ecobee Home Security Bundle Review: a practical kit if you’re already in the ecobee world

I’ve been running this ecobee security bundle (doorbell cam, indoor SmartCamera, and door/window sensors) for a few weeks in a small house. I already had an ecobee thermostat, so I was curious if their own cameras and sensors would actually work better together or if it was just another way to sell a subscription. I’ve used Ring and Nest before, so I had something to compare it to in real life, not just on paper.

Overall, the main thing I noticed is that the package is built around the idea that everything lives inside the ecobee app and talks to the thermostat. The doorbell, indoor cam, and sensors all show up in one place, and you can tell they’re trying to do security and energy savings at the same time. For example, the system can cut off HVAC if a door or window is left open for more than a few minutes. In practice, that actually kicked in twice for me when my back door was left open during a barbecue.

It’s not perfect, though. You can feel the push toward the Smart Security subscription: 30‑day video history, pro monitoring, and some of the nicer alerts are basically locked behind that monthly fee. Without it, you still get live view and basic alerts, but you’re not really using the full system. If you hate subscriptions, that part will annoy you. Also, the HomeKit situation (no HomeKit Secure Video) is a bit of a letdown if you’re deep into Apple gear.

If you’re already on ecobee for your thermostat and you want a simple way to add cameras and sensors without juggling four different apps, this bundle is pretty solid. If you’re starting from scratch and don’t care about ecobee’s thermostat integration, then Nest or Ring might make more sense depending on which ecosystem you’re in. So it’s a good kit, but very much targeted at the ecobee crowd.

On value, this bundle sits in that middle zone: not cheap, not ultra‑premium. You’re getting three devices (doorbell, indoor cam, and one sensor) plus tight integration with ecobee’s thermostat and app. If you already own an ecobee thermostat or plan to get one, the bundle makes more sense because you’re really buying into their whole ecosystem—security plus energy management. Things like HVAC shutoff when a door is left open and quick doorbell viewing on the thermostat screen actually feel useful, not just gimmicks.

Compared to competitors: Ring usually wins on community features and broad device options, but their platform has more privacy concerns and also leans hard on subscriptions. Nest is great if you’re deep in Google’s world and want strong automation across Google Home devices. Ecobee lands somewhere else: good for privacy‑minded folks and Apple users, and a decent standalone platform if you don’t want to commit to Amazon or Google. One user even said that among the three (Logitech, Nest, ecobee), ecobee felt like the nicest choice for Apple Home users and a secure platform.

Where the value drops a bit is that this is basically a starter kit. One door/window sensor doesn’t cover a whole house; you’ll quickly want more sensors for other doors and windows. Also, to really use the system as advertised—video history, pro monitoring, and some advanced alerts—you need the Smart Security subscription after the free month. At around $5/month it’s not crazy, but it’s another bill to add to the pile. If you refuse subscriptions on principle, the value is just okay because you’re not getting the full benefit.

If you want a simple way to secure a small house or apartment and you’re already in the ecobee ecosystem, the value is pretty solid. If you’re starting from zero and don’t care about thermostat integration, you might find better bundles from Ring or others that include more sensors or a base station for roughly the same money. So it’s good value for the right person, but not universally the best deal on the market.

Design‑wise, ecobee keeps everything pretty simple: black, modern, and not too flashy. The doorbell is slim and looks fine on the wall, even on an older house. It doesn’t scream “big gadget” like some bulkier doorbells do. The bundle usually includes little extras like an angled backplate and basic tools, which actually helped me a lot because my doorframe is not square and I needed that angle to see the porch properly. The indoor SmartCamera is a small black unit on a stand, and it blends into a shelf or TV stand without drawing much attention.

For installation, the doorbell is wired, so you do need existing doorbell wiring and a compatible transformer. The app walks you through the steps pretty clearly. I’m not an electrician and I still got it done in under an hour, including some trial and error. The chime adapter is a small box you wire into the existing chime, and once that’s done, my old mechanical chime worked fine. Compared to Ring’s wired models, I’d say the difficulty is about the same, maybe a bit easier because the app instructions are very clear.

One design downside: there’s no dedicated vinyl siding mount included. If your door is on vinyl siding, the doorbell will still mount, but it doesn’t look as clean as it could. I had to tinker a bit to make it sit straight. Also, the reset button on the doorbell is tiny and hidden; one user review mentioned it failed completely after a few months, and while I didn’t hit that issue myself, it’s the kind of small hardware detail that can become a headache if something goes wrong.

