HomeKit ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera - early impressions

[Lifeisabeach]

I've been using an ecobee Smart Video Doorbell for about a month now and I thought I'd share my impressions of it so far. This is one of only a small handful of HomeKit-compatible video doorbells out there. So when I was shopping for one, HomeKit compatibility was high on my priority wishlist. Ideally I wanted HomeKit Secure Video so I could tie it into my existing iCloud storage plan. Barring all this, I was considering a doorbell that supported local storage, like the Ubiquiti G4 doorbell. In my previous home, I had a Eufy, which is what my experience is limited to. In the end, I decided I didn't want the additional hardware clutter that would be required for Eufy/Ubiquity, and I didn't like what I was reading about the Logitech and Wemo video doorbells, which were the most prime candidates for HomeKit-compatible video doorbells. Complaints ranged from connectivity issues to overheating; video quality; and more. I just didn't feel good about either of those doorbells. There are a couple other HKSV-compatible options, but I didn't care for them for one reason or another that I don't recall offhand. In the end, I decided to get over my beef with subs. I figured if I'm not paying for a sub, then I'm paying for hardware, so what's the difference in the end?

So anyway, I wound up going with the ecobee. It doesn't support HKSV, but it DOES support HomeKit otherwise, and this is a big factor in why I went with this. I'm fairly new to using HomeKit and am slowly "smartening" up my new home, but as someone who is pretty much all-in on the Apple ecosystem, one thing I found very nice was that, while watching a show on my Apple TV, when someone rang the doorbell, I got a PIP pop-up on the TV of the video feed with a prompt to tap a button on the Apple Remote to go full screen and interact with the person at the door. This is very handy! I can see this as especially useful for someone wearing headphones or in an upstairs room watching TV who would have trouble hearing a doorbell ring. Other than this, there really isn't much else you can do with it in HomeKit that I can see, but I think this is more a limitation with HomeKit than it is with ecobee themselves. I am using a 3rd party iOS app that lets me add a variety of widgets to a single interface for my Home location, including weather and HomeKit accessories. A live video feed from that doorbell is one of those. (UPDATE: the motion sensor of the doorbell can in fact be used with HomeKit automations. I was able to set it up to activate an indoor light and can do the same for a number of other tasks).

For features of ecobee's software... it allows for package detection; motion detection; and person detection. You can also set the activity zone and the detection range (i.e. how far out it will look for motion using radar). It also has a Smart Focus option, meaning if it detects a person or package, the video will automatically pan and scan to keep the person or package in view. I personally decided to turn off package detection. I think it's a silly option. Packages don't just mysteriously turn up. Someone delivers them. So all I need to know is if someone came to my door. Period. I can figure out from there if they were carrying a package. Pretty simple if you ask me. Some reviewers had said the software over-prioritized focusing on packages over people, so this decision negates that problem. As for motion detection... so far, it seems outstanding! In reviewing my video feeds, they pretty much all start the moment someone rounds the corner of my garage coming to my front door. It's virtually instantaneous. My memory is a little fuzzy on my experience with my Eufy, but I don't recall it being anywhere near this responsive, and there was much longer walk up my carport at that house than there is in the walkway here. As for the Smart Focus option... I have that turned off. That's another feature that I think is downright silly. You aren't gaining any detail by doing that. You are just throwing away potentially useful footage. If you have a need to zoom in, you can always download the video after-the-fact and manually process it that way.

The video quality I feel is pretty good. The resolution is "only" 1080p and while I feel it should and could be better (I think the Eufy was better), I also think it's better overall than the Logitech and Wemo alternatives I was considering as HomeKit doorbell cameras. In particular, it does do very well at night. In fact, this is when the radar really comes in handy for motion detection. If my porch light is off, it does have pretty good night vision. If the porch light is on, color is pretty decent. The video does have a slight fish eye or coke bottle effect to it, but it's not terrible. It's not nearly as severe as the Wemo examples I've seen. When viewing a live feed, I have found that starting it up from the ecobee app is initially sluggish, but then seems fine and smooth once it gets going (takes about 5 seconds while at home). In comparison, a live feed from Apple's Home app is pretty much instantaneous, however that feed is choppy.

