Y-cam EVO Indoor HD Wi-Fi Security Camera (Pack of 2)

Product Information

Stand, QSG, Exchangeable Power adpaters (UK, US, EU ), 3M USB Cable, Wall mount, 2 x Screws and wall plugs As of 3 October 2023, the above cameras will no longer provide a live stream, and (if applicable) record video on motion detection. Therefore, it is necessary to give you six months’ notice that your Y-Cam service will be ending. Update: This review and its score relate to the original proposition. Y-Cam has since discontinued its free cloud storage subscriptions claiming they are financially “unsustainable”. Unlike webcams or other internet cameras, HomeMonitor™ works completely independently and doesn’t require your computer to be left on to work - saving energy and money. You can disable motion control for specific days or hours of the day if you don’t want the camera to record every morning you leave for work. HomeMonitor Indoor HD Wi-Fi Video Camera – Features

The new Alexa skill is great to see. Using just your voice, you can set the alarm; and you can disable it, too, speaking out a PIN that you set. Inside your home, this feature is possibly less useful, and using the keyfob or app probably make more sense. But, if you’re using Y-Cam Protect for an external building (my garden office is protected with one), Alexa integration is a smart way of being able to turn the alarm on or off. Should I buy the Y-Cam Protect Alarm System? Below is our original review, updated in March 2017 whenY-Cam launched a third-generation Outdoor HD Pro. It’s still a 720p camera, but it has a new lens with a 100-degree field of view that lets you Since launch, Y-Cam has fixed the software issues that we had, and has added pet-friendly sensors and an external siren. That, combined with the Alexa integration, makes this a powerful and flexible alarm system, particularly if you upgrade your account to Plus. The only minor disappointment is that the Y-Cam Evo integration isn’t a little more flexible. You’ll obviously need a mount to place the camera in the appropriate position and the HomeMonitor HD duly obliges with a sturdy metal L-shaped one. Two screws hold it to your wall – two 1-inch screws are provided, but you’ll need your own wall plugs – and a ball joint allows you to rotate it to the optimal position. The camera and mount together are light, so the supplied screws are more than adequate. Images are a little blurry and overly processed. Videos are compressed to small MP4 files, so a lot of the detail is lost. You can certainly recognise people you know, but it’s a struggle to make out a face clearly if the light is a little dim. That is unless you have some CSI enhancement magic to hand. This isn’t as bad as you might think, though.HomeMonitor uses the latest and greatest in Wi-Fi technology available ensuring the fastest speed and widest range possible - letting you use the full power of your network. Y-Cam has made a few tweaks to improve image quality – you can see the difference in the screengrabs below. We’re also told that a firmware update for all Outdoor HD cameras is on the way. This will include a much more sophisticated detection algorithm – hopefully much like the I think the videos are rubbish. It takes such a long time to view in real time. And their decision to charge for recordings after promising for life. Well. When I have a replacement, I look forward to posting an image of my smashed up Y-can. That’s what I think of this company .👹

Turning on Home mode sees the Hub belting out, “Y-Cam Protect Home mode armed.” It’s a little loud and could wake up anyone sleeping at home; a simple low-volume beep would be neater.I did also suffer ongoing poor cloud connectivity throughout my three weeks testing the Evo. With the Y-Cam Evo I found the old adage “you get what you pay for” is definitely true when it comes to remote monitoring services. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. Read our editorial mission & see how we test.

The Y-cam Plus subscription provides a whole host of additional benefits to help you monitor and secure your home. With a Y-cam Plus subscription, the integrated sim card is activated and will ensure that your alarm remains connected when your internet is down and will also send text and phone call alarm notifications. Y-cam Plus will record 30 days of alarm and video activity logs and fully managed 30 days video storage when using Y-cam indoor or outdoor cameras. Motion detection is all well and good, but what if something happens in a few seconds, will the HomeMonitor be able to record that? The people at Y-cam have thought of this and have made a camera that is constantly recording on a 10-second loop. If any movement is detected then the HomeMonitor HD sends the footage directly to the cloud, including a few seconds before the trigger event. Add extra HomeMonitor™ cameras to your account anytime. You can even add cameras from different locations to one account so you can control, manage and view your home, garden, office, driveway, holiday home - wherever!This communication is effective from Friday 31 March 2023 and is to inform you that your Y-cam cameras have reached end of life. If you have a Y-cam Protect Alarm system, access to this will not be affected. If you had cameras as well, then these will not be accessible. You will have access to the video clips based on your plan type if applicable. The HomeMonitor HD is a motion- and sound-sensing camera, which means – apologies for describing the bleeding obvious – that it only starts recording and sending video and audio to the cloud when it senses movement. If a window/door sensor is triggered, the Hub starts to beep, giving you enough time to deactivate it if you’ve just entered the home. Motion sensors trigger the alarm immediately. The Hub is exceptionally loud, playing a siren that cycles between low- and high-frequency sounds. You also get a warning in-app, so you know that your alarm has gone off no matter where you are in the world. The external siren is even louder, attracting attention outside your home, too. Brilliantly, as it’s solar powered, you don’t have to worry about the batteries running flat.

Its overall appeal is slightly let down by connection speed issues, which make accessing the camera’s live feed and stored recordings a bit of a faff. I can’t help but wish Y-Cam would open the Evo up and let me tie it to my home NAS Drive, or a separate cloud storage provider. Upgrading to Plus is well-worth it. Home broadband isn’t hugely reliable and you’d be surprised at how often your Hub loses connection. With mobile data, you know that your home will remain protected and that you’ll definitely get alerts. And, once you’ve upgraded, you get the 30-days of cloud storage from your cameras, which largely negates the fact that Y-Cam withdrew its free cloud storage offering. See and hear your world in all its glory with our high quality camera loaded with fantastic colour representation, crisp night vision and fantastic audio clarity.

The Y-Cam app is one of the most intuitive I’ve used. The app’s central home screen features a grid user interface with dynamic icons to every Y-Cam camera connected to your network. A slide-out panel offers shortcuts to your account settings and recording library. The alarm can be set to create two different zones allowing you to arm one or both zones. This can be especially useful if you decide to split the upstairs and downstairs of a property into two zones. While away from the property you would activate both zones and during the night you could activate only the downstairs zone. The HomeMonitor Indoor HD isn’t really about providing the sharpest picture clarity for video, or creating a perfect mug shot of a burglar. Instead it is an eye on your home, a sentinel that informs you of what is happening in your house – who’s coming in and out. You can access all of the alarm settings and features via the Y-cam App (available for iOS and Android). The system can be activated and deactivated using your SmartPhone.**