What’s better than having a smart doorbell? Probably having a fully staffed concierge instead. For now, having a smart doorbell attached next to my front door is the closest I can get. If you look at my archives, you’ll find that this isn’t the first article about EZVIZ, as I covered a CCTV camera and a smart doorbell before. A smart doorbell that looks suspiciously similar to the one included in the bundle.
Hello, we have met before!
A quick look at the model number confirmed that the EZVIZ EP3x included in this bundle is the same as the one I covered in the past. Check out that review for an in-depth review of the doorbell, but in this article, I’ll focus on my long-term experiences with EZVIZ EP3x Pro and the included Chime CH1.
EZVIZ EP3x Pro recap
The EZVIZ EP3x Pro bundle contains the same EP3x Pro equipped with dual cameras (one looking out for parcels, one watching your porch), 2K resolution, 2.4GHz WiFi integration, and built-in storage (32GB). The box also contains a small solar panel that will extend the battery life of the smart doorbell and all fittings needed to mount both of these to your wall/door, and just like before, I’d like to point out that the cable to connect that solar panel is incredibly short.
Between AI detection of humans and parcels, EZVIZ EP3x Pro offers instant notifications to your phone when someone is spending way too much time in front of your door, or actually presses the button and wants to speak to people inside. The secondary camera is a great idea for anyone whose posties leave the parcels at the door, and the plethora of settings lets you customise privacy and features just the way you want.
Knock, knock? It’s the new chime!
New in the bundle is the Chime CH1, which piggybacks on 2.4 GHz WiFi and extends the range of the doorbell. Mine is localised for the UK, and other than 2 rotatable antennas, a speaker and a pairing button, there isn’t much to write home about, but I also found a Micro SD card slot on the side that is suspiciously not mentioned in the manual.
The bundle will set you back just under £55 on Amazon right now (regular price £79.99), which is more than a reasonable ask, considering that the bundle comes with a decent doorbell, solar panel and a chime!
I’m lucky enough to have 11 Alexa devices scattered across my house, so adding a dedicated chime to the ecosystem was never on my mind. If my mobile wasn’t around to display the video call from the EZVIZ EP3x doorbell, one of the Alexa devices would make enough fuss to let me know that someone is at the door.
I understand, however, that not everyone is brandishing a small army of smart speakers, and having a chime that also helps to connect to the doorbell can be a real benefit. So I quickly paired the chime with the EZVIZ app and set it up to work with my new doorbell.
The installation was easy. A couple of steps, and my Chime CH1 was on the same network paired with the doorbell. There aren’t any advanced options, just enough to set your preferred tune, operating hours (it uses DND policies) and decide if you want to make extra noise when a motion is detected by EZVIZ EP3x Pro.
As the Chime CH1 links to EZVIZ EP3x Pro, I don’t believe it acts as a WiFi extender for anything else. I already have an EZVIZ outdoor camera, which I like, but my wireless signal is low in the location where the CCTV is most useful, leading to some less-than-stellar performance. Despite trying the Chime CH1 in different locations, I have not seen an improvements to the latency of my CCTV, so I will assume the benefits of the WiFi extender are only seen by the EZVIZ EP3x Pro.
Long term performance of EZVIZ EP3x Pro
I have been using the doorbell for over 6 months now. It’s been a couple of firmware updates, so I wanted to share my long-term thoughts with you on the doorbell itself.
My first problem occurred thanks to my negligence. I have been using EZVIZ EP3x well into winter, and between the solar panel facing always-shaded north face of my house and me ignoring the low battery warning for weeks, I ended up with EZVIZ EP3x that refused to charge properly. While the doorbell works while connected, I can no longer charge it via USB-C, presumably as the BMS protects the cells that are below optimal voltage.
I have been given a second chance, and to redeem myself, I promised to look after the battery better. In all fairness to the EZVIZ EP3x, I only charged it once since August!
I havn’t seen new options inside the app, but since my original review, I discovered that there is a Windows app that you can use to connect to EZVIZ devices, a dedicated tablet app and Home Assitant integration that lets you look up the feed directly from your Dashboard.
Is EZVIZ EP3x still a good choice?
Between a decent EZVIZ ecosystem, dedicated integrations in Home Assistant and exposed RTSP, it feels like a decent choice. Thanks to the built-in storage, I never had to worry about SD cards, and the whole thing just works. The best proof of that is an action-packed story about the stolen parcel that unfolded live inside the EZVIZ app. Check out the video for juicy details!
If you do a much better job than me at not ignoring the charging notifications, EZVIZ EP3x Pro bundle is a decent choice and should last you much longer. So don’t be me and look after your smart devices better!
Final thoughts
I lucked out, as the chime bundle comes with the same model, and I can replace the older unit with the brand new EZVIZ EP3x Pro without changing a thing. All things considered, EZVIZ is offering good products that should end up on your list of considerations. Let me know what you think in this Reddit thread.
🆓📈💵 – See the transparency note for details.