I have experienced one bug with this. I have a wind chime on my porch that is in the form of a bird, made from wood and coconut shells that bobbles. It's also outside the set detection range. For some bizarre reason, one time when someone arrived at my home, the video zoomed in on that chime rather than being the full field of view. It really shouldn't have done that, especially since I have the option to use Smart Focus turned off. I think ecobee clearly has some bugs to work on, which shouldn't be surprising. They only released these a couple months ago, so there will be some growing pains.

So those are my thoughts on it. I hope someone finds these useful. Any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[flynz4]

I sent a note to ecobee asking if they support HKSV. The response was "Not currently".

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I sent a note to ecobee asking if they support HKSV. The response was "Not currently".

Yeah, and I wouldn’t hold my breathe on this. I think they clearly are angling for some monthly subscription revenue. One thing they are promoting is that their ecosystem can serve as a complete home security system. A sub comes with “professional” monitoring.

 

[dotme]

Interesting write up. No HKSV support is an immediate deal breaker for me. Part of the elegance of HomeKit (especially as it relates to the Wife Acceptance Factor) is a single app for everything Home.

Slightly off topic but not sure how I feel about this new trend with Philips Hue, Ecobee etc suddenly deciding to jump into home security. Seems like that market's already pretty crowded at least in the USA and they're complicating systems that had simplicity as a selling point. Not to mention the notion of "yet another" subscription.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Interesting write up. No HKSV support is an immediate deal breaker for me. Part of the elegance of HomeKit (especially as it relates to the Wife Acceptance Factor) is a single app for everything Home.

That was a high priority for me also early on, but the very limited options for doorbell cameras that do support HKSV played a big part in making me rethink this. I think are, what, 4 altogether? Offhand, I think it's just Logitech, Wemo, Aqara and Netatmo. The latter two didn't look like they would fit well in the location I had to mount mine, and I didn't like what I saw of the reviews of the others. The fish eye effect in particular on the Wemo is really awful. I've also read that HKSV isn't proving to be very reliable on motion sensing. I'm not sure how true that really is, but it was something I had to consider. When I look at how choppy the live feed is with this camera using the Home app vs how smooth it is on ecobee's app, it's clear there is something different going on.

Now, I've been using Homebridge and at the moment I'm just using a plugin to get a keypad deadbolt into Home, but there is a plug-in that is supposed to be able to take almost any camera that is RTSP-capable and make it use HKSV. I don't know if this will work with the ecobee doorbell camera yet, but I will post an update here if I ever find out.

Slightly off topic but not sure how I feel about this new trend with Philips Hue, Ecobee etc suddenly deciding to jump into home security. Seems like that market's already pretty crowded at least in the USA and they're complicating systems that had simplicity as a selling point. Not to mention the notion of "yet another" subscription.

I hate subs with a passion also. Everybody and their mother is trying to stick their hands in my pocket and keep it there. I may eventually replace the ecobee doorbell with something else if I decide I have a need to add more cameras around outside... at that point I'm just going to be looking at Ubiquiti's line and go all-in. There's a Homebridge plug-in for their gear that is supposed to be pretty awesome.

 

[John Grana]

I was a beta tester for the ecobee smart doorbell. The folks at ecobee put a lot of thought and effort into the doorbell!

One thing that should be mentioned is that if you have an ecobee thermostat, some of the thermostats support the doorbell. In fact, I use my thermostat as the doorbell ringer. Sounds much better than the mechanical chimes!
And, when someone rings the bell, the video shows up on the thermostats display.

Very well done integration!

 

[flynz4]

Does it still require the wire connections? I’m assuming yes for power. My doorbell is in a wonky location. It works, but it is on a side wall about 5’ from the door. Re-routing the wires would be extremely difficult.

I ended up buying a doorbell camera from my alarm company. Perhaps I should have purchased the Ecobee doorbell. I do have their latest thermostat and a bunch of sensors.

