YI Home Camera Review

We installed the YI Home Camera in two different rooms and tested its app while home and away.
Best ultra-budget camera
Yi Home Camera 3
YI 1080p Home Camera
3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5
  • pro
    Smart cloud search
  • pro
    Night vision
  • con
    Poor connection
Cloud plan
Monthly price
Days of storage
Number of cameras
24/7 emergency service
Entry71
Icon No  LightNo
Standard155
Icon No  LightNo
Plus305
Icon Yes  LightYes

Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

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Kasey Tross
Jul 11, 2022
Icon Time To Read6 min read

Considering an affordable security camera like the YI 1080p Home Camera? You might like its easy install, smart detection, and smart cloud search.

But its video is choppier than a chef on a cooking show and the two-way audio is spotty, so we have some reservations.

pro
Pros
pro Easy installation
pro Smart cloud search
pro Smart alert detection
pro Low price tag
con
Cons
con Choppy video
con Delayed connection
con Spotty two-way audio

How YI stacks up to other cheap 1080p security cameras

Camera
Price
Cloud storage
Field of view
Smart home integration
Learn more
Read review
YI 1080p Indoor Security CameraYI 1080p
Home Camera
Starts at $4.99/mo.112° Amazon Alexa,
Google Assistant
Wyze Cam v3Wyze Cam v3
Starts at $1.99/mo.130º Amazon Alexa,
Google Assistant
Reolink LumusReolink Lumus
Starts at $4.99/mo.100º Amazon Alexa,
Google Assistant
Blink Mini indoor security cameraBlink Mini
Starts at $3.00/mo.110º Amazon Alexa
Merkury Smart WiFi CameraMerkury Smart WiFi Camera
None115º Amazon Alexa,
Google Assistant,
Microsoft Cortana

Amazon.com list price as of post date. Read full disclaimer.

When it comes to features and price, YI is similar to Wyze Cam v3 and Blink Mini. YI Home Camera doesn't have Wyze's weatherproofing or Blink's user-friendly controls, so it’s got some tough competition.

The YI Home Camera has an attractive modern design, but it's not as maneuverable as other home security cameras. It doesn't have a fully pan-tilt lens like Wyze Cam Pan—you can only move the YI up and down—so mounting it on a wall might make it difficult to get a good viewing angle.

Fortunately, the YI Home Camera's wide-angle lens makes up for its lack of maneuverability. No matter the size or shape of the room I placed it in, it was easy to find a good angle that captured the majority of the room's area.

What's in the box

  • YI Home Camera 1080p
  • USB cable AC adapter
  • USB power cable

YI Home Camera video

Video quality

YI Home Cameras use 1080p HD video, so the daytime picture quality was nice and clear when the connection was good. Turning your smartphone screen to the left or the right simulates camera panning so you can see more of the picture. (We won't talk about how much time I spent entertaining myself doing that.) The camera's night vision was also quite clear, so no complaints there.

Smart detection

This camera can detect the difference between humans, animals, and other motion, helping you discern between pets, friends, and foes.

YI Home Camera audio

Two-way audio

I've used security cameras with two-way audio before, and I've found that it's a great way to talk with my kids when they're at home and I'm not. Sadly, the YI Home Camera's two-way audio rarely worked, and when it did, the sound kept cutting out—on both sides. The last thing I need is yet another way for my kids to avoid listening to me, so it was disappointing.

Sound detection

The YI's sound detection feature worked great for alerting me to loud noises, and I could adjust its sensitivity. It's a nice feature if you want to use the IP camera as a baby monitor or get notified if your dog barks when you're not at home.

YI app

I set the camera up in my office, and despite the poor performance of its live feed, YI's motion sensor video recordings and app notifications worked pretty well. 

Connectivity

Unfortunately, the YI Home Camera often had very poor connectivity. Whenever I opened the app, it took several seconds to a full minute to buffer. When you're anxious to see what triggered a notification, that amount of time feels like an eternity. If it did finally manage to connect, the video was choppy and occasionally pixelated. 

Sometimes the app would tell me the camera couldn't connect and ask me to check network settings. When I did, it always showed connectivity as "excellent."

Other times, the app didn't give me any notifications about connectivity, and I would assume it was connected. But when I'd walk through the room and still see a "live" video feed of an empty room, I'd realize it wasn't really a live feed at all. 

It's a cool trick for a bank heist movie, but not so great for my home security camera.

