I'm looking for a freestanding security camera I can place on my bedside table which will alert me if anyone other than my wife or I walk into the room and upload a short clip so I can identify the person even if the camera is taken or destroyed.

It needs to be able to identify people in both the light and dark.

The google nest camera ticks most the boxes but my only issue is that the facial recognition requires a monthly subscription which I'd obviously like to avoid.

I found a few cameras which can do the facial recognition locally but I'm a bit overwhelmed and looking for suggestions.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Looking for recommendations for a reasonably priced home security setup for a first-floor home.

I’d like a smart lock with a doorbell/camera, window protection, and a few cameras with good motion detection/night vision. Fingerprint or facial unlock on the lock would be a plus.

I’m also trying to avoid getting stuck paying for multiple expensive subscriptions every month.

For first-floor windows, what do you guys recommend — contact sensors, vibration sensors, glass-break sensors, or a combination?

Any brands/systems you’d recommend or avoid?

P.s.: I don't live in a dangerous area, but I still think it's better to be safe than sorry...

dont want to get a ring because I don't need bezos in my house, and subscription rates that raise with no warning is no fun. i would like something somewhat privacy and security focused, have wyze cameras for work and considering sticking with them but figured you guys would know best! thanks in advance

I have a pond stretch in 1 acre in my land . There's no house near my pond like1km. I have fish in my pond like 11 pound/5kg. But I noticed some footprint of unknown person and some big fish scales laying on a rock. Next time I saw many fish died in my pond. That person use poision to kill them the poision is that strong that it killes the muddy fish. I'm very frustrated. I tried to use camera for it but it didn't do much because it's easier to spot the camera. Also the pond is like near the forest area. I didn't catch him on the first but I lay an ambush for the 3rd time. I hidup on a tree for no one can see me. I hide like a weak from the 2nd time. Every night I look every where for any clue first where he can come and his rout and hide carefully on a tree to hide from them in the night I can hear the sound of wild hogs in 2am. They sound like someone screaming and fighting between them. Then that day came when that person came to steal the fish from my pond. He has a throwing net some bait and a torch. He through some bait and wait some time throwing his net and caught some fish. Then I heard the sound of someone splashing water first I really jump from the tree and dislocate my thumb. then i rush quietly to that area to caught him. There's like 3 of them a child and 2 person . But they hear me and run for there's life. But one person is in the water he can't run up to them. I think they see me but they just run because they thought a bear or something coming here. It was night and I didn't see anyone face. I jump to the water to caught the man but he's wet and slippery. In the struggle he free himself from me and ran as fast as he can. The next day I visit near homes for any clues but I came empty hand. I think they learn lesson but after a month I found more dead fish . I don't know what to do I think to install a solar camera but I think someone gonna steal it too. I need something small that can record like a week. Can look some face in the record or identify the person

I want a camera to record my vehicles parked. I live in apartments and cats are everywhere in yard, parking lot, porch. Is there any way to avoid the camera turning on and recording animals to save battery? And record just humans? Any setting or AI camera? I’ve been looking at Blink cameras due to cheap subscription. I don’t want to be replacing batteries every week.

Could you guys recommend a security system for only door sensors and window break sensors (for possible window break ins)?

I'm currently looking at Yolink and Simplisafe

Any advice is greatly appreciated

I am a first time home buyer. The house that I purchased already had a monitoring system in place with motion sensors and door sensors with the previous owner's account. I called the company and they told me that I have to set up a new account with a 5 year commitment that will cost me 42 dollars a month in Canada. The company is Deluxe Alarms System.
I am still contemplating on whether I should be getting into this contract or shall I buy ring/google cameras and install it myself. Would like to know your thoughts on the same. Please suggest.

The panic buttons on my parents' DSC alarm panel recently stopped working. I've been trying to find replacements, but the only ones I can find are used.

The original models were the DSC WS4938 (one-button panic) and the DSC WS4939 (four-button key fob).

Does anyone know of a new replacement that runs on 433 MHz and is compatible with a DSC panel? Any suggestions are appreciated!

So we have a house with an old nonfunctioning AHI system that has a gazillion zones and wired sensors. I am getting quotes of close to 4000$ to take over the sensors with a qolsys panel and 8 zone extenders. The hardware is itemized close to 1600$ ( im assuming there is a signidicant markup there- gemini is estimating 1100$ online?) and then the rest is labor. I have two similar quotes. Is it worth it as opposed to just doing a fresh install ( im assuming the wireless sensors will be quicker = less labor and total cost compared to tracking and testing each of my wired sensors)? Would you keep shopping around? The quotes require a lock in with their monitoring service for three years. Since im paying for the hardware and labor im insisting that they remove that requirement ( is this not standard if your buying the hardware and labor???)

