Securing your home, staying aware of who is on your porch and monitoring any suspicious activity is what August Doorbell Cam Pro delivers. Equipped with HD Video, a color night mode, motion detection and a really bright flood light, it keeps a vigilant watch over your entryway.
The August Doorbell Cam Pro is a piece of the August entryway system. August offers 3 types of products to control access and the security of your home. They offer smart door locks, video doorbell cameras, and a smart keypad. These products allow you to see who is at your door or give someone a unique code that they may use to enter your home when you are not there. I myself have a keyless entry system, and I love it. At the rate my kids loose keys at one point the whole neighborhood might have had a copy.
The August Doorbell Cam Pro has been shipping for a couple months. Since Oct 2017. As the second generation in their doorbell offering, it does bring to the table some new features. I also did a review on the original August Doorbell Cam if you are interested in checking that out.
The August Doorbell Cam Pro is a great doorbell. The performance from detection or button push to buzzing my phone is fantastic. The team over at August also has a great app to compliment their products.
They offer detailed setup and installation instructions as well as information on a bunch of other services.
One item you will find in the app is August Access. August Access has been around for some time. It is great for August users who have deliveries, pet walkers and other services that need to come to their home, when they may not be available.
Some of the deliveries services listed are BloomNation, Rinse, Postmates and Doorman. There are also other categories.
Home services such as Pillow, Sears, Rinse. Pro.com, Handy and Alfred.
A section specifically for rentals, Airbnb, HomeAware, and pillow.
Lastly there is a grouping of Petcare, with Wagwalking and Fetch Pet care.
If you would like to see some more information on the August mobile app, look at the review here for the original August Doorbell cam.
I do hope that in the future they make it so that you can rotate your phone when using the live view. I mount my phone in this landscape orientation when driving and it would be nice when people call, that they are standing up, not looking at me sideways.
This did come in handy as a Fedex driver needed a signature he rang and I answered, informed him I was 20 seconds away. I was just down the street. I drove home and he had waited. Which was great. It was all hands free, as that is very important.
August Video Doorbell Cam Pro – Smart Home Integration
I was hoping with the August Video Doorbell Cam Pro that there would be more support for the August Doorbell products as a stand alone piece in your smart home.
That isn’t the case. There is some cool compatibility with the Amazon Echo Show, but its limited in scope and functionality. You can add the August home skill to your Amazon Echo show.
This will give you the ability to ask The Echo Show to view the front door. In my case, I needed to ask to see the Front Door Pro. Which would bring up a live video stream from the August Video Doorbell Cam pro.
I was hoping to be able to accept incoming notifications from the Amazon Echo Show. The ability to use it to answer the door would be great. I happen to have one in my office and another in the kitchen.
To be able to use my voice to say, ” Alexa, Answer the door”. Would be a big hit. As both devices support video and audio, being able to have a conversation would be a delight. Especially when you are in the kitchen, hands full of whatever recipe you are putting together and the door bell rings.
Using your voice to answer the door and interacting with the would be caller, would be great. Then if its the local roofing company that happens to be in the area again and is doing specials, you can politely tell them you are OK. Or if not, you can ask him to leave a card on the mat and you will contact them later.
This seems to be the case with other video doorbells as well. Who knows who is technically at fault. Perhaps they are still working on the hooks in the Alexa Skills SDK.
There is a lot of support when you have the August Video Doorbell Cam Pro and an August Lock. The team up well together. Once sync’d the August Video Doorbell Cam Pro will act as a connection hub for the lock. There is a lot of support for the lock, but thats a different review.
I have suggested to the team at August that we do a full entry way system review. They offer all the pieces needed to secure your entry way. They are really designed to work together.
August Doorbell Cam Pro – Summary
The August Doorbell Cam Pro is a great product. It delivers good performance and can be a great piece in a larger August solution. Lets take a moment and summarize the review to bring it all together.
- Installation – The August Video Doorbell Cam Pro was easy to install. They have changed the mounting pattern to just 2 holes. There could be a lot of standard doorbells that have the same screw pattern. If not, drilling a couple holes is a lot less invasive than 4. The mounting of the Pro version was much improved as well.
- Setup – Was quick and easy. The app walks you through most of the work. The charging dock allows you to setup the August Video Doorbell Pro without mounting it. This way you can get all the technical stuff out of the way before you secure it to the porch.
- Mobile App – The August app is simple and easy to use. The settings are all laid out in one area. The icons are easy to understand. It is a good app.
- Compatibility – The August Video Doorbell Cam Pro is meant to be a piece of an August solution. As a standalone product, there is no real smart home support. You can use it with the Amazon Echo Show, but its limited. I hope August changes this strategy.
- Stand Out Features – The new Floodlight feature is great. I like the way they use the Logo on the front to shine a bright light on your entry way. Its also adjustable, if you would like to customize it. The motion sensor was easy to configure and get dialed in to avoid false alarms. The wedge mount backplate was also a great feature for changing the view of the video doorbell.
We have reviewed a few Video Doorbells here on SmarterHomeAutomation.com . It is great to see a newer version and the improvements they have made on the Pro Version.
This award goes out to products that work well, are very functional. Consider this a 4 to 4.5 star award or an Editor’s Choice.
The August Video Doorbell Cam Pro is no exception. As a key part of the August product line up, it ads a visual component to their very successful lock.
The programs August has put in to place make them a great choice for Airbnb and rental hosts.
As a Video Doorbell, The Floodlight and superb motion detection are great features. The Video Doorbell Performs really well and that is what counts. If you choose and August Video Doorbell Cam Pro for your doorstep, you will not be disappointed.
