Lorex, which has been around in smart home security for a while, is adding new security products to its extensive lineup. Expanding on the entry-level 1080p video doorbell, the newer Lorex 2K Video Doorbell offers a clear 2560×1920 164° image, no monthly fees for recording events and person detection, and easy setup, making it a great way to keep your eyes on your doorstep. And, thanks to the brand’s catalog of additional lights and cameras, it’s easy to build out a system for your home. Be sure to hit the video below to see all the details.
Quick Specs:
- Price: $179.99
- Resolution: 2560×1920
- Field of View: 164°
- Night vision mode
- 2-way audio
- Motion and person detection
Lorex 2k Video Doorbell: Setup
Lorex has made getting the video doorbell fairly straightforward. The first step is to download the app, sign in or sign up for an account, and tap add device. Scan the QR code in the packaging, and the app will then run you through all of the steps, or you can also follow along in the included manual.
Since the Lorex Video Doorbell is wired, Lorex does suggest turning the power off to the existing doorbell and chime box as the first step. With the power off, Lorex provides steps to install the chime kit on a mechanical door chime.
With the chime kit set up (or not), the next step is to remove the old doorbell. Lorex provides a main bracket for mounting the doorbell, but also a couple of wedges to get the angle the right way. Depending on your door, you may want to angle the doorbell to get the best viewing angle. The wedges snap onto the main bracket and are very easy to install.
Lorex 2K Video Doorbell: Video
Then, using the included hardware, it’s easy to get the doorbell mounted with the two screws.
With the main bracket mounted, it’s time to connect the wires to your doorbell. If they are too short to reach the connection points on the doorbell, Lorex has included extenders to help make the cables longer.
With the cables attached, the doorbell snaps onto the bracket without any additional screws holding it on. To remove the doorbell, there is a special tool that can be inserted into the bottom of the doorbell to pop it off of the mount.
App
With all of the hardware installed, the app makes it easy to view the video feed, check previous events, and make some changes to detection settings. In the devices list, there is a preview of what the doorbell can see with a large play button to get right to the video feed. But, on the right side of that image are a couple of small controls as well. The bell icon in the upper right will turn off notifications for that device, while the eyeball in the bottom right will turn on a privacy mode to quickly hide the video preview.
When the video doorbell is selected, the video feed will appear with a variety of different controls. Take a snapshot, talk through the doorbell, record a video, turn on a siren or enable privacy mode, which stops video recording and notifications.
Motion detection and Notifications
There is a timeline view that lets you scrub through recorded video instead of specific notification events. Scrubbing through that footage reveals that, by default, the doorbell records quite a bit more footage and movement, but it only sends notifications when a person is detected. In my experience, this works really well to both notice movement but also only report people.
Diving further into the settings, there are quite a few tweaks that can be made to notifications and motion detection. Notifications can be set to a schedule, so they only trigger at certain times, person detection can be disabled, and there is a sensitivity that can be dialed in for motion detection.
On top of that, motion zones can be set to detect general motion and person detection as well. This makes it super easy to dial in the Lorex video doorbell to your exact setup and avoid unwanted notifications while making sure that the areas you want to monitor are covered.
Video Quality
The 2K QHD wired video doorbell features a pretty crisp and clear picture. Its 2560×1920 resolution and 164° field of view make for wide coverage that helps to catch more motion around your doorstep. Of course, zooming in on people far away deteriorates the image pretty quickly, but overall, it looks great. Lorex includes a micro SD card in the camera, but that can be expanded to store more files locally.
Other features
Like most other video doorbells, the Lorex 2K video doorbell also allows two-way communication so you can talk to visitors before physically answering the door.
Lorex also has a few pre-recorded messages that offer a quick way to greet visitors.
There is a small light facing downward on the video doorbell that by default will turn on when motion is detected, but those settings can be tweaked as well. This can be set to a schedule and run all night or turned off altogether.
Smart Home Integration
The Lorex 2K video doorbell can also be integrated with both Alexa and Google Assistant. This makes it easy to answer doorbells on other devices or just view the video feed without your phone.
9to5Toy’s Take
Overall, the Lorex 2K video doorbell performs well for the $180 price tag. And one huge benefit here is that there is no monthly fee to unlock all of the features like some of the competitors. Setup is simple, the image is clear, and motion and person detection might be some of the best that I’ve seen on a video doorbell so far. It seems to capture most events and accurately notify me when there is a person in the motion. Of course, when it comes to smart home security, staying with one brand makes things much simpler, and Lorex is filling out its catalog with some great home security options.
If you’re already in the Ring or Eufy ecosystems, check out our reviews of the Eufy Video Doorbell and eufyCam 2, as well as some Ring smart lighting.
Buy Lorex Video Doorbell
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