Nutone Knock video doorbell

Has anyone here tried the Nutone Knock video doorbell?
 
It is a new device that was introduced in or around November 2017 and I feel that I am becoming something of a test bed for one. Nutone tech support has been excellent with helping me with the problems that I have had but they are still not all ironed out after a month or so with it installed.
 
I chose the Knock over the Ring and other popular devices because it does not use batteries (making it work in sub zero temps) , is NEMA IP65 weather resistant, works with a mechanical (ding dong) chime and I respect the Nutone brand.
 
My first device worked at first and then began to reboot each time the doorbell was rung. Nutone replaced it and the new one worked well for a week or so but now it has had a couple of times that it just rebooted itself.It has also suddenly blocked me from viewing my videos that are stored on their cloud storage.
 
I have searched the net and find very little reference to the device being that it is so new so I thought that maybe someone here has one and would compare notes?
 
Mike.

I haven't tried this, but I do have experience with a couple other doorbells.  I had an original ring doorbell that I just swapped out for a Nelly's 1080p wifi doorbell.  The reason I replaced the Ring is b/c I wanted something that supported onvif to record locally at my home.  The Ring was fine, but I got it as a gift and never really loved the idea of cloud recording.  The Nelly's 1080p wifi doorbell seemed promising at first, but its had its fair share of issues.  https://www.amazon.com/Nellys-Security-Doorbell-Compatible-Faceplates/dp/B07888LWLM 
Mainly, the wifi is crap.  It constantly disconnects. 
Regarding your reasoning for choosing the Nutone doorbell: 
 
it does not use batteries (making it work in sub zero temps)
- I live in MN and the battery in my Ring doorbell has never been an issue with it
 
is NEMA IP65 weather resistant
- not sure what the Ring is actually rated for, but mine had its fair share of wind, rain, snow, etc on it, and I've never had an issue
 
works with a mechanical (ding dong) chime
- i have a mechanical chime and Ring works just fine
 
Not trying to argue for you to get a Ring doorbell, just wanted to shed some light on it really.

jon102034050
 
Thanks, good info. I didn't think that the ring doorbell was able to ring a mechanical chime. I thought that it needed it's own electronic chime. How far is your Nelly's camera from your wifi access point? You could try a range expander.
 
Mike.

mikefamig said:

jon102034050
 
Thanks, good info. I didn't think that the ring doorbell was able to ring a mechanical chime. I thought that it needed it's own electronic chime. How far is your Nelly's camera from your wifi access point? You could try a range expander.
 
Mike.

Click to expand...

 
It's ~30ft away from my main AP (couple walls in between, but wifi tests fairly strong with my android device).  After reading more about this doorbell, sounds like this is a pretty common issue for folks.  Let us know what you end up doing

I learned from Nutone support that the free trial period for cloud storage has a 100 video limit that I have obviously reached. The limit is removed when you subscribe to the service. It seems that they are still negotiating the terms of the cloud subscription  service and it is not available yet. It is advertised to cost $30/year.
 
That means that aside from the reboot the device is behaving normally. The reboot has not happened again since that one time so I'm thinking that it may have been caused by a voltage dip on the AC line when  a large load like a freezer came on. Time will tell.
 
Mike.

mikefamig said:

I learned from Nutone support that the free trial period for cloud storage has a 100 video limit that I have obviously reached. The limit is removed when you subscribe to the service. It seems that they are still negotiating the terms of the cloud subscription  service and it is not available yet. It is advertised to cost $30/year.
 
That means that aside from the reboot the device is behaving normally. The reboot has not happened again since that one time so I'm thinking that it may have been caused by a voltage dip on the AC line when  a large load like a freezer came on. Time will tell.
 
Mike.

Click to expand...

 
Sounds like the doorbell isn't getting sufficient power.  I just upgraded my transformer to a 24v 40watt transformer and I resolved issues that I was having when the camera was in night mode, and the IR lights were on.  Although the documentation stated that the power required was only a 16v transformer, it definitely wasn't sufficient in my case.  It's possible it was related to voltage drop due to the length of the run though as well, like you suggested with yours.

Do you have multiple chimes attached to the doorbell? That might explain the need to upgrade your power supply but 24 volts is above the 10 - 20 volt spec for the Knock. My 16volt 30va supply should be more than enough power for my single chime system. The Knock specs require a 16 volt 10va supply and I believe that the chime is the largest load on the system when activated. There is always the possibility of a problem with the wiring in the wall but it is more likely a voltage dip on the 120VAC line based on the fact that the Knock only rebooted once in over a week and the fact that my old doorbell worked with the same wire.
 
Mike.

Update - it looks like my second Nutone Knock is going in the garbage pail.
 
We had a power failure here with the recent Nor'Easter and when the lights came back on the Knock was dead. The AC power transformer is fine but the doorbell shows no signs of life. I've sent two emails to Nutone that have not been returned in a week's time and I've already spent too much time on this thing so it's going in the scrap heap.
 
If anyone here is looking for a doorbell camera look elsewhere. The Knock is not ready for prime time.
 
Mike.

Thank you for the update Mike.
 
Here have been entertaining doing something similar.  Only issue here is that my doorbell is mounted in a wood frame between side panel on the front door and then there is brick.  One idea was to mount it on an angle on the brick but that would not look very nice.  Another is to look for a small footprint doorbell (1.5" wide?)

I used a 1.5" thick piece of white PVC flat stock to build a sort of J-box by cutting it to the size of the doorbell and hollowing it out. It gave me a little more room for wires and also spaced the camera away from the wall giving it a better view of the world.
 
 
Mike.

mikefamig said:

I used a 1.5" thick piece of white PVC flat stock to build a sort of J-box by cutting it to the size of the doorbell and hollowing it out. It gave me a little more room for wires and also spaced the camera away from the wall giving it a better view of the world.
 
 
Mike.

Click to expand...

 
can we get a pic?

jon102034050 said:

can we get a pic?

Click to expand...

 
I just took two pieces of 3/4" flat stock and cut it to the square dimensions of the doorbell button. Then I hollowed them out to make space for the wires and drilled for attaching screws. The end result is that it not only makes more space for the wire splices but it also moved the camera to a position that it has a better view of the world. The cam has 180deg view and the bricks were blocking it on one side.

I took the above photo right side up but when I upload it to CCTech it got rotated landscape. So I rotated the image 90deg and saved it and uploaded it like that and it still posted as you see it, laying on it's side. I give up.
 
Mike.

Looks nice Mike. Yeah here the same when I highlighted the picture it rotated correctly and then when I saved the picture rotated again sideways.
 
Here door / side panel is identical except for the brick which is red.
 
I did butcher my doorbell hole when installing an LED doorbell as it was a bit wider and longer here.  It was a bit difficult to do with the doorbell wires in place.  The LED doorbell was supposed to be a 15 minute endeavor which turned in to a couple of hours here.
 
I posted pictures here on the forum and could not find the pictures this morning.
 
Did find angle mounts for a generic Doorbell on Amazon this morning.  These are plastic and appears not as sturdy as your base.

Looks like a very nice solution mike.  thanks for posting.