The Best Pet Cameras of 2024, Smart detection and two-way audio so you can chat with your furry friends is why Wyze is the best pet camera. Despite what their name suggests, security cameras are more than just for security. There are a lot of folks who use security cameras as makeshift baby monitors.

Others use them to monitor their pets while they’re away from home. And the great thing about using security cameras for those purposes is that they can still protect your home. In this post, we’re going to discuss security cameras that can double as pet cameras.

Before we get to our top picks, we should mention that not all security cameras can function as pet cams. Some features are just not compatible with pet owners. For example, cameras that detect any type of motion will cause too many false alarms if you have pets freely roaming around the house. That’s not good for you or your furry friend. So what features should you look for, and which cameras are best for monitoring pets?

What To Look For: Pet Cameras

The Best Pet Cameras

Side-by-Side Comparison of the Best Cameras for Pets of 2024

List of the Top Security Cameras for Pet Lovers

1. Wyze Cam – Most Affordable Camera

Sound Alerts

Keeping your pets safe at home is one reason you’re probably buying a pet camera. And typically, fire and CO2 pose the biggest threats to pets left at home. That’s what smoke and gas leak detectors are for, right? Well, if you’re home and your smoke alarm sounds, you’ll hear it and you’ll be able to call for help. But if you aren’t home, your pet could be in trouble.

The Wyze Cam can function not just as your eyes but also as your ears while you’re away. It recognizes the distinct sound patterns of most smoke and CO2 alarms, so when yours sounds, Wyze can send you a notification. Better still, you can access live footage through the camera’s lens to see if there’s actually a fire. That’s what we call technology that saves lives.

Wyze Cam and Box

Time Lapse

The Wyze Cam not only signifies an inexpensive price tag but also a time-lapse feature, which we haven’t seen in many other security cameras. When we tried out this feature, we decided to clean up the guest room, which had turned into an unofficial storage space, to make space for a pet crate. We moved the Wyze Cam to the guest room from the living room and set up the time duration from 10 AM to noon on the app.

After we cleaned up most of the objects and furniture in the room, we whipped out our phones and checked the footage. Sure enough, the Wyze Cam had captured a clear video of us picking up items, moving furniture around, and setting up the pet crate during those two hours.

Tip: You can schedule when the Wyze Cam turns on the time-lapse feature. This can either be later in the day, next week, or even next month.

Complete Motion Capture

While there aren’t any required monthly subscriptions for the Wyze Cam, Wyze does offer a paid add-on service called Complete Motion Capture. Instead of the 12-second recording restriction, the upgrade allowed the Wyze Cam to continuously record the motion-activated event. Because we had already saved so much money with the Wyze Cam, we figured that paying $1.49 per month for one camera wasn’t a bad deal at all. We recorded clips of our grandparents’ Frenchie sneezing, snoring loudly during naps, and patrolling the apartment. We shared those clips with our grandparents who enjoyed them quite a bit. The recordings were saved to the cloud for 14 days and we accessed them via the Wyze app.

2. Nest Cam IQ Outdoor – Best Pet Camera for Night Vision

Supersight

The Nest Cam IQ Outdoor packed a punch when it came to Supersight, an advanced feature that boasted 1080p HD quality with 4K sensors, HDR, and intelligent imaging. Not only were we able to zoom in and enhance the video 12 times on the Nest app, but we also tracked visitors and passersby thanks to the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor zeroing in and following people and their actions whenever they were in its line of sight. The camera really did feel like our third eye with Supersight, a superpower that we wish we had.

Nest Cam IQ Outdoor

Night Vision

Speaking of superpowers, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor’s night vision was also a force to be reckoned with. With 850 nm infrared LED sensors, the camera illuminated even the darkest of nights without alerting intruders that they were being filmed. Although the footage was in black and white, we noticed every slight movement. Instead of keeping an eye on just our front porch, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor’s “eyesight” reached up to 50 feet away at night. We saw activities from across the street, which was super helpful in identifying suspicious cars that overstayed their welcome or strangers loitering when they shouldn’t. Nothing got past the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor!