Like “lifeisabeach”, I think the Logitech design appears flawed. Also, I do not plan to include cameras in home automation. I decided to tie them to security instead. They come along for the ride with my subscription.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Does it still require the wire connections? I’m assuming yes for power. My doorbell is in a wonky location. It works, but it is on a side wall about 5’ from the door. Re-routing the wires would be extremely difficult.

I ended up buying a doorbell camera from my alarm company. Perhaps I should have purchased the Ecobee doorbell. I do have their latest thermostat and a bunch of sensors.

Like “lifeisabeach”, I think the Logitech design appears flawed. Also, I do not plan to include cameras in home automation. I decided to tie them to security instead. They come along for the ride with my subscription.

Yeah, the ecobee is wired-only. It doesn't even have a battery backup, which they say they left out to help the device tolerate higher temperatures.

One thing I didn't like about the Logitech from what I saw and read was its use of an LED light strip on the front for color night vision. Sounds good in principle, but at least one review said it was rather bright and annoying and possibly a nuisance to someone across the street. I can see that, and ultimately this was the deal breaker for me. My original intention was to use smart light switches and have the porch light come on automatically when the doorbell detected someone approach the door, but it turns out HomeKit isn't actually THAT capable (come on now, Apple!), so that plan is out. I may resort to another type of sensor for that.

 

[flynz4]

I was a beta tester for the ecobee smart doorbell. The folks at ecobee put a lot of thought and effort into the doorbell!

One thing that should be mentioned is that if you have an ecobee thermostat, some of the thermostats support the doorbell. In fact, I use my thermostat as the doorbell ringer. Sounds much better than the mechanical chimes!
And, when someone rings the bell, the video shows up on the thermostats display.

Very well done integration!

How much of this works if I have an Ecobee Premium thermostat but no Ecobee subscription? I purchased a video door bell and some outdoor cameras from my security provider which is not HomeKit compatible. Personally, I prefer to keep an alarm system and associated security cameras separate from home automation. However, a doorbell camera might be an exception.

I can still return my security system doorbell and change over to the Ecobee. However, I really don’t want a 3rd interface: Security, HomeKit, Ecobee. I agree having the doorbell pop up on the ATV would be nice, but not nice enough to require a subscription, or launch yet a different app to answer the doorbell or check the front door to see if a package was delivered.

 

[Cinimod1000]

Yeah, the ecobee is wired-only. It doesn't even have a battery backup, which they say they left out to help the device tolerate higher temperatures.

One thing I didn't like about the Logitech from what I saw and read was its use of an LED light strip on the front for color night vision. Sounds good in principle, but at least one review said it was rather bright and annoying and possibly a nuisance to someone across the street. I can see that, and ultimately this was the deal breaker for me. My original intention was to use smart light switches and have the porch light come on automatically when the doorbell detected someone approach the door, but it turns out HomeKit isn't actually THAT capable (come on now, Apple!), so that plan is out. I may resort to another type of sensor for that.

Hmm, I have the Logitech Circle doorbell and have my porch lights come on when it senses motion - using HK directly. Has been flawless so far (but my porch is deep, so don’t have the sun/ overheating issue reported by others). Nor do I have any disconnect issues, etc. Been pretty solid to now, but it has only been a couple of months. I like how small the doorbell is compared to most others out there.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Hmm, I have the Logitech Circle doorbell and have my porch lights come on when it senses motion - using HK directly. Has been flawless so far (but my porch is deep, so don’t have the sun/ overheating issue reported by others). Nor do I have any disconnect issues, etc. Been pretty solid to now, but it has only been a couple of months. I like how small the doorbell is compared to most others out there.

I was wondering if the motion sensor portion could be used in HK for triggers... that's good to know. My understanding was more to do with the camera. And of course, some reviews I've read may be... less than accurate or outdated even.

