Is there a Eufy App for Apple TV?

[davidg4781]

I'm getting my first security camera for my house and want to know if there's a way to watch it on Apple TV. Is there an app or another app that I can add for this?

And please don't try to talk me out of Eufy. I know there's a lot of hate but I've done my homework and think it's best for my situation.

 

[iStorm]

Which camera? You can watch it on your Apple TV using the Home app if it’s compatible with HomeKit.

 

[chadamorrill]

I love Eufy too, and have a handful of their cameras. I think some of them are Homekit capable and some are not. Keep in mind that if they're 2K or 4K models, choosing Homekit will drop the resolution to 1080p. If you do choose Homekit, they should show up on the AppleTV once they're set up in your "home."

Personal note, I chose resolution over Homekit.

 

[davidg4781]

I bought an S40 or SoloCam S230. I don’t believe it’s compatible with HomeKit.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I used Eufy cameras in my last house and yeah, I think they make good gear. But no, they don't have an app for the Apple TV. Some of their cameras are compatible with HomeKit, as has been pointed out, but others are not. Their doorbell cameras in particular DEFINITELY are not. Your only real options are to limit your choices to cameras that are compatible with HomeKit or to use their iPhone app and use AirPlay to stream it to your Apple TV. There aren't any 3rd party options.

Well... let me walk that back just a little. There is a Eufy Security plugin for Homebridge, if you want to go that route. I haven't tried it myself with Eufy... I'm just starting to dabble with Homebridge myself in my new home and I'm not using Eufy cameras at this time. But if this plugin works well, then you may be able to use any of their cameras with HomeKit.

 

[davidg4781]

That's annoying, but maybe there are some limitations on there. I would think they could just make one where you sign into your account and then you're able to view some cameras.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

That's annoying, but maybe there are some limitations on there. I would think they could just make one where you sign into your account and then you're able to view some cameras.

You would think, and there are some other camera makers that do have apps for the Apple TV. But Eufy doesn't, nor does Arlo. Honestly, it's baffling how poorly the Apple TV is supported across a wide range of developers who could be. Personally, I've made a decision to not buy anything that doesn't support HomeKit, or at least can't be shoehorned into it with Homebridge in a pinch.

 

[davidg4781]

You would think, and there are some other camera makers that do have apps for the Apple TV. But Eufy doesn't, nor does Arlo. Honestly, it's baffling how poorly the Apple TV is supported across a wide range of developers who could be. Personally, I've made a decision to not buy anything that doesn't support HomeKit, or at least can't be shoehorned into it with Homebridge in a pinch.

That's a good idea. I do have a return window to send it back to Amazon if I don't like it. It's my first security camera and it feels like Eufy has what I want (no monthly fees, local storage, wireless, connects to my network).

I don't have any smart home HomeKit things and don't really have a plan to add anything anytime soon so I might be ok for now.

 

[chadamorrill]

As far as Homekit is concerned, I think your best bet (for outdoor cameras) would be the S220 2-camera kit. It's more expensive than what you payed for the one, certainly, but it includes the Homebase which would open you up to more cameras/angles in the future, at a single-camera price. And it goes on sale often (179 after coupon on Eufy's site right now)!

I started with an indoor camera first (Homekit compatible), then slowly added from there. But that means I never got a Homebase... which... I kinda wish I had now. Makes it a hard pill to swallow, dumping it all for a new set. I'd probably start there first, if I had to do it all over again.

As previously mentioned, none of their doorbell cams support Homekit though. Wish they'd standardize a bit more on all this, but as long as they're all in the same app on my phone, it doesn't really bother me. I don't really care about having the cameras come up on the TV. Nice to have, but not a need to have.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

That's a good idea. I do have a return window to send it back to Amazon if I don't like it. It's my first security camera and it feels like Eufy has what I want (no monthly fees, local storage, wireless, connects to my network).

I don't have any smart home HomeKit things and don't really have a plan to add anything anytime soon so I might be ok for now.

Yeah, I think getting your feet wet like this is a good way to go. It's more or less what I did in my last house. I tried a couple different things but wound up having the Eufy doorbell cameras and hardwired bullet cameras on a DVR, as far as video goes. In my new house, I'm more determined to avoid hardware clutter, so I don't want anything that needs a hub or recording device of its own if I can avoid it. Accessibility through a single interface (i.e. HomeKit) is going to be a priority. There's no good way to avoid having multiple apps unless I want to very severely limit my choices to only a couple manufacturers of devices, so having everything compatible with HomeKit will be useful.

