How to Find the Best Wireless Security Cameras (for Easy Installation!)

Yes, depending on several factors such as WiFi or mobile signal strength, brand, and added features (which generally could add more cost on your camera). Wireless cameras transmit live footage or video through the internet or mobile network. You can receive these videos through cloud storage or directly to your smartphone through an app.

Do you need WiFi for home security cameras? It depends on what kind of camera. Wired CCTV cameras and cellular cameras do not requier a WiFi to send you a live footage or video. You can check out our best cellular security camera article if you are interested.

WiFi cameras are wireless and you can easily set them up anywhere as long as they are near to a power outlet (if your camera is not battery-operated). You can find many low-cost WiFi cameras because you don’t need to hire a professional to do the installation.

Don’t be fooled:

Plenty of people think “wireless” means no cables. You too? Sorry, you’ll still have to run power for most cameras.  And yes, that includes the ever-popular Nest cam!

What does wireless really mean? Strictly speaking, it means no wires, of course. But, what you’ll really get when doing a search for wireless cameras is a list of cameras that transmit their video feeds using wireless protocols (WiFi).  Most often, they still require a power source that is very dependent on wires. Chances are, you are searching for wireless cameras because you actually want to avoid drilling holes in walls, eaves, or attics to run cables all over your home or business!

To be truly wireless, you'll either want a battery-powered camera that will require periodic recharging or a solar security camera like the ones at Soliom.

That’s why, when you use our comparison tool, you can search for cameras that have wireless power sources too (AKA batteries).

You can follow along in a new tab if you like:

1. Visit our home security camera comparison page.
2. Click on the “Wireless Data” dropdown and select “Yes” and “Both.”
3. Click on the “Wireless Power” dropdown and select “Yes.”

Here’s a video walk through if you’re allergic to instructions. Open the home surveillance camera comparison tool in a new tab and follow along.

Yep, it’s just that easy. Here’s the current list:

• Netgear Arlo, Pro, or Ultra models
• Netgear VueZone
• Viper Home
• FLIR FX

You can take a look at the features offered by each camera, and you can even filter on other features that you’d like to have. Or, you can sort by cost if you aren’t that worried about the quality of the camera and just want something that’s affordable.

Here’s the catch:

You may have guessed it, but these cameras have to play some tricks to extend their battery life to something that you’ll tolerate. They do that by minimizing the amount of recording they do.

So, don’t expect to be reviewing hours of video of your empty house or your grass growing. Sensors on the cameras will “wake it up” when something happens so that it can capture video while something notable is happening. Then it will relay the information via your network, and then settle down for its next nap. Meanwhile, depending on the camera, you can get a notification pushed to your phone with an image or a video clip taken by the camera.  From there, you can log in to review video of the event. So, you can watch the UPS man tossing your package onto the porch from 5 feet away.

I’m sure you’re wondering what kind of battery life to expect. Of course, that depends on how often the camera wakes up to record video, but the Netgear Arlo claims a possible battery life of 6 months. That’s pretty impressive, but I would bet on something under that for typical use.

Here’s an idea of the battery life claimed by the manufacturers for those 3 cameras:

• Netgear Arlo – up to 6 months
• Netgear VueZone – up to 6 months
• Viper Home – up to 1 year
• Blink - 2 years

Netgear clarifies that the 6 month battery life is based on 5 minutes of recording a day. So, if you schedule the camera to record for longer, log on to view the live feed several times a day, or have the camera in a highly active area, you can plan for the battery life to scale down from there. After that, you’ll have to bring it in to recharge.

Hopefully, we helped you narrow your search for the best wireless home security cameras and saved you some time. If so, pay it forward by sharing this article with your friends.

Wireless security cameras work by sending videos through a radio transmitter. In order to access the video, the receiver should be connected to a storage device or through the cloud. The receiver could be your computer or smartphone where you can access a live footage or images by connecting to a WiFi or using a cellular network. Take note that the receiver should maintain a wireless connection in order to capture the feed from the wireless security camera.

Wireless security cameras can be wired or wire-free. A wired wireless security camera means that you need to plug its power cable to an electric outlet to turn it on. Here, the only wireless feature is the transfer of the video signal from the camera to a receiver or monitor.

A wire-free wireless security camera means you only need to put the batteries in turn it on. here, a wireless security camera is not totally wireless since you must set it up near an electrical outlet.

