Doro is better known for its smartphones than its smart home technology but the company has been branching out. Not only does it now have ear buds for those with hearing difficulties but who might not be ready for a hearing aid just yet, Doro has added a video doorbell specially adapted for an older age group.
The Hemma doorbell has all the features you would expect from a video bell – live feeds directly to your phone, motion detection so you are alerted when someone is walking up to the door and the ability to talk to your callers before you open the door.
But there are some useful features on the Doro option that you may not find on other video doorbells aimed at a more general audience. There is the ability to easily zoom in on the full HD video feed, for example, so if you have issues seeing who is at your door, you can quickly enlarge the footage.
There is also a siren you can activate if you feel threatened – the siren rings on the bell outside and is loud enough to give anyone outside the door a fright, while also alerting anyone in earshot that there is a problem.
The most useful feature though is the “Assist Me” addition. When you set up the doorbell on the app, you can add extra people to your Doro family – relatives, carers and so on. That means they can take over the call if needed; all you have to do is tap the Assist Me button on screen.
As you would expect, setting up the doorbell is a relatively simple process. You need to download the relevant app – Doro Hemma – from your phone’s app store and set up an account. Then add your doorbell to your account, connecting it to the home wifi, and doing a short test to make sure everything is working as it should.
In total, it took less than five minutes to get up and running, although that doesn’t include mounting the bell itself.
The only time you might have a bit of difficulty is in actually switching the bell on at the very beginning. The power button is a little on the small side, so people with limited dexterity may struggle. A pen or similar device will get the job done though.
Inside the box, you get the bell, the fixings to mount it on the wall outside, and the Doro Chime, which plugs into the power outlet and rings loudly when someone pushes the doorbell. This is something that you usually have to buy as an extra, so to find it in the box was a nice surprise.
The Hemma app explains the set-up process, including how to use the bell to scan the QR code that allows you to pair the bell with your app, and how to mount the doorbell outside.
Once installed, you can play around with the settings, altering things such as the video quality – 1080p is default, but you can lower it to 480p – and changing the motion sensitivity settings between low, medium, high or disabled.
The bell will also automatically switch over to night vision mode when the light level gets too low, but you can disable this, too.
Another difference is in the cloud options. Doro doesn’t push subscriptions to access cloud storage; in fact it doesn’t even offer them.
That means the price you pay for the bell is it and there are no more ongoing costs. On the other hand, it also means that you don’t have easy access to saved events on your bell. That is easily solved with the addition of a micro SD card, which slots into the bell. You get the option to save videos of 15, 30 or 60 seconds in length, and you retain full control over the recordings.
Good
The bell itself is simple to set up, with step-by-step instructions in the app and videos to smooth the process.
The video footage is high quality, even in low light, and the switchover between the two modes is seamless. The addition of specific features such as the siren or the Assist Me mode will give people peace of mind, too.
Including the chime in the box is a nice touch. You can add additional ones to your home but at least the bell is working out of the box and without the need to constantly have a smartphone by your side. Extra chimes aren’t too expensive either, at €30 each.
The battery in the Hemma will also last significantly longer than some of the other bells tested in this column; the battery level viewable in the app only depleted slightly over the course of this review, which is a good indicator of performance over the space of a month or two. No one wants to be popping a bell off every week to charge it.
Bad
The bell itself is a little bigger than a traditional doorbell, as you would imagine, thanks to the rechargeable battery. It doesn’t have the nuanced controls you get with some of the more established brands, where you can set zones for the motion sensitivity, so if you live close to a busy road, for example, dial down the motion sensitivity or turn it off completely unless you want to be inundated with notifications every time a car passes the house
Everything else
Cloud recording isn’t for everyone, so the use of a micro SD card here is a good compromise. However, you will need to keep on top of it to make sure you don’t lose important recordings, for example.
Verdict
The Doro Hemma will give people peace of mind, at a price that isn’t unreasonable.
