Toucan Wireless Video Doorbell Pro - Review 2024 - PCMag Middle East

Nov 04, 2024

Installing a smart video doorbell is a relatively easy task, especially if you can use existing wiring. If that’s not the case and you don’t want to run new wiring, a battery-powered doorbell like the Toucan Wireless Video Doorbell Pro is a convenient choice. Featuring a 2K camera and embedded Wi-Fi, the Toucan doorbell installs in minutes, offers free one-day video storage, and supports Alexa and Google voice commands. Listed for $149.99 but commonly available for less, the Toucan doorbell is a good value, but you’ll get a wider field of view and more third-party integration options with our Editors’ Choice winner, the $79.99 Arlo Video Doorbell.

At 5.5 by 2.1 by 1.1 inches (HWD), the Toucan Wireless Video Doorbell Pro is bulkier than the Arlo Video Doorbell (5.2 by 1.8 by 1.2 inches) and the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus (5.1 by 2.4 by 1.1 inches). The front of its IP56 weatherproof enclosure has a glossy black and gray finish and a call button, camera, light sensor, and microphone. There’s a speaker on the bottom, and around the back, behind a rubber cover, are Set and Reset buttons and a micro USB charging port.

Under the hood, the doorbell has a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio to connect to your home Wi-Fi network, a Bluetooth radio for pairing with the app, a siren, and a 6,500mAh rechargeable battery that provides up to six months of juice before requiring a recharge. Two wiring terminals can connect the device to your existing doorbell wires, if you have them, for continuous power.

The camera captures 2K video and has a 140-degree field of view, giving you a head-to-toe view of the doorstep area. It lacks color night vision, but it supports black-and-white night vision, motion detection, and two-way talk. For comparison, the second-generation Arlo Video Doorbell has a 180-degree field of view.

The doorbell comes with a wireless chime box that measures 2.5 by 2.5 by 1.0 inch (HWD) and features a glossy black face and white trim. The chime comes pre-paired with the doorbell and has a Set button on top in case you have to reconnect it. It uses two AA batteries for power, which are included, and it can be used indoors or outdoors.

In addition to the doorbell and the chime, the box includes a mounting plate, optional terminal wire connectors, screws, and a small screwdriver for installing the doorbell, as well as adhesive tape for installing the chime box, and a user guide.

When the call button is pressed or motion is detected, the doorbell will send you a push notification and record a video of each event. You get the last 24 hours of recorded video (60-second clips) and up to five downloads per month for one user with the free Toucan Shield Basic plan, but if you want access to a longer history of recordings, you have to subscribe to either the Pro plan ($2.99 per month) or the Elite plan ($9.99 per month). The Pro plan supports up to 10 users and offers seven days of recordings, unlimited downloads, holiday-themed auto greetings, and the ability to bookmark and save videos and adjust the duration of video recordings. The Elite plan gives you everything from the Pro plan plus 90 days of video history.

The Doorbell Pro supports Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands and will stream video to Amazon Echo Show and Google Nest Hub displays, but it doesn't work with Apple HomeKit or IFTTT applets for additional third-party device integrations. The Arlo Video Doorbell has greater compatibility with support for IFTTT and Samsung SmartThings, but also lacks HomeKit.

You can control the doorbell using the Toucan mobile app for iOS and Android devices. It gets its own panel on the app's dashboard screen. The panel displays the name of the doorbell and its last captured image, along with its battery level, status (online, offline), and Wi-Fi signal strength. Here, there's also a settings button and a snooze button that disables the doorbell's motion sensor for a set period (one to five hours).

Tap the panel to open a live camera stream, which you can view in full-screen landscape mode by turning your phone sideways or tapping the four arrows in the lower right corner. Below the video panel are buttons that let you activate the siren, call 911, enable two-way talk, manually record a video, play a greeting, or take a photo.

Seven prerecorded greetings are available, and you can create your own in the settings menu. Other settings allow you to adjust the motion sensitivity and create motion zones, configure network settings and notifications, change the doorbell chime volume, and enable auto-greeting.

In the app's Events tab, there's a timeline of recorded events with thumbnails of each. Tap any thumbnail to view or download a clip.

In testing, I had the Doorbell Pro up and running in no time. I charged the internal battery for around three hours, downloaded the app, and created an account. In the app, I tapped “add a new device,” selected the Wireless Video Doorbell Pro from the list, and assigned it to a location (side door). I entered my Wi-Fi credentials when prompted, then pressed the Set button for three seconds to initialize the doorbell. I then tapped Next, waited a few seconds for the doorbell to connect to my network, and updated the firmware. Finally, I inserted the batteries in the chime box, took the doorbell outside, and mounted it to my door frame using the included mounting plate and hardware to complete the installation.

The Doorbell Pro delivered sharp, detailed 2K video in my tests. The colors appeared nicealy saturated, and the camera provided a wide view of my doorstep and front yard. The black-and-white night video showed good contrast and sharp image detail out to about 20 feet.

Doorbell press and motion alerts arrived instantly, and I had no problem using Alexa voice commands to stream video to an Echo Show display. I created an Alexa routine to have an AiDot Linkind smart plug turn on when the doorbell button was pressed, and it worked as intended.

Easy installation and a high-res camera make the battery-powered Toucan Wireless Video Doorbell Pro a dependable option if you want to monitor your doorstep without having to deal with wiring. In testing, it captured sharp 2K video, delivered motion alerts without delay, and worked well with Alexa device integrations and routines. Priced at $149.99 but regularly marked down to $99.99, it won’t break the bank. That said, the wireless Arlo Video Doorbell offers more integrations and a wider viewing angle for around $20 less, retaining our Editors’ Choice award for video doorbells.