One of the most frustrating and restrictive elements of security cameras are the required wires. Moobox is a first of its kind a totally wire free HD Camera!

It came to life via indiegogo where it raised $17,723 – 1,023% of its goal!

What does Moobox do?

Moobox is slightly different to other WiFi Cameras, it has been built around simplicity and just working without complications.

The manufacturer’s own another successful WiFi camera company and surveyed their users to see what they wanted most from a new product. Interestingly 65% stated they wanted a simple solution and 78% wanted a battery powered camera. They took this research and developed Moobox.

Moobox Pro Wire-Free 1080p Hd Home Security Camera System

Moobox is a completely wire free HD camera. It has its own hub that has internal memory of 16GB as well as 7 day free cloud backup storage. This means no extra subscription is required.

The camera connects to the Hub via its own 2.4GhZ network.

The camera is designed to run on its internal battery. The battery lasts 3-4 months depending on usage and temperatures.This is super impressive as it only takes 3 hours to fully charge!!

You can also use a power cable if preferred but then why would you buy a wire free camera?!

The camera comes with a magnetic ball mount again giving great freedom as to where you can position it.

The camera boasts all the features you would expect:

• PIR sensor – to capture events
• 120’ lens view
• Two way audio
• Live streaming and alert
• Night vision

The Camera is viewed via its app, it cannot be viewed on PC.

How easy is it to setup?

Setup was easy!

1. Plug the hub into the power as well as plugging into the router.

NOTE: The setup instructions only refer to plugging into the router however after checking on their website we discovered you can connect it to WiFi removing the need for it to be near your router, article here . Giving even more freedom where you can put it. As we mentioned Moobox communicates to its hub via its own 2GHz WiFi  so the camera needs to be in range, so not too far from the hub.

2. Press the large button on the hub for 2 seconds then the  button on the camera. Both lights flash blue and then turn green to show the sync was successful.

3. Once the two are synced you scan the QR code to add the hub to the app.

Installing the camera was easy, it comes with 3M pads as well as screws and raw plugs to attach the ball mount to any surface. However the camera does not lock into the mount, it’s only held magnetically, so anyone can pull it down. That said they would be recorded and saved on the hub and in the cloud.

Family sharing is done via one account – removing the need to remember multiple logins.

What’s the connectivity?

At present Moobox does not connect to any other smart home tech, like Alexa or IFTTT.
This again was decided by surveying their existing users, only 18% wanted this feature.

However they do plan on integrating it at some point but do not have any timescales yet. By their own admission they would rather focus on their app and hardware before looking at 3rd parties.

How much does Moobox cost?

£119.98 direct from Amazon

What’s it like living with Moobox?

It’s a great Camera, its very handy not having to worry about wires and power where you want to use it. The quality of the pictures is impressive – even in low light and night time it gives a clear picture.

The app is easy to use, it has two main views Cams and Events. You can also choose if you want to view from hub storage or cloud storage. Each event can also be exported and saved to your phone storage.

When the motion sensor is enabled you receive push notifications to let you know motion has been detected. This is then saved in the app.

Some features are missing from the app, but we understand this is by design and not everyone is as geeky as us and wants all the bells and whistles.

The app has also not been optimised for iPhone X resulting in a few options and buttons overlapping. However lots of household name apps still are not optimised so they are not the only one!

What are our final thoughts?

This is a good camera, it’s great not having wires!

If you are looking for a simple camera that just works and records motion locally as well as the cloud this could well be the one for you.

If you are looking for a security camera that does more and connects to your other smart home tech Moobox isn’t right for you.

As always we will update this review as and when new features are released.

This review is for your furry friend in your Smart Home! Petcube Bites.

What does Petcube Bites do?!

Petcube Bites is a HD 1080P camera with one big difference, it can throw treats!

It also features:

• Two way audio
• Wide-angle view
• Night vision
• 3x digital zoom
• Recording ability and cloud video storage.

It includes a limited free cloud storage of 4 hours, for longer periods you need to subscribe.  A feature they call Petcube Care.

One very innovative feature is Facebook live – you can stream your interaction with your pet. This is pretty awesome, especially as at present Facebook gives a notification to all your friends that you are live. Just don’t tell your pet or they won’t want to perform under the pressure!