You should do well with overheating given the depth of your porch. I had no issues with my Eufy at my last house, and the carport was very deep. Now, in comparison, different product, but I had a Kwikset electronic deadbolt on a door that wound up failing on me after about 4 months. When we were removing it 2 months later for a move, it was remarkable how hot it was. That's when I realized that it failed the first time because it was taking on direct sunlight for a fair portion of the day.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

How much of this works if I have an Ecobee Premium thermostat but no Ecobee subscription? I purchased a video door bell and some outdoor cameras from my security provider which is not HomeKit compatible. Personally, I prefer to keep an alarm system and associated security cameras separate from home automation. However, a doorbell camera might be an exception.

I can still return my security system doorbell and change over to the Ecobee. However, I really don’t want a 3rd interface: Security, HomeKit, Ecobee. I agree having the doorbell pop up on the ATV would be nice, but not nice enough to require a subscription, or launch yet a different app to answer the doorbell or check the front door to see if a package was delivered.

According to their website, live view on the thermostat is available without a subscription plan. You also get snapshots but no stored videos without a sub. What a $5 sub adds is 30 days of video for one camera; package detection; and "rich" push notifications. A $10 sub adds all that to more cameras and "professional" monitoring. You should be able to utilize the HomeKit features without a subscription. I can't vouch for that myself yet since I'm still on the free trial of the sub.

Now... I did some reading up on using Homebridge to add functionality to devices that aren't HomeKit compatible, and there is a plugin that will make almost any camera that uses RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) compatible. From what I can glean, doorbell cameras like the ecobee that use cloud streaming won't work because they don't use this protocol, but many doorbells provided by home security companies do use it and will work. So... that may be an option for you.

 

[flynz4]

According to their website, live view on the thermostat is available without a subscription plan. You also get snapshots but no stored videos without a sub. What a $5 sub adds is 30 days of video for one camera; package detection; and "rich" push notifications. A $10 sub adds all that to more cameras and "professional" monitoring. You should be able to utilize the HomeKit features without a subscription. I can't vouch for that myself yet since I'm still on the free trial of the sub.

Now... I did some reading up on using Homebridge to add functionality to devices that aren't HomeKit compatible, and there is a plugin that will make almost any camera that uses RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) compatible. From what I can glean, doorbell cameras like the ecobee that use cloud streaming won't work because they don't use this protocol, but many doorbells provided by home security companies do use it and will work. So... that may be an option for you.

Thanks to you and others for all of the help.

I am NOT going to use the doorbell from my alarm company. I have now ordered the Ecobee. Our existing Ecobee Premium thermostat is directly in the path from almost the entire house to the front door. Having the video on the thermostat screen will be useful to see on the way to the door… and may prove useful to not answer it. 😀. I also think the doorbell is more likely to be useful in HomeKit than in our security package.

As I said earlier, I strongly prefer to keep security and home automation separated on two separate platforms. Home automation is just too unstable compared to what I want from a security platform. For the most part, I consider outdoor cameras to part of the security rather than home automation platform. This thread helped me realize that the doorbell is useful in home automation. While I won’t have the video archive from the doorbell, I will still have an outdoor camera looking over the front porch so I will have good video to use.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Thanks to you and others for all of the help.

I am NOT going to use the doorbell from my alarm company. I have now ordered the Ecobee. Our existing Ecobee Premium thermostat is directly in the path from almost the entire house to the front door. Having the video on the thermostat screen will be useful to see on the way to the door… and may prove useful to not answer it. 😀. I also think the doorbell is more likely to be useful in HomeKit than in our security package.

As I said earlier, I strongly prefer to keep security and home automation separated on two separate platforms. Home automation is just too unstable compared to what I want from a security platform. For the most part, I consider outdoor cameras to part of the security rather than home automation platform. This thread helped me realize that the doorbell is useful in home automation. While I won’t have the video archive from the doorbell, I will still have an outdoor camera looking over the front porch so I will have good video to use.

I agree with your thinking there. That's how my last home was set up. I had cameras recording to a DVR at the corners that I could review on demand if there was a need, but largely they went ignored. It's at the door where there will be any real need for concern or interaction of any kind.

