This Smart Home Doorbell Is ALMOST Amazing - Aqara G4 Video Doorbell Review

[@EverythingSmartHome]

What do you think of the G4!? That price though 👀

[@warrenfontana1325]

Great price point for sure.

[@LucaCorsini]

No integration and lan video is a complete no go for me. My policy is Hass support first and no cloud requirements Also home kit support still need pairing with the proprietary app? (Like some devices from meross, for example)

[@solitariocamel]

Whats the price? I can't find it anywhere.

[@uwe.herting.37431]

Looking at both sites from Germany I get a "currently unavailable" only. Did you push the sales that much? ;-)

[@kevinshi659]

did someone find a way to connect them yet? Aqara to Home Assistant.

[@gverran]

C’mon Aqara!!! Bring RTSP and ONVIF to the G4! Be the first to rock our world with a video doorbell THAT CAN BE FULLY LOCAL! Such an opportunity here!

[@MindForgedManacle]

The reolink doorbell cams can be run fully local; they have rtsp/onvif support.

[@jesse.flikweert]

Reolink Doorbell is very easy to setup local-only.

[@liamsz]

backing up to a smb nas is awesome but its such a bummer there is no RTSP, I prefer having everything local in my smart home, for obvious reasons.

[@NoruNegru]

Any updates after 6 months ?

[@aussiehittou]

Does it mean we can't actively see the bell camera view via Google home/ hub unless someone ring the bell?

[@joeonejoeone]

We ended up exchanging this model for the slimmer version kzbin.infoUgkx0jZ_lGlDVJhDnmagEU8gn47cmfPNlLQU because it was too wide for the only door trim area that made sense to mount it on. However, we should have just noted the dimensions prior to purchasing. Otherwise, we love the doorbell. It works perfectly, and the video is very clear, even at night.

[@LeeStoneman]

No integration? No purchase. Shame, as it looks quite good. RTSP/ONVIV are essential.

[@alanburnstine4824]

Have you found a good rtsp/onviv doorbell? I got one a few years ago at Home Depot, and it was terrible quality, and when I scanned it for vulnerabilities it was wide open to simple script kid hacks.

[@explosiveenterprises1479]

​@@alanburnstine4824 I'm happy with my amcrest doorbell

[@alanburnstine4824]

@@explosiveenterprises1479 Thanks. I didn't realize Amcrest made a doorbell. I will check it out. My inside cameras are Amcrest.

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Praying they add it 🙏🏻

[@seanhood980]

@@alanburnstine4824 Reolink Doorbell has been great for me. ONVIF so drops right into Scrypted. That said, two way talk isn't working yet.

[@RafaelSwit]

After a year since release, Matter and NAS compatibility are still a “future upgrade”. Feels more likely that a newer version comes out with these features integrated, rather than this one getting an upgrade.

[@boxertrix2540]

I've had mine installed now for 4 days and it's a huge improvement on my old Netatmo doorbell in my Apple HomeKit environment. The Netatmo would disconnect for days on end for no apparently good reason, and appears to have fried the micro SD card I had installed in it. The Aqara has run reliably since install, and HomeKit gives it the ability to set activity zones which you were requesting in the review. I have also wired my G4 into a power supply, but understand that installing the 6 AA batteries will power it in the event of a power cut. Having said that, if the chime unit is plugged into the mains I'm not sure what functionality you'd actually get during a power cut... It is good to be able to use HomeKit Secure Video storage with this doorbell, a feature which was promised for the Netatmo when I bought it but which the company recently admitted they no longer plan to support...

[@techinrl9869]

As a HomeKit user, the killer feature for this doorbell is the ability to select which HomePods will ring. With my current doorbell, I cannot reliably hear it upstairs and I miss a lot of deliveries that require signatures. Another top feature is the ability to work without connecting it to the current home chime box. The house I am in is too old to work with other doorbells, so I have to rely on the old fashioned type. This one bypasses the chime box! Supporting HomeKit Secure video is a major plus. Too bad the night vision stinks. That’s the biggest negative.

