I’m really frustrated with Google for ruining a great product. I have two outdoor Nest cameras—one of the old models and one of the newer Google versions. The old one works exactly how I want it to:
Instant notifications when there’s motion, so I can check my phone and see what’s happening in real-time.
Continuous recording, so I can scroll back and forth through footage and catch things that weren’t marked as events.
The new one has never worked right. The video clips in alerts take forever to load (if they even work), it constantly loses connection to my network, and scrolling through footage is a nightmare. It’s practically useless.
I want something that:
Can be plugged in but doesn’t need to be hardwired.
Works reliably with real-time notifications.
Has continuous recording with easy playback.
What are some options that come closest to the old Nest experience?
UniFi Protect cameras are a solid option, though they’re more expensive and mostly powered by PoE. They give you local storage, real-time alerts, no cloud subscription, and a proper timeline scrubbing feature.
@Reid
If you don’t want PoE and prefer something that plugs in, UniFi has the G4 Instant cameras, which run on USB-C power. They also have official silicone covers to add weather protection.
I’ve been using them outside for two years in extreme summer heat and freezing winter temperatures, and they’ve held up well. They have basic object detection for people, animals, and vehicles, plus two-way audio (though PoE models have better audio quality). You can also convert them to PoE if needed with an adapter.
I’ve been moving to Ring cameras. The one downside was the lack of continuous recording, but they finally introduced it for some of their models. That was my biggest issue, so now it’s a more viable option.