Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Easy to put in
- Excellent app makes the system operation easy
- Can be used with no subscription
- Ideal for an residence or apartment
Cons
- Adding sufficient sensors for a big house may be dear
- Users should present their very own microSD card for offline video storage
- Professional monitoring not out there, not at the same time as a paid possibility
Our Verdict
The Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 is among the best to put in and arrange tech merchandise I’ve examined, and it does an excellent job of monitoring a comparatively small house. But steer clear if you happen to’re in search of an expert monitoring possibility, as that’s not on supply.
Price When Reviewed
This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined
Best Pricing Today
Price When Reviewed
$139.99 (package consists of Aqara’s Camera Hub G3, Vibration Sensor T1, Motion Sensor T1, Door and Window Sensor (1 every), and warning stickers (4 every)
Best Prices Today: Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100
$119.99 ($30.00 / Count)
$139.99 ($35.00 / Count)
The Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 bundles the corporate’s flagship Camera Hub G3—a Zigbee and Matter bridge—with a door and window sensor, a Motion Sensor P1, and a Vibration Sensor T1 for a stable entry-level safety system at a cut price asking worth of $140 ($120 avenue).
But earlier than I get too deep into this assessment, bear in mind that Aqara doesn’t supply any skilled monitoring service, the place somebody in a central workplace screens your safety system and may dispatch first responders within the occasion of a break-in, fireplace, or medical emergency. While such plans are at all times paid subscriptions, its absence right here can be a deal-breaker for some (Aqara does manufacture a Zigbee sensible smoke detector if self-monitoring is all you’re in search of).
The Matter-compatible Aqara Camera Hub G3 features a Zigbee radio and a dual-band Wi-Fi adapter.
James Barber/Foundry
The digital camera is a pan/tilt mannequin with 340 levels of pan, 45 levels upward tilt, and 15 levels downward tilt. It has a stationary discipline of view of 110 levels. While I can’t think about anybody organising a sensible house hub exterior the home, the digital camera does boast an IP65 weatherization score. According to our IP code guide, meaning it’s impervious to mud ingress and that it’s protected in opposition to water projected in jets from any course.
The Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 is good for a small residence or apartment.
Each of the bundled sensible house parts comes from the manufacturing unit pre-paired to the hub, so the system works virtually instantly after you’re taking it out of the field. Matter compatibility means it may be built-in into any of the most important sensible house platforms, together with Alexa, Apple Home (together with assist for Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video), and Google Home.
There’s additionally assist for Home Assistant, IFTTT, and SmartIssues. The hub itself helps the Zigbee sensible house protocol, and it connects to your private home Wi-Fi community by way of both 2.4- or 5GHz spectrum (with assist for WPA3).
Buyers additionally rise up to 7 days of cloud storage for video recordings, 24/7 native recording to a user-provided microSD card, and full distant entry, all with out paying for a subscription. Aqara’s non-obligatory HomeGuardian service affords a extra in depth set of options, together with as much as 90 days of cloud storage for video recordings.
Installation and setup
Installation was extremely easy and took lower than 5 minutes. I rotated the camera-hub’s resist reveal the microSD card slot and inserted one in every of my very own (Aqara doesn’t embrace one, however the digital camera can assist playing cards with capacities as much as 128GB). You ought to consider these features when shopping for a microSD card for a home security camera.
Once I plugged within the digital camera, the Aqara iOS app walked me by means of including the unit to my house’s Wi-Fi community, and I used its setting to regulate the monitoring and alarm capabilities for the preconfigured Home, Away, and Night profiles.
The starter package consists of all of the fundamentals, however most individuals will need to purchase extra sensors for full safety.
James Barber/Foundry
Setting up the door/window sensor, vibration sensor, and movement sensor was simply as simple. The app affords ideas as to the place to put these gadgets, and the batteries come preinstalled. Once I pulled out the plastic strips and made the batteries lively, every of the sensors was routinely added to the community.
Users can activate or disarm any of these profiles from a pane on the app’s house display screen. Just under that pane is the live-camera view. Scroll all the way down to see panels that show the standing of every of the package’s 4 gadgets.
Real-time utilization
The Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 appeared excellent for a small residence, so I set it up in my house media room. My canine assisted within the testing, taking part in the position of intruder.