The indoor SmartCamera has a wide 180° field of view and looks like a standard smart cam—nothing fancy, but it doesn’t look cheap either. The SmartSensor is just a small white sensor plus magnet that sticks on with adhesive. It’s low profile and doesn’t stand out. Overall, the design is practical, modern, and not ugly, but there are small missing touches (like a siding mount) that show they still have room to improve the hardware experience.

This bundle is mostly wired, which is good and bad depending on what you want. The doorbell is wired into your existing doorbell transformer, and the indoor SmartCamera is powered by an outlet (corded electric). There are no battery‑powered pieces in this pack, apart from the tiny coin cell inside the SmartSensor for doors and windows, which is low‑power and should last quite a while. So you don’t get the convenience of slapping a battery cam anywhere, but you also don’t have to climb a ladder every couple of months to recharge anything.

On the upside, once the doorbell is wired correctly, you don’t worry about battery life at all. It just works as long as your power and Wi‑Fi are up. Same for the indoor SmartCamera: plug it in once, and you’re done. For a fixed front door location, I actually prefer wired, because battery doorbells can drain quickly if you get a lot of motion events. The trade‑off is you must have a compatible transformer and be at least a bit comfortable dealing with low‑voltage wiring, or you’ll need to call someone to install it.

Reliability‑wise, during my test the devices stayed online most of the time. I had one short Wi‑Fi hiccup where the camera streams froze for a minute, but that was clearly my router acting up, not the cameras. There is a user review mentioning a doorbell that died after about six months and a reset button that did nothing. That’s a fair concern: if the reset button fails on a fully wired device, you’re basically stuck until support sends a replacement. I can’t say I had that problem, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re unlucky with hardware.

So power wise: no battery juggling, but no flexibility either. If you want cameras you can drop anywhere without thinking about outlets or wiring, this bundle isn’t that. If you prefer “set it and forget it” wired gear at fixed spots, then the power setup here makes sense and keeps maintenance low.

From a build quality standpoint, everything in the bundle feels decent but not bulletproof. The doorbell housing is plastic but doesn’t feel flimsy, and the button has a solid click. It handled a few rainy days and temperature swings without any issues during my short test. The indoor SmartCamera sits firmly on its stand and doesn’t wobble if you bump the table. The SmartSensor is light but that’s fine; once it’s stuck to the door frame, you don’t really touch it again.

That said, long‑term durability is harder to judge from just a few weeks, so I looked at other user feedback. Most Amazon reviews are positive (4.2/5 overall), which suggests the majority of units work fine. But there are some reports of the doorbell failing after several months, with one person saying it worked great for half a year then suddenly stopped, and the reset button didn’t function at all. They had to go through a multi‑day support process, sending photos and repeating troubleshooting steps before ecobee agreed to replace it. That doesn’t scream “high failure rate”, but it does show that if something does break, getting it resolved isn’t always quick.

The adhesive on the SmartSensor held well on a painted wood frame in my case. If you move or repaint, you’ll probably need new adhesive strips, so try to pick a final spot from the start. I didn’t see any yellowing or cheap plastic feel, but again, that’s a short‑term view. For the indoor camera, the finish didn’t pick up fingerprints too badly and the lens stayed clear.

Overall, I’d call durability fine but not tank‑like. For a normal home that doesn’t get hammered by extreme weather or constant tampering, it should be okay. Just be aware that if the doorbell or camera dies, you’ll likely spend some time with support before getting a replacement, and that can be frustrating if you rely on it for daily security.

In daily use, the video quality is solid for both the doorbell and the indoor camera. You get 1080p with HDR, and during the day the picture is clear enough to see faces, license plates at short distance, and package details. At night, the infrared does a decent job—things are slightly softer, but still very usable. The big thing is the field of view: the doorbell’s vertical angle is wide enough that I could see from the visitor’s head down to packages on the ground. That’s actually more useful than ultra‑sharp 4K when you just want to know who’s there and what they dropped off.

Motion detection worked pretty well out of the box. The doorbell didn’t spam me with every car or bird, especially after I tweaked the motion range in the app. I found a middle setting where it caught people walking up to the door and most package deliveries, without pinging me for every car on the street. The indoor SmartCamera’s person detection was also accurate—no alerts for my dog walking around, but it did trigger consistently when a person entered the room. The 120° motion range on the SmartSensor for doors and windows is enough to cover a normal entryway from up to around 15–16 feet, which matched what ecobee claims.