Nest Cam IQ Outdoor Night Vision

Complements Nest Ecosystem

Like Ring, Nest has a security alarm ecosystem with several components to strengthen home protection. We’re already proud owners of several Nest products, so incorporating the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor was like a warm welcome to the Nest family, including our Nest Cam Indoor and the Nest Video Doorbell. As we said, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is on the pricier side but it’s a powerful addition that unifies the Nest ecosystem. While the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor was our first line of defense, if we didn’t receive the person notification in time, the Nest Detect contact sensors would’ve gone off had someone opened a door or window, keeping our pets safe from intruders.

3. Ring Stick Up Cam Battery – Best Pet Camera for Alexa

Flexible Placement

Some security cameras look awkward if they’re not mounted, but with the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery, we didn’t have to worry about ruining the aesthetic of our apartment. We placed the camera in our bedroom at the top of our bookshelf which was across from the door. We also made sure to angle the camera downward. Our bookshelf is white, so the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery didn’t stick out like a sore thumb.

For outside use, we mounted the camera above the back patio door. We unscrewed the base of the camera and reattached it to the back before unscrewing the mounting bracket from the base. Finally, we screwed the bracket onto the wall and slid the camera onto it, a process as smooth as butter.

Ring Stick Up Cam Pro

Budget-friendly Plans

While the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery doesn’t outshine the Wyze Cam for being the most affordable in terms of equipment, it does offer the most budget-friendly monthly plans. Between the Ring Protect Basic and Plus plans, we chose the latter because, one, it’s only $10 per month, and two, 24/7 professional monitoring was included. Did we mention it’s for $10 per month (or $100 per year if you don’t fear commitment like us)? That’s a steal in our book since we also got cellular backup and 60 days of cloud storage.

The Basic plan, on the other hand, costs $3 per month or $30 a year and also includes 60 days of cloud storage, which is a tough price to beat. For a breakdown of Ring camera plans and equipment, check out our Ring pricing page.

Alexa and Google Assistant Integrations

As an Amazon-owned company, Ring is, of course, compatible with Alexa. When we integrated Alexa with the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery, we made sure to name the camera “Bedroom.” Every time we issued a command such as “Alexa, show Bedroom” and “Alexa, show me the last activity from the Bedroom,” the video footage popped up on our phones on the Ring— Always Home app or our Echo Show 8. Our grandparents’ Frenchie took up most of the footage space since he loves to nap on our bed.

Google Assistant was also compatible with the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery, but the only command we really utilized was “Hey Google, start recording for Bedroom.” We might be playing favorites here, but for good reason.

4.Arlo Pro 3 – Best Pet Camera for Video Quality

Easy Wireless Setup

Unlike the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, the Arlo Pro 3 requires the Arlo SmartHub in order for it to operate. After connecting the ethernet and power cables to the SmartHub, we downloaded the mobile app and registered the Arlo Pro 3 by following the on-screen steps. With that out of the way, we moved on to the physical aspect of the installation process and plugged the battery into the Arlo Pro 3. Because we placed the camera in and outside our apartment, we had to mount the camera in two different areas.

The beauty of wireless cameras is the mounting flexibility. We secured the magnetic mount over a drilled-in screw above our front door and in the corner of our living room. The mount basically sucked in the camera, so we weren’t worried about the camera falling off. In total, it took around 10 minutes to set up.

Arlo Pro 3

Smart Animal Detection

The Arlo Pro 3 was rife with AI features when we signed up for their monthly subscription, Arlo Smart Home. Under this subscription, detection included people, animals, packages, and vehicles. While we don’t own any pets currently, we do dog-sit our grandparents’ Frenchie whenever they go on vacation. Their Frenchie is lazy, so the times that we dog-sat him, we rarely received notifications based on his movements in the living room. As for outside use, the Arlo Pro 3 detected animals larger than a rodent, so stray cats and birds were fair game. If we didn’t want to receive these notifications, we simply turned animal detection off.

Note: The Arlo animal detection detects animals within 50 feet of the camera during the day and within 25 feet at night. However, if trees are obstructing your camera’s view, the camera won’t register animals’ movements.

160 Degree Field of View

The wider the field of view, the better. The Arlo Pro 3 exceeded our expectations in this department compared to the other security cameras on this list with a whopping 160-degree field of view. Typically, security cameras’ fields of view range are between 110 to 130 degrees, with 180 degrees being the mathematical limit (in case you were sick that day in geometry).