Side note... one of the crazier things I uncovered with the DVR cams. I found a bird on my carport alive, but not fleeing from me. On closer inspection, its head was kinda messed up. I wasn't sure if it was diseased or had been in a fight. I left it be and went out on errands. Came back to find it had died. I pulled the footage to see if I could figure out what happened. And WOW! It had been ambushed by a squirrel! Territory fight over a tree, from the looks of things.

 

[flynz4]

I agree with your thinking there. That's how my last home was set up. I had cameras recording to a DVR at the corners that I could review on demand if there was a need, but largely they went ignored. It's at the door where there will be any real need for concern or interaction of any kind.

Side note... one of the crazier things I uncovered with the DVR cams. I found a bird on my carport alive, but not fleeing from me. On closer inspection, its head was kinda messed up. I wasn't sure if it was diseased or had been in a fight. I left it be and went out on errands. Came back to find it had died. I pulled the footage to see if I could figure out what happened. And WOW! It had been ambushed by a squirrel! Territory fight over a tree, from the looks of things.

We are in the process of moving. All of my questions so far have been for our new house, which we have not moved into yet. We’ve been busy setting it up to our preferences before we move in.

The alarm system in my ”old” home has a pre-wired security system. My first home automation started with the Nest thermostat. I was pleased, so when I added security cameras, I stayed with Nest. Then, Google acquired Nest and I distrust their privacy. Since it was primarily outside the house, I never replaced Google/Nest.

We are moving to a new house which is where we installed a newer security system. We have security sensors everywhere, and I’ll stay with their architecture for external cameras. For Home Automation, we will be bested on HomeKit. I trust Apple more than Google.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I was wondering if the motion sensor portion could be used in HK for triggers... that's good to know. My understanding was more to do with the camera. And of course, some reviews I've read may be... less than accurate or outdated even.

FYI I just tested out the motion sensor of the ecobee doorbell to activate the one indoor light I've set up so far and it works like a charm! This is going to be great. I just need to get off my rear and order the rest of the switches that I need. I'll likely get a couple HomePods also so I can do audio alerts.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

So my ongoing impressions continue to be overwhelmingly positive. My trial of the video storage has expired so now I just get screen shots. No biggie. I've replaced a large number of my light switches with Lutron smart switches and integrated those into HomeKit. The ecobee doorbell does a FANTASTIC job of picking up when I pull into the driveway, which is just off to the side of my front porch. My automations then turn on various outdoor and indoor lights for me after dark. It's flipping awesome. I do wish ecobee would allow use of this with HSV, but I think that's a pipe dream. I'd really like to see them move forward with a full line of outdoor surveillance cameras similar to what Arlo and Eufy do. I had to get a set of those myself and settled on Arlos for now, but ecobees using their radar tech in something like those would have been a huge selling point for me to consider given how sensitive their doorbell is.

 

[flynz4]

So my ongoing impressions continue to be overwhelmingly positive. My trial of the video storage has expired so now I just get screen shots. No biggie. I've replaced a large number of my light switches with Lutron smart switches and integrated those into HomeKit. The ecobee doorbell does a FANTASTIC job of picking up when I pull into the driveway, which is just off to the side of my front porch. My automations then turn on various outdoor and indoor lights for me after dark. It's flipping awesome. I do wish ecobee would allow use of this with HSV, but I think that's a pipe dream. I'd really like to see them move forward with a full line of outdoor surveillance cameras similar to what Arlo and Eufy do. I had to get a set of those myself and settled on Arlos for now, but ecobees using their radar tech in something like those would have been a huge selling point for me to consider given how sensitive their doorbell is.

Thanks for the report. Now that your subscription is do you still see real time video on your thermostat screen when someone rings the bell?

I have not installed my doorbell yet. I’ve had workers at our new house doing renovations prior to me moving in. I have a temporary WiFi setup that I share with the craftsmen doing the work. Once I move in and set up my permanent private mesh WiFi system, and then I’ll be installing the doorbell and other items. In the meantime, I only have a few items, plus my security system installed.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Thanks for the report. Now that your subscription is do you still see real time video on your thermostat screen when someone rings the bell?

