August pauses shipments of its smart doorbell to correct video problems

By Patrick Hearn Published April 26, 2019

August View video doorbell — Terry Walsh/Digital Trends

When you buy a new device, the last thing you want is to run into problems making it operate properly. However, that’s been the experience for many August View customers. The August View is August’s most recent addition to the market: A high-resolution smart video doorbell. The August View boasts two-way audio, motion detection, and streams and captures 1440p video.

The higher resolution immediately set the View apart from the competition. The Ring line of smart doorbells only stream in 1080p, and although Nest Hello can stream at 1,600 x 1,200 resolution, it requires wired installation. A better-quality lens minimized distortion and provided one of the clearest doorbell views to date.

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Unfortunately, early adopters began to experience less-than-optimal performance due to the View’s battery operated nature. The device took a long time to wake up, which resulted in many users reporting video capture of a person walking away with no view of their face. While the push notifications worked as they should, loading the livestream allegedly took as much as 20 seconds or longer.

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Users also reported poor exposure settings for the first few seconds of a video clip and limited motion-sensing functionality. While connectivity issues are worrying, the main area of concern is in the video quality of the device. An inability to see the person approaching your front door in time essentially renders the security functions useless.

To August’s credit, the company is aware of the problems and is making strides to correct them. In a statement released on Friday, April 26, August said it is pausing all shipments of the August View. Current customers have the option to keep their current device and receive a full refund in exchange for feedback on further testing. The company intends to implement “critical changes” in the days to come to correct these issues.

Customers have until May 3 to request a full refund. Customers that have not activated their units or do not wish to provide feedback can contact the retail store they purchased their device from to initiate return procedures.

August intends to sell the View again in the future once the obstacles and streaming difficulties have been worked out.

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Mobile Writer

Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…

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