Just chiming in here on how worthless the SkyBell HD is.
I bought it based on the great reviews I read and the integration with SmartThings. It installed easily, looks great and the night time video quality is exceptional. That’s where the good ends though.
The motion detection on the SkyBell is a joke. A delivery driver can walk up to our door, ring the doorbell, and drop off a package, then turn around and walk back down the sidewalk and get in their truck. The only thing the doorbell captures is the driver’s back as he walks the last 5 feet to his truck (and our house is a good 40-50 ft from the street). What’s the point of capturing the back of people who are up to no good - they obviously aren’t going to be loitering at my front door.
The quality of the microphone / speaker on the doorbell is questionable. Most attempts at a conversation with someone at the front door aren’t audible and ends up resulting in mass confusion.
The reliability of the doorbell is also terrible. Someone just rang the doorbell and my wife’s phone received a notification saying that someone pressed the button, while my phone didn’t receive anything. When trying to view the video “on demand” as SkyBell calls it, it often times results in a black screen and you have to restart the app.
And finally, let’s talk about customer service. I really wanted to like this product so after trying everything listed in the knowledge base, I contacted customer support to ask about the motion detection and the delay in recording. Below are their responses…seriously, what’s the point of the product if their own technical support teams says that you should buy a separate security camera!!!
All this to say that I’m returning the SkyBell HD and trying out the Ring Pro.
Responses from SkyBell HD Technical Support
"I understand that the motion sensor is recording video but is capturing the back of the delivery driver as they walk away.
Please consult the motion sensor settings and read each high medium and low description to choose the one that best suits your needs.
It does have a built in 10 second delay before going off as we do not want the sensor detecting you or your household members as they come and go as this would annoy most people."
AND
“Our SkyBell is first and foremost a WiFi video doorbell. Most people pair our device with NEST security cameras that have instant motion detection video recording. Our SkyBell works well with NEST products!”