better motion detectors. I just picked up 2 Netvue outdoor cameras in hopes that their detection system is better. Netvue also offers a free 14-day motion-based image storage. You can also install a micro SD in the camera (up to 128 GB) that you can then access and search via the app. Anyway, price point is close to Zmodo and IF, IF the motion sensor actually works, a much better option.
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James R
2.0 out of 5 stars Pass Glitchy/slow unless 1 room away.
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Mediocre. 1)Glitchy/slow loading video playback 2)does NOT record all frames if camera isn't within a few rooms away from router 3)motion alert is slow and does not always send to cellphone right away (unless close to router). 4)creating motion alert doesn't always work/app won't load video feed when selecting 5)IR isn't that good 6)video quality (720 HD) is pretty bad 7) had one camera turn purple view after one day. 8)stripped most all the screws and they are one-time use screws, so now all 4 cameras are stuck where they are or else I would return them. 9)does not record all frames!? most of my 4 camera would skip maybe 10 seconds at a time, they claim 7 day contious recording, false, it is 7 day free every 10 second let me take a photo recording. The bad: for such low quality the frames/video should load right away throughout the app, I have over 100mbps wifi too so. The good: easy to set up and works well outdoor/rain! looks to be quality metal housing. If they are close to my router maybe one room over they DO seem to work without any glitches or no recordings etc. Maybe improve the WIFI? Let me also CLARIFY, this camera 720 camera is better quality than some chines brands that are suppose to be 1080p HD, so if you compare other brands then this is easily a 4 or 5 star if it just wasn't so laggy and did the job. So compared to others, this app, integration and speed is the best you will find unless you want to move to a 1080p Zmodo. Just wish it would do better recording.
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Vericimo
2.0 out of 5 stars Cloud service is per camera and ONLY available for apps, motion alerts don't work
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I've had this camera for a while now. While it works great, there are two glaring flaws. The first is that cloud service cost is per camera. I only have two cameras and both costs $15/month to store video onto the cloud service for 30 days.
Secondly, I don't get motion alerts. At all. I have a camera at my front door and of the visitors and daily mailman pickups, I get zero alerts for that.
The camera lets you playback what it's recorded for the day but it's a real pain if I'm to be honest. You can't scrub through your footage. You have to play from the beginning and watch in real-time what has been recorded. There's is a timelapse version but sometimes it doesn't catch everything and again, is really backwards because you can't scrub through that either.
Honestly, not a great camera service if you're really serious about securing your home. You can only see your footage through an app on your phone (no way of doing it on your computer). So I'm gonna have to score this one real low.
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Dan & Tiff
2.0 out of 5 stars Glitchy! Won't stay online.
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2021
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Started out working with no issues. But that was short lived. I'm down to one camera and the one left goes offline like 6 times a day, making it useless for what it is supposed to be for. I can't depend on these security cameras to do what they're supposed to do if I have to climb a ladder to reset it 6 times a day!! The picture quality is good, the motion detection is a little too good. If you can get them to stay connected and online. I am hoping zomodo can fix my issue or I'm getting different ones. Which really makes me mad because my cloud is paid up until January 2022!! Unfortunately I've read I'm not the only one this happens too.
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MAC
2.0 out of 5 stars Save your money & life
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2021
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. IF YOU GET A NEW ROUTER YOU NEED TO CLIMB UP A LADDER TO HAVE ONE CAMERA SCAN THE QR CODE.
LIKE THATS SAFE FOR ANYONE! IF YOU BUY A 4 PACK OF CAMERAS. YOU MUST PAY 49.99 FOR EVERY 2 CAMERAS NOT WHAT THE APP SAID INITIALLY, IT SAYS FOR ADDING ADDL CAMERAS ITS $49.99. IT COST US FOR 4 CAMERAS IN ONE BOX $124.99. NOT $49.99 FOR THAT PRICE YOU ONLY GET 7 DAYS OF VIDEO. MY RING COST 1/4 OF THAT PRICE I HAVE VIDEO FOR AS LONG AS I NEED IT. NOW I NEED TO RISK MY NECK CLIMBING ON THE ROOF TO SCAN A CAMERA OR HIRE SOMEONE AGAIN. CUSTOMER SERVICE GUY WAS AN IDIOT. I WILL NEVER BUY FROM AGAIN. ASKING BANK TO CHG BACK MONEY FAULTY SECURITY SYSTEM!
