So our neighborhood had like 3 break-ins last year and my wife was freaking out. Not unreasonably - the house two doors down got hit while they were on vacation and lost a bunch of stuff.
Plus we kept getting packages stolen off the porch. Not expensive stuff usually, but one time someone took a $200 Birthday gift for our son and that was the last straw.
Wife: "We need cameras."
Me: "Okay but those are expensive."
Wife: "So is replacing stolen packages."
She had a point.
The Research Black Hole
Started looking into home security and holy crap there are SO many options.
SimpliSafe. Ring. ADT. Vivint. Nest. Arlo. Wyze. Blink. Eufy.
Professional monitoring vs self-monitoring. Wireless vs wired. Indoor vs outdoor. Cloud storage vs local storage. Subscriptions vs one-time purchase.
Spent like 2 weeks watching YouTube comparisons and reading Reddit threads at 11pm when I should've been sleeping.
Everyone has a different opinion. Everyone says their system is "the best." Half the reviews feel like they're getting paid to say nice things.
I was going insane.
What I Almost Bought (But Didn't)
Almost went with SimpliSafe because they advertise everywhere and seem legit. Got all the way to checkout - $480 for the kit plus $28/month for monitoring.
Then I did the math. $28/month is $336/year. Over 5 years that's $1,680 PLUS the $480 upfront.
$2,160 to monitor my suburban house where the biggest crime is teenagers egging mailboxes on Halloween.
Closed the tab.
Also looked at ADT because they've been around forever. Called them for a quote. Guy wanted to come to my house to "assess my security needs."
That felt like a sales trap so I said no thanks. He kept calling back for like 2 weeks. Super annoying.
What I Actually Bought
Decided to go the DIY route after my neighbor Jerry (same guy who got me into smart home stuff) showed me his setup.
Here's what I ended up with:
Ring Video Doorbell Pro - $170
Already had the regular Ring from my smart home install but upgraded to the Pro because better video quality and I could hardwire it. (The battery one kept dying at the worst times.)
3 Blink Outdoor cameras - $250
Battery powered, weatherproof, work with Alexa. $83 each on sale. Normally they're like $100 each but Amazon had a deal.
Ring Indoor Cam - $60
For inside the house. Figured if someone actually breaks in I want footage of them.
Door/window sensors (8 pack) - $80
Generic ones from Amazon. Got good reviews. Stick on with adhesive, connect to wifi, send alerts when opened.
Yard sign that says "Protected by Video Surveillance" - $15
Jerry swears these actually deter people. I think it looks tacky but wife insisted.
Total: $575
Rounded up to $600 after I bought extra batteries and mounting hardware I didn't know I needed.
Installation Stories (Some Good, Some... Not)
Ring Doorbell - Easier The Second Time
Already had experience installing the first Ring so this went smooth. Disconnected the old one, connected the Pro, screwed it in. Maybe 20 minutes.
The hardwired connection is SO much better than battery. Never have to think about charging it. Highly recommend if you have existing doorbell wiring.
Blink Cameras - Where Do These Even Go?
This is where I learned that "wireless" and "easy installation" doesn't mean you don't have to think.
Spent a whole Saturday figuring out camera placement. You'd think "just point them at the doors" but nope.
First attempt: Put one above the garage pointing at the driveway. Worked great! Except it also pointed directly at the street and I was getting motion alerts every time a car drove by. Every. Single. Car.
Adjusted the angle. Now it only catches the driveway and front walk. Better.
Second camera: Mounted on the back corner of the house to watch the back door and patio. This one was annoying because I had to get the ladder out and the mounting bracket didn't want to screw into the siding properly.
Ended up using those heavy-duty adhesive strips instead (the Command ones rated for 15 lbs). Been up for 9 months, hasn't fallen yet. We'll see.
Third camera: Side yard gate. This seemed smart because that's how you'd get to the backyard.
Mounted it on the fence post. Looked great. Turned it on.
Realized it was pointed directly at a tree. Like completely blocked by branches.
I'd walked past this tree 500 times and somehow didn't notice it when I was up on the ladder. Moved the camera to the other side of the gate. Now it actually sees things.
Took 2 weeks before my wife pointed out it was crooked. Still haven't fixed it. Drives her crazy.
Indoor Camera - Living Room Drama
Ring indoor cam is just plug it in and point it somewhere. Super easy.
Except we had a whole debate about WHERE to put it.
Me: "Living room, so if someone breaks in we see them."
Wife: "That feels like we're spying on ourselves."
Me: "...that's literally the point?"
Wife: "What if we're just sitting on the couch and it's recording?"
Me: "We can turn it off when we're home."
Wife: "Then what's the point?"
This went on for like 30 minutes.
Compromise: Put it on a shelf in the living room, pointed at the front door. Angle doesn't catch the couch. Everyone's happy.
Except I forget to turn it off constantly so there's definitely footage of me eating cereal in my underwear at midnight. Hope no one hacks into my Ring account.
Door/Window Sensors - Stick And Pray
These are dead simple. Peel off adhesive, stick one part on door/window frame, other part on the actual door/window. When they separate, you get an alert.
Did all 8 in about 30 minutes. Front door, back door, side door, garage door, 4 windows on the first floor.
They work perfectly. Except one of them (back door) keeps falling off because I stuck it to a painted surface that was apparently kind of dirty and the adhesive didn't bond right.
Re-stuck it 3 times. Finally cleaned the surface with rubbing alcohol like the instructions said (should've done that first) and now it stays.
Living With It - The Good And The Annoying
Okay so everything's installed. Been using this setup for about 9 months. Here's the reality:
The False Alarm Situation
Remember how I said we got the cameras because of break-ins? Yeah, we've never actually caught a break-in.
