IMOU DB60 review: Cheap but flawed

Video doorbells are a frequent sight on UK streets these days, but not every doorbell is made equal. Some popular brands have hidden costs to them and lock core features behind monthly subscriptions. Not so the IMOU Doorbell DB60.

This is a doorbell that is not only reasonably cheap to buy and packed with features but can be used without a subscription, unlike many of its big rivals. It’s flawed in some irritating ways, but if you can put up with its foibles it delivers a lot of doorbell for the money.

IMOU DB60 review: What do you get for the money?

The Imou DB60 is reasonably priced at £110 and comes with a generous selection of extras. Not only do you get the doorbell itself and all the screws and wall anchors you need for installation, but there’s also a wireless chime, two wedge brackets for angling the camera towards your visitors and even a 6mm drill bit for those who need help installing the doorbell on a masonry wall.

That’s before you get to the specifications of the doorbell itself, which is impressively well equipped. It captures video at 2,400 x 1,800 resolution and 15fps with a 164-degree horizontal field of view, and comes with 4GB of internal storage so you don’t have to pay for a cloud video storage subscription. It’s also reasonably smart to look at – a bit blocky but not overly large – and has a small LED light built into the base to illuminate visitors.

The doorbell can be powered either via existing mains doorbell wiring or its internal 6,200mAh battery. If you go with the latter, IMOU says it will last up to six months per charge, although real-world battery life will depend on how often the motion sensor is triggered. If your door is facing directly onto the street, for instance, and is triggered every time someone walks past, it will likely need charging every couple of months or so.

Other features include human detection and custom motion zones so the doorbell doesn’t trigger when your neighbour walks up to their front door, for example. There’s also a selection of canned audio responses you tap to play back if you don’t want to talk to whoever’s at the door, and you can also create your own. In addition, there’s IP65 certification for dust and water resistance.

Remote video and audio connection is provided via single-band 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connectivity.

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IMOU DB60 review: How easy is it to install?

If you choose to use it as a battery-powered doorbell, the IMOU Doorbell DB60 is simplicity itself to install. First, charge it up via the micro USB socket on its rear, download the IMOU Life app and pair it with the chime as per the instructions in the app, which is all pretty straightforward.

Next, attach the mounting plate to your door frame, clip the doorbell in place and you’re ready to go. If you’re having trouble with wireless range, the chime can be used as an extender, which is a nice touch.

If you want to hardwire the doorbell, installation is a bit more involved. If you already have the wiring in place, it can be completed by a competent DIYer, but I wouldn’t recommend doing this if you don’t have a pre-existing transformer and chime box. Leave that to a professional electrician.

IMOU DB60 review: What does it do well?

There are a number of things to like about the DB60, and chief among these is that the doorbell can be used restriction-free without a subscription.

While other manufacturers such as Ring require you to pay a monthly fee to unlock even core features such as motion detection zones and person detection, you can use these on the DB60 even if you don’t pay for cloud storage.

Video quality is decent, too. Visuals are sharp thanks to the camera’s 2K resolution and the HDR works reasonably well, delivering balanced exposures even when there’s strong backlighting at play.

I was also very impressed with the responsiveness of the doorbell. When someone presses the bell, both the chime and smartphone app fire off one to two seconds afterwards at most, and bringing up the video feed in the smartphone app is quick, too. This is particularly important these days when impatient couriers often wait less than a minute for an answer before walking off. Every second counts.

READ NEXT: Our guide to the best Ring doorbells to buy

IMOU DB60 review: What could it do better?

Alas, the IMOU DB60 is also beset by a list of irritating issues, headlined by its confusing UI and settings. My biggest problem here is that the doorbell is, by default, set only to detect motion or humans when they stay in frame for 15 seconds – the Stay Length setting in the Performance Mode section.

This meant that, initially, I thought the doorbell was broken as it rarely detected anyone approaching and leaving the door quickly. However, it worked well once I’d adjusted the Stay Length setting to five seconds or “Unlimited”, where it alerts you the moment it sees someone approach.

More confusion ensues when you try to download video clips from the doorbell’s internal memory. Again, at first I thought it couldn’t be done, but then I tapped a few random on-screen buttons and discovered how to do it.

It goes something like this: first, start playing the video you want, then hit the record button and, when it’s finished, tap the icon that pops up next, asking if you want to view the clip in local storage. On the next screen, select the video and share or save it as needed. Quite why you can’t just select the clip and share it directly from the event timeline is beyond me.

Other issues are less serious but nonetheless serve to undermine the DB60’s overall appeal. For one, the vertical field of view of the camera is limited, so you can’t see down to the floor to check if packages have been left on your doorstep.

For another, audio quality isn’t great. There isn’t much lag but the sound quality is poor, with background noise interfering and voices sounding crushed and overcompressed. This may not be an issue for you if, like me, you don’t tend to converse with jittery couriers over two-way audio, but audio quality could definitely be clearer.

And, while it’s nice that a chime is included in the box, it’s a bit too quiet for my liking. As a result, you may find it tricky to hear over the hubbub of daily life and, if you live in a medium-sized or larger house, you’ll probably want to consider wiring it up to a louder mechanical or electrical chime box.

IMOU DB60 review: Should you buy it?

The IMOU Doorbell DB60 is well specified and well priced and overall a pretty decent product. I like the fact that you can use it without a subscription, image quality is good for the money and it works well – as long as you’re prepared to work with its idiosyncrasies.

Its list of small annoying flaws means that it can’t be recommended for smart video doorbell newbies, however, especially not when there are better products on the market for less.

Why not check out the battery-powered Ezviz DB2 instead? It’s cheaper than the IMOU and often discounted, and also comes with a chime in the box.