1.0 out of 5 stars TLDR - Look elsewhere - You're welcome
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Well, for starters... I am not a surveillance camera expert, probably not even a camera novice... but, here goes. I bought these 4 cameras for various purposes, the biggest factor to me was the motion capture as I live on a main road and wanted to make sure things like my Amazon deliveries are safe while I am at work, etc... well, I am writing a review as I have spent some serious amount of time playing with these cameras trying to get them to reliably identify motion and send notifications to my phone. Originally, I tried signing up for Zmodo cloud storage, so that I could have more than 36 hours of photage to review when playing with settings... I then quickly realized that when using their cloud storage solution, zmodo isn't even backing up HD video, they were backing up snapshots of pictures every 12 seconds (as it appeared on my end, and let me tell you I have 1GB/s download speeds and 60 MB/s upload speeds, so it isnt my network)... now, I hadn't identified that the free cloud service wasn't actually storing a clean stream, until I needed to review the cloud storage to identify something that I thought I was missing, when I noticed that mail was delivered and I never saw the person walk up to my front door... this happened a couple of times before I went ahead and spent more money with zmodo trying to fix their problems, because I already had their devices and didn't want to start from scratch again... So, I now have the 1TB NVR recording system... I have a clean stream of video recorded to my HDD, but Zmodo still doesn't accurately report motion that happens... I'd say 90% of the time the cameras notify me of movement it is just picking up reflection from cars headlights... but, if someone walks past the camera, I give it less than a 50% chance of actually notifying me of the motion (just speaking from my personal experience with these cameras on my home). Now, to make matters worse... and the piece that got me frustrated enough with Zmodo specifically to write a review giving them 1 star... I have tried emailing their support line, and have been waiting roughly a month for them to even respond. Zero response. I was asking them for help, and you cant even give me the time of day to respond to my email? To anyone looking at Zmodo, look elsewhere.
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Robert Buster
1.0 out of 5 stars FAILED to do their job, spend your money elsewhere!
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Let me start by stating why I am rating this one star. These cameras ultimately FAILED to do what I bought them to do.
I had bought these cameras about a month ago because I have had some hooligans trying to make a political statement out of my car and I needed to catch them in the act. My initial reaction was WOW these cameras are great, they were easy to set up, the video feed is directly linked to my phone, and they give you notification alerts when motion is detected. HOWEVER tonight has proved these cameras ineffective for multiple reasons.
Reason 1: I did not receive a notification alert on my phone when these guys pulled up in their car. It does register as movement when I go to the video playback, but failed to notify me of any such activity.
Reason 2: This is a big one, the camera FROZE. Literally here these guys are walking up to my car and the frame freezes for 10 seconds. Next thing I know, I see a bunch of trash all over my car and everyone has already got back in their car. I have NO proof that someone has just vandalized my car!
Reason 3: Video quality is not very good. You MIGHT be able to make out facial features if the person is right in front of the camera, but not at all if they are more than 10 ft away... Good luck catching a license plate either.
I am so sad to say that these cameras have let me down because I had so much faith that they would do their job... I have watched countless alerts of cats hanging out in my driveway or neighbors pulling into their garages but the moment that I needed these cameras the most, they have ultimately let me down so take it from me... INVEST IN A BETTER QUALITY SECURITY CAMERA
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Terry S.
1.0 out of 5 stars Cameras do not work!
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
I have bought these cameras in the past and some have been in operation for over a year in all weather conditions, BUT, the last two batches I've ordered are all defective. They will not broadcast their network address so you cannot enter them into the APP. A total of 17 (That's correct, that's seventeen), cameras were all defective !!
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Michael
1.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT BUY THESE CAMERAS!!!! THE APP AND SUPPORT ARE TERRIBLE!
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
The cameras themselves are fine. Nothing spectacular. The picture quality leaves much to be desired. I understand it is only a 720, but the picture quality is even more terrible than what I expected.
The reason for my VERY STRONG opinion is that the support, the website, and the app are THE WORST systems I have EVER used. And I'm not just talking camera services. They are the worst systems I have ever used for any product or service.
My account is associate with my phone number, however for a password recovery you can only use an email. I have no email associated with my account, so that's a dead end.
When you go to the website and click on their support page, you get an error page.
When you try to reset your password through the phone app, it asks for your old password....I mean really?
And as of right now, I've been waiting for a live chat rep for 20 min now, and cant find a phone number because guess what. The support page brings me to an error page.
