Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p review

Two-minute review

Xiaomi isn’t a name that springs to mind for smart security devices; it’s a brand better known for smartphones. However, it’s now taking aim at the smart home market, with a range of devices covering smart plugs, smart lights, a connected air fryer and now home security gadgets, too. 

The Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p is the company’s latest home security camera. The Full HD lens of the mains-powered camera can be panned and tilted using the smartphone app to ensure you can view a live feed covering the entirety of the room in which the camera is located. 

The compact monochrome device is simple to use and will push out a notification to your smartphone if it detects motion in your home. From there you can log in to view the camera’s live feed, using the on-screen cursor to remotely adjust the angle of the lens. It also supports a microSD card up to 32GB in capacity, so footage recorded by the camera can be stored and reviewed at a later date without the need to pay for a subscription service.  

The Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p can be used freestanding, although the rotating base can also be mounted to the ceiling, with the option to invert the image in the app. The footage recorded during the day is in color, and if there’s enough ambient light in the room, it will be color in low-light situations, too. 

However, unlike some rival models, the  Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p doesn’t have a built-in LED light, so in instances where there isn’t sufficient ambient light, the image will be in black and white. 

There is a built-in microphone and speaker, enabling you to converse with anyone in the camera’s field of view. Plus, the camera also integrates with Alexa and Google Assistant.

The Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p only works on the 2.4GHz band, which may mean you suffer connectivity issues if it’s installed in a different room to your router. It doesn’t offer the ability to create activity zones either, which alert you to motion within a set area. 

At £34.99, the Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p is an extremely affordable home security camera, ideal for those on a tight budget. It will also suit anyone looking for an indoor camera that doesn’t require payment towards a subscription service to review footage recorded by the camera at a later date. 

Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p price and availability

•  RRP: £34.99

 The Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p is priced at £34.99 and can be purchased through the Mi store. Currently, the camera isn’t available in the US or Australia.   

Xiaomi also offers a model that records more detailed footage at a resolution of 2K. Known as the Mi 360 Home Security Camera 2K, it costs £49.99.  

Design

• Mains-powered
• Can be freestanding or wall-mounted
• Only supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi

The Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p is a compact home security camera with a look that’s reminiscent of a small robot. Measuring 7.8 x 7.8 x 11.8cm and weighing just 293g, it’s a petite device. The white plastic exterior is complemented by a black rotating camera lens, which – using the app to move the lens – is able to provide a view of the entire room in which the camera is located. 

The camera records color Full HD footage during the day, and at night if there’s enough ambient light in the room. However, if the surroundings are too dark, the video will switch to black-and-white. A speaker and microphone enable you to converse with anyone in the camera’s field of view, too.

Mains-powered, the camera can be used freestanding, or mounted to the ceiling, while a feature in the app makes it possible to flip the image so the footage appears in the correct orientation. Around the back of the camera, you’ll find a micro-USB socket for power and a reset button. However, while the camera comes with a 2m USB cable, it doesn’t include a power socket – you’ll need to supply this yourself.

The Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p stores the footage it records on a microSD card, which can be inserted below the camera lens. It supports cards up to 32GB in capacity, and once full will simply record over older footage. There’s no option of a subscription service with this home security camera, unlike other models that come without a microSD card slot. 

Setting up the camera proved relatively simple: scanning a QR code generated by the Xiaomi Home app linked our phone to the smart home device, after which we simply had to enter our Wi-Fi credentials before the camera was ready to use. As mentioned, the camera only supports the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band, so you may find it suffers connectivity issues, the further away it is from the router. 

Performance

• Clear, detailed footage 
• Ambient light used to colorize low light video
• Pan and tilt motion is smooth

The Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p recorded clear footage both in the day and at night. The camera has a Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) feature that automatically enhances under- and over-exposed areas of the video. We found that with WDR switched off, footage captured in a room decorated solely in grey tones with the odd copper accent appeared very dark; details were hard to make out. However, with WDR switched on, this wasn’t the case. 

While there’s no built-in LED to provide full color video at night, if there’s enough ambient light then the camera will use this to add color to the footage. On test, we found this extremely useful, activating once the sun had set but the room wasn’t pitch black. However, when the room was in complete darkness, the video reverted to black and white.

The Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p’s rotating lens means that when it attempts to capture the whole width of the room, it doesn’t create a fish-eye effect on the video. We also found that panning and tilting the camera using the cursor in the app was super-smooth, not the juddery experience it can be with some cameras that offer remote control. 

For conversing with someone in the camera’s field of view, we found the microphone and speaker clear; there was no distortion. 

The Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p proved effective at identifying people, in particular, in its field of view, rather than other sources of motion – although we found that once it had sent an alert about motion to our smartphone, it would wait at least three minutes before sending another alert. The activity is still captured and stored on the microSD card, and Xiaomi says this is to reduce the number of unwanted notifications received – but we’d prefer to have greater control over how frequently alerts are sent.  

App

• Easy to navigate
• Integration with Google Assistant and Alexa
• Lacks motion zones

The Xiaomi Home app is easy to use: just select the camera from the list of Xiaomi devices in your home, and you’ll be able to view a live feed, as well as remotely pan and tilt the lens to check out the room in which the camera is located in its entirety.

When viewing the live feed in full-screen mode, you’ll see a timeline displayed at the bottom of the screen that allows you to scroll through all the recordings if you want a quick overview of the day's events.  

The camera will store video clips – provided a microSD card has been inserted – and these can be viewed from the Monitoring tab, which also includes information about whether the motion was the result of a person or other source. 

There are some customization options, such as being able to schedule when the camera is monitoring activity, and its sensitivity when identifying motion. However, we were disappointed that the Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p doesn’t offer the ability to create motion zones, so you’re notified only if motion is detected in specific areas of the camera’s field of view. On a positive note, the camera does integrate with Alexa and Google Assistant. 

Should I buy the Xiaomi Mi Home Security Camera 360 1080p?

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First reviewed: September 2021

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