used to have the G410 doorbell, but unfortunately, and with great annoyance, I had to swap it out and go back to my Eufy.
The main issue I found was the battery life. The G410 battery ran down very quickly, and without an easy way to run it from mains power, I would have had to pay a fortune to get an electrician in. That left me relying on batteries, which also became pretty expensive over time.
The Eufy’s rechargeable battery has a much better lifespan, even with the doorbell always on and alerts enabled. I really wish Aqara would move to a proper rechargeable battery system, as I’d happily go back to the G410 if they did.
Battery life really is the G410’s weak spot, that constant AA drain adds up fast both in cost and hassle. The Eufy’s built-in rechargeable pack is a much smarter design for a doorbell you can’t easily hardwire. Agree Aqara would win a lot of people back with a proper rechargeable option. Frustrating to give up a doorbell you otherwise liked purely over power. Fingers crossed for a v2.
I’m currently testing out the Keeppower AA P1450I3 1.5V Li-Ions (4700mWh / 3133mAh). The cool thing about these is their discharge curve: it stays constant and then drops linearly. Tests say they pack plenty of punch, and because they act like standard alkalines at the end, your devices will actually give you a proper low-battery warning before they die. My last set of alkalines lasted over two weeks in power-saving mode after the initial warning, so I’m curious to see how these perform. I’ll keep you posted on whether they’re worth the upgrade!
No existing doorbell and the house is so old the walls are really thick. I did speak with an electrician 8 years ago when I moved in and I had an google door bell to fit and he didn’t have a drill bit long enough.
Yeah, having to ditch a doorbell you otherwise liked purely over power design is exactly the kind of avoidable frustration that sends people to a competitor. A built-in rechargeable pack you top up every few months beats endlessly feeding it AAs, both on cost and on the hassle of pulling the unit down. Aqara clearly has the ecosystem and features people want, so a v2 with a proper rechargeable battery (or even a swappable pack like Eufy’s) would win a lot of them straight back. Here’s hoping they’re listening.
Good point. But my top tip is don’t buy one if you’re not going to wire it into power until they do a battery pack, as it costs a fortune in batteries.