Zmodo Pivot 1080p 360° Rotating Cam w/ 2pk Sensors

When we picked the Zmodo brand because it offered a lot of flexibility with the operation of the devices. You weren’t locked into a contract for cloud storage, but they do offer some for free which is really nice. We loved it when you could use memory cards, link your own storage devices, or you have the OPTION to purchase cloud storage. Their cloud storage has added benefits - like going back in time, but you aren’t locked into it. The camera will operate very limitedly without purchasing any cloud storage. The camera works well on its own, but it often doesn't catch movement or has a trigger with no movement. So far we have found them completely useless. They catch a lot of things, but nothing that it should be catching - like people or pets. We often get a lot of nothing in the alert feed. We've also had some real glitches with the alert feed sometimes showing alerts and sometimes not and then later those alerts will reappear. The pivot, & all the other zmodo devices we own, were pretty easy to set up out of the box. I am experienced with wifi setups, but I had absolutely no issues getting it connected. It was THE easiest camera I've ever connected - and I've set up a fair few. So I give it one star for that. The pivot will check the temp as well as the humidity levels in the house. We got it specifically to monitor for leaks or failed climate control while away from our pets. It also links to the door sensors & will turn to face them if an alert goes off. It has night / day vision so it is supposed to have no issues with lighting. It is actually really good with night vision, but it gets hung up and will very loudly switch back and forth to night/day vision until you unplug it and restart it. There is another issue with the pivot camera. We think it's something firmware. The pivot will say it is "offline" in the app, but the device seems to be working if you go check on it. This seems to happen to all other Zmodo cameras. The app will not allow you to view the feed as it says "device offline". The only way we have found to restart it is to unplug it from the power outlet & then plug it in again. If you buy this camera make sure you buy a smart plug (they are pretty cheap here on amazon) in order to manually reset it. I generally recommend a smart plug on every wifi camera because it gives you control IF any such an issue does occur with your equipment - it’s an easy remote reset. I think it is certainly a program issue. We would not buy more Zmodo devices. The devices started off as impressive, but with the new "force you into cloud service" stance and all the other continual glitches we are no longer happy with our purchases. We purchased 6 of the Zmodo brand in October of 2017 - it hasn't even been a year and we are looking for new cameras. So, did love them and they were very promising, but now we're not impressed with all the issues and lack of self storage options.