Now on to the app. The app is extremely difficult to use. It has very limited setting that you can alter, and the website has even less functionality. You cannot adjust playback speed AT ALL. Its either watching the entire day start to finish so quickly that you can't tell whats going on, or trying to find what you are looking for in real time with no way to speed things up. I though perhaps I could change this in the settings, but to no avail. In addition to a pacing problem, the cameras only record at full frame rate when something is actually happening. This may not seem like a problem, but when you are trying to find out HOW something that happened began, good luck. It slows the frame rate down to probably one frame for every 30 seconds or so. 30 seconds when something is going on is an ETERNITY!
I thought perhaps this was a connection issue, but it was extremely consistent behavior. I realize this is to save on data size, but it is far to much on the extreme side of frugality to be of use to anyone.
Installation and set up was fairly painless aside from the back antenna getting in the way requiring repositioning.
We do get "Poor connection. Please try again" errors daily even though we have wifi extenders and the works and never have this issue with any other devices. Clicking on the camera again usually remedies this issue, but its still a bit annoying.
Ive only had a camera go completely offline once, requiring me to unplug the device. The app was able to find it again fairly quickly.
Once your free trail runs out, you loose all capability of reviewing past feeds. I'm sure this is probably similar to most other cameras, but I was under the impression that you had maybe 24hrs of recorded video free of charge.
In summary.......spend that extra to get a better quality brand of cameras. You will not regret it.
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ToWander
1.0 out of 5 stars aweful update 6/3 2020
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2020
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
1. These cameras are a pain to install. If you have 2.4 or 5 g network, getting this camera on the 2.4, will cause issues with your 5g.
2. Once you have ot on your network, the camera does not see the QR code, even with your brightness turned up. The trick; set your phone on a stand, and pont the camera at it, and keep trying until it catches it.
3. It takes forever to load, I have great wifi, and ot still takes 30-45 seconds to load,..if there isn't an error. There will be 8/10 times.
4. The motion sensor is aweful. It will hit maybe 4/10 times.
5. The time on the camera jumps, its not consistent. I did not know this until I took something my neighbor brought to my attention. I went to go pull up my camera for the times she said, and sure enough, right in feont of the camera, was two people out in the open, shooting each other up. My camera never sent an alert. I took what I had to law enforcement only to find, because the time jumped, they can't use the footage.
6. Tech support does not respond. I have sent emails, to which none was answered.
7. DO NOT DEPEND ON THESE CAMERAS.
8: real time; no
6/3 2020
I hate this camera, do not count on it
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Public Name
1.0 out of 5 stars Honest technical review-Update
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2017
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I have been using these for a couple months now and would like to inform potential buyers that the videos are marginally available. I have experimented in different ways to see how often motion is sensed, video is available, image quality and overall reliability. I have a strong background in technology but am not a representative of any company or being paid to evaluate these products. I purchased these for my private use to improve my home security.
I purchased these after 2 incidents where someone was coming to my front door at odd hours, which alerted the dog, and finding a suspicious person at the front door. Asked them what they wanted and in response: "I have the wrong house, I was looking for a friend". The local community web page noted the same description of this person. Thank the dog for alerting us.
I try to access these cameras from my home computer using the web site they provide. I also installed the mobile app on Android mobile phone. It is possible to view the same video from more than one device, simultaneously. I have a very strong and reliable internet connection. However, I frequently have problems accessing the camera videos. Sometimes the site says Camera not available, sometimes it is just a black screen (see image). One of the cameras is in the same room as the wifi router. I have not determined if the camera is the problem or the service of Zmodo and server. I tried to unplug and plug in the camera when it was unavailable, which appeared to work, but again just waiting for it start working again which it did. Sometimes it is just one cameras while the other is working fine, sometimes it is the other way around and sometimes neither is showing. My guess is the Zmodo server. I need to add an evaluation step to ensure I can ping the zmodo server while the camera is inactive.
Initial motion sensing: When I first started using this camera, it picked up some brush motions when the wind blew. You can use the mobile app to adjust the motion sense area, but this is not available on the web site. Motion sensing produced 5 image clips that automatically steps through them, which is neat. However, I would prefer video during all motion sensing because we do not get additional images after the first 5 so there is no telling what happens after that time. The camera that is on the second floor (image) gets some notifications but the object has to be right of the camera frame though the area should pick up closer objects. The front door sometimes catches images (cars) in the street too.
