Y-Cam
Is This Your Business?Author: Kaitlyn Short
Y-Cam is a British home security business that started in 2007. Their product offerings are at the intersection of smart home automation and home security monitoring. They sell indoor and outdoor IP cameras with night vision, alarms, and sensors with a 2-tiered service structure.
Tier 1, Y-Cam Protect, uses broadband connectivity to run your cameras, alarms, and notifications via your internet router. You can view live video footage and recorded clips, saved to your cloud account for free for seven days via the free app for smartphone or tablet users. This free service is only available for your first year. After that, you will need to subscribe and pay monthly fees.
The second tier, Y-Cam Protect Plus, adds technology and additional cloud storage to your camera's capabilities. For $9.99 per month, no contract necessary, you get the added Dual Path technology that routes alarm signals over mobile data if the internet is down. You also get 30-days of cloud storage for your video recordings, instead of just one week. We should note that there is no per-camera fee for storage. Some other companies charge you monthly, per device, but that is not the case with Y-Cam.
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- Free Cloud Access for 1 Year
- Location Recording
- Numerous Products
- No Contract
- 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Free Cloud Access for 1 Year
A new Y-Cam device comes with one year of free cloud storage for recorded clips, on a rolling 7 day basis. Although you must subscribe after one year to use the storage, it is only $9.99 per month. Other services charge monthly fees for subscriptions from the get go, without the first year free.
Location Recording
Y-Cam only records when motion is detected, but they have a special Smart Buffer that uses the camera's internal memory to record a few seconds before motion is detected. The motion-detected monitoring is helpful because it won't tie up your bandwidth and download speeds with unnecessary recording.
With the Y-Cam smartphone app, Location Recording will help to disable your camera's motion detection when you arrive home and enable it when you leave.
If you have an Amazon Echo Dot, you can tell Alexa to turn on or off your devices.
Numerous Products
You can purchase multiple cameras from Y-Cam at any time, as well as view numerous video feeds at once. There is no per-device fee for the recording service.
With motion detection as well as push notifications and email alerts, you can set up a customizable recording schedule. Y-Cam also has an alarm system and siren to further protect your home. Below is a breakdown of Y-Cam's offered products:
Protect Hub
Protect Hub is Y-Cam's alarm system. It is a wireless system that you can control from your Y-Cam app on iOS and Android devices. The system gives you push notifications to your app that will alert you when something is happening at your home, such as a break-in.
Because the system is wireless, it is a do-it-yourself solution that is easy to install. The sensors are "stick and go" sensors as well, so you can place the sensors anywhere you'd like and remove them in the future if you want to place them in a different location.
The system is customizable so you can expand the system to include as many remotes and sensors as you would like. It's also compatible with Amazon Echo Alexa.
Y-Cam does not currently have a price listed for its alarm system as it is not yet available.
Siren
The siren is solar powered as well as tamper-proof and is went to deter any unwanted activity at your house. The siren is 104 decibels and includes a flashing strobe light. It's also weatherproof, so you don't have to worry about covering it up to protect it from water. The siren costs a one-time fee of $99.99.
Indoor Camera
Y-Cam's indoor camera starts at $149.99 and includes seven free days of cloud video storage. The camera is easy to set up and functions as an HD Wi-Fi Cloud security camera. The camera sends motion-activated alerts and recordings to your Y-Cam app to keep you updated on your home's security. The camera also includes night vision that functions up to eight meters.
Outdoor Camera
The outdoor camera is similar to the indoor camera, except it has a higher price point of $219.99. It also includes seven free days of video cloud storage, motion-activated alerts and recordings, and it is weatherproof.
Motion Sensor
Y-Cam's motion sensors are meant to protect rooms, hallways, and entryways. They are priced at $29.99 each and include a tamper switch and a 90-degree field of view.
Access Sensor
The access sensor is meant to catch when a door or window is opened or closed. However, you can also place them on cupboards, drawers, or other areas you want to keep secure. When the sensors detect a connection loss, your alarm system is triggered. The sensors also include a tamper switch.
No Contract
Unlike other security providers, Y-Cam does not require a long-term contract. If you want to cancel its services, you can at any point without having to pay a hefty cancellation fee.
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Y-Cam offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all of its products. If you decide within 30 days that you do not want Y-Cam's services, you can return your equipment and receive a full refund.
The Bad
- Camera Limitations
- Outdoor Setup
- Coming Soon
Camera Limitations
Y-Cam only has two IP cameras to choose from, the Indoor Protect and the Outdoor Protect. Both of them are over the $100 mark, though their website says that the indoor model's price will be cut from $149.99 to $79.99 soon. The outdoor camera is $219.99. Neither models lets you remotely pan, tilt, or zoom.
Outdoor Setup
The indoor model can be easily set up with access to the Y-Cam mobile app and your home's internet connection. However, the outdoor model still needs to be set up on a computer, with up-to-date flash, and must be plugged in to your router for setup.
Coming Soon
It appears that they are in the process of putting out this new product line. The Protect Indoor and Protect Outdoor camera models are not available for purchase yet via the Y-Cam website. Each item says "Coming Soon."
Previous models had free cloud storage, and access to the Y-Cam HomeMonitor which allowed you to stream video via Roku and Apple TV. The free service is ending with the new models. You only get one year, then you have to subscribe. It is not yet clear if the HomeMonitor streaming on Roku and Apple TV will be continued.
The Bottom Line
Y-Cam's cameras are affordable, but not in the low-end price range at $149.99-$219.99. The cameras themselves are restricted by the lack of pan and tilt functions, so users are likely to need multiple cameras to achieve peace of mind with this system.
Cloud storage is a big pain point with customers in the market for an IP camera. The free year of Y-Cam's service, without any monthly fees may help some shoppers to choose Y-Cam, once the new line becomes available for purchase.
