The new eufy range launched last month included a fairly comprehensive selection including a number of security devices. The new eufy Security Video Doorbell E340 was a highlight, offering a dual-camera setup and of course, expandable local storage.

Priced at $349 RRP, the eufy Security Video Doorbell E340 the conversation turns to other models in the range starting a little cheaper, though eufy’s on-board storage offers savings on those ongoing cloud storage plans required from other manufacturers. It also offers 2K/FHD cameras with AI package and human detection alerts. 

Eufy have sent across the eufy Security Video Doorbell E340 as well as a Security Floodlight Camera E340 to check out. I’ve been using the eufy Security Video Doorbell E340 for a few weeks now and here’s how it went.

Hardware and Design

The design for the eufy Security Video Doorbell E340 isn’t surprising, with a glossy piano black finish but it is quite compact when you get it in hand, and even on the wall it doesn’t take up too much space.

It’s a fairly straight forward device with the main 2K camera front and centre, and the doorbell button below. The smaller FHD resolution camera used for package detection is harder to see, as are the LED lights at the base of the unit and a spotlight at the top. The lower LED light activates on a sensor to help if you get home at night in the dark, while the spotlight on top can be manually activated in the app.

The lights are truly a game changer. I often forget to turn our front lights on when I go out, and haven’t set up smart lights yet. The auto-sensing feature is especially handy at night and also when you have your hands full.

There is night vision on the camera, including a very optimal colour night vision option, but I did enjoy turning the spotlight on to get a good look at what was going on at night. 

The doorbell comes with all the things you need to install it. A mounting bracket with angled wedge, as well as all the screws, wall plugs, quick release pin, stickers, instructions and wiring (if you’re installing it to mains). 

Setup and Installation

Setup and installation is fairly simple. First off, if you’re using the included battery you’ll need to charge it until the LED goes green, which eufy says can take up to 5 hours. 

You’ll also need the eufy Security app – available for Android and iOS – to setup the doorbell, and of course you’ll need a eufy account. The app can guide you through setting up an account, or if you have one you can simply login. 

Once you have the app loaded you’ll need to install the doorbell. There’s a sticker with a guide for installing the mounting bracket,  and all you’ll need is a Screwdriver, Drill and 6mm drill bit. Simply measure and install. 

I was lucky in that my previous doorbell mounting screws were the same as the template for the eufy, so installation was incredibly easy. 

If you are using the battery, simply clip the doorbell unit into the bracket and you’re off.. If you have a wired connection to your doorbell, your electrician can connect the doorbell using the supplied connectors and then it slips into the bracket.

You’ll need the eufy pin to release the doorbell for charging. I traditionally lose these pins and release tools, but happily this is a magnet which sits on the fridge so I know where it is when needed.

Once powered up and mounted, setup within the eufy Security app is simple, just hit the ‘+’ button at the top and follow the bouncing ball. 

There is one caveat to setup, with the doorbell only supporting 2.4GHz Wifi which can be a little finicky. I use an old phone with only 2.4GHz Wifi support or try to set it up further away from the router to try and get the lower frequency band which reaches further. 

Once it does connect to your Wifi network it’s an easy setup process.

Smart home

The eufy Security Video Doorbell E340 features support for both Google Home and Amazon Alexa on the box, though it is limited. Once you add the eufy Security skill into your Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa setup, your smart home app should import your devices automatically.

Alexa

The Alexa app is quite easy to setup, with the Doorbell being imported into your list of devices in the Alexa app. 

To view the feed you simply load the device. You can hear what’s going on from the mic, but I was unable to speak through the camera, even after unmuting the mic. You can hear yourself in the app, but not from the loudspeaker on the doorbell.

Once added to the Alexa app, you can go into the settings and use any of your Echo devices as a chime. It simply announces “Someone is at the <Doorbell>”. That’s a simple switch in the Alexa app, which also gives you the option to change the default notification.

Google Home

Similar to the Alexa support, the Google Home simply just shows the video feed. You can hear what’s going on from the mic, but I was unable to speak through the camera. 