Issue with Microphone: I check the setting each day and notice the Microphone is often turned on. I keep turning it off. I do not want the mic on in case I am speaking with a client and/or if it is hacked or viewed by someone other than myself. If the device gets hacked, how will you know?
Night vision does not work when mounted behind a window. If you mount the device outside, or facing into a room, it should work fine. My cameras are both inside pointing at the street/cul-da-sac and front door entry way. through a window. I am considering mounting one outside but not before I finish evaluating these device and trying to gain direct access.
Recently, Zmodo sent a service option to pay for video, image, and notification storage online. I do not believe these services will improve the quality of service that I am experiencing.
I requested technical support to provide me a way to access the camera directly so I could use my own software but they have not replied, for the obvious reason, that they want to make money with the services they provide. However, the company offers a recording device that can be purchased and used within your home.
Additional security available: I noticed that I can add a "device password" to each camera. The User guide says "The password provides an additional layer of security but you will not need the password when access the camera from the Zmodo app". It is not required but recommended. So, set the password in either the app or the web site.
As a word of caution, anybody using the Zmodo, or other cameras that have a dedicated usage through the company web site, should ensure their password is hard to crack; at least 24 characters long including numbers, Uppercase, lowercase, and special characters. The password should be changed in frequency of 30-60 days. Why? These cameras are part of the IoT (Internet of Things) and hackers have been able to find and take control of them for their own use.
Summary:
When I was shopping around, these appear to be an inexpensive way to increase the security of my home. They may not be as reliable as getting a dedicated system that offers recording in house, but it appears I am getting above 50% of the notifications I feel I should be getting. Two more purchases I made: 1. motion sensing/auto on/off dusk-to-dawn lights for the house, where there were not-so-bright lights and we turned them off at night. 2. A sign that says "24-hour video surveillance" that is placed in the front yard. Probably the best deterrent whether you have cameras or not.
Hope this helps
Update:
Zmodo has been improving their mobile app and the app is a lot better. I like the motion detection feature that now records 1 minute video when triggered. Flipping through the cameras is nice, too. Still, access of the cameras is about 50% in my experience. I am still trying to determine the cause whether it be the camera or the service. Since the camera reappears my guess is the service. As stated, the only way to access the camera is through their app or website. Most of the time I am use the browsers/website. The video appears on it's own if not visible when first accessing it. I can get the camera visible when unplugging the camera and back in and waiting for a short while for it to reconnect.
Update Jan 2-19
Still trying to get notifications to no avail. Support stopped communicating with me. Notification stopped working months ago. Contacted support got some responses but they wanted my password to test my results. Poor security suggestion to change password to 123456, Not good. You should use strong password!!!!
Notifications still broke and still not resolved. I recommend you pay more for better equipment.
Support said they would reset the cameras and I would have to add them again. Not a problem but they are still in my account. Support not responding after a couple emails after proposed reset. My conclusion is they suck! Cheap... "You get what you pay for".
Customer image
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Rodrigo Ramos
1.0 out of 5 stars TERRIBLE CAMERA....STAY AWAY
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Horrible camera. We had an accident happen in front of our house. I was glad the camera was pointing right where it happened because the police officer wanted to know which of the two guys was the driver (one was drunk). Turns out camera was freezing that whole morning. The refresh rate was once every 10 seconds so we couldn't tell. Very disappointed. I reset the cameras....nothing. A few weeks ago it stopped showing events. It would tell me the camera motion detection was triggered but the events tab was empty. I cant stress enough, this camera is AWEFUL. Save a little bit more and buy a nicer brand. I'm thankful no one has tried to break in or anything because this provides zero safety.
UPDATE: They just quit working and wont connect to the app at all. Since my last update these have become a very expense fake camera. After multiple attempts to get them working I uninstalled them both and took them down and started fresh, plugged them right next to the router, without extension cord. One quit working all together, the other powers up but wont connect. At this point I'm saving for a better system. Just hoping these will at the very least discourage someone.
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Dan
1.0 out of 5 stars Cloud service is worthless, Support non existant
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
DO NOT BUY. The Cloud recording even with a 7 day "continuous" paid recording plan only takes a still image once every 10 seconds, but the live image works perfectly fine. Zmodo is support is basically non existent with 60 to 90 minute wait times only to get hung up on or your "live chat" session disconnected when you ask any non sales question. I ended up completely missing the events i needed recordings of because of these issues. The cameras themselves work well enough, the power cables are a bit short but nothing an extension cable cant fix. With the worthless cloud and non existent support these cameras are not worth your money.
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alex
1.0 out of 5 stars If you’re looking for cheap that’s literally all you’re getting
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2019
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
**long review ahead to break it all down**
These cameras seem great at first. They’re cheap and ok quality. Easy set up and installation. The picture quality is decent and motion detection is extremely sensitive. (Sometimes other times it won’t record anything)Night vision is ok. But for what you pay for them it’s to be expected. I never went into this thinking I was getting the highest quality. What I did not expect is the absolute robbery of their “cloud” subscription. I should’ve researched more and kept looking for a different camera. First you’re roped in with the free trail. Take in mind these cameras are strictly WiFi with no internal storage or ability to connect to anything but through the app and cloud. They lag & app crashes ALOT. The motion detection will pick up a bug butt flying by but other times won’t get an entire car pulling up or person at my door. W/o cloud it’s supposed to record 15 second increments of motion. It’s on average 4-12 seconds. The cloud subscription is expensive when you think this is just for my camera to be a camera and record. The lowest one is $50 a year for EACH device. That is $350 for me roughly $30 a month just to have the cameras almost work at full capacity. Like I said that’s Zmodo’s cheapest cloud package. I could get an actual home security system that continually monitors my home and notifies the police if there ever is a problem for a few dollars more than that a month. If you want something for show or just something to be able to LOOK at your home, this is it. I will say the live view is handy. But definitely don’t count on these cameras to matter when you really need them. I’ve had them for almost a year and odds are they won’t catch anything. Unless you pay a ridiculous amount just to be able to see after it already happens. If you also maybe want a baby monitor this would be great! But do not get these as a cheaper home monitoring option. It’s not. You could spend a little more money and get something far better. I was never expecting great but having to pay $350 a year just to be able to record is ridiculous. I didn’t research enough and didn’t want to spend the extra $$ & time installing wired cameras. Or spend the extra $$ on something like adt. Lol I would’ve been better off doing so because their monthly subscription is maybe $5-10 more (with way more options and security) than what Zmodo charges just to do what cameras do... record.
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R.
1.0 out of 5 stars The Worst.
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
They better let 3rd party apps have access. Their cloud service is horrible.
The website to access your feeds crash within minutes. Updates or different web browsers don't matter.
Get used to the web site shockwave plugin crashing every second. Adobe flash player crashes every minute (+/-)
You can get a pair of outdoor cameras ZP-IBH15-W for under $40. You have to pay monthly to use it. Example: It will record a 10 second clip of movement. If you want the whole 3 minutes of your car broken into you'll have to pay the monthly fee for it. For now I cannot find 3rd party NVR that i can use with them. Will update when I can. For now this is the crap I hate about buying stuff. Everyone wants a monthly fee.
UPDATE: Using their website is the worst. Keep getting kicked off or it freezes up. I tried different web browsers and still an issue. Updated adobe. LET THIRD PARTY APPS ACCESS.
1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of money
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2019
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I got the cams in January -2pk
I set one up when I received it and set the other one in March. Both worked fine for a while and did a great job detecting motion from the wind but often detected no motion when people were in the range of motion.
The 1st cam (turned on in Jan) started going offline in May then stopped working. The 2nd cam (turned on in March) stopped working completely in June.
Wish I spent a little more to get good cams. Now I have to replace these
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L. T.
1.0 out of 5 stars worked for 2 weeks
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2019
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
we purchases the 4 pack of the zmoto surveillance camera's. We also purchased the icloud 24/7 30 day (paid for the entire year upfront). We install the 4 camera's on the outside of our home. The 2 Most critical camera's on the back of the house are the ones that we truly need. So, a week and a half installed that two that we need for surveillance...of course do NOT work. do not give notifications, do not give feedback, do not show any "motion detection" even though we intentionally go in the back to see if the camera's pick us up. It is sickening to learn that you pay a lot of money for a product (that is from China) and can't get it to work, get your camera information etc...
and to top it off, the site shows an "error" when you try to contact the page to HELP YOU.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND THESE SURVEILANCE CAMERA'S TO ANYONE.
