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.