For the Arlo Pro 3, this field of view provided a broader scope beyond our front stoop and living room; the camera not only covered these specific areas but also the areas surrounding them. For example, our kitchen is right by our living room so we knew when someone snuck into the kitchen to grab a snack for cheat day. Our grandparents’ Frenchie also had the same idea whenever we caught him sniffing for treats.

Our Guidelines for Choosing the Best Security Cameras for Pets

This review covers the best security cameras for pets, but a general question that probably comes to mind is, what exactly is our basis for “the best”? Technical qualities like video, audio, night vision, storage, and smart platform integrations are some starting points when we dive into testing and reviewing cameras.

Here’s a full list of what we expect from security cameras:

When we’re talking about pet detection, we’re also talking about AI. Person detection is more common across many security cameras, but pet detection also exists alongside package and vehicle detections. We prefer that these AI features be included with the camera, but we’ve come across a handful that requires a monthly subscription. Like we mentioned earlier, pet detection allows a camera to discern pets from humans based on weight, height, and heat signature. The Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is part of the group of cameras that requires a subscription to access AI features. Once pet detection is accessible, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor can ignore pets that weigh under 40 pounds and reduce false alerts for motion-triggered activities.

Power options and IP ratings,2 which determine a camera’s weather-resistance, are other technical elements that we look into during testing. Installation is where wired or wireless options come into play. Having options is a plus in our book, but most times we don’t have a say in the matter. For wireless cameras, battery life is essential. Long-term is always better than short-term, and the shorter the recharging duration the better.

We establish a one-year minimum requirement for wireless cameras’ battery life; if it’s shorter than that, the camera is not up to par. As for wired cameras, they’re more reliable and less prone to signal interference from radio, TV, or phone connections. Renters and apartment owners will find that wireless cameras are a better match simply because of the mobility in setting them up. Unlike wired cameras, hardwiring is not necessary.

Apart from all the technicalities, professional monitoring and cellular backup weigh in on our overall impressions of a security camera. We veer on the side of extra security, partly because we’re too busy to self-monitor solely, which is why 24/7 professional monitoring is our go-to when looking at monitoring plans. That means that a team of dispatchers step in if they detect any suspicious activity and give us a call to let us know, or dispatch the appropriate authorities on our behalf.

As for cellular backup, this comes in to save the day when our Wi-Fi connection is lost or when the power goes out. This way, our cameras can still monitor activity, notify us, and stream live footage to their respective mobile apps.

For an extensive look at the best smart home security of 2024, check out our best security systems and best security cameras.

Frequently Asked Questions

IPC360 Home APP download

IPC360 Home supports Android and iPhone, you can download it from google play or app store.

Login IPC360 Home

To use the IPC360 Home camera, you need to register for an IPC360 Home account and log in.

If you are using the camera without internet you don’t need an account.

Connect IPC360 Home camera to wifi

1. Click Add Device or + , to enter the Add Camera screen. To have a better service, please confirm the country selected is your current location.

2. Scan the QR code of IPC360 Home camera, the QR code is on the camera, not on the manual.

If you can’t find the QR code of the camera or the QR code is corrupted, please click on ‘QR code cannot be found or missing?’ and select wifi camera.

3. Let the IPC360 Home camera connect to the power supply, if it is a bulb camera, please connect the lamp holder and start the power.

After the camera is powered on, wait for the camera to start up, about 30 seconds, if the red light does not flash rapidly, please reset the camera.

4. Click ‘My camera light flashes in red.’, then click Next.

5. Go to your phone’s wifi list, connect to IPC360 Home Camera’s hotspot wifi, the wifi name is “IPC365 AP-xxx” or “IPC360-xxx” , after connecting, return to APP, select your wifi, and enter the wifi password.

（If you can’t find “IPC365 AP-xxx” or “IPC360-xxx” wifi, please reset your camera.）

See also  IPC360 Home Camera FAQ and Troubleshooting

6. Wait for IPC360 Home camera to connect to your wifi, about 30-60 seconds, after successfully connecting, it will automatically enter the next step, and then set the name to start using it.

