Nest Outdoor Camera
The second piece of Nest equipment I installed was the outdoor camera. Following the instructions included in the box, I installed the camera in less than an hour.
The reason we got an outdoor camera is because I caught my grandma saying, “Come in!” as soon as she heard a knock at the door, not knowing who it was, and letting people she didn’t remember in her house. One time last summer, I was barbecuing in the back and came in to find some lady in her house. Once I was wise to what was going on, I realized it was an old neighbor of hers. But when the lady walked out the door, my grandma turned to me and asked, “Who was that?”
The first thing we did was practice what to do when someone comes to the door. We have been practicing frequently so that she gets the hang of it. From opening the app when she hears the doorbell or a knock at the door to saying, “Can I help you?” or “You’ll have to come back later when Rachel is here,” we are working on knowing what to do when someone wants to come in.
I created my own Nest account and connected it to hers. Now, any time someone comes to the house or my grandma opens the front door, I get a notification. It gives me great peace of mind that I can tell a random stranger thinking they can prey on her or someone who doesn’t have any business there to go f#@* themselves.
At first, I didn’t think she would like it very much, but one day, her phone died from her watching the camera outside all day. And then I heard her tell someone she knows that I got it for her so she doesn’t have to answer the door if she doesn’t want to. Now, she watches whats happening outside all the time. She knows when someone gets there so she can start heading toward the door to let them in. And I definitely feel safer being able to visibly see who is coming to her door and in and out of her house.
Do you use an off-shelf system of remote monitoring with someone you care for? Share your experience in the comments!