 

[davidg4781]

Yeah, I think getting your feet wet like this is a good way to go. It's more or less what I did in my last house. I tried a couple different things but wound up having the Eufy doorbell cameras and hardwired bullet cameras on a DVR, as far as video goes. In my new house, I'm more determined to avoid hardware clutter, so I don't want anything that needs a hub or recording device of its own if I can avoid it. Accessibility through a single interface (i.e. HomeKit) is going to be a priority. There's no good way to avoid having multiple apps unless I want to very severely limit my choices to only a couple manufacturers of devices, so having everything compatible with HomeKit will be useful.

I don't think Eufy will be dealing with HomeKit going forward. I just don't see them talk about it much and I think hey took it out of some older models.

I didn't even consider HomeKit when I bought this. The last time I looked, I believe the ones that supported it had to be hardwired or some other requirement I didn't want to get into. It looks like Arlo cameras support HomeKit but I need a base station.

 

[oneMadRssn]

In terms of HomeKit, the only company I know of that has jumped-in head-first and fully is Eve. They have a few wireless HomeKit cameras, and bunch of other home accessories, sensors, and gadgets that are for the most part HomeKit compatible. They're all fully in to Matter and Thread.

As for Eufy, I really like their price-points and product variety. Of all the wifi camera companies, they seem most willing to experiment with unique form-factors. Same as OP, I wish there was an AppleTV app.

 

[chadamorrill]

... It looks like Arlo cameras support HomeKit but I need a base station.

Unless they've changed dramatically, would not recommend Arlo. Tell me how you'd feel when you find that they force you to pay a subscription fee for doing such normal things like "setting exclusion zones."

 

[Lifeisabeach]

In terms of HomeKit, the only company I know of that has jumped-in head-first and fully is Eve. They have a few wireless HomeKit cameras, and bunch of other home accessories, sensors, and gadgets that are for the most part HomeKit compatible. They're all fully in to Matter and Thread.

As for Eufy, I really like their price-points and product variety. Of all the wifi camera companies, they seem most willing to experiment with unique form-factors. Same as OP, I wish there was an AppleTV app.

I was looking over Eufy's latest cameras not too long ago and I really like some of their newer ones. In my new home, I have an HOA (ugh, I know) and one thing they absolutely forbid are solar panels. BUT! I think the new Eufy cams with the integrated panel on the top would probably fly. I had one of their wireless cameras in addition to their doorbell at my last house and quite frankly getting to it to recharge periodically was a nuisance and I really didn't care for the idea of throwing up solar panels around. They have some other nice options. I really like the vertical wall light cam that has the lights that can be rotated on the top and bottom, but I don't have a really good use for that. The solar wall light cam though, they would be VERY handy for my back door area where I have poor lighting and no real security.

BTW... there is a Eufy plugin for Homebridge, so even though they don't make an app for the AppleTV, if you want to give this route a whirl, you should be able to get their camera feeds into the Home app that way.

GitHub - homebridge-eufy-security/plugin: Homebridge plugin to control certain Eufy Security devices

Homebridge plugin to control certain Eufy Security devices - homebridge-eufy-security/plugin

github.com

 

[davidg4781]

I was looking over Eufy's latest cameras not too long ago and I really like some of their newer ones. In my new home, I have an HOA (ugh, I know) and one thing they absolutely forbid are solar panels. BUT! I think the new Eufy cams with the integrated panel on the top would probably fly. I had one of their wireless cameras in addition to their doorbell at my last house and quite frankly getting to it to recharge periodically was a nuisance and I really didn't care for the idea of throwing up solar panels around. They have some other nice options. I really like the vertical wall light cam that has the lights that can be rotated on the top and bottom, but I don't have a really good use for that. The solar wall light cam though, they would be VERY handy for my back door area where I have poor lighting and no real security.

BTW... there is a Eufy plugin for Homebridge, so even though they don't make an app for the AppleTV, if you want to give this route a whirl, you should be able to get their camera feeds into the Home app that way.

GitHub - homebridge-eufy-security/plugin: Homebridge plugin to control certain Eufy Security devices

Homebridge plugin to control certain Eufy Security devices - homebridge-eufy-security/plugin

github.com

I'll look into that Homebridge thing.

Just to help... that's all free software, right? I'm not missing that I need to purchase some hardware?

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I'll look into that Homebridge thing.

Just to help... that's all free software, right? I'm not missing that I need to purchase some hardware?

Free as in beer. You just have to run it on "something" that is on 24/7 (or at least is on when you want to access its services). I have it on my iMac, which is always on, but there are versions of Homebridge available for Windows, Raspberry Pi, Linux, and Docker. There's a relatively inexpensive device called HOOBS that basically is a small box (maybe a Pi?) pre-configured with Homebridge and ready to go with an easy to use interface. It's a good option for people who don't have a PC or Mac on 24/7 but have a need for this.

