Better than Ring? This video doorbell has all the benefits and no monthly fee

ZDNET Key Points

• The Lorex 2K Wi-Fi Video Doorbell cost 180 dollars.
• The doorbell comes in both wired and wireless varieties, communicates reliably, and includes a pre-installed 32GB microSD card for local storage, eliminating subscription fees.
• Despite the 2K resolution, the image is so wide-angled that objects look distorted.

Video doorbells are one of the best ways to start your smart home journey. They’re easy to use and often easy to install, while also providing much-needed monitoring. While they may seem daunting to install for beginners, there’s a video doorbell option for just about everyone, whether you’re looking for a budget option or one that’s easy to install.

See on Amazon

After testing out a few video doorbell options, I was excited to get the latest product. Lorex 2K Wi-Fi Video Doorbell. I prefer battery-powered video doorbells for ease of installation, so I went with the battery-powered option. More importantly, Lorex ditches the usual paid subscription model in favor of a flat hardware fee. Is it worth it? Let’s find out.

Also: Forget Dyson: I Tried the Roborock Wet-Dry Handheld Vacuum and It Cleaned My Floors

I tell you, having your phone tell you who’s at the door in real time and being able to talk to them when you can’t open the door is a life-changer. The Lorex 2K Video Doorbell does that and more, boasting 2K video resolution with HDR, no monthly subscription fees, and a battery option with an easy-to-install mounting kit to give you the viewing angle you want.

Setting up the Lorex 2K video doorbell was simple, since I opted for the battery-powered model (there’s also a wired option). I charged it for a few hours, paired it with the Lorex mobile app, and mounted the mount where I wanted the doorbell to be. I already had a Eufy Battery video doorbell, so I set up the Lorex next to it to compare the images captured by both.

Also: Amazon’s Echo Show 8 is the best smart speaker and hub out there. Here’s why

Once you install the doorbell, you don’t have to worry about much anymore. One of the things I like most about this video doorbell is that there are no monthly fees. You can store your video recordings on the included 32GB MicroSD card and download them whenever you need to bring the doorbell in to charge. If you’re using a wired system, I recommend keeping a MicroSD card around to swap out from time to time so your video doorbell can record events that are important to you.

The Lorex app is also easy to use and navigate. It allows you to check notifications, view a live feed, change doorbell settings, and check your event history. Lorex is a well-known security camera manufacturer, and the app allows you to access other Lorex cameras you may have in your home in one place.

Also: Arlo Pro 5S is a 2K resolution battery camera that won’t miss a moment

This doorbell also has Person Detection, which makes it easy to ignore false alarms, since you won’t get notified when a spider crawls across your camera or a tree in your yard sways in the wind.

The biggest issue with this Lorex video doorbell is that the image, while good quality at 2560 x 1920 resolution, looks distorted due to the 164-degree field of view. This would be fine with more affordable doorbells, but one that costs closer to $200 would provide a better image experience.

People can look distorted in the image, which isn’t a big deal if you’re using the doorbell to see who’s at the door, but I found it annoying when reviewing recordings. As you can see in the comparison above, my Lorex doorbell shows a stretched image compared to the Eufy doorbell screenshot, as evidenced by the stretched UPS truck.

This product also doesn’t include a chime kit, meaning you’ll have to purchase it separately or skip the battery feature and use it with your home’s existing wiring to use your existing chime box. Lorex Wind Chime Box costs $50 more as a compact, plug-in device that works with Wi-Fi.

Also: The Waterproof Blink Mini 2 Is the Best Alternative to the Wyze Cam Out There

That said, the Lorex 2K Video Doorbell is great for everyday use. It’s reliably on time with real-time alerts when someone is at the door, and integrates seamlessly with Alexa, so we get notifications from our Echo devices when someone rings the doorbell. It also has a small LED light that lights up in the dark when you approach it.

The built-in LED light is an underrated feature and one of my favorites. It comes in handy when you come home in the dark and could use some brightness to find your keys. I also like that it can deter intruders, as the light will turn on when the camera detects motion.

ZDNET Buying Advice

Even if I’m not a big fan of the wide-angle images it captures, there are still a few things I like about it. Lorex 2K battery-powered video doorbell. The battery has outlasted my Eufy Battery Doorbell over the past few months and only needs to be charged every two months.

The Lorex 2K Battery Doorbell costs $180 and is the perfect video doorbell for anyone with a Lorex camera system in their home. It’s also a great alternative to the Ring video doorbell, as you can enjoy many of the same benefits without the subscription fees. You can also opt for a wired installation to use your existing doorbell, and expand the internal storage with a microSD card (up to 256GB) to take things to the next level.