But we HAVE caught:
A raccoon going through our trash (2am, scared the crap out of me)
The neighbor's cat (constantly triggers the back camera)
My own teenager coming home late (busted)
The Amazon delivery guy doing a little dance after dropping off a package (this was delightful)
My wife's friend who came over early and I thought was an intruder for 5 seconds
Approximately 6,000 cars driving by (before I fixed the camera angle)
The door sensors are even worse for false alerts.
First week: Got alerts every single time anyone opened any door. Which is A LOT. Had to mute notifications when we're home otherwise my phone was buzzing constantly.
Now I only get alerts when we're in "Away" mode. Much better.
What Actually Gets Used
Ring Doorbell - 10/10
This is the star of the show. Use it literally every day. See who's at the door without opening it. Watch package deliveries. Ignore solicitors without feeling guilty.
Two-way talk is hilarious. Told a door-to-door salesman "not interested thanks" from my phone while I was at Target. He looked so confused looking around for where the voice came from.
Outdoor Cameras - 7/10
These are good for peace of mind. Nice to check when we're on vacation. Caught the neighbor's dog pooping in our yard (showed them, they were apologetic, hasn't happened since).
Battery life though... they say 2 years per battery. Yeah right. More like 6 months and that's being generous. And they take 4 AA batteries each.
I'm basically keeping Duracell in business.
Also the video quality is fine during the day but at night it's pretty grainy. Can see that there's a PERSON but can't see their face clearly. Night vision works but it's not CSI enhance-the-image quality.
Indoor Camera - 5/10
Honestly barely use this. Checked it religiously the first month. Now I forget it's there.
It's good for checking if we left the TV on when we're out. Or if the dog is getting into something. But that's about it.
The privacy concern is real too. Having a camera watching your living room feels weird even when you're the one who put it there.
Door/Window Sensors - 6/10
These work great when we're on vacation or away for the day. Get instant alerts if someone opens a door.
But day-to-day? I forget they exist. They're only useful in "Away" mode and we're home most of the time.
Also found out they don't work on sliding windows because the sensor and magnet move together. Had to return 2 of them and just eat the cost.
The Monthly Fee Reality Check
Here's the thing they don't advertise clearly: most of this stuff works WITHOUT a subscription, but you don't get all the features.
Ring:
- No subscription: Live view works, doorbell rings, motion alerts work
- With subscription ($4/month per device or $10/month for all devices): Video history, saves recordings, person detection
I went 3 months without the subscription. It was fine but not being able to go back and watch footage felt pointless. Like what's the point of a security camera if you can't review what happened?
Now I pay $10/month for unlimited devices. Not thrilled about another subscription but it's way cheaper than the $28/month SimpliSafe wanted.
Blink:
- No subscription: Live view works, saves clips to the base station (if you bought one)
- With subscription ($3/month per camera or $10/month for unlimited): Cloud storage, extended clip length
I don't pay for Blink subscription. The free storage to the base station works fine for me. Saves the last 60 days locally.
So total monthly cost: $10 for Ring. Not terrible but it adds up over time.
Things I Wish I'd Known Before
Professional monitoring might not be worth it
The $28/month monitoring services basically just call the cops for you if the alarm goes off. But here's the thing - if you get an alert on your phone, you can call the cops yourself for free.
Yes it requires you to be available and paying attention. But I'm on my phone constantly anyway so this isn't a problem.
If you travel a lot or want someone else to handle it, maybe it's worth it. For me? Waste of money.
Battery cameras are convenient until they're not
Wireless battery cameras sound great - no wiring, mount anywhere, easy.
Until the battery dies in camera #3 that you mounted 12 feet up and now you need to get the ladder out again. In the rain. Because of course it dies during bad weather.
If I was doing it over I'd seriously consider wired cameras. More work upfront but never have to think about batteries.
More cameras ≠ more security
I was gonna get like 6 cameras. Cover every possible angle. My house would be like Fort Knox.
Glad I stopped at 3 outdoor + 1 indoor because honestly that's plenty. More cameras just means more footage to review, more batteries to change, more things to maintain.
Cover your main entry points and you're good.
The yard sign probably does more than the cameras
Jerry was right. The "Video Surveillance" sign is a deterrent.
Someone thinking about stealing packages sees that sign and probably just moves to the next house. They don't know if you actually have cameras or where they're pointed.
The cameras are for catching stuff AFTER it happens. The sign is for preventing it from happening in the first place.
$15 well spent even though it looks tacky.
Would I Recommend This Setup?
Yeah, actually. It's way cheaper than professional monitoring and you have total control.
Start with a video doorbell. That's the one thing you'll actually use every single day.
Add 2-3 outdoor cameras for the main entry points. Don't go crazy trying to cover every angle.
Door/window sensors are nice if you travel a lot or want alerts when you're away.
Indoor cameras are optional. We barely use ours.
Skip the expensive professional monitoring unless you really want someone else to call the cops for you.
Total DIY cost: $600 upfront + $10/month for cloud storage = way better than $480 + $28/month for a monitored system.
Just be realistic about what you're getting. This isn't going to stop a determined burglar. But it'll deter opportunistic package thieves and give you peace of mind when you're away.
Plus you get fun footage of raccoons and delivery drivers dancing. That alone is worth it.
Final Thoughts
We still haven't had a break-in. Package theft stopped completely (whether that's the cameras or just luck, who knows).
The main benefit has honestly been peace of mind. My wife sleeps better knowing we have cameras. I like being able to check on the house when we're away.
Is it perfect? No. Battery life is annoying. False alarms from cats and cars get old. The crooked camera still bugs my wife.
But it works. It's affordable. And I installed it myself which saved probably $500 in installation fees.
That's a win in my book.
Just... maybe test your camera angles BEFORE you mount them permanently. Learn from my mistakes.