7. The first time you use IPC360 Home camera, you will get one month cloud storage for free, if you don’t need it, please click X, otherwise it may be deducted automatically after expiration.

Using the IPC360 Home camera without Internet

You can use this feature if you don’t have internet access or you don’t need to use IPC360 Home remotely.

1. Let the IPC360 Home camera connect to the power supply, if it is a bulb camera, please connect the lamp holder and start the power.

After the camera is powered on, wait for the camera to start up, about 30 seconds, if the red light does not flash rapidly, please reset the camera.

2. Download IPC360 Home APP, if you have logged in, please log out.
Connect the camera’s hotspot wifi in your mobile phone’s wifi list, the wifi name is “IPC365 AP-xxx” or “IPC360-xxx”, after connecting, go back to APP, click No Internet.

(If you can’t find “IPC365 AP-xxx” or “IPC360-xxx” wifi, please reset your camera.)

3. After entering the No Internet interface, you can start to use the IPC360 Home camera, it is recommended that you set a password for the camera’s wifi, otherwise anyone can connect to the camera.

4. After setting the password, the camera will reboot, reconnect the camera’s wifi, and enter the wifi password you set.

Share IPC360 Home Camera

An IPC360 Home camera can only be added by one account, to use multiple accounts at the same time, you need to share the camera to be able to.

1. Click Share or go to Share Device in the camera settings.

2. Click Share and enter your IPC360 Home account to share, you can share up to 5 accounts.

Sharing Notes:

See also  IPC360 Home For PC: Use the IPC360 Home camera on your PC!

Recording settings

To enable the IPC360 Home camera to record, you need a memory card to work, please first insert the memory card in the camera off state, the camera can be recognised normally.

1. After inserting the memory card into the MicroSD Card interface, check if the memory card status is Normal, if it shows abnormality, please try to format the memory card.

2. You can set the Record Storage Mode and Video Quality.

Viewing Memory Card Recordings

In the camera’s live video interface, click SD Card, you can view the video saved in the memory card.

The coloured time indicates the recording time, and the yellow time indicates the alarm recording.

Motion Detection Settings

IPC360 Home camera’s motion detection is always on and can’t be turned off, if you don’t want to receive alarm notifications, you can turn off Alarm Push Notifications in the Alarm interface.

You can set the alarm sensitivity and time. The camera also has Smart Al Detection and Human Detection, which require a subscription to activate.

You can also set up Alarm Soundhe and Alarm Light. With Alarm Soundhe set up, the camera will sound an alarm when it detects movement.

Setting Alarm Light will activate a white light when the camera detects motion. (This function is available only when white light is supported)

View Alarm Messages

You can view alarm messages in the Alarm interface, and if you have inserted a memory card, click on the message to view the recording.

Night vision light settings

You can set the IPC360 Home camera’s night vision operating mode in the Night Vision section of the Video screen or the Live Video screen.

Smart Mode: Switch to Smart Mode and enjoy black and white night vision. The camera delivers a vivid, full colour image when motion is detected.

Colorful: Camera provides colourful video in low light conditions. If abnormal video is displayed, please switch to black and white mode.

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See also  IPC360 Home Camera FAQ and Troubleshooting

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Black & White: Camera provides black and white video in low light conditions.

Sound Settings

In Sound Settings, you can turn off the IPC360 Home camera’s voice prompts, adjust the sound volume and turn off the microphone.

Turn off the indicator light

In Advanced, you can switch off the camera’s LEDs, Status Light is the switch for the LEDs.

Motion Tracking Settings

The IPC360 Home camera can follow the movement of an object, in the Live Video screen, click Trace to start motion tracking.

Pan-Tilt Control

In the Live Video interface, click Pan-Tilt to control the IPC360 Home camera to rotate up, down, left and right.

save location

You can save the current position of the camera, and later on you just need to click on the picture to make the camera start rotating to the specified position.

1. Click Collect, enter a name, and click Save.

2. Click on My Collections and the camera will rotate to show the view of your collected location.

3. Support timer. Once you have set a timer, the camera will automatically return to this position after manual adjustments or motion tracking.

How can I see multiple IPC360 Home cameras at once?

In the Live screen, click the first icon to enter multi-screen mode, click + to add another camera.