Aqara’s app is properly made, simple to make use of, and responsive.
James Barber/Foundry
Over the course of a few weeks, I discovered simply how a lot time he spends snoozing on my ottoman. The system alerted me each time he nudged the door open (triggering the door/window sensor), nudged a cupboard door (doing the identical with the vibration sensor), and bolted out and in of the room (because of each the digital camera and the movement sensor).
The digital camera’s 2K video recordings (encoded as MPEG4 information) have been clear when the room was lit, and its night time imaginative and prescient was equally good when the room was darkish. When I had the system in Away mode, the piercing sound triggered by the tripped sensors despatched the canine scrambling from the room.
Made for growth
If you might have exceedingly modest home-security wants, the Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 is perhaps all you want; most individuals, nonetheless, will need to avail themselves of the wide range of appropriate add-on merchandise which are additionally out there. And these expenditures can add up rapidly.
Most folks’s properties have each doorways and home windows, for instance, so if you wish to monitor a number of entry factors, you’ll must spend $30 for every further door/window sensor or $20 for every further vibration sensor. An various technique of safety can be to put in a movement sensor in a room with a number of home windows, however then you definately may not be notified of a break-in till an intruder is already in the home.
One movement sensor can substitute for mounting contact sensors on a number of doorways and home windows, with the caveat that an intruder will already be in the home when the system will get triggered.
James Barber/Foundry
You may transcend fundamental house safety to construct out an entire sensible house system by including the Matter-compatible Aqara Smart Lock U200 ($270), Aqara LED Bulb T2 shade LED sensible bulbs ($23 every), the Aqara Water Leak Sensor ($20), and/or the Aqara Climate Sensor W100 ($40).
You can begin with the Y100 package and expand one sensor or complementary product at a time if you happen to resolve you want them. I’m certain I may cowl my complete home with an added funding of $200 for added door/window and vibration sensors, whereas persevering with to rely upon my doorbell digital camera to see what’s happening exterior.
Users should purchase a HomeGuardian subscription from throughout the app. If you’re utilizing a single digital camera, the “limited offer” worth is $4.99/month or $49.99/12 months (marked down from $6.99/month or $83.88/12 months. HomeGuardian additionally helps a vast variety of Aqara cameras for $9.99/month or $99.99/12 months (marked down from $14.99/month or $179.88/12 months).
With that subscription, you get 90 days of cloud storage for event-triggered recordings (in 2K decision); plus, logs of safety occasions and digital camera recordings for a similar interval. Subscribers in North America and choose international locations in Europe will even obtain safety alerts by way of SMS and e-mail. A 30-day free trial is included together with your buy.
Placing these stickers in your home windows may deter the informal burglars, however Aqara doesn’t supply skilled monitoring, at the same time as a paid possibility.
James Barber/Foundry
One of the a number of issues I like about Aqara’s providing is that I don’t assume I’ll ever want the HomeGuardian plan after putting in a 128GB microSD card within the digital camera (that’s the max supported capability, by the best way). I get alerts on my cellphone when something journeys the sensors, so I don’t assume I would like the SMS/e-mail safety alerts that include that plan.
Without the automated again up of video recordings to the cloud, I would lose the digital camera footage in a fireplace or a flood. I don’t assume making these backups can be prime of thoughts throughout that type of catastrophe. And if a burglar steals the digital camera, I gained’t have any proof of the crime to offer the police. So, having a subscription is greater than a easy matter of comfort.
Should you purchase the Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100?
Aqara has created a bundle that’s extremely simple to arrange and even simpler to make use of. Most customers will discover they will use the well-designed app with minimal and even no tweaks required.
This assessment is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the best DIY home security systems.
I’ve beforehand tried a Ring Alarm Pro system, and that have concerned watching a number of set up information movies originally and ended up with what appeared like infinite tweaks to unreliable door and window sensors. The Aqara sensors have labored precisely as marketed, and the digital camera’s video high quality is great.
Aqara’s assist for Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home means this safety setup can develop with an proprietor’s curiosity in sensible house know-how. Anyone who’s taking their first steps into house safety will discover the Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 a powerful option to begin.