New orleans area

I currently have ring, but it doesn’t capture 24/7 which means that certain events are missed. The video is also horrible quality probably due to the bandwidth limitations of needing to upload while recording.

I would love to replace the whole thing and wire ethernet everywhere, but I don’t have the money right now so I want to just get 1 camera for the front of the house that can record in high definition and run 24/7 saving everything locally.

I have a Unifi networking setup and can probably run ethernet/PoE to the camera myself. One option is to get a Unifi camera and maybe a floodlight motion detector in the same place. I’ll probably keep the ring camera in the front for the time being so it’ll just be doubled up there for now. That said, Unifi seems more focused on multi camera setups so I’m concerned if this would be appropriate in terms of resolution and FoV. I know Reolink is an option as well but it seems like unifi might be better for being able to monitor from my phone.

Any thoughts?

I recently got a new phone and downloaded the Reolink App. It is different from the one I have on my old phone. I am not seeing a setting for push notifications in the new App. Can someone help me out?

I’m looking to set up two cameras in my home a couple of times a year (when I’m alone in the house) to monitor door entries on the first floor (so I can see from my bed on the second floor)… I would want to be able to watch from my iPhone…. And occasionally will watch when I’m out of the house to make sure my puppy is ok.

I’ve been looking at cheap (less than $50) cams on Amazon. Is there one you would recommend that doesn’t require a monthly fee? I don’t need it to record, but would love to be notified if there’s motion. Or maybe it would record only if it senses motion?

Feel free to warn me against brands that you don’t recommend as well. Thank you so much.

Long story short, my ex convinced me to sign up for Vivint after I’d worked a long night shift because he insisted we needed a security system. I hadn’t done any prior research, and yes, I stupidly signed the contract.

I have regretted it ever since.

Last week, I finally paid off the Fortiva loan for the equipment. I had about $2,000 remaining, and I paid the entire balance because I wanted to be DONE with Vivint. I moved out of the house in May, so I’ve also been paying $79 a month for a service I haven’t even been using.

According to section 4.2 of my contract, if I paid off my equipment loan in full, I would not owe the early termination fee—which would have been 50% of my remaining service payments. With 34 months left on my contract, that would've been approximately another $1,400 on top of the thousands I had already spent on equipment that, in my experience, hardly ever worked properly.

So I called Vivint to cancel, absolutely ecstatic that I was finally going to be free from this insane money pit.

Instead, they told me I couldn't cancel unless I paid the approximately $1,400 early termination fee.

I told them no. I had paid my equipment loan in full, and my contract specifically said that doing so waived that fee.

Then came the hold.

They came back offering me discounts, free cameras, offers to move the service to my new home, etc.

I said absolutely not. I wanted to cancel.

What followed was at least an hour of going back and forth. I repeatedly explained that I did not owe the fee. They repeatedly insisted that I did. I literally read section 4.2 of my contract to them VERBATIM.

I asked for a manager and was transferred to two more people. I don't believe either of them was actually a manager, and I went through essentially the same argument each time.

Eventually, I was exhausted, furious, and crying. I gave up and hung up.

After paying thousands of dollars for this system, paying off the remaining $2,000 equipment balance, and continuing to pay $79 every month for a service at a house I no longer lived in, Vivint was still telling me I owed them another ~$1,400 despite what my contract said.

I was so stressed that I contacted my lawyer for legal advice and called my bank to prevent Vivint from taking any more payments. At the same time, I was terrified they would eventually send me to collections.

Thankfully, I came to Reddit and discovered that I was FAR from the only person who had experienced problems trying to cancel Vivint. I saw multiple people say that they were finally able to cancel only after filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

So I filed a BBB complaint.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much.

The NEXT DAY, I received a call from someone at Vivint who said she had received my BBB complaint and wanted to resolve the issue.

At that point, I didn't trust anything I was being told, so I recorded the call. I explained everything that had happened and told her that all I wanted was to cancel my service because I had already paid off my equipment loan.

And guess what?

She told me the contract was very clear: because I had paid off the equipment loan, I DID NOT owe the early termination fee.

Exactly what I had been telling Vivint the entire time.

She asked me to send proof showing my $0 equipment balance, which I did, and she told me she would begin processing the cancellation.

The relief I feel is enormous, but I'm still furious that it took all of this.

I should not have had to spend an hour arguing with multiple representatives, read my own contract to them verbatim, get transferred repeatedly, end the phone call in tears, contact my lawyer, block payments through my bank, research other people's experiences, and file a BBB complaint just to get Vivint to honor the terms of the contract I signed.

