Until recently I had been using an EZVIZ DB1C doorbell. I researched before I got it, and it worked immediately when bought. Then the company started playing dirty pool. Over the next two firmware updates (WIth nothing in the notes beyond “bugfixes and imrprovements”) they stripped out the ability to use a local RTSP stream then they stripped out the ability to use their Windows-only software to even re-enable any functionality. Then they jerked me around for over a month before they finally copped to what the company had done.
And of course there’s no way back to a working firmware.
I know people have mentioned Reolink and Amcrest before, but those models are no longer available.
Is there anything in the way of wired, mechanical-bell compatible doorbell cameras that work with HomeAssistant?
I’m so sick of companies that sell you one thing, then strip out the functionality that made it useful, shoving you into their cloud/app shit or leaving you stranded on whatever firmware the thing came with.
GRR
I’ve had a Ezviz home camera for years. At some point, the RTSP stream in HA stopped working entirely, and I didn’t think much of it.
A week ago I decided to reset the damn thing as the verification password on the bottom didn’t take in HA, only to realise that the setup flow on the app just didn’t work for configuring WiFi, and there was no feedback at all, or any support articles surround it. I’d given up for a while, plugged in ethernet temporarily instead and tried again.
The correct WiFi setup procedure was hidden away in some menu, which I couldn’t even remember using last time (showing a QR to the camera and it silently taking the credentials). Only then I found out about how you can view the camera in the app in LAN View Mode, pray it accepts your verification password without spitting random HTTP errors, and there the RTSP toggle was to be found. I do have the stream back in HA, but my god that was a pain. I’ve been at it for hours at that point.
Was it worth it? No, I would’ve thrown it out the window way sooner - but it beats having a paper weight for a camera which used to work fine an hour ago.
That’s kinda what happened to me, except that it was a month of back-and-forth with EZVIZ support until they finally copped to “Our company broke that, use the Android App or go to hell” (paraphrasing). Also mine always rejects the verification code, no matter how hard I hammer it in the app. That’s why I’m ripping it off my house, telling everyone to avoid this company and their customer-hostile unethical behavior, and trying to find a replacement.