I installed this brilliant peephole camera in 10 minutes, and it's a great subscription-free alternative to a video doorbell for renters and apartment-dwellers

Date:
Sun, 14 Jun 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Description:
If you live in an apartment or rented house, this clever little camera gives you all the best features of a video doorbell without damaging your door.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Fitting a video doorbell is an excellent way to boost your home security, but if you rent your home or live in an apartment, they're just not possible. That's where the catchily-named EZVIZ EP4 Wire-Free Peephole Door Viewer comes in. This little 4K camera fits in your front door's spyhole, and provides you with all the best features of
a video doorbell without any drilling or damage.

Installing the EP4 is incredibly easy, and I managed to complete the whole process in around 10 minutes thanks to EZVIZ's handy video guide (the video shows an earlier model, the CP4, but the process is identical). The most time-consuming part was waiting for the EZVIZ app to download on my phone.
The EP4 fits into the peephole on your front door, so there's no drilling necessary (Image credit: Future) The peephole camera comes in two parts: the camera that fits on the outside of your door, and a 5.5-inch color screen
that sits on the inside. There's also a set of six screws (don't worry, there's no drilling involved), a charging cable, and two small plastic plates that keep the camera's connector and charging port covered. Latest Videos
From Watch full video here: To get started, unscrew the peephole from your front door and put it somewhere safe. You might need to use a pair of pliers to get this started, but it seems mine was never installed very well to begin with, and it came away effortlessly.

Now measure the thickness of the door and select the right pair of screws (my door is relatively thin and required the shortest ones), screw them a little way into the back of the camera, and push them through the peephole, along with the data cable. You can wrap them in a rolled-up piece of paper to make this easier, but I found I didn't need to. You may like This clever camera turns the peephole in your front door into a smart security system The best video doorbell: tested by experts The Aqara Camera Hub G350 looks like a toy, but it's a serious security cam Tighten the screws to secure the backplate, then slide the camera unit into place (Image credit: Future) Take the
mounting plate off the screen, slide it onto the screws, and tighten them up (making sure that the screen is level before turning them all the way). Then just push the data cable into the screen and cover it with a plastic plate, slide the screen into position, and press the power button for three seconds.

Select your language when prompted, pick your Wi-Fi network, and enter the password when prompted. Then just install the app, create an account, and
scan the QR code that appears on the camera's screen to initiate pairing.
This only takes a moment, and once it's connected, the camera is ready to
use. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

EZVIZ provides you with a seven-day free trial of its cloud storage service, which you can extend to 30 days by entering your payment details, but you can skip the fees by installing a microSD card (up to 512GB) instead. The app makes it easy to pick which type of storage you want to use. The internal screen shows a wide-angle view of the area outside your door (which is
clearer than this photo suggests) (Image credit: Future) From the app you can see a live video feed from your camera, capture a still image, or start recording. The EP3 records in 10-second clips, which is ample time to
identify the person at your door and see what they're up to.

The EP3 can also start recording automatically when it detects a person (sending an alert to your phone as well, if you like), and can identify specific individuals using a feature called 'Familiar Faces', which is currently in beta. Upload a picture of someone you know, and the camera will use on-board AI to alert you when they're at the door. What to read next
Sky's new video doorbell bundle offers a cheaper alternative to Ring The best home security cameras: indoor, outdoor and subscription-free cams There are
no strangers at my front door but Ring's Familiar Faces feature would be better if it weren't tied to its Pro tier

It's an interesting idea, and great if you often have friends over, but at
the moment it only seems to be possible to switch alerts on when a Familiar Face is recognized. You can't ask the camera to ignore certain people, so if you've added yourself, you'll get alerts telling you that you're at the door. Hopefully that's something EZVIZ is working on. You can trigger recording manually, or have it start automatically when a person is detected (Image credit: Future) The EP4 also offers two-way talk, so you can use the mobile app speak with the person at the door using your own voice, or a voice-changer if you want to stay anonymous. I noticed a delay of about five seconds on two-way-talk, which is better than some of the best video
doorbells we've tested on TechRadar over the years.

I'll share a full review soon, but so far I'm very impressed by what I've
seen of the EP4. It was incredibly easy to fit, and is an excellent option if you can't alter your door. Once EZVIZ has refined the facial recognition feature, I think it'll be onto a real winner. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Today's best EZVIZ EP4 Wire-Free Peephole Door Viewer deals 229.99 179.99 View 212.49 179.99 View We check over 250 million products
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/home/home-security/i-installed-this-brilliant-peepho le-camera-in-10-minutes-and-its-a-great-subscription-free-alternative-to-a-vid eo-doorbell-for-renters-and-apartment-dwellers


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