My journey into the Pyle PIPCAMHD82BK FULL HD 1080P Wireless IP Security Surveillance Camera with SD Card Slot, PTZ: Pan and Tilt Control, 2 Way Audio and 16 Night Vision LEDs – P2P Remote Monitoring for your Home. Oh, and it was a journey, lol.

Sometimes setting up security cameras are a breeze, and sometimes you want to bang your head off the wall, and maybe through it. Setting this camera up was not nice at all! Just saying! Anyhow, as cameras go, the camera itself is wonderful. So, stick with it, and ignore the quick set up sheet that arrives with the camera. You do need to download the PyleIP Pro app from your Google Playstore or IOS, if that is what you have. Then, go ahead and bring everything into the room with the router. You need to set everything up from there, or don’t even bother. Plug the camera into both a power source and your router with the included router cable. The included power cable also plugs into the back of the camera. You will also need to have a QR scanner app installed on your phone or tablet too. After you have the App opened up on your phone, go to add camera, then pick option 4, QR scanner. Then turn the camera over and scan the QR code that is by itself on the camera, not the one with other camera information. It should pull up your camera and number. You need to name your camera, since you can run 6 off of this app. Then type in this password “pylecam” or one of these options:   000000, admin. A button should pop up stating if you want to make a new password, say yes, and type in your new password. Now, you should be able to see through your camera. But, you still need to set up your wifi, so do not disconnect from your router. Now, On the top of your phones screen, in your camera app, you should see an edit button. Press this and then press the set button on the camera of choice, in case you have more than one camera. That will pull up a list, select WIFI. Now, you should see a list of Wifis and one should include your homes WIFI. Press your homes WIFI, and insert the password to your wifi. Now, two unnamed buttons will pop up, lol. I tried both buttons, and the one on the left is the enter button. A count down should start which can take all of the 60 seconds. It will not tell you if you were right or wrong. I went back to the main page of camera selections, and my camera was connected. Now, disconnect from the router, and that is the true test. I then left the room, and turned off the lights, and left the camera in the room. I tested it this way the rest of the day.

Night Vision – Pretty darn clear! I am impressed with it. It throws enough light to clearly see about 15 feet. You can see further than that though. It’s not grainy at all. You would be able to identify a perpetrator easily with this camera since it’s so clear. It is a full HD 1080P camera after all.

Camera Controls from my phone. – All work very smoothly when camera app isn’t glitching. It doesn’t glitch much. What I mean by glitch is freeze, and you have to restart your phone. I have a new Note 5 phone too, so I am not pleased by this. You will understand why the very low rating on the app. You can direct the camera left to right and up and down from the app. You can take photos and video through the app as well. You need to add you own micro SD card into the camera to take video though. Your app will save photos and video though. But if you want video in any amount, you will need a micro SD card, or hooked up through your own security DVR or computer system. You can turn on the speech button so you can hear what’s going on through the camera too. You can zoom in, zoom out, and set up points. You can actually do a lot from the app when it’s working, lol.

The user friendliness of the website is not user friendly either. It’s so frustrating. I did finally get a number to call from an email, but when I pressed contact on the website, I only got an email option. My first response to my, “Camera won’t connect to my phone” inquiry, was that they only return emails on weekdays, so I waited. I then received this response, and I copied and pasted it here:

Hi Carol,

Thanks for reaching out!

I have responded to your inquiry to your email directly.

Please reply to me directly!

Thanks,

Michael Y- Sound Around USA

Mind numbing, isn’t it. I responded a little curtly, and asked for a phone number. I did finally receive a response with a number, but by then, I had figured it out on my own, after trying quite a few ways.

You will receive a mini CD with the camera, 1 camera, 1 AC power cord, 1 mounting bracket with hardware, 1 booklet of instructions, 1 quickstep set up sheet, 1 antenna, and 1 router cable in your package. My antenna broke at the bend. My 21 year old had to man handle it back into position, and then I taped it, lol. It still works perfectly. I downloaded the software to my computer. I couldn’t log into it though, so my maddening journey continues. I like to use these small cameras from my phone and tablet anyhow. At night, if I hear a noise, I do not have my computer next to my bed, I have my phone. That is why this option is highly important. I will call the number and work on the computer part later. I’m happy the camera is working with WIFI, and that is the important thing. Here is the support number they gave me, 718-535-1800 x279.

As cameras go, this is definitely a great working camera. I definitely give it 2 thumbs up. The app, once you connect your camera, isn’t too bad. I have a newer phone though, which I think is why it works better for me than it has others, from what I have read. I am personally finally very happy with this camera.

I was afforded the opportunity to review this product at a discount, in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.

If you would like to purchase this camera, it can be found here on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012I5Q1PM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage