Mi Home Security 360° Camera Review: Super affordable security camera for masses

Design: Full 360° capture and 96° vertical view

Let's start with the design of the security camera. Unlike the boring industrial and household surveillance solutions, Xiaomi's security camera looks like a tiny robot with a giant eye placed inside the glass of its bobblehead structure. The cute looking dome-shaped security camera is 78 mm wide and 118 mm tall. The camera weighs 239 g and works on a dual motorhead that gives it the required flexibility to rotate and capture a full 360° horizontal view and 96° vertical view. The camera can tilt up and down up to an angle of 45-degrees. Anyone who will notice the security camera would instantly ask about the price and functionality. I must admit that the camera looks like a futuristic moving robot straight out from a Sci-fi flick.

Coming onto some other important design aspects, Mi Home security camera has a shockproof body and you won't even hear the camera rotating as the complete system is backed by a quiet motor. The motor ensures smooth and silent rotation for a full 360° video recording of the room. The camera can be placed on a flat surface, on a table and can also be mounted on a wall with the help of the bundled wall fixture. You can mount the camera at the entrance of your home or office depending upon where you want the maximum security. The camera supports upright or inverted installations. But before that, let's understand how you setup the security camera.

How to setup Mi Home Security 360° Camera

Setting up the camera is an easy task as long as you have a working Wi-Fi connection at home or in the office where you plan to install the security system. Install the Mi Home application on your Android or Apple device and follow the on-screen instructions. The app will ask you to choose the server, set it to ‘India Asia' and give the app the required access (location, camera, phone, etc.) to find the camera on the network. Once the app identifies the camera, a QR code will pop up on the phone's screen. Scan that code with the Mi Security camera to establish a connection. Post establishing the stable connection; locate the camera in the Mi Home app where you can check out all its features.

Camera Hardware

Once the setup is complete and the camera gets a stable connection from a Wi-Fi network, the Mi Home Security Camera 360 can start streaming the live feed like the other security solutions. The camera needs continue power supply of 5V1A. The sensor inside the Mi Home Security camera has a focal length of 3.9mm and can record videos in 1080p. You can virtually place the camera anywhere as it is capable of functioning in a temperature range of -10℃ ~ 50℃. The camera would require a microSD card to store the video footage. Mi Home Security camera supports Class 10 and above microSD cards from 16GB to 64GB. Sadly, there's no cloud storage option and the maximum 64GB storage feels slightly restricted. The camera also supports NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices.

Camera Features

As it goes with any security camera, Mi Home Security camera allows you to monitor the real-time status of your home right from your smartphone. The camera records in 1080P format and the footage looks quite clear on the phone. You can reduce the resolution to 720p or can set the camera at Auto mode to choose the best quality feed as per your connection's bandwidth. The motor inside the camera is silent and allows you to check the corners of the room. It would have been great if Xiaomi would have added zoom ability in the security camera but as it is a very low-budget security solution, I don't mind not having the feature.

Additionally, the app controlling the camera allows you to set preferred recording times, which is a very handy feature. For instance, you can set the recording time to 11 pm and the camera will start recording when you hit the bed. Later in the morning, you can review the recording with the help of ‘Historic recordings' on the app.

Effective Motion Detection

My favourite feature has to be the motion detection on the Mi Home Security camera. The camera can detect any motion in its sight and is also capable of sending notifications to your smartphone (within the Mi Home app) for the same. Importantly, the camera records the video of the movement when it detects any motion. Isn't it amazing? The feature can come really handy in multiple scenarios. You can even check detection history where the camera shows a complete timeline of the motion detected with a timestamp.

Two-way talk is just awesome and very useful

It was fun using the two-way talk feature on Mi Security camera. I could actually talk to my little nieces at home while sitting in the office. The audio is slightly on a lower side but the feature can still come really handy in day-to-day routine as it makes it possible for you to communicate with anyone on the other side. If you have a pet at your place, you will love the two-way talk on Mi Security camera.

Can even see in Night

The night is the time when you would need a security camera most. Mi Home Security camera gets you covered as it also comes equipped with Infrared vision. Enable the night recording mode and you would notice that the camera does a great job at recording activities when the sun sets. I was able to clearly recognize even when the camera was recording the footage in absolute no light situation. What's even more interesting is the fact that you can enable the automatic infrared vision mode which will automatically enable the night vision once the camera sensor senses that the ambient light is too low.

Verdict

Xiaomi Mi Home Security 360° Camera is the best gift you can give it your home this festive season. It's super affordable and works like a charm. The remote accessibility and feature-rich app makes it the best security camera at its price-point. The silent motor makes it invisible and will help you keep an eye on your home or office space without spending a huge amount. Overall, don't think twice before buying this affordable security solution from Xiaomi.