Wireless cameras are easier to install compared to wired systems. You don’t even need to hardwire these cameras to your property; simply mount them through the walls without any extra tools or accessories. You can follow the steps below to install wireless security cameras:

1. Choose where you want the cameras to be installed.
2. Get an approximation of the height that gets the best angle and view when installing cameras. Setting them up on high walls is recommended to keep your device safe from burglars. Make sure also that the camera is installed on a high place to cover the areas that need surveillance.
3. Using a pencil, mark a screw hole while holding a mounting bracket against your wall.
4. Drill the marked holes into the wall. Make sure that the bit you are using is slightly smaller than the screws.
5. Set the mounting bracket on the wall. Make sure that the screw holes are aligned with the holes you drilled on the wall.
6. Insert the screws on the holes while holding the mounting bracket against the wall. The mounting bracket should be secured well before placing the camera.
7. Place the camera into the mounting bracket. Plug the power cable to the nearest electric bracket or insert the batteries to turn the camera on.
8. Follow the manufacturer's manual to modify the settings of the camera and sync it with your devices.

Depending on the type of camera, wireless cameras can get power through an electric outlet, battery, or a solar panel.

Now don’t confuse the name with the Forward-Looking Infrared technology. FLIR FX cameras are HI-DEFINITION Wi-Fi security cameras for indoor and outdoor use. The designs are identical with a web camera and a bullet style or network CCTV camera. They also have the FXV101-HS camera for the sports and outdoor lovers. It resembles a GoPro that can be mounted on a helmet and has a waterproof case accessory.

Let me tell you what I mean. It’s a camera with:

The DCS-936L camera by IT equipment manufacturer giant D-Link is designed to look unsuspicious unlike most common security cameras. Its matte black color easily blends in shadows. What I like about its design is you can swivel and rotate the lens to focus to whatever direction you want while having its base firmly gripping on a flat surface. It’s like a foundation makeup or a candy box that you can open its lid.

The Ring Spotlight Camera has enhanced night vision capabilities and 140 degrees field of view. For IR night vision, the footage of the camera gives a tunnel vision effect at 30 feet. The footage can also look a little bit foggy but is still clear enough to recognize people. However, people’s faces are hardly recognized at a distance of 30 feet.

The Ring Spotlight Camera doesn’t provide a manual turn on or off of the night vision since its automatic. To test its colored video recording at night, you have to provide enough light to automatically trigger the night vision setting to turn off, otherwise you will still see black and white video. When using the LED flood light, the footage is much clearer but may still give a choppy and lag recording when a person moves in front of the camera.

The Yi Outdoor Camera is a new comer in the Yi family designed for outdoor installation. It has a resolution of 1080p HD and field of view of 110 degrees. However, it can be prone to glare especially if the surrounding areas have many lights. The footage can also start to pixelate at a distance of 30 feet.

Yi camera provides an option to set the camera to black and white or colored. It has a manual night vision IR light setting on the main menu but may still output a black and white footage, depending on the surrounding ambient lighting.

Compared to other varieties of Reolink cameras, the Reolink Argus 2 integrates a Starlight CMOS sensor which gives you a clear night vision.  The camera has a 130 degree field of view, 1080p resolution, PIR motion detection, and two-way audio capabilities. The downside, however, of Reolink Argus 2 is that the camera will stop recording if you are not moving enough in front of the camera, even if the sensitivity is set to high.

The Arlo Pro 2 is a higher-resolution version of Arlo Pro with a 1080p resolution. Its lens is surrounded with eight 850 nm night vision infrared LEDs which provides crisp and very good contrast. Unlike most wireless cameras, the Arlo Pro 2 has a high dynamic range, is not prone to glare, and can provide very clear recordings even at 30 feet.

The Arlo Pro 2 provides clear and crisp colored vision. However, using the LED flood light can cause the camera to capture too much glare, especially when you are in front of the camera.

The Blink XT is an outdoor camera that captures 1080p HD video at a 110-degree field of view. Instead of an illuminator, it uses infrared for enhanced night vision capabilities. However, the camera video can produce too much glare, especially when you are in front of the camera. The video also doesn’t provide crisp details especially at a distance of 20 to 30 feet.

The NEST outdoor camera is a weatherproof security camera with 1080p HD video, 8x zoom capabilities, and is equipped with infrared LEDs for night vision. The downside of this camera is that the footage can have a grainy texture at medium setting. A medium setting allows you to save bandwidth since it records 24-7. The high setting is an option, but overall doesn’t improve the look a lot over the medium setting. On the downside, the size of your file will be doubled. Also, a person standing 30 feet from the camera is not recognizable in the video recording.

The footage of the NEST outdoor camera may not be as clear as Argus 2 but it is enough to identify an object or face of a person. Footage also has minimal glare and provides crisp and good detail at high setting.