Home LivingSmart Home6 spots you should never install your smart security cameraDon’t put your smart security camera in these places!When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Home LivingSmart Home6 spots you should never install your smart security cameraDon’t put your smart security camera in these places!When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Don’t put your smart security camera in these places!
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Blink)
(Image credit: Blink)
Having thebest smart security camerainside or outside your home helps you protect and monitor your property, detect and deter intruders, greet visitors, and gain peace of mind while you’re away from home. But if your smart security camera isn’t set up properly or it’s installed in the wrong place, you’re not giving your home proper protection or getting value out of your money.
When installing your smart security system, it can be easy to fall intocommon smart security camera mistakes. Whether you’ve put it too far away from your Wi-Fi or you’ve hidden your camera too well, the biggest mistake you can make when setting up your camera is putting it in a bad area. To make sure you’re capturing all the action and you aren’t missing any blind spots, avoid putting your smart security camera in these 6 indoor and outdoor places.
1. Behind obstructions
When setting up your smart security camera, you might be tempted to hide it so it doesn’t get stolen or so you can sneakily catch intruders from breaking and entering into hard-to-spot areas around your home. But hiding your camera means it’s more likely to get stuck behind obstructions, hit blind spots or be too far away from the action. Even if you’ve only partially hidden it behind the external wall of your house, this can obstruct parts of your cameras’ field of vision and cut out vital images and video.
2. Between trees & plants
3. Places that are too high
For a better field of view, you might think having your camera high outside your house can solve all your problems. However, if your camera is too high, you won’t be able to make out key details about the people who visit your home. For example, if you’ve installed your camera too high and someone breaks in, the height of your camera can make it difficult to pick out any distinguishing features of the burglar. This can result in police not being able to find the perpetrator and can even lead to a lack of conviction.
To solve this issue, put your camera at a similar height or just above the height of your doors. If you’re worried about bad camera vision, make sure to choose a camera which has 180 or 360-degree viewing angles, like theArlo Pro 5or theTP-Link Kasa Spot KC100.
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
(Image credit: Google)
(Image credit: Google)
4. Places that are too low
Along the same vein, you don’t want your security camera to be too low either. With anoutdoor security camera, you want to be able to see a full body view of the people coming to your house. If it’s at shoulder or chest height, you risk not being able to see your guests’ or intruders’ faces and your camera is more likely to get stolen. For indoor security cameras, if you put it in a spot where people can easily bump into it or your pet could knock it over, you risk your camera getting broken and having to constantly adjust and move it around.
5. Bedrooms
Regardless of whether you’re trying to catch someone breaking into your child’s bedroom or you’re just trying to keep them safe, having a camera in a bedroom isn’t a good idea. Simply put, it’s a violation of privacy and most of the footage is likely to be hours of sleeping which can clog up your video storage. Another big thing to keep in mind is that if someone hacks into your camera and accesses your video footage, hackers can see and share private moments and information. If your camera has two-way audio, hackers can also speak to you or your children over the microphone which isn’t something anyone wants to worry about or deal with.
6. Bathrooms
Similar to bedrooms, you never want to install a security camera in a bathroom because of privacy issues for your family or anyone who visits your home. While this seems like quite an obvious spot to not install a security camera, it’s also worth thinking about where your outdoor security camera is positioned. If you’re trying to get an overall view of your street and neighbourhood, make sure it’s not pointing into anyone’s bathroom as it’s illegal to record people without their knowledge and consent.
Today’s best Home Security deals$8.99ViewLow Stock$23.38$15.50View$17.99ViewShow More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Home Security deals$8.99ViewLow Stock$23.38$15.50View$17.99ViewShow More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Home Security deals
$8.99ViewLow Stock$23.38$15.50View$17.99View
$8.99View
$8.99View
$8.99View
$8.99
$8.99
Low Stock$23.38$15.50View
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
$23.38$15.50View
$23.38$15.50View
$23.38$15.50
$15.50
$17.99View
$17.99View
$17.99View
$17.99
$17.99
Show More Deals
Show More Deals
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Build bigger arms in just 30 minutes with this 5-move dumbbell-only workoutIt’ll leave the biceps and triceps popping!
It’ll leave the biceps and triceps popping!
OMEGA puts the moon on your wrist with its new Speedmaster Moonphase MeteoriteOMEGA adds two new Moonphase Meteorite watches to its Speedmaster line-up
OMEGA adds two new Moonphase Meteorite watches to its Speedmaster line-up
Withings’ smart mirror combines a smartwatch and scales into a full-length health scannerWithings debuts new conceptual smart health mirror at CES 2025
Withings debuts new conceptual smart health mirror at CES 2025
LG’s latest smart lamp grows indoor plants and sets the mood – but you might not get oneLG combines smart lighting with indoor gardening
LG combines smart lighting with indoor gardening
Samsung announces new AI home screens for its smart fridges and laundry appliancesSamsung previews its CES launches, including new AI Home screens
Samsung previews its CES launches, including new AI Home screens
I’m a smart home expert – these are the best smart home releases from 202411 smart home releases from 2024 actually worth buying, including Amazon Echo and Google Nest
11 smart home releases from 2024 actually worth buying, including Amazon Echo and Google Nest
Homey launches affordable smart home hub for less than $200It’s available to preorder from today
It’s available to preorder from today
Hisense’s CES smart home launches have been revealed – and they’re about to make household chores a lot easierThere are five new products altogether
There are five new products altogether
New study reveals the huge security flaw that homeowners are overlooking in the winterYale experts reveal how safe your home is in the winter – and how to improve your security
Yale experts reveal how safe your home is in the winter – and how to improve your security
Skylight adds an AI ‘sidekick’ to its smart calendars and it can plan your weekly mealsSkylight’s new AI Sidekick plans your meals, sets chores and organises your calendar
Skylight’s new AI Sidekick plans your meals, sets chores and organises your calendar