(Not available in no internet mode)

Why do I connect to IPC360 Home camera’s hotspot wifi, but the app doesn’t show the connection screen?

Reset IPC360 Home camera

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IPC360 Home Camera FAQ and Troubleshooting

Why is my IPC360 Home Camera offline?

1. Check the router network

To check if the router network is stable, use other mobile devices or laptops to connect with the same router and see how it works.

2. Re-powering the IPC360 Home Camera

Please re-power the camera and wait a minute to see if the camera comes back online.

3. Check the WiFi network signal

To avoid your IPC360 Home Camera going offline, move the camera closer to the router for a stable WiFi network.

4. Reset the camera

Please long-press the Reset button till the red status light flashes, then reset the camera again.

How to fix IPC360 Home Camera Connection Failed?

1. Check for the following problems, and then reset the camera to reconnect it.

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See also  IPC360 Home For PC: Use the IPC360 Home camera on your PC!

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2. Reboot the router, sometimes the router malfunction cause not connect to the new device, reboot the router can be solved.

3. Keep the camera close to the router, so that the camera can receive strong wifi signal.

Why does IPC360 Home camera show offline after changing location?

After IPC360 Home camera power on, wait for 1-2 minutes, it takes time for the camera to connect to wifi.

If it shows offline for a long time, it means that the camera can not connect to wifi at the current location, please change the location.

How to reset IPC360 Home camera

When your IPC360 Home camera is abnormal or offline, you can try to reset the camera.

What is the hotspot wifi name for IPC360 Home camera?

The wifi name of the camera is “IPC365 AP-xxx” or “IPC360-xxx”, if you can’t find the wifi of the camera, please make sure the camera is powered on, then reset the camera.

What is the hotspot wifi name for IPC360 Home camera?

IPC360 Home camera’s hotspot wifi has no password by default, if it prompts for a password, it means you have set a password, please reset the camera if you forget the wifi password.

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See also  Set Up IPC360 Home Camera User Manual (Ultimate Guide)

Do IPC360 Home cameras support ONVIF or RTSP?

IPC360 Home all cameras do not support onvif or rtsp

Can I use the IPC360 Home camera without an internet connection?

Yes, the camera has a hotspot wifi, you can connect to the camera’s wifi to use the camera.
Please check the manual

Why do I connect to IPC360 Home camera’s hotspot wifi, but the app doesn’t show the connection screen?

IPC360 Home For PC: Use the IPC360 Home camera on your PC!

IPC360 Home is a security camera app, you need to work with the camera to use.

IPC360 Home only supports Android and iPhone, there is no computer client.
But, you can use IPC360 Home APP by installing Android emulator on your computer

How to Install IPC360 Home for PC

Download Bluestacks

You need to Download BlueStacks on Windows or Mac PC first. Afterward, you have to start the installation of BlueStacks on your computer.

It is similar to any other software installation procedure on a PC. Run the setup, Allow the software to make changes in your computer, and then it will start to install.

In the second step to get IPC360 Home Download for PC, users have to enter Google Account. After the installation of BlueStacks, you will see the emulator home screen. Locate the Google PlayStore and launch it.

First-time users have to enter Google Account which is already in existence. Or, users can create a new one if unavailable.

Here the final steps arrive, now users are ready to use IPC360 Home on Laptop or desktop. Users got 2 options to accomplish the task.

1. Visit the Google Play Store > Search for the IPC360 Home App > Install it.

2. Downlaod IPC360 Home APK on PC > Drag and Drop it inside BlueStacks > Allow the emulator to install.

That’s how you can install IPC360 Home for PC.

How to use IPC360 Home For PC

To use IPC360 Home For PC , and mobile phones are the same, you can check this manual.

“IPC360 camera setup for iPhone”, “IPC360 camera setup for Android”, “IPC360 camera setup without QR code”, “IPC360 camera motion detection sensitivity settings”, “IPC360 cloud recording subscription cost”, “IPC360 camera two-way audio not working”, “IPC360 night vision not clear”, “troubleshooting IPC360 camera wifi connection”, “how to reset IPC360 camera”, “IPC360 camera compatible with Alexa/Google Assistant”, “best IPC360 camera settings for home security”, “download IPC360 camera latest firmware”.