Wyze Battery Video Doorbell review: Big security, small price tag

Price When Reviewed

$65.98

Best Prices Today: Wyze Battery Video Doorbell (model MR_BVD)

The Wyze Battery Video Doorbell is aimed squarely at people who want front-door security without the hassle of wiring or facing a high price tag. Like most Wyze products, the appeal is straightforward: it’s easy to set up, simple to use, and at just $65.98, inexpensive enough that installing one doesn’t feel like a commitment.

Design and features

The Wyze Battery Video Doorbell is a slim black rectangle measuring just over five and a half inches tall and less than two inches wide, small enough to fit on most doorframes without crowding them. The camera lens sits above a large button ringed with a soft LED light. It feels solid for the price, with tight seams and a sturdy mount that locks the body in place.

Wyze gives you plenty of flexibility in how you install it. The doorbell can run entirely on its built-in 6400mAh battery for three to six months at a time, or you wire into to a transformer and an existing chime circuit for uninterrupted power. A corner-mount plate comes in the box, letting you angle the camera toward your walkway or doorstep for a better view of people and packages.

The camera captures square 1536 × 1536 HD+ video with a 1:1 aspect ratio and a 150-degree horizontal and vertical field of view. That’s wide and tall enough to see faces, feet, and packages left right against the door. Audio is handled through full-duplex two-way talk in the Wyze app, along with canned voice replies and an optional motion-triggered deterrence that tells visitors they’re being recorded. There’s also a built-in 90dB siren you can activate manually from the app if you need to draw attention or scare off an unwanted visitor.

On the smart side, motion detection works through an infrared sensor and edge processing, while Wyze’s Cam Plus subscription ($2.99 per month or $19.99 per year per camera, or $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for unlimited cameras) unlocks person, package, pet, and vehicle recognition. You can save recordings locally to a user-provided microSD card (up to 256GB) if the doorbell is on wired power, or rely on a Cam Plus cloud storage for event clips. Be sure to check out our comparison of the subscription plans from all the major security camera manufacturers. The Wyze’s doorbell is rated IP65 rating, meaning it’s dust tight and protected against water projected in jets from any direction. (Read our IP code guide for more details on that topic).

The Wyze Battery Video Doorbell ties neatly into most smart ecosystems, working with Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT, and Wyze Automations, but it doesn’t support Apple’s HomeKit smart home ecosystem. In Wyze’s lineup, it slots between the wired Video Doorbell v2 and the pricier Doorbell Pro, keeping the focus on flexibility and value.

Setup and performance

Everything you need to set up the doorbell is in the box: a mounting bracket, screws, wall anchors, a corner wedge for angled installation, and a small release pin for removing the doorbell when you need to charge its battery (if you don’t hardwire it). The Wyze app walks you through the Wi-Fi connection process step by step, starting with pressing the setup button to initiate the pairing process.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Whether you opt for a straight-ahead or angled view, you’ll need a Phillips  screwdriver for installation, and if you’re mounting on a harder surface such as brick or stucco, Wyze recommends drilling pilot holes first. The doorbell attaches securely to the back plate and corner kit with the provided screws. If you plan to run the doorbell on battery power, as I did, you’re done. If not, Wyze provides detailed instructions for hardwiring in its quick-start guide.

You’ll manage the doorbell through the Wyze app. It displays a live camera feed with quick controls for recording, snapshots, and toggling the siren. You can review recent events as thumbnails with clear timestamps and see which were triggered by motion and which resulted from button presses. The app also offers practical extras, such as canned voice responses (“Can I help you?” or “Please leave the package at the door”) and an optional motion warning that plays a “You are being recorded” message when someone approaches.

The camera captures crisp detail, and the 1:1 aspect ratio keeps both faces and packages in view. You can toggle between standard and wide-angle views in the Wyze app, which helps fine-tune framing depending on your doorway layout or how close visitors stand. At night, the color night vision looked better than I expected, producing clear, evenly lit footage instead of the flat gray you get from many budget doorbells.

The motion sensor worked reliably and push notifications hit my phone within a second or two of detection. Out of the box, the camera flags most movement in front of the door, but with the optional subscription, you can fine-tune alerts to trigger only on people, pets, vehicles, or packages. That should dramatically cut down on false alarms, especially if your front door faces a busy street or sidewalk. Wyze also offers a Cam Unlimited add-on ($12.99 per month or $129.99 per year) that introduces its “Friendly Faces” feature, which recognizes familiar people and sends alerts when, say, a family member gets home.

Michael Ansaldo/Foundry

Battery life will vary depending on motion frequency and video length; in typical use, expect around four months before recharging through the USB-C port. Wired installation adds a few perks, including pre-roll clips that capture a few seconds of activity before motion is registered, and the option for continuous 24/7 recording.

Should you buy the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell?

Wyze isn’t trying to reinvent the video doorbell here; it’s just making it accessible to people who’ve been priced out of the category. And at $65.98, it’s among the lowest-priced full-featured options available.

That said, there are a few extras you may need to budget for. To unlock person, package, pet, and vehicle detection you’ll need to factor in the additional cost of at least a Cam Plus subscription. And if you want a chime for indoor alerts, that’s sold separately—the plug-in Wyze Wi-Fi Universal Chime costs $19.98, and the Wyze Chime Controller for wiring the doorbell to a mechanical chime is $17.99.

If you’re a renter, a first-time buyer, or simply want video coverage for your front door without spending hundreds, you’ll get a capable, smart, and affordable front-door camera that performs well above its price tag.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best video doorbells.