[@neverman3398]

I just keep my porch smart light 💡 on low and keep the camera in day mode. Works perfectly fine.

[@anishgoyal6687]

Hey i was wondering if you need a aqara hub too to connect this with home pod. Thankyou for helping

[@triplerinse]

I have had 2 the amcrest and the news reolink. The new reolink is really great works great with home assistant. Doesn't work with existing in house chimes. So I used a Shelly 1 to trigger the chime when home assistant sees the button press.

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Good work around!

[@JelleRevyn]

How did you fix the nasty delay in home assistant with the Reolink Doorbell? I do use an let's encrypt cert for my local home assistant instance and home assistant did give a warning about it only using http. Maybe that's why?

[@triplerinse]

@@JelleRevyn I just use the reolink integration and use the local ip address.

[@JelleRevyn]

@@triplerinse Sadly using the local ip address with a let's encrypt cert isn't an option. I will need to look some more into it.

[@triplerinse]

@Jelle Revyn I block it from internet. And Have a home assistant send notification of the doorbell. Then i just us my vpn to connect locally

[@pschip1974]

Did you test the new Reolink doorbell? Is it better than this one? Greatings from Portugal!

[@GMatje59]

I bought this doorbell a few months ago. It is my first doorbell and I must say it works great now. We had several severe rain showers here in the Netherlands and this was no problem for the doorbell. I also had periods when I got high temperature notifications from the unit i.e. temperature above 50C but also that did not give a problem. When installing I found it strange that the non rechargeable batteries must be put in additional to the hardwired power, but it seems to be a backup...? When the electricity is out the chime unit is also out I would say. The App interface is a little bit messy and it takes some time to find your way around. Also I was surprised that the doorbel button itself didn't make a sound when it was pressed. You need to upload your own doorbell sounds and make an automation before that works. The face recognition seems to be nice but my experience thus far is that it missed 80% of the known faces. Additionally I need an extra (cheap) chime unit in the garden so I can hear the doorbell when I'm outside. Maybe someone can recommend me one because I can't find a simple one. And yes, you are right; it is a missed chance that Home Assistant integration is not there. Great video thank you for that & keep up the good work !!

[@ducuBAR]

09:11 has the G4 been officially supported in Home Assistant? I am thinking on buying one and this would be my only roadblock. Hope something change in the past 7 months since this video came up

[@peteholland13]

Thanks for the extensive review….. Only issue I’ve got at the moment, and prior to any purchase, is that the image is in Landscape. I wonder if the sensor is that way or if there is any cropping. Initial feeling is it would be more beneficial to have a portrait viewpoint.

[@philiphart5067]

RTSP and motion zones would really strengthen the doorbell and definitely help the sales. Great review, told me everything I needed to know and pretty much did every test I would have done myself!

[@MarkKoster]

I'm looking for a Doorbell. But no rtsp is a nogo for me. What about the Reolink Doorbell. It seems to check all the boxes.

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Coming up!

[@NoruNegru]

Any updates after 6 months ? Do we have Home Assistant support ? RTSP ?

[@rafael.s]

Find a local-only doorbell that works with homeassistant/frigate without some sort of NVR between them is impossible, heard good things about reolink though.

[@MrTjnielsen81]

Yes, please review the Reolink doorbell please! From memory, the Reolink integration for Home Assistant works well and it can also operate entirely locally

[@MindForgedManacle]

@@MrTjnielsen81 correct.

[@LudvigLindell]

I use the reolink doorbell, it works great with frigate and ha.

[@Kliptrech26Rg001]

In the middle of 2023 there are companies and brands that lose out on selling their products by not adding or allowing it to be used with a home assistant or using something that is practically unanimous that would be the use of RTSP, when will they learn that this drastically increases sales in the market

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Needs to happen!

[@sleepingwonder]

I completely disagree no one outside our community knows about HA which is still small compared to other smart home setups (no offence intended )and RTSP who cares other than people who really want to tinker . The general crowd does not care as long as it runs out of the box. Granted RTSP firmware is easy to add at no additional cost but for the general public it is inconsequential . My comments are from a neutral view point

[@thomaspetersen5569]

Some time ago, I saw a video about the Amcrest AD410 and was considering buying that one, because of the RTSP support and integration into HomeAssistant. Since it is not that easy to purchase this doorbell in my country, I was so happy to hear about Aqara's G4. But the lack of RSTP and HomeAssistant integration raises some doubts. Hopefully, Aqara will add RTSP and ONVIF soon.

[@dumpsterdiner]

I like Aqara for a lot of things and use many of their sensor products. I do not include a camera with facial recognition capabilities on the list of things I want from Aqara (or probably any of their cameras if I'm being honest). Thanks for reviewing the options though. Always appreciated 👍🏽

[@sulylunat]

I agree with this for pretty much most companies, I currently have a Nest Hello but have gradually been moving things away from google as I don’t value them from a privacy point of view. That said, the HKSV integration is what makes me ok with this aqara one. You could completely stop it talking to aqara if you wanted to and just have it working through HKSV, with less features of course, but I do trust apple from a privacy point of view.

[@duncan.g.burton]

Thanks for a great review. Did you ever figure out if you could wire into an old bell chime as you mentioned in your review ? Cheers 👍

[@allbymyself85]

thanks a lot. Amazing content as usual. I was watching another video where another guy here in UK mentioned that video is only recorded when button is pressed? So no motion detection alerts like Ring, Eufy and other competitors. I bought a ring which seems to have a better app / features but I hate the subscription fee and the cloud only recording. I have both now and I guess I will keep the Aqara for now

[@pavelcharushin]

Absolutely the best review out there

[@milicsantiago]

Is there any doorbell with HA support where I could answer, talk, listen and open the door using HA app or HA web interface?

[@zhuodonghuang7049]

I decided to get the reolink doorbell instead, because it has better integrstion with home assistant,same price but 2k

[@MAMDAVEM]

Great review. I'll be giving it a miss until there is HomeAssistant integration

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Thanks, glad you liked it!

[@tommacdougall]

Great video, is there anything you have to do to your original doorbell chime?

[@spongebobstew1975]

Great review. I’ve recently purchased this due to Ring highly increased cloud storage cost. My biggest issue is getting the image to display on the echo show. It worked a few times when I first set up and now just says “ doorbell not responding”. That is so frustrating. Also 10nits been 10 months since your review and still no option to choose motion areas! So at the moment I’m considering returning the device.

[@TestTest-sk4oj]

Reolink it is. Offline and rtsp. Great stuff

[@notownblues360]

Great review! I've had the G4 for 3 weeks using it exclusively with HomeKit and totally agree with you that the responsiveness is amazing. Still blows my mind how fast I can connect to the live feed whether I'm home or out. Gone the days where we missed all the visitors because it took 15 sec to answer the door. Yes I'm pointing the finger at you Logitech 😏

[@AlexManMe]

Really? My Logitech doorbell is quite instant

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Thanks appreciate it!

[@notownblues360]

@@AlexManMe it actually was okay on WiFi but if I was out it would take up to around 15 sec on 4G which was really frustrating as that's when you need it the most

[@rayroulstone3565]

If this doorbell has RTSP it would seal the deal for me and I would 100% get this device. The addition of MQTT would also be a great feature.

[@mattt9640]

I have bought this product as I don’t want to pay google for Nest aware anymore. Time to change providers. So far so good.

[@bill_automated1226]

Another great video Lewis. I too have been really happy with the Aqara devices; I have a ton of their zigbee devices. If the G4 integrated into Home Assistant and had RTSP/ONVIF support (integrated into Frigate!?) I would use it as my doorbell.

[@MrMarco7ify]

Have the cons been updated and fixed?

[@gordon861]

Had me right up to the point where you said it doesn't work with Home Assistant. I'm still new to HA but I'm not going to buy anything I cannot plug into it.

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Fair!

[@Extragonk]

looks so close to being fully capable, rtsp stream would be a great addition along side HA integration. thanks for doing the review! another plus would be to be able to add an m.2 or usb based storage to the chime unit rather than just sd.

[@MatTeague]

Another great video! I always enjoy your content. I was excited about this doorbell as even though I use HA, I really like the Aqara products and most of my devices are Aqara. But I wouldn’t switch from my Eufy without integration (since the update with Eufy encrypting their feed, the HA integration doesn’t work in HA). Have you tried the Reolink doorbell? It seems really good and would be great to see your opinion/review of it compared to this one.

[@TheBroz]

While watching I had no idea what RTSP is, definitely worth explaining some bits of jargon as you go.

[@sxsignal]

I have it and love it so far except for one thing, the secure screw... I wish it was on the top or bottom, because the unit sits almost flush to the right side, which prevents me from accessing the screw

[@rdewit74]

Awesome doorbell! Quick responsetimes and excellent homekit integration. The only thing I dont like is the insertion of the sdcard for 24/7 recording. It odd to add the card into thr box. And ofcourse a bummer that Home Assistant integration is lacking but I have high hopes that this will be added in the near future!

[@jaylovespti]

Quick question do you get the timeline feature with battery power, or no?

[@masx4468]

Started shopping for a doorbell. The night vision is disappointing. Is this common with video doorbells?

[@warrenfontana1325]

What's your take on a comparison for the nest doorbell (wired version), not the new(er) battery version. I know with night vision for the nest it's not great for me because straight outside my house is a street light, so works better with night vision de-activated. I'm interested in this doorbell for HomeKit, thinking is it worth the sacrifice of just trying it over the nest to then regret the purchase.

[@mindshelfpro]

Please review the Reolink Doorbells

[@harryanderson3527]

It has been 10 months -- Still No RTSP?

[@alexanderhorsfield2617]

@EverythingSmartHome very good video, thanks for the content! As a UK user, did you need to alter any of the wiring from your traditional doorbell to make this work hardwired rather than using batteries? Most smart doorbells need a beefier transformer than we have pre-installed in the UK to support them , so need to bypass the chime box, or use other hacks.

[@EverythingSmartHome]

I didn't personally no!

[@Ben-qz7hu]

I contacted the support regarding RTSP: Do you plan to add RTSP support-----Our team is working on it, it might need to wait several months 😀

[@amigajoe]

Well, this integrate with the Akira smart law? Would be awesome if it would unlock the smart lock based on the facial identification of the camera.

[@duncan.g.burton]

Great review, thank you. Have you figured out how to wire to a UK standard doorbell? You mentioned about a 5v transformer? Would love to see this update video. Thank you.

[@kensteeplejack]

great review. I have the eufy wired doorbell, but would only get a replacement if it has RTSP. which is also lacking on the eufy model I have.

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Fingers crossed 🤞

[@JaguarInfinity]

I'm in the same situation.

[@JohnDoe-tq7ju]

Get a Reolink

[@itsmyview2024]

tried this cam, lasted about a month before it kept poling me every few minutes for no reason, might have been due to a thunderstorm but who knows. Ditched it and bought the reolink, much better as it is mounted on the gate more than 5 metres away, the aqara chime could'nt cope, the reolink chime will work anywhere.

[@cekobear]

By the way, does the doorbell have some kind of alarm in case someone other than you tries to remove it?

[@ericklindberg8377]

I definitely won't purchase without RTSP support. My 3 year old doorbell cams (front and back) are needing replaced soon

[@KCS.DIY.]

Hey Lewis, great in-depth video but can you please clarify, can you trigger Alexa routines when the doorbell is pressed or can you only view on the devices. Many thanks.

