Google Nest Doorbell (Battery) - Ivy

We’ve had this doorbell for a few months now, and I’m really happy with how it’s been performing. The dark ash color fits seamlessly with the modern aesthetic of our house. I appreciate the sleek, understated look that doesn't scream "Look at me! I'm a Smart Doorbell". It fits in with the look of my home without obnoxiously standing out and it compliments the black accents on our exterior.Here’s what’s been great about it:Tall Aspect Ratio: This is a game-changer. Although I miss out on the wide left to right field of view of a traditional camera - for a doorbell I have found this to be a preferred and optimal choice. With its vertical design, I can see more than just someone standing at the door. I’m able to spot packages on the ground, which has been a lifesaver with the number of deliveries I get, and it’s easier to catch visitors' (head to toe) as they approach.Custom Alerts: I really appreciate how specific the alerts are. The algorithms baked in to the detection software are able to discern between a person, vehicle, animal, or package crossing the field of view, and I get a notification for exactly what I need to know. Beyond just identifying a person, the Nest Aware software goes a step further to recognize familiar faces and tells me if it is someone I know, or an unrecognized person. This makes a huge difference in cutting down on unnecessary alerts, like when a passing car triggers a motion warning. It also makes sure I take notice when its an unknown person at the door and not just one of my kids running around. Although the advanced Nest Aware package costs 15 dollars a month, I find the 24x7 coverage and advanced detection features to be worth the piece of mind it provides.Video History: The 3-hour free video history is perfect for those that just want to check in on missed events. Personally I chose to step up to the 10 days of 24x7 coverage to provide full access to events and surrounding video coverage. Its always better to have it and not need it, then to need it and it not be there. The video quality is crisp enough to clearly identify people or events, which is reassuring when something’s off at the door or front yard. I also love that I can check and manage all of this through the Google Home app anytime.Easy Setup: It replaced our old wired doorbell without any issues. It simply requires two wires for the power, and two screws to attach it to the wall in front of my door. My transformer was already compatible and provided the right amount of power to run the doorbell. Just like a regular doorbell, a press of the button activates my doorbell chime. This doorbell goes even further though by also announcing the event and playing a chime through my google home speakers and sending a push notification (with video) to my phone. I like this because I can clearly know when someone is at the door no matter where I am at in the house.Some notes:Disappointingly it doesn't support the Nest app which is where I have typically managed my other Nest cameras I have installed around the house (so if used to that interface, it’s a bit of an adjustment), but the Google Home app has been easy to use, and I was able to transition all of my legacy Nest devices over.If Homekit is the preferred smart home over Google - there is a way to integrate the doorbell and camera feed through either a custom homebridge server or through an additional device called Starling Home hub. I personally have the Starling device and it allows the doorbell to integrate perfectly into my existing Homekit Smart Home setup - including alerts, notifications, and live video feed.For anyone looking for a simple, reliable doorbell camera with great video quality and custom alerts, this has been a solid pick. I would definitely recommend it if you're into a more modern, functional design that works out of the box with Google or Alexa devices.

If you're thinking of buying this to install in Ireland (or the UK), I can confirm that it works. The only thing is that if you're coming from the 1st generation wired Nest Hello doorbell, as I was, you may need to upgrade your transformer. The 1st gen required 12V whereas this one needs 16V. I bought this one from Amazon UK and it works perfectly.https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08XQ2TXVQAs for the doorbell itself, the image quality is slightly better, but bear in mind that the aspect ratio is now 3:4 instead of 4:3. The main advantage is that the notification time is much faster. Installation was pretty easy. The screw holes for the base plate are the same as the 1st gen, which is handy. My only tip is that the wires need to fit within the hole in the base plate. If they don't, you won't be able to attach the doorbell.

I have had a Nest Hello doorbell for a few years, but recently it developed the symptom that my indoor electronic chime would only sound two notes, no matter what I set the duration to in the Nest app. The camera itself was working well, though the field of view didn't extend as far down as I would like. I also noticed that the plastic on the faceplate was blistering, so I decided to replace it with the Gen 2 Wired.The Gen 2 is a bit taller than the Hello (the battery version is even taller), which meant that the spacer I had 3D printed to bring it past the door molding needed to be redone. Luckily, the screw holes are the same distance apart. Installing was straightforward, and I used the included 20-degree wedge plus the printed spacer. Due to the way the Gen 2 mounts, I had to swap out the #10 long screws I had used for some thinner ones, as the screw heads blocked the camera from mounting properly. The Google Home app leads you through the install, but the URL shown for a web video leads to the old Nest Hello instructions!The chime adapter, while it looks like that of the Hello, is different and connects in parallel to the chime wires rather than in series.Once installed, I was delighted that the indoor chime worked properly again. I was also happy to see that the vertical field of view was considerably taller than that of the Hello, so that I could see almost all of my front steps without a wedge angling down. Image quality is better than the Hello, and at night the picture is still in color!Another advantage I had not anticipated is that I get notifications of people at the door almost instantaneously, whereas with the Nest Hello it was typically 20-30 seconds later. I attribute this to the local processing of images, rather than sending them to the cloud for recognition.Right now, my major gripe is that there is not a fully functional web interface, unlike the older camera. There is a beta interface, but it shows a live view only and tends to crash a lot. I hope this gets improved. The Google Home app isn't bad, but I like to use a web browser on my PC. A minor gripe is that email notification is no longer available, just push notifications from the app.