Unwelcome visitors last night tried to break into the house, snapping the euro locks but stopped gaining entrance by the door security tabs. Luckily I have the old euro locks and door handles to make the doors secure again while I wait for the higher security locks and handles to arrive.

Looking to install some Wifi CCTV that I can view through my iPhone. Anyone got any recommendations?

Maybe require Ton’s expertise.

I’d personally steer clear of the WiFi cctv cameras – they are easily jammed so now way of the recording reaching the base unit or the cloud.

I have the Samsung system in both my houses.
1TB internal hard drive, 4 full digital HD cameras and the ability to have 4 standard too.
Remote live view and playback.
Amazon Prime will have them at your door tomorrow.

Nest

Does the CCTV actually do any good? I regularly see posts on facebook of CCTV capturing someone committing a crime at someone’s house. A couple of things jump out

1) the footage is horrifically poor quality and the criminal is unrecognisable
2) it’s not really acting as a deterrent or else they wouldn’t be there committing a crime

Get a dog. Or even better get two.

2 houses and 4 cars stolen from our estate last night – I’d left my car open and they were in that too but thankfully nothing of value in there

Most of us have CCTV – didn’t scare them off at all – lots of us have been sharing our images – lads in track suits with masks on

I always assume that if you have camera’s up then its like announcing that you have stuff to nick.

Does the CCTV actually do any good? I regularly see posts on facebook of CCTV capturing someone committing a crime at someone’s house. A couple of things jump out

1) the footage is horrifically poor quality and the criminal is unrecognisable
2) it’s not really acting as a deterrent or else they wouldn’t be there committing a crime

We actually heard a bang after we’d gone to bed but looked out the bedroom window but didn’t see anything and the security light was off (they’ve broken that too) so assumed it was nothing. If we’d had CCTV we could have looked all round the house too.

2 houses and 4 cars stolen

Must have been a massive van 😀

Does the CCTV actually do any good? I regularly see posts on facebook of CCTV capturing someone committing a crime at someone’s house. A couple of things jump out
1) the footage is horrifically poor quality and the criminal is unrecognisable
2) it’s not really acting as a deterrent or else they wouldn’t be there committing a crime

That’s the beauty of Nest. You could be hundreds of miles away, get alerted on your phone that someone’s in your house, at which point you say into your phone “get the **** out!” and they do a runner.

Must have been a massive van

Looks to be 4 lads, broke in houses, found the keys, drove the cars full of stuff to the top of the estate and left them there while they went back to get more – this all over a couple of hours – must have been confident

Not quite the same, but my son’s bike was stolen from school. They had lovely clear images of someone grabbing it – but no way to figure out who he was.

Ubiquitous facial recognition might help I guess.

We have this – very simple install as no wires – I’m pleased with it

Arlo wirefree

I always assume that if you have camera’s up then its like announcing that you have stuff to nick.

Possibly, but where do you stop with this line of thinking? Can’t buy a nice car – people might nick it, or think we have nice things inside to nick too? Can’t buy a nice bike, as people might think we have lots of nice stuff to nick inside too?

I’m sure there is a risk there, but when the police came round after our neighbours were burgled, they told us that they *probably* looked at the alarm, dog, and cctv cameras on our house and went straight next door to a house that had none of those things.

Lots of my clients get caught off cctv , on one occasion his own, it showed him returning from a “mission” with the proceeds of the burglary and the stolen car.

I don’t have it, i live opposite a row of easier targets and have an unattractive car.

People target areas, cars and types of houses, not houses with cctv. Cctv will either have a deterrent effect or a nil effect on likely hood of being burgled and can only have a positive or nil effect on detection so i would say install it.

People target areas, cars and types of houses, not houses with cctv. Cctv will either have a deterrent effect or a nil effect on likely hood of being burgled and can only have a positive or nil effect on detection so i would say install it.

By that reasoning, is it just as effective to fit a couple of dummy cameras as a proper system?

I’d personally steer clear of the WiFi cctv cameras – they are easily jammed so now way of the recording reaching the base unit or the cloud.

I’ve got some wireless CCTV (off amazon) set up – quality (1080p) seems pretty good. I’d be surprised if the type of people that go robbing houses also are the type of people that understand how to jam wifi networks / are the type of people that will bother to do this instead of just robbing next door.

It’s like running away from a bear, you don’t need to be fastest, just ensure you’re not the slowest.

For what it’s worth I have this set up – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N9VAP18

Quality of the kit is good, footage is quite good, app for the phone is ‘good enough’ but not the most user friendly thing in the world.

I had some unwelcome visitors last week, from looking at the footage – it alerted me, they snooped around a bit, saw the IR cameras , had a chat and went way. They haven’t returned as yet but they clearly noticed that its well secure, has cameras and alarmed.

Ubiquitous facial recognition might help I guess.

I agree, and if you have nothing to hide from the party, you have nothing to fear.

£179 Lorex CCTV from Maplin, 2 cameras expandable to 4. 1TB DVR unit.