[@onknight]

Can you Wire it and have Batteies as a backup ? I want to Replace my Ring Version 1

[@ankitduseja1856]

When someone rings the bell can the google nest hub automatically show the live stream? And does it allow to talk to the person at door from the nest hub?

[@tonvanleeuwen4009]

On a distance It does seem to fall short compared to the Reolink (no rtsp, lesser video quality, lesser home assistant integration). What do you think?

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Will find out soon!

[@harrisonashleyfrancis9613]

@@EverythingSmartHome There is one official home assistant integration for the reolink doorbell and two HACS integrations. I'm excited for your potential review. I already have mine installed for a few days and I'm still tweaking it.

[@TristynRusselo]

2:55 the eufy doorbell you reference for 229$ comes with a 16GB local NVR recorder, and the doorbell has 2 camera sensors the eufy doorbell standalone is 179$ with the 2 camera sensors

[@EverythingSmartHome]

I'm well aware, have literally reviewed it :) 16GB SD cards are like what, $10? Do you think an additional camera is worth $60 more with it's other trade-offs?

[@russtuff]

Home assistant integration and NAS storage. If those both arrive I'll be ditching my Nest.

[@yousifnajjar]

You think it might be possible to get it to utilise an existing wired chime by using a relay? Like aqaras or a shelly? Or am I being dumb?

[@KrzysztofStrug]

Thanks for video!, Aqara - awaiting RTSP 🙂

[@mikosoft]

Would rtsp/onvif also send notifications when somebody rings? Or is that already available for home assistant natively?

[@cheizer]

What kind of protocol Aqara Doorbell uses to communicate with the chime?

[@WOLFPACKED]

whats the best video door bell in terms of Home Assistant integration?

[@321e]

Will buy it instantly when it gets home assistant support.

[@Notyou5556]

Can u do a video on g4 with a video stream to a echo show 8 3rd generation. I only get the g4 video stream when the doorbell button is pressed. I would like detection by the g4 to also stream a picture to the echo show.

[@jellyjenn12291]

I know this video is several months old, any update on if this door bell is compatible with home assistant yet?

[@edipavic3208]

Not sure if someone already mentioned it, but for powering of the internal (chime) unit I'd suggest looking into USB-C PD trigger module. Great devices, just what you need. Btw great video, as usual 👍

[@ChrisBoehmvideos]

I have this working in HA using home kit, seems to be working perfect.

[@LeszekMzyk]

Is there some door open button in the apl that could trigger some smart lock automation?

[@peterleon3551]

RTSP and motion zones would make it great!!! C'mon do it!!

[@Boali.85]

Can i use the wires of the intercom doorbell for aqara g4?(So when someone press the button i will get a notification on the homkit+a chime from the intercom system?

[@accik]

You are using OPNsense? Nice! Would like to see some content on the "background" of your setup.

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Very long time *sense user!!

[@Smack0r]

So it does save your videos to iCloud, right?

[@justinhalsall4077]

Will HomeKit secure video still work when it’s internet connection is disabled?

[@MrSibi101]

I will change my Eufy with this if : will have zones control and a better image night time .... plus a stream direct on LG will be fantastic

[@rifu9655]

Thanks for the review! I was hoping to see Onvif support. I run everything through blue iris and this wouldn't be compatible as is.

[@juanalbertocorniel]

Thanks, sure 24 DC voltage?

[@yurizagorac7055]

I agree, no RTSP, no purchase.

[@cooldispatch]

Where to purchase this bell? Cannot find it anywhere :/

[@RobertQvist]

Great review! I was really excited until you said it doesn't work with HA... I'll just have to wait for that then.

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Thanks Robert!

[@RogerStocker]

RTSP and similar are a must as well as Home Assistant Integration for me to buy one.

