Video doorbell for elderly parents

[MissFizzyPop]

I'm looking into options for a video doorbell for my parents. They've recently been affected by dealing with a doorstep rogue trader, and I believe that having a camera of some kind would hopefully act as a deterrent and also record conversations on the doorstep as well.

The trouble is that only my mum has a smartphone but she isn't too confident with it. My dad has a mobile but not a smart one. Dad is the one more likely to let strangers into the house (not confident at saying no) and Mum is out at her hobby most days so she worries about might happen.

Any experience or suggestions on what set up other elderly people are using please? Can a video doorbell be set up from a laptop?

My FIL has a ring doorbell. It's a Google one and he had a nest one in his previous property

My husband has the doorbell set up to trigger on his phone so can see who is calling. FIL is 96, fully compos mentis but partially sighted and quite deaf. He is also quite slow getting to the door.

I have a ring doorbell and I think you need an app to set it up but you can view everything on a computer, I have it on my iMac and can get the notifications there. Maybe it could be set up on your mums smartphone but then viewed on the laptop as the picture is much bigger.

You have to pay subscription to Ring to view and store recordings which is now about £50 a year per camera, this can be a bit annoying to find out if you don't realise when buying the device

You can view the ring doorbell on your own /other family members' devices if you want to monitor activity or interact with callers.

If you don't subscribe can you still use the camera?

I have my mum's ring door bell on the app as well as my own. I can see everyone that comes and goes. It has been really useful . I've got one too for our house and you can log both in on the app x

I'm not sure, I think it is very limited, you can't save, review or share videos. I have always subscribed but it has gone up a lot and is an ongoing upward cost to make full use of the camera. It's best to check before buying one exactly what you get or don't get for this subscription charge.

I bought the Eufy brand as no subscription needed and very easy to set up. You could also add yourself to the group and get notifications of activities and ring events if your parents would like that.
I find it good and can check it from abroad.
It has the option to use battery or to be wired in. I left it as battery operated for the moment but might use the old door wiring when I get around to it.

I bought it from a local shop but this is the same one.

https://amzn.eu/d/jeZ2t0E

Just to add that the videos and data are saved locally, so definitely possible to access and send via WhatsApp for example.

@BobnLen

Thanks

My DM has a Ring doorbell set up with an Alexa Show (the big Alexa Show - it's about the size of a laptop screen). When someone presses the doorbell the screen on the Alexa Show (usually has photos on one side and and weather/diary/shopping list/messages we've sent on the other) changes to show the doorbell view full screen. I'm sure she could actually press a button and speak through the doorbell from there, but she doesn't tend to do that. My sister and I also get notifications that someone has pressed the bell and we can speak to them if necessary. We have it set so it detects movement, not just if someone presses the button.