Vivint Doorbell Camera Review

Vivint Doorbell Camera Design

Upon first look, the Vivint Doorbell Camera wasn’t the most attractive video doorbell we’ve seen. However, it’s pretty slim, measuring only 1.7 inches wide, so it fits our door frame easily. In comparison, the Ring Video Doorbell 3 we tested measured 2.4 inches wide, almost a full inch wider than the Vivint Doorbell Camera.

More than its looks, we cared about how the Vivint Doorbell Camera would adapt to outdoor conditions, such as extreme temperatures and moisture. First of all, the doorbell was waterproof, thankfully, because raindrops splash onto our front door when it rains. Secondly, the Vivint Doorbell Camera could operate in temperatures between 14 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, if you live in an area that gets below 14 degrees Fahrenheit in winter regularly, we don’t recommend the Vivint Doorbell Camera. Otherwise, the Vivint Doorbell Camera is a sturdy little doorbell.

Vivint Doorbell Camera Features

When testing security cameras and video doorbells, we use the Necessary Features Test to test categories such as video, audio, night vision, and more. How did the Vivint Doorbell Camera stack up?

Video Quality

We liked that the Vivint Doorbell Camera has a 2x HDR zoom and the camera’s field of view was the widest possible at 180 degrees. It captured our entire doorstep and then some.

We also liked the panning feature. It was easy to get a view of our entire porch with just the slide of a finger. Is it worth the extra cost? If you’re struggling to justify it, you might want to check out video doorbell reviews for other brands. We recommend reading our review of the Nest Doorbell, which is a sleek-looking video doorbell with an impressive video quality and person detection, just like the Vivint Doorbell Cameras.

Audio

Naturally, the Vivint Doorbell Camera had two-way audio so we could speak to our guests as well as see them through the Vivint app, a standard feature for video doorbells. The audio quality was okay; we could hear our guests and they could hear us. The doorbell has microphone and ambient noise cancellation, like some of Ring’s budget-friendly video doorbells.

Night Vision

The camera also has infrared night vision from two LED sensors, which we really prefer over color night vision from a bright white light. Infrared is a lot less conspicuous, which, when we were recording people at night, was clearly a good thing. Another commendable thing about the Vivint Doorbell Camera was its ability to pick up images even in low-light conditions.

Storage

When it comes to any home security camera, be it in a doorbell or otherwise, we want to make sure we’re backing up our footage in at least two ways. That way, if one of the ways fails, we have a fallback. Fortunately, the Vivint Doorbell Camera has a micro-SD card slot for direct local storage, Vivint also let us store 30-second event clips in the cloud for 14 days, but it cost us $5 per month for each camera. That was on top of the monitoring fee we were paying Vivint for professional monitoring which ranges from $24.99 to $59.99 per month depending on your system and features. You can learn more about Vivint’s monitoring plans here.

>> Related: ADT Doorbell Review

Another local storage option you can invest in is the $249 Vivint Smart Drive. The advantage of the Vivint Smart Drive is that it can store videos for up to 30 days, and instead of just event videos, it records continuously. It connects to Vivint cameras over Wi-Fi, so it’s wireless, and you can also transfer video files to computers wirelessly for longer storage.

Smart Platform Integrations

As we’ve detailed in our Vivint security system review, the entire Vivint system, including the Vivint Doorbell Camera, works with Alexa and Google Assistant. One of our favorite features included in these integrations was the ability to live stream footage on our smart TVs or displays. We could simply say “Alexa, show me the doorbell camera,” or “Hey Google, show the front door camera on the living room TV,” whenever we wanted to check our front door without getting up.

We tested these voice commands when we reviewed the Echo Show 8 as well as when we wrote the Nest Hub review and the Nest Hub Max review. It is thanks to these integrations that we named Vivint one of the best Alexa security systems and the best Google security systems.

Artificial Intelligence

Doorbell cameras are fun to use and all until you start receiving lots of false motion alerts from cars, animals, and other moving objects. One thing we loved about the Vivint Doorbell Camera was that it came with person detection built-in, meaning it could tell the difference between people and other moving objects. Thanks to this feature, we only received motion alerts when there were people at our door. That led to fewer but more important notifications, which made our life a lot easier, especially since we live on a moderately busy Brooklyn street.

Video Review

To gain a better understanding on how the Vivint Doorbell Camera stands out, check out this video review we made.

Installing the Vivint Doorbell Camera

Unlike video doorbells from brands like Nest and Ring, you can’t just walk into a store to buy a doorbell camera from Vivint. Rather, you need a Vivint security system to go with the doorbell, or if you already have a Vivint system, you need to buy the doorbell camera from Vivint directly. Either way, Vivint requires professional installation, which is now included in the price.

The installation process was extremely professional. We scheduled a date, the technicians arrived and proceeded to install our Vivint system and video doorbell. After that was done, they gave us the chance to ask any and every question we had about the system. They even left us a direct number that we could call if we had additional questions or concerns moving forward. Installing a video doorbell doesn’t get easier than that.

The Vivint Smart Home App

Aside from the Vivint touchscreen control panel, our main access to the Vivint Doorbell Camera was through the Vivint Smart Home app. It was through this app that we talked to visitors at our door, monitored event clips that our doorbell camera recorded, and tinkered with our camera settings. It was super convenient to use; whenever someone rang our doorbell, we received a notification on our phone. From there, we simply tapped the notifications to pull up a live video and audio feed from our doorbell camera. It’s no wonder that the Vivint Smart Home app has one of the highest ratings among home security apps. Currently, it holds a 4.3-star rating on the Google Play Store and a 4.6-star rating on the App Store.

Recap of the Vivint Doorbell Camera

For $249.99 price, the Doorbell Camera Pro offers person detection, a 180-degree field of view, cloud and local recording options, and infrared night vision. It also includes 1080p HD resolution with HDR. And instead of just person detection, it can also detect package deliveries to prevent package theft. If you have a Vivint system or are planning to get one, the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro is an excellent choice to go with it. Free professional installation doesn’t hurt either.

However, if Vivint’s doorbell cameras don’t tickle your fancy, you can always go with another brand. If you do, you’ll need to monitor your video doorbell using its own app instead of the Vivint Smart Home app, but at least you’ll get your pick of features. To learn more about other options, find the best video doorbell camera for your home.