In terms of video quality, RemoBell competes with the best smart doorbells in our comparison. However, its lack of compatibility with doorbell wiring and smart home devices contributed to the lowest score in our comparison. While the doorbell itself is decent, it can't keep up with the other products we reviewed.
At the time of writing this review, the RemoBell costs $149, which makes it more affordable than the average smart doorbell, though the Ring Video Doorbell, our pick for best value, is much more affordable at $100. You can get three days of cloud video storage starting $3.99 a month, which is about average for a smart doorbell, but more expensive than Ring's $3 video storage plans.
During our video quality tests, RemoBell produced better clarity than any other video doorbell we looked at. However, the video had noticeable distortions when recording moving objects, a problem we rarely encountered with other smart doorbells.
The best description of RemoBell's nighttime video is that it's strange. This is because the camera uses IR LEDs to illuminate objects in near darkness, but appears to record color video simultaneously, giving everything a pink-ish hue. This is consistent with the doorbell camera lacking a working IR cutoff filter, which normally blocks visible light in nighttime recordings. Other than the color issues at night, the clarity was still one of the best in our comparison.
This is one of the more difficult video doorbells to use, and it's the only product we tested that lacks the ability to stream live video to a smartphone. In fact, the camera only records video when it detects motion or if someone presses the button, so you can't check in on your home remotely. Overall, the app isn't very intuitive, which can make it difficult to find and adjust the doorbell's settings.
RemoBell uses six rechargeable AA batteries with a battery life of four months, which is lower than the six to 12 months offer by Ring's battery-powered units. The AA batteries also contribute to the bulkiest design in our comparison, which may be difficult to fit on a narrow doorframe. This isn't as much of a problem since RemoBell is the only battery-powered video doorbell we tested that doesn't replace your existing doorbell, so you can install it on any flat surface with the included screws.
Installing RemoBell takes around 10 minutes, but you need to provide you own screwdriver, level and battery charger. When we tried to connect the unit to our lab's Wi-Fi network using a relatively new smartphone, the Google Pixel 2, the process failed every time. When we contacted the company's customer support, it advised using an older smartphone, which allowed us to complete the setup process without any problems. That said, incompatibility with newer smartphones keeps RemoBell from competing with other smart doorbells we tested.
RemoBell only works with one smart home platform, Amazon Alexa, making it a poor choice if you have any other type of smart home devices in your home, including smart locks. The product comes with a one-year warranty, which is average among doorbell cameras.