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Robert Ritter
1.0 out of 5 stars Sucks
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2019
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
Can’t connect. Very hard to use and no help from the company
20 people found this helpful
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NotJoemama
1.0 out of 5 stars wouldn't connect from outside my house more than 15 feet away "through concrete walls"
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2018
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Excellent cameras, but they wouldn't connect from outside my house more than 15 feet away "through concrete walls". Also, it would be nice if their app would work ALL the time. While at work I like to check in on the family/house around 3 to 4 in the morning "US Central time" I try to connect and most of the time it did to those 10 feet away right next to my window, but occasionally it wouldn't.... Hmmm? Don't want to have to buy wifi extenders too...
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Fuzzy62
1.0 out of 5 stars Fairly useless
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2021
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
My wife got a zmodo setup years back as a 'prize' for something. Came with 4 cams and an NVR.
When I checked the cameras, locally recorded to the NVR was 5 whole snapshots per alarm, while 'online' was a 10 second video. I'd expected full video on the NVR, but nope. 5 snapshots.
Add that they are WiFi, and now if you hear something outside, it may take more than a full minute to connect and see what's happening, if they're working at all. Very, very frustrating.
A couple years in I started having all manner of network problems which were eventually traced to the NVR. Once I trashed that, my net was back to normal. It was just sending non-stop, meaningless traffic. Maybe a firmware update would fix it, but not worth it for 5 snapshots.
The service sucks. I've gone a week with no cameras multiple times, but they were working fine. You can access the cams directly with their ancient, buggy as hell Windows app, so I could see they were working, but the service said they were unreachable. For a week. 6 cams (2 had IR LEDs die, so I replaced them and moved them indoors where nightvision isn't as important).
Sometimes they reset. I apparently have 3 slightly different models and each set has it's own epoch. Of course, without the Windows app you'd never know, as they cannot talk to their servers in this state, though they are accessible locally.
Don't tell support about using the Windows app, they get pissy and tell you it's somehow dangerous. It is, basically, useless anyhow. Doesn't keep it's setup between uses and won't record. But it's the ONLY way to access your cams when Zmodo goes down, which is depressingly often.
Purely a deterrent. Not useful for evidence of any kind unless you get really lucky.
I'm now doing much better with a couple cheap Chinese cams (~$24 each) and a couple Wyze cams. All record locally to an $80 RPI setup. Once I move I'll get better cams, but this is lightyears better already.
Again, they hang outside and light up, but that's it. Deterrent value only. Do some research, find someone to help, setup a local system you have control over. Why does every frame from every camera have to go to China before I can see it???
4 people found this helpful
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Curt
1.0 out of 5 stars Constant "Motion Alerts". When nothing is there.
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2019
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
Easy install. Easy logon. The stupid camera sends motion alerts on my back deck constantly. The system looks really good on paper on this Amazon ad but in reality the camera sends false alarms all day long. I contacted customer support and they told me tree branches from the trees which may be causing the problem. The branches are 4 feet above the camera and I'm not sure that the appropriate approach is to go cutting all the branches off my trees just so my camera will work. All it would take would be usable adjusted sensitivity settings and that would narrow down the sensitivity to false alarms. But that's not available. When I contacted customer service I explained the whole problem and they apologized and said "we will go to work on that soon." When I told them I was not happy with that solution they told me they were "glad they could help me and have a good day". They also suggested that I narrow the image which in essence cuts off everything above a human being's chest so the only solution they have is to not record the face of an intruder and to record only the belly button and the knees and feet of the intruder so as to make the camera "work. I see why the earlier reviews of this camera system we're all in the 1 and 2 range for the last year or so..
9 people found this helpful
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JRicardo
1.0 out of 5 stars NO configurable device
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2018
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
This camera has no configuration or setup web page. there is only a phone app that does not allow you to configure any network parameter, only allowing you to make it work with the pre sets and thru Zmodo web site, basically u can just check the camera image.
It ONLY works thru Zmodo web site or via phone app .. You CAN'T use your own app or DVR to retrieve the images , if you need to store yr images you have to pay for Zmodo to do it on their cloud ..
In my case, I just needed it to be configured using fixed IP@ in order to use my own storage, pretty basic thing right ? But according Zmodo support , that is impossible .
Zmodo should state this LIMITATION very clearly in Amazon page, avoiding customers to waste their time and money when looking for a configurable device . If u are looking for a pre-configured device that is only usable thru Zmodo web site, that is the camera for you. Since I was looking for a flexible device to be connected to my Home Security System, and this camera does not support any configuration at all , it is completely useless for me .
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Mark B
1.0 out of 5 stars depend on this camera sent for home security monitoring you will be busy watching videos of nothing.
