The Yale Smart Living All in One Outdoor Camera is a new product from Yale that integrates a camera, siren and spotlight. It is a device which acts as a stand-alone device (it requires no DVR or additional CCTV equipment) and in essence is plug in and play.

The All in One Outdoor Camera does what it says on the tin. It is a multifunction too which comes with an IP65 rating. Its rigged with a 160-lumen spotlight and 110db siren built into, making a multipurpose camera. In fairness, it was the functionality of the gadget that originally drew me to it. I was only looking for a spotlight, but the added features meant that I could drill less holes and get more!

Due to the siren and spotlight, there is no option to power this from a battery, so it uses a built-in 3m USB cable for power. If you’re looking to record, the camera takes a micro SD card which frees you from expensive or limited cloud storage subscription options, but also means an additional expense. The camera functions perfectly without an SD card, it’s just the recording you lose…depending on your application and reasoning for installation, this might not be an issue.

Set up

The set-up is two fold. Like most smart cameras an app is required to pair the hardware with a device. The Yale View app is what this particular camera works with, which is frustrating in a way if you have other Yale products as the apps for different products are separate. If you have a Yale alarm, wired CCTV, internal cameras one of these All in One Outdoor Cameras, it means 4 apps.

To set up you need to scan the QR code and input your WiFi password. The process is pretty automatic, unless you lose the QR code. The instructions state it’s on the camera, but on mine, it was on the box…best keep it safe!

The second phase of the setup is the installation and placement of the camera. The camera screws onto the base and there are plenty of adjustments available from the bevel arm to get the correct angle. The only fractionally difficult job is to route the USB power lead. Annoyingly, the lead is fixed, so you need to drill a hole large enough for the lead end to fit through. I went through the plastic eaves under the roof to keep things tidy, but drilling through brick and routing the USB to an internal socket shouldn’t be too much work (with a long enough drill bit.) Remember, you only get 3m of lead, so you’ll need to factor this into your installation plans.

App

The Yale View app is good in most respects. It functions well and allows you to both view the camera and apply any of the functions (light and siren) from anywhere. On good feature is that you can zone the motion sensitivity, which allows you to reduce false alerts and also makes the camera more neighbour friendly.

Another helpful feature is isolated control of the spotlight. You can alter its brightness or switch it on and off manually. If you just leave it, the light functions after dusk and the light emitted is perfect if angled correctly.

You can also optionally have the siren enabled. This is 110db and you get a warning when enabling it, that it may alert neighbours. I tested the siren and it’s equal to the Yale alarm siren – so it’s pretty substantial. It’s a shame that the camera can’t be linked to the Yale alarm really as it would make a perfect coupling.

The camera has 2 streams, one for SD and HD. Both streams are good for viewing on your phone, obviously SD is better away from WiFi. If you opt for a SD card, recordings are started automatically when motion is detected and you can access them via a timeline in the app.

The app has a low rating on the App Store, but ironically most of the issues stated are due to user incompetence and not the functionality…read into that what you will, I’ve had zero issues.

Performance

Considering I was only in the market for a smart spotlight, I’m really pleased I ended up opting for the All in One Outdoor Camera. The light is perfectly sensitive and adjustable in terms of both brightness and zoning. In addition the siren adds a useful extra (even if I’ve only used it to scare my wife so far.)

With regard to the camera, it functions as well as my wired CCTV. The recording element is a down side, but is reminders with a micro SD card and the sacrifice on this front is more than made up by the simplicity of the wiring and the installation.

Will this device alone stop anybody commuting any crimes? In isolation, I doubt it, but as part of a security system, or for lighting/monitoring this device is perfect.

Overall

My verdict is that the All in One Outdoor Camera is a cracking little addition to any home security system, or a good little standalone tool to monitor activity. The installation takes 10 minutes with minimal fuss and the functionality of the hardware and all means that usage is a breeze.

As with any CCTV, if a thief wants to make themselves unknown to a camera they will, but the presence of this kind of device acts as a deterrent. For me, the fact that the device has a light and siren is what makes it stand out to me.

At a shade over £100, you can’t really go wrong with this little Yale number!