Doorbells

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The first thing to know about HomeKit video doorbells is what is missing. Ring and Nest do not work with Apple Home. They are the two doorbells most people have heard of, they are what the search results are full of, and neither of them appears in this directory because neither supports HomeKit. If you want the doorbell in the Home app, you are choosing from a much shorter list, and this is it.

HomeKit Secure Video is the reason to want one

A HomeKit doorbell that supports Secure Video does something the others do not. The video goes to iCloud encrypted end to end, the analysis of who is at the door happens on your own HomePod or Apple TV rather than on a company’s servers, and recordings do not count against your iCloud storage. There is no separate subscription — it is included with the iCloud+ plans, which is the strongest argument in this whole category if you are already paying for one.

It also means the doorbell can tell you who is there, using the faces in your Photos library, rather than only that something moved.

The doorbells

The one you can buy: ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera

The ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera is a wired doorbell that shows a visitor head to toe rather than from the chest up. That framing is the point: it shows the parcel on the step as well as the person who left it, and package detection is built in.

It makes most sense if you already have ecobee thermostats, because it shares their app and their account rather than adding another.

Check price on Amazon UK

Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell

The Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell is the European option and the obvious alternative. We have no verified Amazon UK link: searching its name returns Netatmo’s alarm system bundle and a wall of Tapo and Reolink doorbells that are not HomeKit accessories. Buy it from Netatmo or a UK electrical retailer where the model number is explicit.

Logitech Circle View Doorbell

The Logitech Circle View Doorbell was the doorbell built specifically for Apple Home — Secure Video only, no Logitech account, no other ecosystem. That single-mindedness made it the enthusiasts' choice. Logitech has stepped back from this market, so treat availability as uncertain and check before setting your heart on it. Not on Amazon UK.

Built like door furniture: Robin

The Robin ProLine HD and the Robin ProLine are Dutch, and they are a different class of object from the plastic doorbells above. The front is 3 mm anodised aluminium with a brushed finish, the dome over the lens is hardened optical glass that darkens in bright light, and the call button is capacitive, LED backlit and can be engraved.

They run over Power over Ethernet, which is the giveaway: this is a doorbell specified into a building rather than bought online. It is the right answer for a flat entrance, a converted house with several buzzers, or anywhere the doorbell needs to survive the street. Buy through an installer.

Belkin Wemo and Yobi

The Belkin Wemo Smart Video Doorbell and the Yobi Video Doorbell B3 complete the list. Neither has a verified Amazon UK listing.

What to check before you buy

Your existing doorbell wiring, and its transformer. Almost every doorbell here is wired rather than battery. UK houses that have a wired bell usually have a low-voltage transformer sized for a mechanical chime, and a video doorbell draws considerably more. Many need a specific transformer rating, and fitting one is an electrician’s visit that belongs in the budget rather than arriving as a surprise on the day.

Whether you have any doorbell wiring at all. A lot of British homes have a battery-powered wireless bell push and nothing behind it. If that is you, wiring is the project, and the doorbell is the easy part.

What happens to your existing chime. A wired doorbell either drives the mechanical chime you already have, or replaces it with an app notification and a separate plug-in chime. Check which, because a household that does not hear the door is a household that stops using the doorbell.

Field of view, and whether it sees the step. The parcel on the doorstep is below the camera. A doorbell with a conventional camera aspect shows you a face and not the ground it is standing on. This is a real difference between products and it is the thing you will use most.

Secure Video and your iCloud plan. Secure Video needs an iCloud+ subscription and a home hub. One camera is included on the smaller plans; more cameras need a larger one. Check the tier before assuming it is free.

A home hub, and where it lives. Secure Video analysis happens on a HomePod or Apple TV at home. Without one you get a live view and notifications, and no recording at all.

Weather and where the sun falls. A doorbell faces outwards on an exposed wall. A west-facing door in the evening will defeat any camera’s exposure, and a porch or a small hood is worth more than a specification upgrade.

The full list of HomeKit-compatible video doorbells in the directory is below.