Read over all the documentation carefully. When you set up the Eufy plugin, you are entering your login credentials, which are stored locally on your Homebridge server. BUT! If it's like it is in the case of my Kwikset lock, it's stored in plain text in a config file, which I really dislike. The Eufy plug-in developer does explicitly recommend setting up and using a guest account with Eufy to use with this plug-in, likely for this reason.

 

[davidg4781]

Ok I'll need to dig into that. I just have a MacBook Pro and I don't think that'll work.

I have an old iMac G4 but I'm sure I can find something cheaper like that HOOBS. And I just checked it out. It looks like it's $200. I could do that or maybe find a used Mac mini.

 

[HDFan]

It's my first security camera and it feels like Eufy has what I want (no monthly fees, local storage, wireless, connects to my network).

They charge for cloud storage which you will need if you want to access the cameras remotely from, say, your iPhone.

 

[waw74]

There's a relatively inexpensive device called HOOBS that basically is a small box (maybe a Pi?) pre-configured with Homebridge and ready to go with an easy to use interface.

Hoobs has options, it does run on a Pi.

you can download the image, and make your own SD card. (free, but suggested donation)​

you can buy a SD card ready to put in your own Pi​

and they have a couple options of fully running hardware, one is basically a pi in a case, the other adds thread and zigbee​

​

Their hardware stuff is pretty expensive for what it is, you can definitely do better for cheaper, but you need to know what you're doing.​

​

They charge for cloud storage which you will need if you want to access the cameras remotely from, say, your iPhone.

I've got a eufy cam, no subscription or cloud storage, it's got the base station, which has storage, and allows me to access live and recorded from anywhere using the eufy app. Mine also supports HKSV, but have to swap modes to do that, and haven't yet at my place. (they were bought to keep an eye on an relatives house after they passed, but that house has been sold, so I've got them at my place now, had them in hksv at the other house, but still accessible thorough homekit or the eufy app).

 

[Lifeisabeach]

They charge for cloud storage which you will need if you want to access the cameras remotely from, say, your iPhone.

They offer cloud storage, but it's not necessary and you most certainly can remotely access your cameras remotely without it. I'm a little fuzzy on how it works since I bought into them about 3 years ago and moved on 6 months ago, and things may have changed with newer devices, but everything is recorded locally on a Homebase and you can remotely access it from anywhere. As for their cloud service, I recall them offering it, but I don't know if it replaced the need to have a Homebase, or complemented it in some manner. But in any event, I never used their cloud service and very much could access the cameras and recordings remotely, no problem.

 

[chadamorrill]

They charge for cloud storage which you will need if you want to access the cameras remotely from, say, your iPhone.

They do not charge for accessing cameras remotely. Storage is on your camera's SD card or on the hub, depending on what model camera you purchase.

 

[HDFan]

What is cloud storage?

Cloud storage allows you to store your data so it can be accessed “anytime, anywhere” from any device via the Internet. It is a cloud computing model that stores data on the Internet through a cloud computing provider who manages and operates data storage as a service.

https://support.eufy.com/s/article/Introducing-Cloud-Storage

 

[JonaM]

What is cloud storage?

Cloud storage allows you to store your data so it can be accessed “anytime, anywhere” from any device via the Internet. It is a cloud computing model that stores data on the Internet through a cloud computing provider who manages and operates data storage as a service.

https://support.eufy.com/s/article/Introducing-Cloud-Storage

I think everyone is correct here - if you have a Homebase there is no need for cloud storage or subscription.
If you go for an option without local storage and wish to access recordings remotely then you would need a cloud subscription.
The important thing is that Eufy does offer non-subscription options with Homebase, which is why people like it

As a technical aside if you have thumbnails enabled in your notifications your thumbnails go via their cloud storage even if you are using Homebase in order for you to view the notification

 

[chadamorrill]

I think everyone is correct here - if you have a Homebase there is no need for cloud storage or subscription.
If you go for an option without local storage and wish to access recordings remotely then you would need a cloud subscription.
The important thing is that Eufy does offer non-subscription options with Homebase, which is why people like it

As a technical aside if you have thumbnails enabled in your notifications your thumbnails go via their cloud storage even if you are using Homebase in order for you to view the notification

You do not need a Homebase nor a cloud subscription to view events remotely. Most of their cameras have SD card slots (or built-in storage for the doorbell cam) which captures/stores video and stills. I do this all the time from the Eufy app away from my home.

That said, I didn't know that thumbnails go to their cloud storage. I might have to disable those.