SkyBell

I give 5 stars because this newer app works better than old one. Our internet in our house is scarce with the firewalls throughout. So we utilize google extenders strategically placed in right areas. 3 of them. For whatever reason, we’re getting correct notifications for motion detection and if our doorbell is rung. Thank you developers. Sometimes the app stops working with some glitches now and then. Otherwise we’re happy customers.

I have been using skybell for 5 years now and the past several months have been a nightmare for me. I have 2 homes I split my time between and was using my skybell to keep an eye on the outside of my home (located in Florida). In the past year I havent been able to rely on the app (upgrading the app made it worse). When I open the app the feed just spins, wont load. It has stopped recording "events". I cant respond when someone is at my door because by the time everything loads they are walking off. I tried rebooting, that didn't work, tried removing the camera and then re-adding and guess what, I have to be in Florida (which I wont be for another 2 months). Currently, hurricane Milton is passing over my house and my Wyze cams are working great, my skybell, not so much! So frustrated and feel like an idiot because I have (up until the last few months) been recommending skybell to my friends and family.

I’ve had SkyBell since it hit first hit the market and while not perfect, I decided the slow response time and occasional glitches were fair trade for a device that doesn’t require a monthly service plan. Then, late last year some brain trust at SkyBell thought it was a good idea to release a new app that was obviously untested and not ready for production. In December I made multiple attempts to setup the new app, which failed. The all black UI with giant yellow and red font looked like something an 8 year old would create. The instructions were unclear … if there were any at all. After three calls with customer support, my SkyBell was offline for more than two months. Today I made my last attempt to reconnect. I noticed minimal effort to clean up the horrendous app UI, however I now have very little confidence in SkyBell. After connecting, it takes over a minute for a live view to display… and a notice that my device is offline still appears when I start up the app. Since a live view does eventually appear… the “device offline” is yet another glitch. If this device goes down again, I am switching to another brand. Too bad… my preference is for the round design of the SkyBell. That said, I can’t go without front door security so will be forced to switch if SkyBell continues to be unreliable. Buyer beware.