Y-cam EVO Indoor HD Wi-Fi Security Camera (Pack of 2)

Product Information

The process didn’t go smoothly for me. The pre-release software I initially tested had a weird bug that meant the camera wouldn’t complete the final stage of the setup process when connecting to the Y-Cam cloud. The bug has since been fixed via a software update, which means consumers won’t have to worry about it. The only reason I mention it is because it let me experience one of the best features of Y-Cam products – the company’s stellar customer service.

You can disable motion control for specific days or hours of the day if you don’t want the camera to record every morning you leave for work. HomeMonitor Indoor HD Wi-Fi Video Camera – Features It takes a coin to tighten the ball joint to stiffen the mechanism. It works but we would prefer if it tightened a little more to ensure the camera stays in position. The fact that this is an indoor camera, and therefore not subject to the elements, means this isn’t that much of an issue, though. For an interference issue look at what other wireless traffic is in the area and what other devices may be causing interference such as cordless phones, microwave ovens etc. Ways to combat interference:The Hub is the brains behind everything, also doubling up as a siren. Y-Cam has done a good job here, and the box feels tough and weighty. It needs to be plugged into the mains and via Ethernet into your router. You can also wall-mount the Hub; if you do, I recommend placing it high up so that it’s harder to tamper with.

As an example, our Netgear router is set to WEP 64bit strength using a HEX key "ABCDE12345" in the "1" position. I found the Y-Cam customer service staff to be incredibly helpful and happy to talk through any potential issues. Y-Cam Evo – Software and Recording If you have a Y-cam Protect Alarm system, access to this will not be affected. If you had cameras as well, then these will not be accessible. You will have access to the video clips based on your plan type if applicable.For this guide, we will assume that the camera is configured and you can access the live image when it is connected to the network with an Ethernet cable (wired connection). If cloud storage isn’t a concern, the Netatmo Welcome offers sleek design and advanced face-recognition tech at roughly the same price. Verdict Finally, there’s an optional solar-powered external siren, capable of blasting out at 104dB alarm to warn of a break-in. It’s something that was sorely missing from the initial release. Its availability makes the Y-Cam Protect a much more fully-featured alarm system, and also signposts to would-be burglars that your home is protected. If you need it, there are dummy boxes to fit around your home, too. The night mode was a little more hit and miss. Faces caught with the camera in night-cam mode have a grainy quality and won’t be much help to police unless the thief was insanely close to the Evo – though being fair to Y-Cam, this is true of all the home-monitoring cameras I’ve tested.

The HomeMonitor Indoor HD shoots, you guessed it, HD-quality video. It’s not 1080p Full HD – it records 720p through a wide-angle lens and, unfortunately, the quality isn’t great.The Y-Cam app is one of the most intuitive I’ve used. The app’s central home screen features a grid user interface with dynamic icons to every Y-Cam camera connected to your network. A slide-out panel offers shortcuts to your account settings and recording library. The issue is Y-Cam’s cloud is a little on the slow side. Too many times I’d get a motion alert, launch the app – tested on Android – and be forced to wait a good two or three minutes for the live feed to launch. The same issue cropped up when I tried to stream old recordings, which regularly took up to five minutes to start playing. The problem occurred when I connected the Y-Cam Evo to my home and work fibre networks and on a variety of different routers. Turning on Home mode sees the Hub belting out, “Y-Cam Protect Home mode armed.” It’s a little loud and could wake up anyone sleeping at home; a simple low-volume beep would be neater. If you had no active recording plan active on your camera(s), then you will no longer be able to access your Y-cam account.

Another handy feature is on-demand recording which provides a record button on the live feed view so you can capture what’s going on right then. You can also grab a still image, and this is also saved to your phone’s camera roll. Below is our original review, updated in March 2017 whenY-Cam launched a third-generation Outdoor HD Pro. It’s still a 720p camera, but it has a new lens with a 100-degree field of view that lets youUnlike other cloud cameras that charge monthly fees, every HomeMonitor camera stores unlimited recorded clips in to your online account for the last 7 days - no subscriptions required!