There is a noticeable delay on alerts, though. For me it was usually around 3–5 seconds from motion to phone notification. That’s not terrible, but some people are used to almost instant pings, and it’s worth knowing that this system isn’t the fastest I’ve tried. Live view loads reasonably quickly on Wi‑Fi; on cellular it depends on your signal, but I’d say it was average. Audio on the doorbell’s two‑way talk was clear with maybe a one‑second delay, which is fine for telling a delivery driver where to leave a box, but it’s not like you’re having a smooth back‑and‑forth chat.

One more thing: the SmartCamera can also listen for smoke alarm sounds and send an alert, which is a nice backup if you’re away. I tested this by triggering my smoke alarm briefly, and I did get a phone notification that the camera heard an alarm sound. It’s not a replacement for a connected smoke detector, but as an extra safety net it’s not bad. Overall, performance is pretty solid: not the fastest or sharpest on the market, but reliable enough for normal home use.

The bundle gives you three main things: a wired Smart Doorbell Camera, an indoor SmartCamera with voice control, and a SmartSensor for doors and windows (it’s one sensor in this specific bundle, not a whole pack). Everything runs over Wi‑Fi and is controlled from the ecobee app on your phone or tablet. There’s no dedicated base station like some alarm systems; your Wi‑Fi and the cloud basically act as the hub.

The doorbell is meant to cover the outside: 1080p HDR video, very wide field of view (head‑to‑toe, so you can see packages on the ground), motion alerts, and two‑way talk. It wires into your existing doorbell wiring and can keep your old chime working using the included chime adapter. The indoor SmartCamera is more like a regular home security cam that can also act as a motion sensor. It has person detection and can pan digitally across its 180° field of view to keep someone centered in the frame. The door/window SmartSensor just sticks on with adhesive and tells you when a door or window opens or closes, and it can trigger alerts or automations like turning off HVAC.

Ecobee throws in one month of their Smart Security subscription when you register the products. With that, you get things like 30‑day video storage, professional monitoring, and more advanced notifications. After that, it starts at around $5/month and you can cancel any time. Without the plan, you still have live view, basic notifications, and the devices still function, but you lose the recorded video history and the serious security features.

In day‑to‑day use, the idea is: doorbell covers the porch and packages, indoor camera handles the main room or hallway, and the sensor covers your most important door or window. It’s kind of a starter kit: enough to secure entry points and have eyes inside, but if you want to fully cover a whole house you’ll end up buying more sensors or cameras. So it’s more of an entry pack than a complete full‑home solution out of the box.

As a basic home security setup, this bundle does its job. The doorbell covers your main entrance, the indoor camera covers a high‑traffic room or hallway, and the SmartSensor protects one key door or window. When the system is armed, motion or an opened door triggers alerts, and with the Smart Security subscription you can also get professional monitoring and video history. In practice, I got alerts each time someone came to the door, and when the main entry door with the sensor opened while the system was armed, my phone pinged within a few seconds.

The part I didn’t expect to like as much is the integration with the ecobee thermostat. When the door with the sensor was left open for more than 5 minutes, my HVAC shut off automatically and I got a notification. That saved me from cooling the entire neighborhood a couple of times. It’s a simple automation, but it’s the kind of thing you actually feel on your energy bill over time. Also, when I left home with my phone and my partner also left, the app reminded us to arm the system. When we came back, it auto‑disarmed so we didn’t trigger false alarms—nice touch.

Where the effectiveness drops a bit is without the subscription. You still get live video and basic notifications, but no 30‑day storage and no pro monitoring. So if something happens while you’re asleep or your phone is off, you might not have video proof later unless you’re paying the monthly fee. This is pretty standard these days (Ring, Nest, etc. all do it), but it’s still worth pointing out: the true “security system” feeling really kicks in only when the subscription is active.

As a deterrent and a way to keep tabs on your home, it’s good enough for most people: you can see who’s at the door, check inside the house, and know when doors open. If you want a serious, fully redundant alarm system with sirens, battery backup base stations, and lots of sensors out of the box, this kit alone is a bit light—you’d need to add more sensors and maybe pair it with other gear. For a small home or apartment, though, it covers the basics quite well.