I am a newbie so please forgive me if I post this in the wrong place.
I recently purchased a Eufy E340 Video Doorbell because it stated it can be hard wired and you will then also get pre-roll recorded clips which sounded great but sadly I’ve not managed to achieve this yet.
I read the specs page for this doorbell and it says an 8-24VAC, 10VA transformer is needed to power the device which I already had from my Nest Hello doorbell so I thought great I can just wire it up using the already installed set up. I did this and was using the doorbell on WiFi and that night I got a few notifications saying the doorbell was fully charged and then later I got the green plug icon so I thought woohoo it is now showing as hard wired and I will now have the pre-roll but then the following day my battery was showing 92% so something was wrong.
I monitored it for a few days and never got the full battery notification or green plug again. Since then I went out and purchased all new wiring and another new transformer that is 24VAC 10VA so in theory more than enough to power it but sadly not. I removed the battery and charged it fully and put it back in then that night got a couple of fully charged notifications followed by battery drain again.
It seems this doorbell either needs a much higher speed transformer or it isn’t possible to power it hard wired?
Please help fix this as I really want to use my E340 hard wired and have this pre-roll function as the doorbell is great and will be fantastic once able to run hard wired. I am located in the UK also so if this makes a difference to what is needed?
I don’t have your doorbell, just the single camera T8210. When I connected it to AC power, the Eufy app automatically recognized it is on AC power (green plug icon in Power Manager) without me doing anything. In fact, I don’t think there is a way I can specify one way or the other as far as using AC or battery. I suspect your doorbell is defective.
Thank you for your reply it is much appreciated. I am kind of hoping it is defective and a replacement will fix the issue but I am still trying to find a solution. I’ve tonight ordered yet another transformer which is a higher VA than 10VA as stated on Eufy’s website as the required transformer needed to power it and if that still doesn’t fix the problem then I am at a loss as to what can make it work.
I am also hopefully someone will come across this thread and have a solution for me to finally get it to work properly.
On a side query… as you have yours hard wired do the IR lights stay on during night periods so it is always gathering a pre-roll motion event? My Nest Hello was always on during night time.
Thank you for your reply it is much appreciated. I am guessing your doorbell isn’t meant to have the pre-roll clips? The E340 should in theory have the IR lights on during night time so it is able to detect the motion events in full when hard wired.
Hi,
As I don’t have that specific doorbell camera…
The way the hard wire battery charging occurs is at some threshold, when the battery percentage drops to a certain point / level then it will begin to recharge the battery and I don’t believe it will even charge it to 100%.
Realistically to keep a rechargeable battery in optimal condition you don’t want to keep the battery constantly at 100% all the time. It needs to cycle: battery management begin to charge at 15% stop charging at 85%.
So just keep an eye on it to see if it toggles the charging on and off.
Thank you for your reply it is much appreciated. The battery does keep charging in the way you mentioned but this doesn’t fit with the idea of a hard wired device with pre-roll clips. As far as I am aware from other devices for such a feature the power to the doorbell should entirely be coming from the hard wired transformer and only use the battery as a back up if the power is lost. If it was acting this way then the doorbell would be receiving enough power to always be ‘ready’ so pre-roll clips would work.
Hi, @hamishmcbuddy
I read the specs on your doorbell and it does have a 3 seconds pre-buffer video capture. It doesn’t mention if you’re only powering the doorbell off the battery that you lose the that function…so it should work either way then.
Also it states that when it’s hard wired it’s constantly powered from the transformer only.
Do you have any other eufy devices paired to the doorbell?
Thank you for your reply it is much appreciated. I don’t have anything else wired up with the doorbell. I did have a setup previously with another transformer but to be on the safe side I installed a brand new 24VAC 10VA transformer and new wiring to ensure the Eufy doorbell was getting enough power and to the specs listed as a requirement but sadly I’m still having issues. I tested with a multimeter and I am getting more than 24VAC at the back of the doorbell from the wires so it should be acting as a hard wired doorbell but isn’t.
Do a manual check, to see if there’s a firmware update available for the doorbell?
Within the app doorbell setting/General/about device.
I know it auto updates when you first add the device to the app but, just check anyhow.
I’d like to know why it’s not properly working for you, hopefully someone who has this same doorbell will reply.
Have you gone as far as contacting eufy support yet?
Thank you for your reply it is much appreciated. I have indeed checked for any firmware updates and mine says it is fully up to date (3.0.6.0). I have contacted Eufy about this and they said a 24VAC 10VA transformer is the requirement for hard wired power of the doorbell which is what I purchased and installed but this didn’t fix the issue. They have also said a firmware coming around December will mean there is no need for a battery which doesn’t make sense as the device won’t power on hard wired or not without a battery so I’m not sure how this will work. The device is sold as capable of hard wiring and pre-roll clips but it seems potentially I have to wait for firmware updates for these to function. I am hoping somebody will see this thread who has the same E340 doorbell and has successfully hard wired it so I can know what is wrong.
It is extremely frustrating that the hard wire doesn’t work because I also purchased this camera because I wanted a hard wired camera and as soon as I connect the doorbell to the wire, it shows that it is being powered by the wire, however, after a few hours it changes from wire to battery.
Thank you for your reply it is much appreciated. When you say it shows as being powered by wire do you mean the green plug icon or some other icon? I have only ever seen the green plug icon on the first night of having it wired up and never since.
Eufy have said to me that firmware in December should address the power issues and the pre-roll clips will come out then but to me they are advertising and selling a device under false claims it does these things out of the box. I think Eufy should have held off selling the device until these things worked out of the box.
I have unplugged my doorbell a few times to see if the issue would be resolved once I plugged back and yes you are correct I have only seen the green plug for a day after I reconnected the wires.
I agree with you because like you, I bought this camera because the website says it doesn’t need the battery, also their video installation also states that you don’t need the battery if it is powered by the wire.
Thank you for your reply it is much appreciated. Eufy has said that when this new firmware comes it will mean you don’t need the battery but I find this hard to believe… hopefully this will come true in December
Thank you for your reply it is much appreciated. Which firmware number are you on now? I’m still not seeing a green plug icon sadly. Also what spec is your transformer (which model if known)?
Thank you for your reply it is much appreciated. I am running 3.0.6.4 and that firmware is currently keeping my battery life at a constant percentage level which is great but for some reason, mine hasn’t upgraded to the same firmware yours has.
Is your battery life staying constant so if for example you charged the battery up to 100% and kept it hard wired then the battery doesn’t go down?
Do you have any other eufy devices paired to the doorbell?