ecobee Smart Video Doorbell Camera (Wired) – with Industry Leading HD Camera, Smart Security, Night Vision, Person and Package Sensors, 2-Way Talk, and Video & Snapshot Recording

Edit: 12/3/23. I upgraded my doorbell transformer about a week ago. I was using one that provided 24vac 20 amp. It was a small generic one that I picked up at Home Depot. I replaced it with an Edwards Signaling 598. Now I’m getting 24vac 30 amp. The old transformer was running very warm and I believe it may have been inadequate for this application. The ecobee doorbell requires a lot of power and my 1950’s Westminster door chime has a Telechron clock built in which also draws constant power. Since the upgrade I have not had anymore issues with the ecobee doorbell going offline. It’s been rock solid stable. I have no idea if any firmware updates have come down as ecobee doesn’t alert you to them. If any more offline issues arise I’ll edit this post again.Edit: 11/21/2023. It suffered its first instance of falling off-line/unreachable. I guess I’m used to this kind of stuff because I was going through it with the WeMo. Sincerely hope that ecobee puts out some firmware updates that add a few more features and stabilityI’m replacing a WeMo Doorbell with this one for a few reasons. WeMo doesn’t seem to update or support their product anymore. HomeKit automations have stopped working with the WeMo and for me that’s a deal breaker.On to this doorbell, Overall I’m pleased with it. The physical size of the unit is quite large. I’m unsure why it has to be this large but it is. It almost didn’t fit on the door frame where my existing button used to reside. The physical button is also very large and unmistakable. It’s easy to push and plays a nice melody so that the person who pushed it knows that it’s been activated.The video quality is outstanding. It also has a few trick features such as software based pan and zoom to keep a person centered in the frame. It has onboard A.I. Learning for package / people / car / animal detection. It’s supposed to be faster and more accurate to detect what’s it’s supposed to and better at rejecting everything else. Doorbell notifications are played from your existing chime or through one of their premium thermostats. If you have it integrated with HomeKit or Alexa it will also chime through smart speakers. The thermostat also acts as a video screen so that you can see and interact with whoever is at the door.It integrates beautifully with HomeKit and will show alerts on all Apple Devices including AppleTV. However, they crippled one important feature of HomeKit that I personally find reprehensible. They do not allow HomeKit Secure Video recording. If you want recordings from this product you will have to subscribe to the ecobee Security suite. It’s $5 a month just for this doorbell. Their Security suite offers more than what HomeKit offers so in my mind they should have marketed that as an upgrade if HomeKit Secure Video doesn’t meet your needs. Instead they have blocked all recording behind a Paywall in order to extort more money from you. I’ve already invested in 2 of their premium thermostats and now this doorbell and it makes me kinda angry that they’re doing this. As a work around I’ve installed a Logitec Circle View camera in an overhead corner of my front entrance to do the recordings and I use this doorbell for everything else. I have enough subscriptions in my life and don’t want another. Also, it does not allow for HomeKit automations based off motion or light levels. I was able to do these types of automations with the WeMo and I’m pretty sure that the Logitech Circle View Video Doorbell allows them also based off of my experience with the Circle View Cameras that I own. For my purposes I am able to do the one automation that I really need based off a single doorbell button press. I can have HomeKit turn on a light in my entrance when the button is pressed BUT I had to use a third party App to access that feature. The App is called “Controller” and is available in the Apple App Store. It unlocks hidden features of HomeKit that aren’t available directly in Apple’s Home App. This is the automation that stopped working with the WeMo but it works on this unit.I also wanted to speak to the speed of the notifications. I find that it’s very quick to notify me with notifications on my iPhone, ecobee thermostats and most importantly video pop ups on my AppleTV screen. It works nearly instantly and it works every time. The WeMo was hit or miss with the AppleTV pop ups and that is one feature I must have.