5Â Wireless Doorbells That Are Just Plain Cool
You might still think that doorbells and door chimes are just one of those things that stay the same over the years. The old tried and true doorbell at your home has probably been going strong for the past 10+ years. If you did need to replace the old doorbell, wireless doorbells are a great option.
In recent years, it seems that smartphones have become the new doorbell, with more people just sending a text or calling to let you know that they’ve arrived at your home. But there’s still hope for a usable doorbell that people actually want to use that combines the basic functionality of years past with some very cool modern features.
We’ve put together a list of wireless doorbells that break the conventional mold of what you’d expect for a door chime next to your front door. These doorbells have literally cut the cord (or wire) on what used to be a time-consuming and sometimes frustrating doorbell replacement process.
1. The Ring Video Doorbell
This is the doorbell that is revolutionizing the door bell industry. The Ring video doorbell works with your smartphone to let you see exactly who’s at your door in real time. You get notified when someone rings your doorbell even if you’re not home at the time. Another cool feature of this doorbell is that it saves all recordings to the Cloud so that you can access them later to see who was at your door.
The Ring Doorbell comes with an interesting business success story as well. Founder Jamie Siminoff originally called the company “DoorBot”. He also went on the popular business reality show Shark Tank in the fall of 2013 only to be rejected by all of the “sharks” or potential investors on the show.
Success did eventually come despite the circumstances behind Doorbot’s primetime TV appearance. Sales skyrocketed after the show aired and later on, Richard Branson became an investor in the company that also changed its name to Ring.
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Price
The Ring Video Doorbell costs $199 and is available in four different colors including silver, gold, bronze and brass to match the style of your entry door. The cloud video recording feature is an additional $30 per year which seems well worth the price.
2. Skybell Wi-Fi Video Doorbell
The SkyBell doorbell has similar features that are comparable to the Ring video doorbell. It’s wireless, works with your smartphone and it lets you see who’s at your door and talk to them with 2-way audio. Also like the Ring, it has an infared LED for night vision video capture and a motion sensor.
Price
The SkyBell HD model comes in at $199 and the lower resolution SkyBell 2.0 is $149.
3. August Doorbell Cam
Just like the previous two doorbells mentioned, the August doorbell also lets you see who’s at the door with a one-way camera. One thing that the August doorbell cam has that the others don’t is the ability to unlock your door remotely when used in combination with their smart lock.
Price
The August doorbell cam comes in 4 colors and costs $199. If you also want the smart lock, that’s an additional $199.
4. Vivint Home Security Doorbell
Vivint is a home security company. They include a doorbell camera included with their home security service that is installed for you. They also offer a smart lock for your door that enables you to grant or deny access to your home. This might be a good package if you’re already in the market for a home security system/service.
Price
Pricing isn’t immediately available on Vivint’s website, most likely due to the variations in different homes and the security system package you want. They do have the option to request a quote via phone.
5. Poochiebells: Wireless Doorbells for Dogs
Now here’s one doorbell that you probably haven’t heard of. The Poochiebells Dog Doorbell isn’t exactly like the others mentioned on this list. It’s meant for our canine friends.
The Poochiebells doorbell works by essentially hanging it from your doorknob (indoors of course) and training your dog to go and touch the bells with it’s nose. This alerts you, the dog’s owner, that he needs to go outside!
It’s a very simple but effective way to have your pet let you know they need to go potty. Not a conventional doorbell by any means but it definitely is one of the coolest doorbells on this list.
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Price
The Poochiebells Dog Doorbells are by far the least expensive on this list and range in price from $17.99 to $24.99 for the premium leather version.
Summary
Hopefully you can see that a lot has changed with doorbells in recent years. Many of the high-tech doorbells are available in different finishes to match your entryway and they have some pretty amazing features that were never available in years past.
