ANJIELO SMART 1080P Video Door Phone Review: wired intercom with a lot of features but some real setup headaches

I installed this ANJIELO SMART 1080P Video Door Phone in a small apartment building with two flats, and I’ll be honest: it’s not a plug-and-play gadget. It’s a proper wired intercom system with WiFi on top, not a simple battery doorbell you stick to the wall. If you’re expecting something like a Ring where you scan a QR code and you’re done in 10 minutes, this is not that. You’ll be dealing with 4‑core cables, power supplies, and wall drilling.

That said, once I got it running, I started to see the point. You get a 10‑inch monitor in each apartment, a 1080P camera outside, and several ways to unlock the door: fingerprint, code, RFID cards, app, and from the monitor. It’s clearly aimed at small buildings or a big house with a gate, not just a simple front door. The system feels more like something you’d see in a condo entrance than in a studio flat.

I tested it for about two weeks: daily use of the monitors, fingerprints, and RFID cards, plus some motion detection tests and night vision checks. I also compared it with a cheap WiFi doorbell I already had at home. In short, this one is more serious and more stable once wired, but it asks more effort to install and tune. If you don’t like cables, you’ll swear a bit.

So this review is from that angle: not a professional installer, just a normal person who can handle a drill and a screwdriver. I’ll go through what worked well, what annoyed me, and whether I think it’s worth the money compared to simpler WiFi doorbells. Spoiler: it’s pretty solid once installed, but you need to know what you’re getting into.

Price-wise, this ANJIELO SMART kit usually sits well below the big brands that offer similar wired intercom systems with multiple monitors and fingerprint access. For the money, you get: two 10‑inch monitors, one 1080P outdoor unit with fingerprint and keypad, 32 GB SD card, Tuya app integration, and 5 unlocking methods. On paper, that’s a lot. If you tried to build the same setup with a well-known Western brand, you’d likely pay quite a bit more, especially once you add a second indoor monitor.

However, you have to factor in installation costs and time. If you do the wiring yourself, the value is pretty good, but you still need to buy the 4‑core cable and possibly a 12V electronic lock if you don’t have one yet. If you call an electrician, the labour can easily cost as much as the product, depending on your walls and distance. So for someone who just wants a simple doorbell for a rental flat, this is overkill and not really good value compared to a basic WiFi doorbell.

Where the value makes sense is for:

• a small apartment building with 2–3 flats that needs a shared entrance system
• a house with a front gate a few tens of meters from the door
• people who want local recording and multiple ways to unlock without paying monthly cloud fees

Overall, I’d say the value is good if you actually use all the features (two monitors, fingerprint, RFID, recording, app). If you’re only going to use it as a simple doorbell with video, then you’re paying for stuff you don’t really need, and a cheaper, simpler WiFi model will make more sense. So it’s not bad value, but it’s a bit niche: good deal for the right use case, meh for the wrong one.

The indoor monitors are basically big black tablets with a glossy front. The 10‑inch screen is nice for this kind of product: you clearly see faces, even from a couple of meters away. The bezel is a bit thick and the design is more functional than pretty, but once it’s on the wall you stop noticing. The casing is acrylic/ABS, so it’s light and doesn’t feel luxurious, but it doesn’t feel super cheap either. The touch screen responds correctly, not as fast as a smartphone, but fine for tapping menus and answering calls.

The outdoor unit is more on the industrial side. Silver/black, with the camera at the top, the button, and the fingerprint reader and keypad. With the supplied rain cover, it looks like something from a small office building. Personally I don’t mind, but if you’re looking for a stylish doorbell that blends into a fancy front door, this is not it. It’s clearly made to be practical: big button, clear camera, visible LEDs. It’s also not tiny, so you need enough space next to the door or gate.

One thing I did like is that the camera angle is quite wide (148°), so you actually see not just the person but also some of the surroundings. That helps to see if there are packages on the ground or if someone is standing off to the side. The infrared LEDs are hidden enough that it doesn’t look like a Christmas tree at night. The vandal resistance claim I can’t fully test, but the unit feels rigid enough and not flimsy.

In short, the design is more practical than pretty. The monitors are big and easy to use, the outside unit looks a bit like a small apartment building intercom. For the price range, I’d say the look is decent but nothing more. If you care more about function than style, you’ll be fine with it.

I obviously couldn’t test this for years, but in two weeks of use with some intentional abuse, the system gives off a reasonably robust impression. The outdoor unit is surface-mounted with a metal-like front and the supplied rain cover. I hit it a few times with my hand and tried pressing the buttons hard; nothing creaked or moved. The unit is rated for -40°C to +50°C, which on paper is more than enough for most climates. I had a few days of heavy rain and wind, and there was no water ingress or fogging in the camera window.

The indoor monitors are lighter and feel more plastic, but once mounted on the wall they don’t move, and the screen doesn’t flex when you tap on it. The touch panel is still responsive after a lot of menu navigation and repeated test calls. The buttons on the side (if you use them) click fine. I didn’t see any hot spots or overheating even after leaving the screen on for a longer time while testing the camera and recordings.

Where I’m a bit more cautious is the fingerprint reader. It works, but that’s usually the piece that ages the fastest on these systems, especially outdoors with sun, rain, and dirt. After two weeks, no visible wear, but the sensor window does attract fingerprints and dust. I’d expect to clean it regularly. The RFID cards are basic plastic tags; they’ll probably last, but you might want to get a few spares if used in a multi-apartment context.

In terms of wiring, since the system uses standard 4‑core cable and 12V locks, it’s easy to repair or extend later. You’re not locked into proprietary connectors. That’s a plus for long-term durability because even if the original cable gets damaged, you can replace it with common cable. Overall, the durability feels pretty solid for the price range, but I wouldn’t call it bulletproof. For a normal home or small building, it should hold up fine as long as you install it properly and don’t cheap out on the cable and lock.

On the video side, the 1080P camera is genuinely decent. Faces are clear, you can recognise people easily, and the wide angle gives you a good overview of the entrance. In daylight, the image is crisp with natural colours, not washed out. At night, the infrared LEDs kick in and everything turns black and white, but you still see faces and movements clearly within a few meters. It’s not cinema quality, but for a doorbell it’s clearly above the cheaper 720p stuff I’ve used before.

The audio performance is okay. Indoors, the speakers are strong; you can adjust the volume in the settings, and the highest level is loud enough for most homes. Outside, the microphone picks up voices well, but if the street is noisy, the person at the door might have to speak up. There is a tiny echo sometimes when talking via the app instead of the monitor, but it’s still understandable. The chime tones are a bit cheesy, but you can choose from several; I just picked one that wasn’t too annoying and left it.

The Tuya app

For the unlocking performance, I’d rank them like this: RFID cards = most reliable, fingerprint = good but not perfect with wet/dirty fingers, code = always works as long as you remember it, app unlock = works but depends on your network speed, monitor unlock = instant when you’re home. If you have several people using the entrance daily, the mix of options is actually quite handy. Overall, the performance is solid, but don’t expect the smooth polished feel of the big Western brands; it’s more functional than refined.