Doorbot Reviews and Product Information

Doorbot is a wifi doorbell which allows users to see and hear visitors on their smartphones from anywhere in the world. Read our Doorbot reviews from editors and readers.

About Doorbot

Doorbot came to national prominence when it was featured on the television show Shark Tank. The device is an electronic doorbell which allows you to see and hear the person at the door, from your phone – anywhere in the world.

Pre-launch press for the product was heavy, and it was featured on several high-profile websites such as CNet and Time.

The official website is getdoorbot.com, registered in November 2012. Below is a screen capture of the official website, taken in March 2014:

How much does Doorbot cost?

Doorbot costs $199 with free shipping. It is an additional $20 to ship the product outside of the U.S.

Television Commercial

Below is a commercial for Doorbot, posted in mid-2013:

Our Doorbot Review

The idea behind Doorbot brings a futuristic security feature to households at a relatively affordable price. But does it work? Below are our observations after testing the product.

• Audio/Video quality. We found both the audio and video to be surprisingly choppy and of poor quality.
• Delay. Notifications from Doorbot are not instantaneous, meaning someone could stand at your door for a minute before you are even aware they are there. In some instances we did not receive a notification at all.
• Motion detection. The camera only operates if the doorbell is pressed. Thus a knock at the door is undetected by Doorbot.
• Customer service. We found the support to be sluggish, and eventually stopped answering questions altogether.
• Theft. Because Doorbot is placed at such an accessible level, theft is a potential problem. They have since included a security screw to decrease the odds of theft, but it’s unclear how much additional security this small screw provides. Doorbot offers a “theft guarantee” which we did not need to redeem, but based on the sluggish customer service, we aren’t sure this would be easy to endure.
• Facebook page. When the official Facebook page, it appeared that comments were highly monitored. One of our editors left a critical comment which was deleted and his account was banned from their page. That Facebook page as of October 2014 is no longer active.
• Storage. As of this writing, you cannot store or record video from Doorbot. They claim this will be offered in the future. If someone were to steal your Doorbot, for example, there would be no evidence of the event. Or if someone came to your door when you weren’t home, storage would allow you to review the visit.

There are alternatives to Doorbot, such as Skybell, which we have not yet evaluated.

Other Doorbot Reviews

Reviewers on CNet offer a variety of critical opinions, many complaining about poor video quality and weak wifi connection. Other observations are that the volume of both the visitor and the ringer are too quiet.

At Staples, the few reviews there give it a total of 1 star.

The Android app has a total of 2 stars  as of this writing.

A common consensus from many reviewers around the internet is that it simply “does not work.”

Bottom Line

Doorbot feels like a prototype with bugs that have not been properly addressed. There is a list of concerns which needs to be sorted out before this product is ready for prime time.

Your Doorbot Reviews

Have you used Doorbot? Let us hear from you in the comments below.