[@ericlung5086]

This is my first smart door bell in HomeKit. Works great so far, but the face recognition seems to be a bit slow… the door bell needs to be pressed twice every time before my homepods are able to call out the name of the person pressing the door bell. I checked the Wi-Fi connection doorbell-chime-router, the connection strength is strong and I already upgraded to the latest 4.0.1 firmware. Is it just me or this is a common problem with this G4 doorbell thx.

[@CMDRSloma]

I think I prefer Reolink Doorbell over Aqara. I would like to see them both compared. Much better product with a similar price point.

[@fixedtech]

I have had nothing but trouble with this doorbell since I bought it, its network connection is very flaky I've tried all different radio channels too. It wouldn't see my combined wifi network until I created a separate 2.4ghz network which works but when I try to view on my home hub it sometimes works and sometimes says camera unavailable. Additionally the doorbell is wired to the mains but in the space of 2 weeks its crashed twice and looks like it has no power until I disconnect the power and reconnect it...I'm wondering if its faulty

[@hessulipoika13]

I setup at the beginning aqara as chime as well. Is there a way to remove aqara own chime and use only homepods?

[@kimberlyjacobsen4148]

I found a Hack way to connect it to RX,TX,GND pads on the camera where you Putty to the console enabling RDSP, don't know if it works

[@elloco99999]

Looks like a doorbell camera with the potential to be great but is sadly not living up to that potential right now. RTSP support is critical to me and Onvif would be very very nice to have as well. As a HomeAssistant user I would definitely like to see better HA integration before considering this camera and support for BlueIris would also be lovely but that would be covered by good RTSP and Onvif support. Also the night time images are a bit too blurry for me. I get that it is hard to make a good recording at night but I do feel that you need to be able to identify someone from the recording. That is (at least to me) after all the primary reason to have a camera in the first place. So yeah, looks like it has potential but is not quite there just yet.

[@Craven01]

No RTSP no purchase.. Its a pitty since I am currently looking for a doorbell like thit but as a home assistant user I need to be able to intergrate it easily. Lets hope that they add this before I buy another one.

[@davidbowick6380]

Bring RTSP and ONVIF to the G4! Home assitant users need it.

[@tuscanyjc]

I noticed u didnt install it straight but on side wall. Solving that would be step 1 IMO as I have same issue

[@MattBruman]

Had my finger on the trigger to buy until you said no HA and no RTSP. Guess I'll stick with my buggy wyze with the wyze HA server.

[@EverythingSmartHome]

🙏🏻

[@makeitworktech]

Uggg no RTSP stream! Killer! Great review!

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Thanks man! 🙏🏻

[@RashpalBains]

Sir, mentioned on device 12 to 24 Volts but you said 8 to 24V please acknowledge. I am a UK resident. Thank you Regards RB

[@gazgadgets]

I would be a buyer too if it had RTSP

[@Ragin.Official]

How’s the battery when using 24h recording

[@GMatje59]

When working on batteries 24h recording is not possible

[@chabco2305]

I read an amazon review that you are unable to turn off recordings being sent to aqara servers and you cannot set up with homekit without bounding to an aqara account? is this true?

[@torgrimandersen2079]

Will not buy before home-assistant support, love the aqara temperature sensors :-)

[@Joseph-ko2kl]

Can you hardwire it and have batteries in it? You know for when you lose mains and well you won't have a working doorbell...

[@moritzi]

Yes

[@EverythingSmartHome]

Shouldn't be a problem

[@wilsonblack2023]

Did u mount it by screws or by tape or command strip? I have the same kind of render as you and I am worried about cracking the render. Anyone else got any ideas???

[@ThisIsNotMyHandle]

Oooh. The Internet-blocking-stuff is a huge deal and the reason I just ordered two new cameras. My Tapo-cameras (super cheap and great as indoor cameras) send hundreds of thousands of requests PER DAY. There are threads about this on the TP-Link Community forum, but no words from TP Link themselves. I hope my new cameras will play more nicely.