Botslab R810SE Review: The Doorbell You Never Charge
Two 2K video doorbells, side by side. One has a solar panel and never comes off the wall; the other comes down every six months to charge. Here's the one I'd put on my front door.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWXrSMDl2Y0
THE VERDICT
The Botslab R810SE is the one I'd put on my front door. Image quality was a tie with the pricier 2K doorbell I tested it against, but the R810SE adds a solar panel so you never take it down to charge, a wider view that catches the package on the ground, a specific package alert, and Botslab IQ descriptions that tell you what actually happened. If tight Google or Alexa integration matters most to you, the other doorbell is the better fit.
Here's the thing nobody tells you about battery video doorbells: the battery is the feature you end up hating. Every few months it has to come off the wall, go inside to charge, and leave your front door unwatched while it does.
So I put two 2K doorbells side by side. Same resolution. One of them, the Botslab R810SE, ships with a solar panel and costs less. The other is more expensive and has to come down about every six months to charge. I wanted to know whether that price gap actually shows up anywhere that matters.
Out of the box: the difference is obvious
The first thing you notice when you unbox them is the solar panel. The Botslab has one; the other doorbell doesn't. That's the whole "never charge it" story, and it's sitting right there in the box.
The second thing is easy to miss and turns out to be a big deal: the Botslab comes with two mounting plates, and one of them is angled. The other doorbell gives you a single flat plate. If your front door is like ours, where you want to see people coming up the path rather than just staring straight out, that angled plate is exactly what you need.
Setup: a tie
Both were easy and straightforward to set up. Both pair over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi through an app, with a very similar process. Nothing to separate them here. The difference shows up after installation.
Picture quality: honestly, the same
Both are 2K, and I'm not going to pretend one looks dramatically better than the other. The image quality is very similar. If you were hoping I'd pick a winner on sharpness, I can't, and I'd rather tell you that than invent a difference.
Where the Botslab pulls ahead
✦ A wider view. In the field-of-view comparison, the Botslab covers 180 degrees diagonal against 166 degrees on the other doorbell. That extra 14 degrees is what makes you more likely to actually see the package sitting on the ground in front of the door.
✦ A real package alert. When I put a package by the door, the R810SE sent a notification that specifically said a package was detected. The other doorbell just sent a generic motion alert.
✦ Botslab IQ. Instead of "motion detected", it describes what happened in the clip: a person walking on the sidewalk, a person walking away from the porch. You know what the recording is before you open it, which is incredible.
✦ Smart filters. You can filter events by people, vehicles, or special events, so you aren't scrolling through every leaf that moved.
Same 2K picture. The Botslab just tells you more about what it saw.
Botslab R810SE specs
Resolution 2K (3MP)
Power Battery, kept topped up by the included solar panel charger
Wi-Fi 2.4GHz
Weatherproofing IP66
Storage microSD up to 128GB, plus optional cloud backup
Smart features Package alerts, Botslab IQ event descriptions, filters for people, vehicles and special events
In the box Two mounting plates, one angled
Price about $69 when I filmed it; Botslab's own store listed the doorbell and solar panel kit at $100.99 at the time of writing
What I liked
✦ No charging. The solar panel means it stays on the wall.
✦ Cheaper than the doorbell I compared it with, and it still has more of the features I care about.
✦ The angled mounting plate in the box.
✦ A wider view that catches packages on the ground.
✦ Package-specific alerts and Botslab IQ descriptions instead of generic motion pings.
What I would change
✦ Smart home integration. If your house runs on Google or Alexa, the other doorbell is the one that integrates well with those platforms. That's the one thing the pricier option does better.
✦ Picture quality isn't a step up. It matches the competition rather than beating it.
✦ 2.4GHz only. Make sure your router is broadcasting a 2.4GHz network near the door.
Should you buy the Botslab R810SE?
Buy it if you never want to think about charging a doorbell again
If you want to put a doorbell up and forget about it, and you want it to tell you when a package arrives and explain what happened in each recording, the Botslab R810SE is the right fit. Especially at the lower price, you really can't beat that.
Skip it if Google or Alexa integration is your priority
If tight integration with your Google or Alexa setup is the main thing you want from a doorbell, the other doorbell I tested is probably the better choice.
Check the current price of the Botslab R810SE on Amazon
Buy the Botslab R810SE from the official Botslab store
Follow Botslab on YouTube at @Botslab750 and on Instagram at @botslabofficial.
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