The app is great fun, the treats are thrown in a similar style to Angry Birds allowing you to choose how far you throw it. It can throw treats to nearly 2 meters!

This is done by dragging up the bone, below, and releasing the white circle.
It also gives you notifications when your pet moves near it, or if you use it it records it as an interaction.

When we spoke to Petcubes they told us new features are always being thought of and can be released via free software updates.

They are well established in the smart pet space with over 100,000 Petcube owners world wide. As well as winning multiple innovation and design awards.

How easy is it to setup?

Setup was easy, you basically plug in the unit and create the account. The box contains everything you could possibly need even raw plugs if you wanted to wall mount it.

When creating your account you create a profile, this includes adding your pets.

We were pretty impressed how extensive the list of breeds was even our Japanese Chin was listed.

One of the biggest challenges for setup was finding the right type of treat.

How much does Petcube Bites cost?

£199 from Amazon.co.uk

Alternatively their website is:

What’s the connectivity?

Petcube Bites connects directly with Facebook – you can even live stream directly from the app.

It also has an Alexa App allowing you to throw treats with your voice!

What’s it like living with it?

We tested it for quite a few weeks with our cat and dog.

The first tricky part was finding treats that worked well in the UK. Due to the mechanism the treats it throws have a maximum and minimum size.

We tried quite a few different treats only to find they jam or come out in bulk. We eventually found something suitable in our local pet shop. Sorry it was unbranded and sold loose otherwise we would tell you what exactly we found worked for other UK readers.

One frustration was the recommended treats were not available in the UK. Likewise the Amazon Dash subscription option in the app was all setup for USA and not UK. As it has only recently been released in the UK we assume this will be updated in a later app update.

If this worked it would be cool as it can automatically re-order treats when low via Amazon!

Petcube Bites Wi-Fi Pet Camera With Treat Dispenser

Once we had the correct treats we needed to find the puurrrrrfect, sorry couldn’t resist, place for the unit. First we tried on a table and then kitchen worktop, finally finding it is best on the floor. This way our pet can see it and understand it a bit better.

Our cat seemed to get the grip much quicker, coming over for treats almost instantly after being called via the 2-way audio.

Our dog took a little training to understand what it was. The first few time we called her she ran to the front door looking for us. To overcome this we trained her by one person being with her when another calls via the app. The person ‘at home’ then showed her where the voice was coming from and reassured her it was ok.

The limited free cloud storage is good however not being able to download videos without a subscription is slightly frustrating. The subscription, Petcube Care, is aligned with the market leader Nests charges.

Petcube Care prices:

• 3 days – $4.99 / month
• 10 days – $9.99 / month
• 30 days – $24.99 / month

Nest charges:

• £8 / month for 10 days
• £24 / month for 30 days

What are our final thoughts?

Petcubes bites is great!

Once your pet gets used to it, it is a fun way of interacting with your pet while you’re at work or just not in. Playing with your pet is not only great fun but stress relief, we found it was great little break from work when feeling stressed and wanted to relax. It is also good for your pet as can help with separation anxiety and boredom. So its win win!

There is a lot they can do to upgrade this product and were pretty excited to see where it goes, for example IFTTT so if it detects motion lights can be turned on.

If you are a smart home and animal lover this is something for you.

Like Ring did with the vide doorbell Ring have reinvented the floodlight or, as we normally call them in the UK, security light.

(Read our Ring Doorbell UK review)

On top of super bright twin LED lights it is packed with extra features; HD camera with facial and object recognition, 2 way audio and a 110 decibel alarm!!

The light is controlled by the same app as the doorbell and has a similar level of customisation and sensitivity settings. It also works with IFFTTT.

The light has to be hard wired, we assume this is because once mounted no one wants to climb up a ladder to change a battery every 4 weeks.

It only supports 2.4 GHz Wi-FI, this will be to get maximum range. However is slightly short sighted as a lot of homes now have garden or garage access points so a 5GHz should have been an option especially for a video device with live option.

We really like the idea of this product but have quite a few concerns – probably one to watch before purchasing.

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