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2017
Size: 4 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
these cameras are decent quality of the video is better than expected however the motion detection is insane. Even with all of the alerts off and will continue to repetitively soon detection even if there are none on the videos it saves. Overall a decent way to view your home but if you depend on this camera sent for home security monitoring you will be busy watching videos of nothing.
Update: these cameras are horrible they continuously disconnect as others have said they are definitely not worth the hundred bucks you can buy other camera systems around that price range with better customer service. I have to say their customer service I would give them zero stars if I could and that they have put me on hold to take lunch breaks on live chat support they have told me they were burning the candle at both ends while they work two jobs I have gotten nothing but excuses and no solutions from these people
30 people found this helpful
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Brent M.
1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed so far. Update.
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2020
Size: Three CamerasVerified Purchase
I do not typically like to write reviews unless something is truly outstanding or absolutely horrible. In this case i am making an exception.
I ordered the three pack cameras and they arrived neatly packaged in just a couple of days. Fairly easy to install the app and get two of the cameras to connect. The third camera was dead right out of the box. I left the dead camera for later and proceeded to mount the other two.
Super easy to screw in the mounts, put the cameras up and angle them. Live view works great at home (more on that later). I now have two of three cameras working. Second problem, one camera is crystal clear and I couldn't be happier. The other is fuzzy/grainy and nothing clears that up. Tried unplugging and plugging back in, tried uninstalling, etc. Nothing works.
I contacted customer service through the in app chat feature. Was told that if I think the camera is defective I have to submit for a ticket, and return. If it is deemed to be malfunctioning they will replace it. Hmmm. Went to the website and completed the online form. It has been three days and I am still waiting for the email confirmation.
This last part might be my own ignorance, but the live view on my phone through the app only works when I am at home and connected to the WIFI that the cameras are connected to. I cannot view remotely at this time and this is the primary reason I wanted cameras.
All in all I am not pleased with this particular purchase or product. 1/3 cameras are working at the level I expected, customer service is/was mediocre at best, and remote viewing does not exist.
If anyone has experience with the issues I am experiencing, feel free to chime in. At this point, I am about 72 hours from throwing in the towel. Will update if anything becomes resolved but i would be hesitant to recommend this product to anyone else at this time.
Update. I have returned this system for a refund. Besides all of the other issue I was experiencing, the one "good" camera began going offline and staying offline. The "troubleshooting" was to move it close to the router to reset. Unfortunately, I am not wanting to climb up, remove the camera, take it to the router, reset it, and then reinstall it. On top of that I still have not received the email confirmation to return the camera and that was submitted over a week ago. I had high hopes for these cameras, and maybe you will have better luck than I did.
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Bill R.
1.0 out of 5 stars Pure garbage
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2020
Size: 2 Count (Pack of 1)Verified Purchase
I made the mistake of not installing these cameras right away. I waited ONE DAY too long to return them to Amazon and now I'm stuck with very expensive pieces of rubbish! I bought these for security cameras to put on the outside of my home (since they advertised as outdoor security cameras). I bought two sets. On the day I hooked them up, all four worked (although one was working very slowly from the very beginning). I thought the slow one just needed to reset, so I restarted it several times, to no avail. Later that evening, I wanted to check the night vision on the cameras, two were working and two, not at all. The next day, I texted the customer service and let them know my issues. The first question he asked was how far I was from the router. I told him it they averaged about 30 feet, but that I had a mesh system and the wifi signal was very strong by the cameras. He told me that 30 feet was too far. I told him that was strange considering that the two furthest from the router were working fine, it was the two closest to the router not working. He next asked me if they were plugged directly into electrical outlets. I told him no, of course not. They are outside, high up on my house, there no outlets close enough with the short cords OEM cords provided, that they were on extension cords. He said that was the problem, that I needed to plug them directly into an outlet. Again, I told him that was strange, as the two that are working just fine are on extension cords and furthest from the router. He told me that those would likely degrade over time if left plugged into extension cords and that he had explained to me how to fix the issue and asked if I had any more questions. I told him his fixes would not work for me and that I would have to return the cameras (I didn't realize my window for returning had closed already), and he said okay. I am not happy with the camera or the service. Unfortunately, I'm stuck. Do not buy unless you can keep your camera within 15 feet of your router AND plug it DIRECTLY into an outlet. I'm not sure exactly how this would qualify a camera as "outdoor security."
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