I purchased 2 additional Swan HD cameras for £79 (on offer) so have 4 installed. Its a wired system, but connects to my WIFI mains extender in my garage. Means accessible from both home network and away from home via a programme on the laptop, or an app on the phone.

Doddle to set up, full 1080p and night vision. Under £250 for 4 camera system.

Didn’t bother with WIFI as my BT Hub 6 port forwarding doesn’t like wifi cameras !

Ewan,
Lao Tzu — ‘There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.’

Ewan,
Lao Tzu — ‘There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.’

Possibly, but statistically I bet i’m correct.

By that reasoning, is it just as effective to fit a couple of dummy cameras as a proper system?

I’m no expert, but I can spot some of the dummy camera’s a mile off. I’m sure burglers are much better at doing so.

as Yoshimi says, the NETGEAR Arlo is very good. I’d get the Pro model rather than the Gen 3 as it is rechargeable.

Arlo Pro

* i do work for NETGEAR, so am biased 😀

I’d be surprised if the type of people that go robbing houses also are the type of people that understand how to jam wifi networks

Based on the conversations i’ve had with the Police in my area house breakers do a lot of houses. Maybe in the past what you say is true but the internet means it’s easy both to find out how to do things like this now and to get the kit to do it. Would be another matter as to wether they’d bother. DNA and fingerprints are what tie them to the crimes

I don’t get the logic of being well secured makes you a target – at all. They have no more information you’ve got anything worth nicking than if you don’t have cameras.

Surely it’s only proof you are making it difficult?

The only time my garage was tried was when I was a security light down, no CCTV and no alarm.

Since I’ve done all sorts I’ve not heard a peep.

No guarantees either way but I’d sooner have a few things in place that may make it tricker than just make it easy.

Looks to be 4 lads, broke in houses, found the keys, drove the cars full of stuff to the top of the estate and left them there while they went back to get more – this all over a couple of hours – must have been confident

How the hell does anyone not wake up and call the feds in that period. I can hear a hedgehog walking around.

I’ve had two attempts on the garage, and each time my security went up. First time, the thief carefully removed the glass from a wooden window, but couldn’t get in as it’s barred with those large metal roofing straps. Second time were lads trying to prise the metal door open – on went more locks to prevent that.

I looked at the Netgear Arlo as it’s massively reduced, but the faff of replacing/recharging the batteries put me off.

I looked at the Netgear Arlo as it’s massively reduced, but the faff of replacing/recharging the batteries put me off.

I have the first gen, replace about once every 4 months. It’s really not that much of a faff.

Also, the Pro 2 comes out next month so I expect the first gen pro kit to get cheaper still.

Thank you to those who offered advice. Gone for a wired Swann system with remote access that was recommended by the police officer that came round. Hopefully it will be here tomorrow.
Replaced all the locks and broken handles, locksmith mate is calling round later to see what can be done to beef up security.
Police reckon they were after my car.

Cars are prime targets now – keys or hacking the security.

The Swann systems are good – only went with the Lorex as it’s part of Flir security, and we have a home web cam of theirs to keep an eye on my elderly mother in law, so it’s one account on-line (I have two Swann cameras on my system).

PS the remote access of the newer ‘wired’ systems makes it a no-brainer on cost when you also have local storage included.

I’ve had a nightmare configuring my in-law’s IP cam at my house with a BT Hub 5 and 6, but it works on their old BT hub. The BT hubs are bloody awful at port forwarding – I can’t get my Seagate cloud drive to be visible from outside !

We’ve got an Arlo. Someone broke into the garage after the bikes, I got an alert and phoned 999. Police arrived, caught one of the scrotes and recognised the one who’d actually broken in from the camera footage. He’d been suspected of lots of stuff but they’d never had the evidence in the past. This was enough to get him convicted.

We had visitors and lost a bike so cctv went in first. Wired system which is obvious but we have hidden a camera in the back of the bike store. Once they’re in they might relax enough not to notice. Wired is less fragile to jam and better quality. You still need to power the cameras.

wired swann system here. positioned very obviously.

backed up by an alarm and concealed cameras inside.

mostly it is so I can sleep at night. it’s taken me a year to get over our burglary. if I hear a bang I check the alarm and cameras and then go back to sleep rather than patrolling my garden with a baseball bat.

the other week whilst away I had the joy of getting pinged a motion alarm from the drive. managed to see the gate getting caught by a massive gust of wind and then slam into the wing of my car. I was then able to watch in real time it smacking into it over and over again till my mate got there

bails: Were the police happy enough to attend based on you just seeing Arlo footage? And what was their response time like?

Just curious as I’ve often pondered calling 999 in this situation.

I have Ring doorbell on drive (would recommend this), then Arlo in garage, indoors + rear garden. At dusk, any being triggered will turn on lights inside by front door and some outside lights.

If I’m out, I’ve hooked up sonos to some 30sec+ load dog barking sounds. Can also trigger a loud “Intruder in the house, police have been called” message remotely if needed.

Maybe OTT but I’m a bit paranoid / protective.

Highly recommend Arlo and other remote notification systems, can’t beat being able to call 999 while crime in progress rather than sifting through footage of masked men.