There’s no Google Home notifications when your eufy Doorbell rings, and you can’t tie in your Nest enabled smart speakers either unfortunately. 

Using it

Using the eufy Security Video Doorbell E340 is fairly straightforward. Once you’ve set it up in the app, paired it with any chimes or Alexa devices, all you need is someone to ring the doorbell.

Once the doorbell rings you will get a notification, as well as hearing your chime or echo. The unit itself of course  includes a speaker for two-way conversation and when it rings it’s decently loud, letting you hear it inside even at the back of the house – although it only took two rings for our dog and next door’s dog to work out the ring and let us know if we didn’t hear it.

The quality of the video from the eufy Security E340 Dual Camera Solo Video Doorbell is excellent. You can see everything you need, though it was still hard to make out number plates on cars pulling into the drive – though the angle isn’t the best. The quality at night doesn’t diminish either, with an excellent quality Colour Night Vision option available.

eufy Security

The eufy security app is simple to use. The interface allows you to easily view your daily interactions with the camera, including seeing how many times the doorbell has been rung and how many packages have been seen. You can also just tap on the camera to go live. 

The app settings are where you can really fine-tune your experience. I set up the activity zones for both the Front View (Front) and Porch View (bottom facing) cameras, allowing me to ignore foot traffic walking past and potentially alerting more than I needed. 

That detection can also be refined to be just for humans, or all movement – though that can get very busy with a few birds in your front yard. You can play with the sensitivity settings, allowing you more control as well if you find yourself being a little overwhelmed with notifications to start with.

With that second bottom facing camera, the eufy doorbell includes excellent package detection, alerting you when it senses a package. 

You can enable the package guard feature to have the doorbell ask a question if someone approaches your door when there is a package on your doorstep – it works and is quite disconcerting! I didn’t leave it switched on as I get numerous deliveries and didn’t want it tripping when the postie or other delivery drivers arrived.

There’s also alerts to remind you there’s a package at the door, as well as a Live Check assistance feature that gives you details on when your package showed up and who approached it since being delivered. 

All handy features if you live in a busy area with some safety concerns about deliveries.

The Responses feature allows you to choose your default pre-recorded response when the Doorbell is pressed. You can also record your own custom greeting to play as a response.

Finally there’s a Familiar Faces option that’s in Beta, which allows you to train faces to the doorbell so you can be alerted when your housemates, or family arrive home. It is in Beta, so hopefully it works out a little better 

Battery Life

Using the ‘Optimal Surveillance’ setting, I was able to get 33 days of battery life out of the eufy Doorbell. 

The eufy app records the history of your power profile on battery, which says I saw 1090 detected events, with 453 of those recorded. That’s a fairly busy life and I was decently pleased with the life I got out of it. I’ve changed to ‘Balance Surveillance’ and am on track for a better battery life though if the stats are correct, so it may take a bit of playing around to find your perfect balance of notifications and battery life.

In terms of charging, I started charging the battery around 9:30am and it was fully charged around 10 hours later. I used a 65W Samsung GaN charger to charge the battery, but found similar charging times with a 25W USB-C phone charger. 

Should you buy it?

The eufy Security Video Doorbell E340 is an excellent choice for a smart doorbell, with the high-resolution split camera design offering an increased focus on your package deliveries, which is further aided by some package detection AI that makes sure you know when there’s something on your doorstep. 

I also love the lights on the eufy E340 doorbell, the auto sensing feature made it easy to see when arriving home at night, and the colour night vision made it possible to see what was happening in high-resolution anyway. 

There is obviously work to do with Smart Home integration, however the eufy Security app is richly featured and offers an excellent hub if you’re using multiple eufy products.

At $349, the eufy Security E340 Dual Camera Solo Video Doorbell is fairly competitively priced against the competition. It also offers the bonus of offline recording with no on-going cloud storage costs – a massive benefit for a lot of people trying to trim the budget. 

If you’re looking for a video doorbell that offers high-resolution video and excellent AI for face and package detection, the eufy Security E340 Dual Camera Solo Video Doorbell is definitely one to check out.