Notifications

When the IP camera detected motion, the app sent a notification to my phone. The videos were mostly clear, but to view anything longer than a six-second notification clip, I had to switch over to cloud storage or the SD card footage.

I liked that I could adjust the frequency of the notifications in the app so I wouldn't get a constant stream when my kids decided to use my office for a game of hide-and-seek, or when my husband was going in and out searching for his tape measure. (It was on his desk the whole time.) 

I could also set a schedule for the camera so I wouldn't get notifications while I was in there working.

YI cloud storage

If you buy monthly cloud storage, you’re looking at plan tiers around $5, $12, and $19. You can save $50 if you pay yearly.

The YI app includes a cheaper basic plan that's only $3.99 a month and not offered on the website. So be sure to shop both the app and the website to find a plan that works for you.

YI's monthly cloud storage fees are about the same price as you'll find on Reolink cameras, but Reolink covers more cameras and is more reliable overall. By comparison, Wyze security cameras give you free 14-day rolling cloud storage for all motion- or sound-detected events.

If you opt out of cloud service, you can use the YI camera's microSD card storage (SD card not included) instead. We inserted an SD card into the slot for our test period, and it gave us about three days of motion-triggered recordings, even in high-traffic areas.

Smart cloud search

We like that YI Cloud adopted the fast scanning feature like Google Nest cameras use so you can find the recording you need quickly by looking through a spread of thumbnail shots. 

Unfortunately, trying to play back the clips from these thumbnail images worked only about half the time. You can also fast-forward video up to 32x normal speed to search through it quickly.

YI smart home compatibility

YI Home Cameras didn’t used to sport smart home integration, but now it connects with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. This is a huge win since its lack of integration knocked it down a peg in our ratings previously.

YI setup and installation

Installing the YI Home Camera took only about 15 minutes, with no tools required. The app and voice prompts from the camera walked me through every step of setup.

  • The camera base has adhesive so you can conveniently stick it to a wall or another flat surface with no screws. 
  • The magnetic base lets you securely attach it to a metal surface like a refrigerator (so you can finally see who's been eating your favorite yogurt). 
  • YI Home Cameras need a wall outlet. Unfortunately, its cord is only about 6 feet long, so if you want to put it somewhere farther from an outlet, you'll need to use an extension cord.

YI customer service

When I contacted YI support with a question via email, a representative got back to me with a personalized response within 24 hours. There's no other customer support beyond email—though the website has an automated chat bot to help you find information.

Final word

We love how the YI 1080p Home Camera funnels great features from pricey top cameras into this inexpensive home camera: smart detection, smart cloud search, and smart home integration. But we wish YI created quality technology to prevent lag and keep its video feed connected.

You can find more camera recommendations on our rankings of wireless home security cameras and cheap security cameras.

YI Home Camera FAQ

Yes, but it's a pain to use. Fortunately, you can also download the app on your iOS device, Android device, smartphone, or tablet.

The biggest pro to wired security cameras is that you never have to worry about changing batteries. The cons are that you're more limited in placement than you might be with wireless security cameras and you're more vulnerable to power outages.

Keep in mind that some "wireless" security cameras may still need to be wired for power—understanding how wireless cameras work can help you choose between wired and wireless IP cameras.

You can't have the camera monitored, but YI does offer a 24/7 Emergency Response button that you can add to your app for around $5 a month. Pushing the button puts you in touch with Noonlight Certified Emergency Specialists who can send help to your location if needed.

How we reviewed the YI Home Camera

We tested the YI Home Camera 1080p by installing it first in a living room and then in a home office. We monitored the camera using the YI Home app on an iPhone, and we tested the connection both at home and away.

We tested the camera's features with normal use, and we also used scenarios that simulated real-world applications. Our full methodology can tell you more about our review process.

Related articles on SafeWise


Disclaimers

Product prices and availability are accurate as of post date and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. SafeWise.com utilizes paid Amazon links.

Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon. This content is provided "as is" and is subject to change or removal at any time.

†Google, Google Assistant, and other related marks are trademarks of Google LLC.

Kasey Tross
Written by
Kasey is a trained Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member and a freelance writer with expertise in emergency preparedness and security. As the mother of four kids, including two teens, Kasey knows the safety concerns parents face as they raise tech-savvy kids in a connected world, and she loves to research the latest security options for her own family and for SafeWise readers.

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