Are There Monitoring Services For Lorex Systems?

The budget-priced Lorex Smart Home Security Center (model HC64A) consists of a touchscreen console, two indoor/outdoor cameras, and a Wi-Fi range extender. The system can be expanded with upwards to six additional cameras, also as motion and door/window sensors and a video doorbell—provided they're all manufactured past Lorex. But you'll demand to monitor this security arrangement yourself, every bit at that place is no pick to pay for professionals to practice information technology for you.

Lorex offers this console in nine other kits with different combinations of cameras and sensors, ranging in price from $350 (two outdoor cameras, simply no range extender) to almost $800 (four cameras, a floodlight cam, and a video doorbell). For this review, I augmented the HC64A kit with a USB-powered camera, a doorbell camera, and a motion detector.

This review is part of TechHive's coverage of the best smart home systems and the best dwelling house security cameras, where you'll notice reviews of the contest's offerings, plus a heir-apparent's guide to the features you should consider when shopping for this type of product.

Measuring 7.ane x seven.5 ten iii.3-inches (HxWxD), the console will easily fit on whatsoever desk-bound, kitchen counter, or even a bookshelf. Its fold-upwards antennas assistance bring in weak Wi-Fi signals, but they add 2.3 inches to its height. The eye of attention is its angled 7-inch, 720p display that tin bear witness up to four video streams simultaneously.

three camera feeds on the lorex smart home console — The Lorex Smart Domicile Security Center's console supports upwards to eight cameras, just it can show only four video streams at once.

The system has a dual-band (2.four- and 5GHz) Wi-Fi adapter onboard, likewise as a Bluetooth LE radio. Information technology supports a variety of indoor and outdoor Lorex habitation security cameras, including a camera/floodlight combo. The visitor doesn't sell door locks, thermostats, fume detectors, or air-quality sensors, and the hub can't connect to generic smart home devices that use the Zigbee or Z-Wave protocols. Equally such, it's a meliorate security camera organization than it is an entire smart home system.

This Lorex hardware does work with Amazon Alexa and Google Dwelling house Assistant, but it tin can't stream video straight to an Amazon Echo or Google Nest smart display. Yous can stream the photographic camera feeds to a TV that has an Amazon Burn down TV or Chromecast plugged into information technology. It isn't uniform with Apple's HomeKit ecosystem, and Lorex is not role of the Connectivity Standards Alliance's Matter initiative to standardize smart domicile hardware and software.

lorex smart home security center timeline — You can trigger several actions from the touchscreen or the app, including sounding a photographic camera'due south onboard siren.

The console has onboard storage in the form of a microSD card slot, simply the system has no built-in redundancy. The battery-operated cameras will continue to operate during a power outage, merely the Abode Eye screen will go dead (unless you plug information technology into an uninterruptible power supply). Besides, the console cannot connect to a LTE mobile information network during a broadband outage.

Inside the Lorex Smart Dwelling Security Center

Based in Canada, Lorex has a long history in video-monitoring devices and it sells a line of digital video recorders and industrial security cameras. The Dwelling house Center screen tin link with upwardly to eight cameras and 32 sensors, while its screen can show iv simultaneous video streams. It displays a battery gauge in the upper correct of each stream to show the charge level of wire-gratuitous cameras.

Below the surface, the Home Center uses Android 8.0 software, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of ROM, and information technology includes a 64GB micro SD carte du jour (it's compatible with upward to 256GB cards). If that'southward not enough storage for your needs, it'south easy to add up to a terabyte of information by installing an M.two SSD drive in the panel's back.

Because the video is stored locally, there are no monthly fees for online storage, which can save you lot hundreds of dollars a year. The video itself is saved as a .dav file that many pop video players won't recognize, although Lorex has a complimentary player and Amcrest's Smart Play software worked well.

Lorex stands by the production for a yr, although three years of extended coverage is available for $fifty for the kit I looked at. The tech support is deep, with a diverseness of DIY videos available on YouTube and instructions for doing things like adding an SSD to the console. The tech crew is available past phone Monday through Sat from ten:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.chiliad. (Eastern fourth dimension), simply there'south no mode to send them an email.

lorex home app qr codes — The Lorex Smart Home Security Center'south console volition brandish the QR codes y'all'll need to download its smartphone apps.

Set the Lorex Smart Habitation Security Middle

All the Lorex gear comes with excellent start-up guides and "24 Hour Surveillance" window stickers to hopefully scare away burglars. Setup begins with getting the Lorex Home app. At that place are versions for iPhones, iPads, and Android systems, but there'south no way to utilise a continued browser or a Windows x app.

After signing up for an business relationship, I plugged the panel'due south Ac adapter in and posed for a snapshot to use its Face Unlock software. This allowed me to avoid manually entering my password.

Adjacent upwards, I needed to choose between Wi-Fi and hardwired ethernet for an internet connection. I chose the latter just it worked well with Wi-Fi.

To connect the kickoff photographic camera, I inserted the battery and pressed the restart button underneath. It made a synthesized sound, the cam'due south dark-green LED lit upward, and the console apace institute it. I gave it a name and its stream showed up on the touchscreen.

I followed this upward by installing the Wi-Fi range extender in the middle of the house. Unfortunately, each Domicile Center console tin connect with only one extender, so very large homes are probably off-limits.

I and so added a second wire-free camera, a doorbell camera, a USB-powered camera, and a movement detector. All told, information technology took about xxx minutes to put together a rudimentary video surveillance system in my dwelling.

Using the Lorex Domicile app

lorex smart home security center event log — The Lorex Home app logs events triggered by its cameras and sensors.

In addition to the Home Centre console, I used the Lorex Home app on my Samsung Galaxy S20 phone to view the video and brand changes to the system. There's no way to see all streams at once on a mobile device, and it can take a few seconds for the video to load.

The app allows facial and fingerprint recognition to unlock information technology. For the security minded, it tin use two-factor hallmark.

Whenever it registered movement, the app pinged me. These notifications can be turned off for easier sleeping. Happily, its Events page consolidates the about important happenings in one place. I went through a list of times the cameras were triggered and watched the pertinent video.

Lorex Smart Abode Security Middle in the real world

Over two weeks of apply, the Dwelling house Smart Security Centre streamed high-quality video to the touchscreen and my phone. Information technology recorded numerous time-stamped clips triggered past movement in its field of view.

Information technology caught the unexpected inflow of a guest parking their car but was tripped up by leaves falling on a windy day, although the sensitivity can exist adapted. Privacy mode turns the cameras off.

Each camera has its own siren. The cameras had a real-world range of about xc feet, making them perfect for virtually homes. The extender included in my kit helped fill up my 3,500-square-human foot home with security cameras.

The Lorex hardware is cheap to use, with the console consuming eight.viii watts of ability when in use and five.6 watts when idle. That adds upwardly to an annual electricity bill of $seven.65 if it'due south capturing video for 20 pct of the time and you pay the national average of fourteen cents per kilowatt 60 minutes of electricity.

Think of the Lorex Smart Abode Security Center equally the ultimate in set-and-forget video monitoring that'due south e'er there, fix to wake when something stirs it. In other words, it can lookout man over your domain and alert yous when needed.