With the Nooie Cam Doorbell ($149.99), you can see and talk to whomever is at your door without having to get up from the couch, and it’s easy to install as it runs on battery power. In addition, this oversized video doorbell delivers very sharp 2K video and its motion sensor does a good job of filtering out all but human motion events. You can view video from the Nooie on an Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant device, but you don’t get the third-party integrations that come with the $199.99 Arlo Essential Video Doorbell Wire-Free or our Editors’ Choice winner, the wired Ezviz DB1C ($99.99).
Wire-Free, But Needs a Hub
At 6.6 by 2.3 by 1.5 inches (HWD), the Nooie Cam is easily the bulkiest video doorbell we’ve tested. By way of comparison, the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro is only 4.6 by 1.5 by 1.3 inches. The Nooie’s tan plastic enclosure has an IP65 weatherproof rating and sports a glossy black camera face.
The round doorbell button is 1.5 inches wide and has an LED indicator that flashes blue when the doorbell is ready for pairing, glows white when the connection is successful and when the button is pressed, flashes orange when the doorbell is offline, and glows steady orange when the battery is low. The front of the doorbell also holds a microphone, a PIR (passive infrared) motion sensor, and infrared LEDs that provide up to 49 feet of night vision, and there’s a speaker at the bottom. Around back are a removable battery pack (rated to last up to six months between charges) and a Reset button.
A plug-in base station is intended for indoor use and acts as a hub for communicating with the doorbell. It’s the same color as the doorbell but has a brown fabric face and measures 4.5 by 1.9 by 1.2 inches. The back panel has a two-prong plug and a LAN port, and the left side holds a microSD card slot. You can connect the base station to your network using the LAN port or you can use the built-in dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi radio. The hub has a push button for pairing and Wi-Fi setup, and the button has an LED indicator that rapidly flashes blue when ready to pair, is steady blue when connected, flashes orange when the hub is offline, glows steady orange if there’s a malfunction, and slowly flashes blue during a firmware update.
The camera captures 2K video and has a 158-degree field of view. Video can be saved locally on a microSD card, but you’ll have to supply your own. Alternatively, you can subscribe to one of Nooie’s very affordable cloud storage plans: For $10 per year you get access to 7 days of video history, or for $30 per year you can view up to 30 days of saved video. You can view live video on an Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant smart display and you can incorporate the doorbell in Alexa and Google routines, but it lacks support for Apple HomeKit and for IFTTT applets that allow it to interact with third-party smart devices.
Nooie’s mobile app (for Android and iOS) opens to a Cam screen that has panels for each installed camera. The panel displays the name of the camera, its battery level, and a still image of the last captured motion event. Tap the panel to open a live stream that can be viewed in full-screen mode by turning your phone sideways. Along the bottom edge of the video panel are buttons for manual video recording, taking a snapshot, initiating two-way talk, muting the speaker, and sounding the internal siren.
Tap the settings icon in the upper right corner to format an SD card, subscribe to a cloud plan, configure Alexa and Google settings, and enable an Anti-Theft alarm that will set off a built-in siren if someone tries to remove the doorbell. Here you can also access motion sensitivity settings and audio and video settings.
Easy Installation, Sharp Video
Installing the Nooie doorbell is easy, especially since no wiring is required. I charged up the battery, downloaded the app, created an account, and tapped the Add button on the Camera List screen. I selected the Nooie Cam Doorbell and followed the instructions to plug in the base station and confirm that the LED was flashing blue. I selected my Wi-Fi SSID when prompted, entered my password, and connected to the hub using my phone’s Wi-Fi settings. After a few seconds the hub was connected to my network and I was prompted to press the button once. To add the doorbell I inserted the battery, confirmed that the LED was steady white, and tapped Next to pair the doorbell with the hub. I gave the doorbell a name, attached it to the side of my front door using the included screws, and the installation was finished.
The Nooie Cam Doorbell delivered excellent 2K video in testing. Image quality was sharp, with rich colors during the day and black-and-white night vision video appeared clear and well-lit. The PIR sensor did a good job of filtering out motion from passing cars and wind-blown debris, only sending alerts when a person was detected. Two-way audio was loud and clean, and recorded video was just as sharp as the live feed.
I had no trouble viewing live video streams on an Amazon Echo Show using Alexa voice commands, and my Alexa routine to have a Wyze Plug turn on when the doorbell button was pressed worked perfectly. The siren was loud enough to be annoying, but could be louder to be a more effective theft deterrent.
A Clear View of Your Doorstep
The Nooie Cam Doorbell is a solid choice for anyone looking to monitor their doorstep using a phone or a tablet. It’s huge, and while it doesn’t earn any style points, it delivers excellent 2K video and accurate motion detection. Moreover, it works with Alexa and Google voice commands, offers dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity, and gives you local and affordable cloud video storage options. You’ll pay a bit more for the Arlo Essential Video Doorbell Wire-Free, but in return you get sharp HDR video and lots of third-party integrations without the need a hub. And if you’re willing to go with a wired model, our top pick is the $99.99 Ezviz DB1C, which is more affordable and supports IFTTT applets.
