We are all feeling a need for increased security these days, especially with our online shopping habits leading to a sharp increase in porch piracy. That’s where the eufyCam2 comes in. It’s a battery-powered, weatherproof real-time home surveillance system that is incredibly versatile, customizable, and easy to use. On a full-charge, the eufyCam2 offers a full year of operation without pushy essential subscriptions needed to make it work, making it a very low maintenance and customer-friendly product.
Setup and installation is super simple
Fresh out the box after a full charge, it was time to install the cameras and connect them to the companion app. After a quick Eufy Security App download came the smooth-as-butter installation walkthrough. The devices power up and pair quickly with the Home Base acting as a Wi-Fi repeater, allowing you to achieve expansive coverage without worrying about what your router can handle. To that effect, we placed a camera about 60 feet away from the Home Base outside and it worked perfectly. One major note though, you do need to have an open ethernet port available to connect the EufyCam 2’s Home Base to your router. Your router may already have a spare ethernet port available, but if not you may need to purchase a switch. We tried both the direct plugin and a switch and both worked perfectly.
With the app connection and WiFi installation done, next came the physical installation of the camera and security sensors. That install was just as easy. The security cameras are remarkably versatile and weatherproof so we felt confident housing one on a deck banister with a quick drill in, and another directly onto a well-situated tree that faces an entrance. Same goes for the eufy Security Sensors – we used 3M double-sided tape and they were also a piece of cake to install.
The app is brimming with customization options
The Eufy Security app is bursting at the seams with customization features and options, with none of the gotcha upgrade tactics of most other security monitoring apps and the endless upselling they tend to practice.
Pretty much every aspect of the cameras and sensors can be managed, scheduled, and monitored from the app. You can choose between how sensitive you want the cameras to be, what zones you want to be monitored, what hours you do and do not want alerts sent, and most impressively, which alerts trigger further alerts or actions. For example, let’s say you have one camera that triggers at a driveway entrance, you can then program that alert to trigger the second camera, maybe one at your front door, to turn on. There are also various preset modes, like “Home” and “Away” that you can schedule to come on at certain hours. The security sensors can also log timestamps of when doors were opened and shut, without setting off the loud siren HomeBase alarm, unless you want it to. Ultimately, the customization options are fabulous.
Each eufyCam 2 also has a speaker and a microphone housed inside of it. So you can hear what guests are saying in addition to seeing them. You can also speak to them via the mic, which is especially handy for deliveries. It’s worth mentioning that its 2-way audio is really impressive considering it’s a battery-powered battery camera. You can also opt in to turn on the status LED, which for being such a tiny red light, it’s quite intimidating. We think that it helps serve as a clear message that you are being watched, effectively working as a theft deterrent. Speaking of theft, the eufyCam 2 may look tempting to steal right off its mount, but not to worry, it comes with a theft detection alarm that will sound loudly if someone tries to snatch it.
Super smart movement detection
Many security cameras end up essentially “crying wolf” by constantly triggering for innocuous reasons, like a bunny or a cat passing by, or a tree swaying a little too much, but the EufyCam 2 has sensitivity settings you can toggle from hypersensitive to low sensitivity. This takes trial and error to figure out what works for your property but compared to another brand’s security cam we have used, it produces about 80% less false alerts. EufyCam 2 can recognize the difference between a small animal, a person, and a car. It can even learn specific common faces so you know when it is a family member coming through. It also integrates with Apple HomeKit Secure Video, letting you save encrypted videos to the cloud.
Lastly, you can access the camera in real-time or you can access recorded events and download them. Weeks of these events are available for me to peruse, without any subscription fees required.
Bottom Line
The eufyCam 2 and Eufy Sensors combine for a stellar home security camera package. Not only are its cameras and sensors attractive looking with white casings and a slick form factor, but they are extremely easy to install, packed to the brim with customization features, and they give you a tremendous amount of peace of mind for a very fair price, without ongoing fees and subscriptions being necessary. Being battery powered and weather-proof, you can use them outside too, and with the included HomeBase that acts as a WiFi repeater, you can easily achieve expansive coverage in and around your home. The Eufy Sensors also offer an easy and simple battery-powered way to track the comings and goings of a chosen door entry/exit, as well as an alarm that will sound when you program it to.
A EufyCam2 wireless home security camera with 2 cameras retails for $299 at Amazon and sensors are an additional $29.99 each. There are 3-cam and 4-cam kits available as well, and additional cameras retail for $119.99 each.