Netatmo offer some of the best HomeKit enabled smart cameras and doorbells. I’ve always liked their doorbells as they are one of the few smart video doorbells that don’t require subscriptions.
Here’s the latest status of HomeKit Secure Video support for Netatmo Products:
Netatmo HomeKit Secure Video Support
These are the Netatmo devices that currently support HomeKit Secure Video (HKSV)
| Netatmo Device | Homekit Secure Video Support |
|---|---|
| Netatmo Smart Indoor Camera | ✅ Yes |
| Netatmo Smart Outdoor Camera | ✅ Yes |
| Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell | ❌ No |
Does the Netatmo Video Doorbell work with HomeKit Secure Video
No. The Netatmo video doorbells won’t work with HomeKit Secure Video. Netatmo hinted at adding support for HKSV to their smart doorbells but after their engineer tried to integrate it, they weren’t able to get it working.
It came down to an issue with Power. The Netatmo Smart Video doorbell is low powered. But unfortunately the low power requirements of the hardware can’t successfully encode video at 30 fps which is required by HomeKit Secure Video. In other words, the chip is unable to encode the video successfuly.
This issue is further compounded by environmental factors. The doorbell will often be located in a sunny position. And this would cause the device to overheat if it needs to do video encoding.
The Netatmo video doorbell can record to a Micro SD card or to a local FTP server or even dropbox. So while it doesn’t work with HomeKit Secure Video it still offers good options.
If you don’t mind paying a subscription there are some great video doorbells that are readily available in Australia. Unfortunately the Netatmo is quite hard to buy and can be difficult to install.
Do Netamo’s Wired Cameras work with HomeKit Secure Video
Yes, both Netatmo’s indoor and outdoor wired cameras work with HomeKit Secure Video. I imagine the larger profile of the device, and wired power means they can successfully work with HKSV without overheating or draining the batteries.
If you’re looking for a smart camera that supports HomeKit secure video, I think the Netatmo cameras are some of the best available.
Why use HomeKit Secure Video?
HomeKit Secure Video is Apple’s cloud video service for security cameras. It’s similar to Google’s Nest Subscription and Ring’s Ring Protect Subscription. But unlike those subscriptions, HomeKit Secure Video is bundled with iCloud+, so you don’t need to buy an extra subscription.
If you’re already paying for iCloud+ or have an Apple One subscription, you will get access to HomeKit Secure Video for free!
HomeKit Secure Video integrates with the Home app on all your Apple Devices. You’ll see the video feed within the Home App and you can setup smart alerts for things like Pets and People through the app. You can access recordings of captured events the the Apple Home app. You don’t need to install any third party apps.
The best feature of HomeKit Secure Video is the security. Your video is encrypted end to end. Apple can’t see your video and can’t give access to your video to any third parties. Both Amazon and Google can give access to third parties. The encryption happens locally on your devices in your home and then uploaded to the cloud.
