If you value your sanity and money, stay away from Anker's Eufy Security lineup.

"This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:" (hkt00) 07/07/2020 at 12:50 • Filed to: Don't buy Anker Eufy Products

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Seriously. This is the most buggy unreliable overpriced under-performing line of “security" products available. I could sit here all day and give you an itemized list of reasons, but just take my word for it and buy something else. At the very least spend a few days reading the endless complaints from users on the eufy forums and know that most every claim eufy makes in their sales literature is a misrepresentation and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Oppo relevant because Teal Tuesday

facw > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 07/07/2020 at 13:11

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I have a Eufy light b ulb. It’s fine I guess?

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > facw 07/07/2020 at 13:16

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Lucky you only got the bulb. Had you bought the entire floodlight....

HammerheadFistpunch > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 07/07/2020 at 13:21

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I see ANKER as the way I see 90's Hyundai. They are trying so hard and maybe one day they will get there...but wait.

facw > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 07/07/2020 at 13:21

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I am sort of worried about what their (probably garbage) app is doing on my phone, but I fixed that by not installing on my new phone (once it’s programmed with the schedule I want and/or linked with Alexa, who needs their app).

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > HammerheadFistpunch 07/07/2020 at 13:25

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Wait. Definitely wait.

They’re trying at least, I’ll give them that.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > facw 07/07/2020 at 13:35

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Good plan. I have one of their 2k indoor cameras and even while ‘turned off” in the Eufy security app it is constantly communicating with a variety of servers on a minute by minute basis. Not just for dns and firmware checks either... Circle shows them as IP’s for steam, facetime, minecraft, etc. No idea what it’s doing but I put it on a smart outlet and kill it’s power whenever I’m home.

Realized this after we found the cameras continued to stream and were viewable from the eufy website even when the cam eras were supposed to be turned off. (They “fixed” that website thing pretty quickly, but still it’s doing god knows what while powered off.) Otherwise it’s a pretty neat camera, though the AI is a definite work in progress .

I a lso have a handful of their battery outdoor cams, a wireless doorbell and homebase which are a constant source of concern and frustration. Should have gone with Nest and just given Google my credit card.

Thomas Donohue > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 07/07/2020 at 14:07

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Teeling, with some teal trim.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 07/07/2020 at 14:09

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Another point worthy of mention, and it’s a big one. Despite them selling us on the system having local storage and not relying on the cloud the entire security ecosystem is run through their servers. So when their servers go down you’re unable to access any of your footage even if you’re on the same lan as the cameras . If they go under or pull the plug you have a lot of expensive paperweights.

Also their claimed runtime between recharges is basically a bold faced lie if you actually plan to use the products.

Motion detection is a.d.d. Activity and ignore zones are largely broken. No 2fa unless you’re in Canada or Germany (and good luck buying the security lineup in Canada). S ays it supports up to 16 cams but pukes and dies when much more than 1 thing is happening at a time with only 4 connected. (And will lose recorded events as  a result) S cheduling and geofencing are basically broken. It constantly misses obvious events but is forever notifying of things it shouldn’t. It detects cats as humans. It detects people as pets (ok, kind of hilarious when the indoor cam thinks my wife is the cat and the camera plays a recording that says “Who’s a good kitty?” but still.)

...I’m just getting warmed up. I could go on.

Thomas Donohue > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 07/07/2020 at 14:10

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I have a lot of their charging products.

I’ve always assumed one day I’d see a press release about how the chargers were really stealing data via USB and relaying it back via wire or WiFi.

(I just gave away the sub-plot of my upcoming book)

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Thomas Donohue 07/07/2020 at 14:26

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It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?

Tripper > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 07/07/2020 at 14:40

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I have only had good luck with basic switches from “ Teckin”. I have yet to find a 3 pole that works well, let alone a dimmer. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > HammerheadFistpunch 07/07/2020 at 14:40

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They make a decent set of earbuds.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Tripper 07/07/2020 at 15:04

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I’ve got a bunch of CE smart plugs I picked up from Costco. Considered adding the smart wall switches but it’s a rental and have many lamps so not really necessary.

They mean it when they say 10 amps though. Had my ebike charger hooked up to one so it would automatically turn off at night were I to forget to unplug it. Upped the charge amperage one day to quick charge without thinking about it and  the let the magic smoke out of the smart plug.

ttyymmnn > Thomas Donohue 07/07/2020 at 16:07

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I have a bunch of their charging cables. They work fine until suddenly they don’t. 

Danny Korecki > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 07/08/2020 at 11:23

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I have a Eufy WiFi bulb. Basically I can control the lightbulb away from my home. I do it for our puppy when we are later than we thought with no lights on so he doesnt have to be in the dark.