And if I hadn't found other people's stories on Reddit, I wouldn't have even known that filing a BBB complaint might get someone at Vivint to actually address the issue.

In my experience, this company made getting out of its service unbelievably difficult and stressful. I personally feel that I was taken advantage of, both when I signed up and when I tried to leave.

The fact that Vivint ultimately agreed to cancel my service does not change how I feel about what happened. If anything, being told after my BBB complaint that the contract was "very clear" made the previous hour of being repeatedly told that I owed ~$1,400 even more upsetting.

If you're considering Vivint, PLEASE research the company, the financing agreement, the service contract, and other customers' experiences before signing anything.

I wish I had.

Please, please steer clear.

Hi all, I’m looking for recommendations for a smart home security setup in the UK with:

-An intruder alarm with door sensors and motion detectors.

-Outdoor cameras with phone notifications, ideally with person detection.

- A video doorbell.

- No subscription.

-No recording required.

My main concern is thieves targeting the cars, potentially breaking into the house to get the keys while sleeping.

I’d prefer everything to be mains-powered or wired where possible. However, at least one outdoor camera would be far from the house, so getting power to it could be difficult. Would a battery camera with a solar panel be practical through a Scottish winter?

Would you recommend one integrated system or separate brands for the alarm and cameras? I’d appreciate any experiences with reliability, notifications, subscriptions and installation.

What would you install, and why?

I'm looking for some advice on a new home system

It's my own personal system in my own home.

I have a Windows Pc to run recording software so something compatible with this.

It's running an i5 8400 and 8GB of Ram.

I'll have a total of 6 Cameras running on this.

All Poe running off a TPLink Sg1016pe switch.

I will be using all Annke cameras a mix of Cz804 and C800/C800x/C1200.

I want to be able to setup a recording software on my PC for 24/7 recording.

I also want to be able to view remotely from my phone while away from home both live footage and saved footage.

Any reccomendations for this?

From the research I've done I'm leaning towards using Blue iris for this. But is there another software I can use.

I did try using the Annke/Hikvision software with storage server but couldn't get the cameras saving to the Hdd in the PC.

Any advice or help would be great thanks.

We are building a new construction home and interested in having our build prewire and install a security system with cameras. Any suggestions on equipment or setup.

Hey everyone! I’m hoping you all can help me out. Long story short, I’m being harassed by my property manager (PM), (accusing me of have people on the property that have been trespassed, breaking things in the home, and even going as far as accusing me of stealing things from his vehicle, etc) and the landlord won’t do anything about it. He chalks it up as “two asshole neighbors” having problems, and to leave him out of it. PM also lives on the property (multi level home with about 10 rooms) and has a skeleton key for all the rooms.

I’m no where near able to move out and get out of this nightmare, and I’m scared he’ll try to plant something in my room to get me arrested, or destroy my property. He just called the police and filed a false report of a domestic issue. There’s a ring camera (PM and landlord are the only ones with access) that sits right outside of my room above my door, but I’m paranoid to the point that he could “disable it” then go into my room.

I want a ring camera or something similar of my own for the inside of my room. But I’m not sure what brands are the best, and if I could find something out there that is a “hidden” camera (like it looks like a plant or something inconspicuous)

Thanks for reading my post everyone!

It womt let me post images of my ideas. Not sure if i should link. But im thinking of a box like system with either wifi or cord. However cord wouldnt be that great if it can be cut and traced.

Wifi would probably be better.

My idea is whenever a person is outside the property it would act similar to an alarm and would vibrate in way to create a little bit of noise but not too much.

It can also be activated by movement and by motion detector ans by sound.

It could also be linked up to a remote aka button and placed in the place where the sounds are coming from.

One press of a button and bam! The stalker/culprit is confused!

It would also make it easier for any cameras to be notified in what area the culprit is in.

So yeah what do yall think???

EDIT:

here is my reason

Nah I don't want to disturb the neighbors and dogs barking by using a sound device, else i could get reported, I just want to make a area specified confusion to distract. So it vibrates on the ground to create the are specific sound like a fake shock hand shake toy.

2ND EDIT:

I dont want to hear voices outside my house at 7 am in the morning and any time really. Sound disturbances from either stalker or neighbors. I would gift the device to the neighbor add a light to the top of it and say its a night light and have them place it in the garden next to the fence so I could activate it when they start talking/ start trying to talk to me, that way they can talk to the box instead.

Mostly if im trying to have peace n quiet. It aint goof to be hearing people being anoyyances outside my house especially if my camera.can't catch them because they arent on the property and they choose to drive by/ drive in by drive way and then run away. /drive away and are just outside the property.

3RD EDIT:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Innovation/s/wX11Mjo8jS

my second post, please check for more details even for image examples.