I don't have the thermostat that supports that feature, but I totally regret NOT having that thermostat for other reasons in retrospect. That model can be paired to a HomePod and basically serve as a remote microphone/speaker for one to call out Siri commands. I'm increasingly doing that just to control my lights and while I don't have a HomePod yet, I may get one for the bedroom. But also having a doorbell chime more... "vibrant" shall we say... than the one on the wall would be nice. I'm not sure exactly how it works or sounds though off the Premium ecobee thermostat.

I have not installed my doorbell yet. I’ve had workers at our new house doing renovations prior to me moving in. I have a temporary WiFi setup that I share with the craftsmen doing the work. Once I move in and set up my permanent private mesh WiFi system, and then I’ll be installing the doorbell and other items. In the meantime, I only have a few items, plus my security system installed.

If you don't have smart switches for the lights, by all means do so. My house has a LOT of semi-recessed dome lights with integrated LEDs and I sorely needed dimmers. This presented a slight problem. Only Lutron makes a dimmer that handles these properly. I tried a Leviton dimmer that is supposed to work with all LEDs, but these types of dome lights are a different beast and I had way too much buzz in the mid range of the dimming with the Leviton. Lutron's customer service was very helpful in making sure I had the right ones picked out, and they have a 24/7 call center available for questions that I utilized a few times to make sure I was on track when I ran into a couple things that threw me off. Also, when it comes to the switch plates, if you have 3 or more in a bank, just get the kind with the screwless front. Trust me on this. Getting these paddle switches to line up is a royal pain! The plates with the screwless front are much easier to set up.

 

[tenordrum]

Am just now reading this review, as we are going to purchase a video doorbell. Thanks for the real world summary. I would prefer to try a HomeKit compatible device, but am not married to it. Our only reason for getting a video doorbell is that one of our neighbors is renting a room out on AirBnB, and the morons who are guests have twice now tried to enter our home, rather late at night. Our townhouse has 2 signs on the door with our number, but people either don't read or... One of the guests got nasty with me thinking I was denying them entry to "their" AirBnB. I want to get a video doorbell to stop this nonsense, especially when we may not be here. My only problem with a wired arrangement is that our doorbell is perpendicular to the doorway, so I would need to angle any wired doorbell like the ecobee. Not too excited about paying monthly fees, but I already have a current ATV (which is unused on an upstairs TV) and icloud+ subscription. I am not interested in adapting a Ring or anything from Amazon. May be open to a Nest + starling, but ecobee seems like a decent option.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Am just now reading this review, as we are going to purchase a video doorbell. Thanks for the real world summary. I would prefer to try a HomeKit compatible device, but am not married to it. Our only reason for getting a video doorbell is that one of our neighbors is renting a room out on AirBnB, and the morons who are guests have twice now tried to enter our home, rather late at night. Our townhouse has 2 signs on the door with our number, but people either don't read or... One of the guests got nasty with me thinking I was denying them entry to "their" AirBnB. I want to get a video doorbell to stop this nonsense, especially when we may not be here. My only problem with a wired arrangement is that our doorbell is perpendicular to the doorway, so I would need to angle any wired doorbell like the ecobee. Not too excited about paying monthly fees, but I already have a current ATV (which is unused on an upstairs TV) and icloud+ subscription. I am not interested in adapting a Ring or anything from Amazon. May be open to a Nest + starling, but ecobee seems like a decent option.

I let my free trial expire and it still works just fine. I just don't get video recordings saved. I don't really feel the need to have recordings, so I'm good with it as-is. If you need recordings and want to avoid another subscription, and since you already have an iCloud+ sub, you may be better off with something that is compatible with HomeKit Secure Video like the Logitech or Aqara. Alternatively, look at something like the Arlo and stick to using their base station. Arlo does integrate with HomeKit, just not with the Secure Video feature. I have a couple of their outdoor cameras set up and they integrate just fine. Recordings go to the Arlo base station.