Yale Front Door WiFi Camera Light and Siren review

Founded in 1840, Yale is a household name when it comes to security, in addition to locks and conventional home alarms, it now offers a wide range of security cameras including this one: the Yale Front Door WiFi Camera Light and Siren. 

One of the higher end devices in the line-up, it’s slightly unusual in that it attempts to bridge the gap between simply monitoring your property and providing a deterrent to burglars. And while this may seem a little over the top to some people – especially if you already have a burglar alarm – to others it may well be a lot more useful than a standard security camera that only records footage when it detects motion.  

Boasting a sturdy bracket, the camera is best mounted reasonably high on your property to avoid it being stolen. However, bear in mind you will need to plug it in to the mains for it to operate (a 3m USB cable and plug are provided). The flexible mount enables you to angle the camera so it’s in the best position to capture any motion that occurs at the front of your property.

Push notifications are sent to your smartphone if motion is detected and it’s also possible to set the camera up to share notifications with someone else, such as another member of the family. The camera also records FullHD footage of the activity, which is stored on a microSD card (not provided), and can be reviewed in the Yale View app.

On top of that, the app can also be used to tailor the settings to meet your individual security needs. For example, if you live in a busy street you might want to reduce the sensitivity of the camera so it isn’t triggered by passing cars or people walking past your house. Another option allows you to choose which hours of the day, and which days, you want the camera to be ‘armed’ – in other words, switched on. You may decide to switch it off during the day if you are in and expecting deliveries and only ‘arm’ the camera when you know you’re going to be away.

If you take home security seriously, then this is the camera for you. Boasting a light and a siren, it’s well equipped for deterring burglars. However, you will need a little bit of DIY skill to mount the unit to your property using a drill. You will also need to ensure that it’s located reasonably near a power supply and that you have a microSD card for capturing footage.  

Yale Front Door WiFi Camera Light and Siren Price and availability

•  RRP:  £59.99

The Yale Front Door WiFi Camera Light and Siren (SV-DAFX-B) is Yale’s top-of-the-range home security camera and  is priced at £119.99 and is available in the UK through Yale’s website, as well as Amazon and other online retailers. 

Design

• Solidly built 
• Waterproof design 
• Screw-in mount

The Yale Front Door WiFi Camera Light and Siren has a square-ish camera with rounded corners, attached to a  wall mount, which screws into the back of the camera - in total it’s 10cm high. Looking a bit like a winking face, the camera section features a round Full HD 1080p lens next to a circular PIR (passive infra-red) detector for capturing movement. Underneath is a small microphone slot so you can talk to whoever is in its field of view and underneath is a 160 lumens horizontal light. If triggered at night (or manually via the app) this illuminates bright white. However, when it’s switched off there’s a small green light to indicate the device is connected to the mains. 

On the base of the unit is a speaker and a QR code which you can use to set the device up with the smartphone app. At the top of the security camera, you will find a panel which can be lifted up to reveal a system reset button and a slot for the microSD card for recording footage. The black stand screws into the rear of the camera and features a pivot allowing you to angle the camera in practically any direction to suit your requirements. Also provided are several different screws and wall plugs for mounting the bracket to your wall.

Above the mounting bracket is the 3m long power cable which connects to the mains using a UK USB plug. Those who don’t find this cable long enough will need to invest a separate male to female USB extension cable.  

All in all, the Yale Front Door camera feels solid and sturdy, capable of withstanding whatever Mother Nature throws at it. And while it may not be a thing of absolute beauty (another colour, other than black would’ve been nice) we’ve certainly seen a lot worse! 

Performance

• Clear FullHD video
• Powerful light and siren
• Easy to find recordings

Performance-wise, the Yale Front Door WiFi Camera Light and Siren is one of the better models we’ve looked at. Whereas some of the indoor security models can feel a little cheap and gimmicky, this one is built for proper surveillance. 

The colour Full HD footage recorded by the camera’s lens is exceptionally clear and the night vision mode captures movement in the dark, even from distances of around 10m. Alternatively, if bandwidth is an issue you can switch the camera into SD (standard definition) mode which allows you to capture more footage on your microSD card, although it lacked the detail of the Full HD video. 

We were able to review motion-triggered recordings and a ‘live view’ of our property – handy if you are away from home and just want to check on your abode from the app.  Although the speaker and microphone aren’t the best we found them perfectly acceptable for communicating with people who came to the front door. Also useful was the ability to adjust the region of the screen where motion is detected as well as the sensitivity setting. For example, mounting the camera on the home office to monitor the back garden, we were able to select motion detection to trigger only when someone went close to the back door. 

The siren and spotlight can be switched on manually from the app or automatically by linking it to motion detection, although we don’t recommend using this during the day! The only slight problem with the device is that you will need to use a drill to mount the sturdy bracket to the wall and it does need to be connected to a mains power supply. 

App

• App set up via QR code
• Large buttons for switching light and siren on
• Horizontal timeline shows when footage captured

As with all of the best home security cameras, control is provided by an app - in this case the Yale View App (it’s the one that’s a distinctive yellow colour, like its burglar alarms). Simply scan in the QR code at the bottom of the device and sync it to the home’s Wi-Fi – it’s a little bit fiddly (especially if your front door isn’t that near to your router) but we were able to achieve it on our second attempt.

Having recently reviewed the Yale Indoor WiFi Pan and Tilt camera which had difficult to navigate menus, I was expecting this camera to be much the same given they share the same app. However, that’s not the case. The Yale Front Door WiFi Camera Light and Siren is actually much easier to control via your smartphone/tablet. While the main screen shows a ‘live view’ of your property, underneath there are clear buttons for additional ‘actions’. These include switching the siren or spotlight on, speaking to whoever is at your door, taking a picture, or recording footage. 

Usefully, a pull-down‘ history record’ on the main screen shows recorded motion clips in a horizontal timeline with an orange band denoting clips where a human has been detected. Alternatively, you can search through clips from a particular day using the integrated calendar or go through the message section to see recorded footage listed in time order. The app also offers a number of options to adjust the camera including reducing the light’s brightness levels and turning down the volume of the siren. 

Should I buy the Yale Front Door WiFi Camera Light and Siren?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

First reviewed: April 2021

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