Lorex Doorbell Camera Review

Lorex Doorbell: Initial Thoughts

There’s nothing particularly special about the 2K’s design. It’s rectangular, with a square camera face and a ring button that emits a faint greenish glow. Pretty average. Its nearest lookalike is the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro, and while there’s nothing wrong with Wyze cameras, Wyze is a more budget-friendly brand than Lorex. Still, the 2K is slimmer than the Ring Video Doorbell 3. Plus, the 2K comes in a choice of black and white. That may not sound like a big deal, but few camera companies offer any color choices at all.

Lorex Doorbell Camera Box

Just to continue the comparison between Wyze’s video doorbell and Lorex’s 2K, you can pick a Wyze device for just $30. The Lorex doorbell costs five times that amount. We should point out, though, that beyond their looks, these are two very different doorbells. Lorex’s 2K comes with features that Wyze just can’t match.

In terms of function, the 2K’s nearest competitor is probably Google Nest’s video doorbell. Note that the 2K and the Nest cost about the same, but ultimately, you can save money on the 2K since Lorex offers local storage options. If you’re looking to save video footage with the Nest, you’ll have to pay for a monthly cloud storage plan. Ring and SimpliSafe both charge for video storage as well.

Installing the Lorex Doorbell

Lorex installation is 100 percent DIY and the company did everything possible to make the process hassle-free. There’s a QR code right on the box. We scanned ours before we even opened it, and it immediately took over, guiding us through the steps one at a time. Note that Lorex includes a copy of this QR code on the back of the device itself, for anyone who happens to miss it on the box.

Installing the Lorex Doorbell Camera

We used the Lorex 2K as a replacement for our existing doorbell. That meant doing a little wiring. Even so, Lorex made things simple and straightforward. Once we’d unscrewed the old doorbell, we twisted a couple of wires, and screwed it into place. We do recommend shutting off the power before you attempt this maneuver. It turns out our wiring wasn’t in the best of shape, and it could have been dangerous. Luckily, Lorex provided spare cable connectors, so while making the change wasn’t as simple as it might have been, it still took us less than fifteen minutes. Lorex even included a miniature toolkit in the package, so we didn’t have to go looking for our screwdriver.

Once we were done, the 2K not only sent us real-time alerts every time someone pressed it, but it also sounded a nice little chime in case we weren’t near our phones.

Lorex Doorbell Camera Chime Kit

Lorex Doorbell Camera

Our Full Experience with Lorex Doorbell

It’s always great when the installation process goes smoothly, but the real question is how the Lorex Doorbell performs day-to-day. After a couple of weeks of testing, we felt the 2K has all the qualities you want in a video doorbell. Plus, it’s both fast and reliable, the ideal combination when it comes to security equipment.

What do we mean by fast? For all practical purposes, we’d call it instantaneous. Here’s why that matters: it takes a skilled porch pirate just seconds to swipe a package off your doorstep. If it takes your video doorbell thirty seconds–or even ten–to get video to your app, you haven’t got a chance. Accessing footage only takes as long as it takes you to open the Lorex app. In our case, that was about two seconds – big thumbs. Can’t fault Lorex for that.

Lorex Doorbell Camera Device Log

Just as importantly, the image we pulled up was crystal clear. Keep in mind that the industry’s image resolution standard is 1080p HD. A 2K camera provides twice as many pixels as one with 1080p HD resolution. That’s sharp enough to see that our mailman is growing a goatee. It is worth noting that the Lorex 2K uses a Wi-Fi signal, and any time signal strength drops, it can affect the streaming quality. In short, the 2K’s resolution can fluctuate between standard and high definition depending on signal strength. This is pretty typical, though. We came across the same issue when we reviewed SkyBell’s Video Doorbell.

Lorex actually has a 4K model as well, though we haven’t had a chance to get our hands on it yet. Given the 2K’s clarity, we can only expect that the 4K will let us count the hairs on the neighbor’s dog’s tail when he’s nosing around our front porch.

Two-way audio is standard for video doorbells. It allows homeowners to respond in real-time to anyone who happens to stop by. Two-way audio isn’t always what you might call clear, though. It depends on the device. The 2K uses full duplex two-way audio, so we had no trouble hearing or being heard over the system. When a salesman stopped by selling magazine subscriptions, we were able to tell him no without revealing the fact that we weren’t actually at home.

Finally, you always want a doorbell that can withstand the weather. After all, you never know when a freak snowstorm will pop up, even if you live in Hawaii. Lorex’s 2K is rated to temperatures as low as four degrees below zero Fahrenheit. It’s also rated up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. It even has an IP rating. At IP65, it’s dust-tight and can resist low-pressure water jets. All in all, you can expect the 2K to keep you safe no matter where you might call home.

Check out this short video of the Lorex doorbell:

Person Detection

Lorex Motion Detection

Every Lorex camera – at least the Lorex cameras we’ve reviewed – features person detection. That can be a game-changer when it comes to deciding on the right video doorbell. Person detection means your doorbell can tell it’s an actual person on your front porch rather than a dog or a squirrel or a leaf blowing by. Without it, you can wind up getting alerts every couple of minutes, and when you get that many alerts, you’re bound to let your guard down.

