Once a month I get a medicine delivery I have to sign for.
The problem is that I work upstairs in my home office. It is hard for me to hear the doorbell especially if I am on a teams meeting at the time of delivery.
Does anyone have an idea of a solution, perhaps a door-bell repeater of some sort?
doorbell for deaf people, or ring doorbell.
So if you have a traditional doorbell, you can add this to your doorbell box that acts as a repeater:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXKH9MA
This is then compatible with many of Honeywell’s wireless doorbells like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HNSFT8Y/
I had the same issue. I work in my basement and could never hear the upstairs doorbell.
I purchased a second doorbell ringer and installed the it in my basement. I had to also get a double capacitor(?), or whatever powers the doorbells. It had to be a double powered one to handle both ringers at once.
Then wired it all up (along with a light switch in case I need to shut off power to the doorbells) and it has worked perfectly ever since.
But that brought up the next problem. I know when someone is at my door, but not who. That lead me to getting a security camera system.
The Ring system (peephole camera) as mentioned above would work and you do not need to wire anything as long as your wireless is working well upstairs. You would also need an echo device in your room and set Alexis to tell you when someone is approaching the door plus the ringer could also be set. They even sell a separate extra chime instead of an echo but I think the echo gives more versatility.
Check the cost from a repeater or Ring system (Ring does go on sale here and there).
Another cheaper option would be the Blink. It doesn’t ring but would let you know someone is approaching (though a few second delay) but a lot cheaper than the Ring system. Also an Amazon product. I have it on my back patio and Ring Peephole Camera/Ringer on my front door.
I do not pay for the Ring subscription which saves the videos as I am working from home. I use it to know when packages are left at the door.
Could you leave instructions for the delivery person to simply text you? That would be the easiest and cheapest solution. I live in a gated community these days and get an automated text when someone has gone past the gate (very convenient).
fwiw woot just had a sale on a ring for $65. I don’t know if that was a refurbished unit or not. It will talk to your wireless and can notify you however that there is activity. You can run a ring on batteries, but it’s much nicer to have power.
I had a Ring but ditched it for a Eufy wireless doorbell. Couldn’t stomach the monthly fee on the Ring. Frankly wasn’t overly impressed with the Ring’s hardware, either.
I was in on the OG Eufycam Kickstarter. I’ve had the cameras now for about 2 years, and only had to charge them once so far. I was sold on the battery life, the WiFi, and the fact there was no monthly fee like Ring.
Eufy has since launched a v2 of the cams, as well as the doorbell @Stepsongrapes mentions. I was going to get the bell, but the cameras really give me most of the functionality anyways (two-way voice being the big one).
All that said… +1 for Eufy security as a brand.
I love my nest doorbell, recommended.
I went full out Eufy. Several pro cam 2s for the outdoors and the little indoor cams, plus the doorbell. Love them all. App is great and they update stuff often.
Second the recommendation on the nest. Have had mine for a year and a half and I love it. You can have your smartphone connected and watch the video if you are expecting a delivery, and your phone will ping when the doorbell is rung. You can also set it to ping if it detects movement or a person.
All that is great… but why pay a monthly subscription for your doorbell? I hate that.
Eufy Security provides most of the functionality (you can get cloud storage for a subscription), but the video files are managed on your local network. No subscription fee.
How do you open up access to those files? Is there an app you run on your server? I’m wondering because Nest obviously allows you to open up the app on your phone anywhere you are in the world and pull down your videos whenever you want.
Also, how much space on your server is needed?
I view all my Eufy vids (for our 8 devices) via the iOS app. They’re accessible from anywhere, as long as your home WiFi is up and running and you have an internet connection. As to storage space, the vids are either stored on the Eufy hub device (which my outdoor camera and doorbells are connected to) or on SD storage on the device itself (which I do for the indoor cams).
I’m not paying a subscription for a doorbell, I’m paying $50 a year to have 5 days of 24/7 video stored.
The nest can be used without subscription, but you won’t have any video storage, just the live feed. That would still satisfy the original post of wanting to more easily be notified when someone is at the door.
