The Kangaroo Indoor + Outdoor Cam ($39.99) is an affordable, all-weather camera that offers a decent number of features such as color night vision and a built-in siren. It delivered detailed 1080p video in testing and motion and sound alerts arrived quickly, but connectivity issues forced us to restart its companion app on several occasions. Additionally, many features, including two-way talk, require a paid subscription. Our Editors’ Choice winner for affordable indoor/outdoor security cameras, the $35.98 Wyze Cam V3, offers better performance and more features for a few dollars less.
A Standard Design and Few Integrations
Taking a page from the Wyze Cam design book, the Kangaroo Indoor + Outdoor Cam is a small white cube perched atop a hinged base that lets you tilt and swivel the camera for an optimal viewing angle. You can use the magnetic base to secure the camera on a desktop, as well as mount it on a wall or ceiling using the included hardware and mounting plate.
At 2.19 by 2.03 by 2.05 inches (HWD), the camera is roughly the same size as the Wyze Cam V3 (2.2 by 2.0 by 2.0 inches) and just a little bigger than the Abode Cam 2 (1.9 by 1.9 by 1.9 inches). The Kangaroo camera’s IP65 weatherproof rating means that it can handle the elements when used outdoors.
The front of the enclosure is glossy black and houses the camera assembly, a microphone, and a single infrared LED. The camera captures 1080p video at 25fps, has a 130-degree field of view, and uses any available light to deliver color night vision. That said, it defaults to the IR LED to deliver black-and-white video when ambient light is inadequate. A status indicator glows solid green when everything is working properly, and flashes green when the camera is offline or when it’s performing a firmware update.
The bottom of the camera sports a mini USB power port and a microSD card slot for storing recordings locally; you have to supply your own storage. Embedded 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios deliver connectivity, while the built-in siren is designed to scare off intruders. Kangaroo includes the aforementioned mounting hardware, a user manual, a 6.5-foot USB power cable, and a USB power adapter in the box.
The Kangaroo Cam sends push alerts whenever it detects motion or sound, and records a video clip of the event. Video clips are 12 seconds long and available for viewing only up to 24 hours, unless you subscribe to a paid Kangaroo plan or use a microSD card to store them locally. However, even if you do store video locally, you still have to subscribe to a plan to view those recordings in the Kangaroo app.
The Cam Protect plan costs $1.99 per month or $23.88 per year (per camera) and unlocks person detection, full event video capture, motion detection zones, and 30 days of video history. It also unlocks two-way talk (a feature that typically doesn’t cost extra with most other cameras) and gives you up to $250 of theft or damage protection (if you suffer a loss due to theft or damage, Kangaroo will reimburse you for up to $125 per claim with a limit of two claims per year). The Complete Protect plan costs $8.95 per month or $99 per year and includes everything from the Cam Protect plan, but with support for up to three cameras. The Complete Protect tier also gets you 24/7 professional monitoring (an agent will contact first responders if you don’t respond to an alert) and theft or damage protection for up to $1,000 (two $500 claims per year).
As with the Kangaroo Privacy Camera that we reviewed in 2020, the Indoor + Outdoor Cam offers few integrations. You can arm and disarm it along with other linked Kangaroo devices, but those devices will not trigger video recordings. You can also use Alexa and Google voice commands for arming and disarming, but you can’t stream video to a smart display. Moreover, the camera doesn’t support Apple’s HomeKit or work with IFTTT applets that facilitate links with third-party devices.
App Controls
Video and settings are accessible via the same mobile app (available on Android and iOS) as the Kangaroo Water + Climate Sensor and the above-mentioned Privacy Camera. The camera gets a dedicated panel under the Cameras heading. Here, the app displays the last captured image along with the camera’s name and location. Tap the panel to view a live stream with buttons for Alarm (siren), Talk (requires a subscription), Record (manual recording), and Capture (snapshot). Below those is a button that opens a screen with a list of video clips stored in the cloud, and another that displays the latest activities, such as motion and sound events.
A button for powering on or turning off the camera sits at the very bottom of the screen, while a gear icon in the top right corner takes you to a settings page where you can configure Wi-Fi; enable or disable motion and sound alerts and event recording; set up motion detection zones (requires a subscription); and toggle motion tagging, which puts a box around whatever triggered a motion alert. Other settings allow you to rotate the camera’s view; enable or disable Auto Night Vision; and update the camera’s firmware.
Quick to Install, But Some Connection Issues
I had the Kangaroo Indoor + Outdoor Cam up and running in minutes. I downloaded the app, tapped Get Started, and entered my phone number when prompted. I then typed in my name and email; gave my home a name; and specified some information about my home type and my address. I tapped Set Up Devices, selected the Indoor + Outdoor Cam from the list, and plugged in the camera. When the camera said, “ready to pair,” I entered my Wi-Fi SSID and password, then I held my phone in front of the camera to scan the QR code that appeared in the app. I tapped the Next arrow, gave the camera a location and a name, and took it outside for mounting. Finally, I attached the camera to a post on my backyard deck using the included hardware.
Performance was mixed. Daytime video appeared sharp with rich colors and no noticeable distortion, while black-and-white night video showed a good amount of detail out to around 30 feet. Additionally, the camera did a respectable job of displaying color night vision with very little ambient light. Motion and sound alerts arrived instantly, too.
However, the camera frequently lost Wi-Fi connectivity and wouldn’t display live video unless I closed and restarted the app. A Kangaroo spokesperson told me that a forthcoming over-the-air update would resolve this issue, but that fix wasn’t available at the time of this review.
A Decent Camera With Too Many Upsells
The Kangaroo Indoor + Outdoor Cam is an affordable way to monitor activity inside and outside your home, but other cameras work better. Although it’s easy to install and delivered sharp HD video in our tests, we experienced recurring connection issues. The camera also requires you to sign up for a monthly subscription to unlock person detection features, play back locally stored video via the app, and use the two-way talk capability (many other cameras offer this ability at no extra cost). Our Editors’ Choice winner for affordable security cameras remains the $35.98 Wyze Cam V3. Although that camera also charges for person detection, it doesn’t lock its two-way talk feature behind a subscription, performed more reliably in testing, and supports more integrations.