Of course, if you’re looking to find out which of the neighbor’s dog is spending his afternoon sleeping in your porch swing, you might want to turn person detection off and use Lorex’s plain old motion detection. Or you can turn off motion detection entirely. You also have the option to create customizable zones. The point is, you’re in control of capturing what you think is important.

Lorex Doorbell Camera Video Quality

164-degree Field of View

How much coverage a doorbell camera provides depends largely on the camera’s viewing angle. Of course, this varies from brand to brand. The Lorex 2K Doorbell is above average with its 164-degree angle. We have seen larger angles though. When we reviewed Blue by ADT’s doorbell, we discovered it provides a whopping 180-degree angle. That’s as wide as possible. Still, 164 degrees definitely sets Lorex apart.

Having a nice, wide video is certainly a plus — especially when you’re trying to track packages and other deliveries. In that regard, Lorex really nails it. Note that you will need to fiddle with it some to get the angle just right. You do want it to be pointing down slightly so you can see when items arrive:

But to put things in perspective, we’re used to seeing 120- to 140-degree fields of view from Lorex’s competitors, so 164-degrees felt like a luxury to have.

Color Night Vision

Night vision is another of those features that’s become almost a requirement for video doorbells, so it won’t surprise you to learn that Lorex’s 2K doorbell can let you see in the dark as well as the light. This isn’t just any night vision, though. It’s full color night vision, and some of the clearest images we’ve seen after the sun goes down.

Lorex Doorbell Camera Night Vision

Of course, it helps that the doorbell has 2K resolution. That’s bound to result in a sharper image, even at night. In fact, night vision images from the Lorex 2K are better than some daytime images we’ve seen on other cameras. Though they’ve recently discontinued it, the old SimpliSafe SimpliCam maxed out at 720p resolution, and we couldn’t always tell which one of our cats was napping on the porch.

View from the Lorex Doorbell Camera

Smart Home Integration

Lorex doorbells feature full integration with both Google Home and Alexa. That means you can operate these devices using just your voice. In addition, the Lorex app provides real-time alerts of anything happening at home, and you have access to live and recorded footage.

Unfortunately, these devices don’t work with IFTTT, though. For those not in the know, IFTTT lets you combine smart home devices and create custom routines. Maybe your coffee maker comes on when your system goes into standby mode every morning. It’s a handy technology, especially if you’re looking to build a smart home, and the 2K doorbell from Lorex would definitely benefit from including it.

Ultimately, then, the Lorex 2K Doorbell can make life more convenient, but not as convenient as, say, an Arlo video doorbell. As we point out in our full Arlo Video Doorbell review, Arlo integrates with all the major platforms out there, including Apple HomeKit.

Feature Summary

So overall, the Lorex 2K video doorbell does offer intriguing features. We summarized and ranked the features here in order of their importance and usefulness. If you agree that these are the best features to look for, then the Lorex 2K video doorbell will likely work great for you.

Lorex Doorbell Camera Pricing

The brand’s aversion to monthly fees and contracts4 makes Lorex a great pick for the budget-conscious, and this rings true with their video doorbell, too. Even with an upgrade in video resolution, Lorex still prices their latest doorbell fairly at $199.99. And, it was on sale for $150 at the time of this writing. (They also have a 1080p option for $79.99, if you’re interested.) For all of that without monthly fees, we’d say this is a pretty decent deal.

It’s certainly not the cheapest way to keep tabs on your front door while you’re at work, though. Then again, most doorbells don’t have 2K HDR video. We don’t necessarily need 2K in a doorbell cam, but we do admit it’s a nice picture.

For what it’s worth, Lorex Doorbell is only $10 more than SimpliSafe’s Video Doorbell Pro. We’d consider both devices around the middle range in pricing. You could always go bigger, like the more advanced Vivint Doorbell Pro, for $249; you’ll get a pretty mind-blowing set of features, not to mention an even slimmer design that’s ideal for apartments and small spaces.

And if you’re interested in keeping an eye on more than just your entryway, here’s a quick breakdown of some of Lorex’s security camera offerings:

Our Final Thoughts on the Lorex Doorbell

When all was said and done, we found a few trouble spots in the installation and hardwiring stage to keep us from fully falling in love with the Lorex 2K QHD Wired Video Doorbell. For older homes like ours, hardwiring is already a challenge. But on top of that, Lorex’s equipment didn’t snap into place very easily, so by the time it was all done, we knew we had spent much more time installing this device than other doorbell cams we’ve used.

That said, Lorex still managed to pack plenty of power into its wired doorbell cam, giving us an overall smooth and hassle-free experience monitoring everyone entering and leaving our home.3 More than that, though, we were intrigued by the 2K resolution. This, after all, is not something we see every day, even in the industry’s best doorbell cameras. Combined with color night vision, we enjoyed the view each time we peeked over at our live feed.

We have little doubt this device would give you the peace of mind you’re looking for in a doorbell cam – but prepare for a tricky installation (or hire a handyman!).

Frequently Asked Questions