You know that annoying blind spot right at the base of your door? It's where packages go to die—or get stolen. Most video doorbells are great at showing you who’s standing there, but they’re surprisingly bad at showing you what's on the mat. Honestly, it’s a design flaw we’ve just accepted for years. But the eufy security video doorbell e340 tries to fix that with a second camera pointing straight down. It sounds like a gimmick until you actually see it work.
I've seen plenty of smart home tech that overpromises. Usually, it's all "AI-powered" this and "revolutionary" that, but when you get it home, the app lags and the battery dies in a week. The e340 is different because it focuses on a very specific, physical problem: visibility. It uses a 2K main sensor for faces and a 1080p bottom sensor for your deliveries. No more guessing if the Amazon driver actually left the box or if your porch pirate neighbor got to it first.
The Dual-Camera Reality Check
Why do you need two cameras? Well, physics. A single lens has a limited field of view. If you angle it up to see faces, you lose the floor. Angle it down to see the floor, and you're looking at people's belt buckles. The eufy security video doorbell e340 uses "Dual View" to stitch these two feeds together. It’s not just two separate videos; the app shows them in a stacked view so you get the full picture from head to toe.
The main camera hits that 2K resolution sweet spot. It’s sharp enough to read a license plate across the street if the lighting is right. The bottom camera is 1080p, which is plenty for checking if a package is still there. But the real "quality of life" feature here is the color night vision. Most doorbells switch to that grainy, black-and-white infrared look once the sun goes down. The e340 has dedicated lights that kick in, giving you actual color even in the dark. It’s a bit jarring for the person standing at your door, sure, but the footage is way more useful for the police if something actually happens.
Local Storage vs. The Cloud Subscription Trap
Let's talk about the elephant in the room: monthly fees. Ring and Nest have basically trained us to pay $5 to $10 a month just to see our own footage. It's frustrating. Eufy’s whole selling point—and why people gravitate toward the e340—is that you don't have to pay a subscription.
The device has 8GB of built-in EMMC storage. That’ll hold about 60 days of clips if you aren't living on a busy street with constant motion. If you want more, you can link it to a HomeBase 3. This is where it gets interesting for the privacy-conscious crowd. Your data stays in your house, on your hard drive. No random employee at a data center is scrolling through your clips. Plus, the HomeBase 3 allows you to expand storage up to 16TB. That’s enough to record basically every delivery for the next decade.
Installation: Hardwired or Battery?
You get options here. The e340 comes with a rechargeable battery pack, which is great if you’re renting or don’t have doorbell wiring. But here’s the thing: battery life is a lie. Well, not a lie, but it's highly optimistic. If you live in a cold climate or have a high-traffic sidewalk, that "6-month battery" will realistically last you six weeks.
If you can, hardwire it.
Seriously. Using your existing doorbell wires keeps the battery topped up and enables a few extra features, like faster response times. If you go the battery route, you’re going to be taking that thing off the wall to charge it via USB-C every couple of months. It’s a chore. Most people don’t realize that "wire-free" usually means "maintenance-heavy."
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Handling the "False Positive" Nightmare
There is nothing more annoying than your phone buzzing every time a tree moves or a cat walks by. Eufy uses on-device AI to distinguish between humans and everything else. It’s pretty good, but not perfect.
It also features "Delivery Guard." This is a specific AI tweak that recognizes packages. It’ll ping you when a box is dropped off and, more importantly, give you a "Package Left" reminder if you haven't picked it up after a certain amount of time. It can even detect if someone approaches the package. Is it foolproof? No. If a leaf blows over your box, it might get confused. But compared to the basic motion sensors of five years ago, it’s lightyears ahead.
Where the e340 Stumbles
I’m not going to sit here and tell you it’s perfect. It isn’t. For one, it’s big. Like, really big. Because it houses two cameras and a beefy battery, it’s much chunkier than a standard doorbell. If you have a narrow door frame, you might struggle to mount it without it looking awkward or sticking out.
Then there’s the ecosystem. While eufy plays relatively nice with Google Home and Alexa, it’s not a native HomeKit device. If you’re an Apple-everything household, you’ll have to use some workarounds like Homebridge to get it into your Home app. And let's be real: the eufy app is fine, but it can get cluttered with ads for their other products. You’ll find yourself tapping past "New Product Launches" just to see who’s at the door.
Privacy and Trust Issues
We have to mention the 2022 security incident. For those who don't follow tech news religiously, eufy had a bit of a scandal where some "local" footage was actually being sent to the cloud (unencrypted) so users could see thumbnails in their notifications. It was a mess.
To their credit, they’ve been much more transparent since then. They updated their privacy policies and added clear toggles in the app so you know exactly what is leaving your network and what isn't. If you want 100% local, you have to sacrifice the "thumbnail" notifications. It’s a trade-off. Most people don't care, but if you're a privacy purist, it's something you need to weigh against the convenience.
Performance in the Wild
In real-world testing, the 2K sensor is the star. Faces are clear even when backlit by a bright sunset. That’s usually where cheap doorbells fail—the person looks like a shadow because the sky is too bright. The HDR (High Dynamic Range) on the e340 handles those lighting transitions remarkably well.
The two-way audio is... okay. It's like a walkie-talkie. There’s a slight delay, maybe a second or two, which makes having a fluid conversation with a delivery driver a little clunky. You’ll end up talking over each other. It works for "Just leave it by the door, thanks!" but don't expect to have a deep philosophical debate through your porch speaker.
Comparing the e340 to the Competition
| Feature | eufy e340 | Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 | Google Nest Doorbell (Battery) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 2K + 1080p | 1536p | 960 x 1280 |
| Storage | Local (No Fee) | Cloud (Required) | Cloud (Required for History) |
| Power | Battery/Wired | Wired Only | Battery/Wired |
| Field of View | 160° (Top) + 97° (Bottom) | 150° Square | 145° Tall |
The eufy security video doorbell e340 wins on the "no monthly fee" front. If you hate the idea of a "forever rent" on your security system, this is the one. Ring has better 3D motion detection (using radar), and Nest has better facial recognition (it remembers your grandma’s face), but eufy is the best all-rounder for the average person who just wants to see their packages.
Technical Nuances You Should Know
The e340 supports Dual-Band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz). Most smart home gear is stuck on 2.4GHz, which is crowded and slow. Having 5GHz support means the video stream starts faster when you tap that notification. It sounds small, but when someone is walking away from your door, every second counts.
One thing that doesn't get talked about enough is the "Pre-Roll" feature. When hardwired, the camera is constantly recording a small buffer. This means when you get a motion alert, the clip actually starts a few seconds before the person reached the door. On battery power, this is limited to save energy, which is another reason why plugging it into your house's power is the way to go.
Tips for Better Detection
- Don't aim it at the street: Use the included mounting wedges to angle the camera away from the road. The AI is good, but a bus driving by will still trigger it occasionally.
- Set Activity Zones: Draw boxes in the app to tell the camera "only alert me if someone is on the actual porch."
- Check your Upload Speed: A 2K video stream needs at least 2Mbps of dedicated upload speed. If your router is in the basement and the doorbell is outside, you're going to get choppy video. Consider a Wi-Fi extender if the signal is weak.
Summary of Actionable Insights
If you're tired of paying for subscriptions and want to see your packages, the eufy security video doorbell e340 is arguably the best choice on the market right now. The dual-camera system isn't just a marketing trick; it genuinely solves the "missing package" problem.
Next Steps for Setup:
- Check your transformer: If you're hardwiring, make sure your doorbell transformer is 16-24V, 30VA. If it's an old 10V unit from the 1970s, it won't be enough to power the e340 and you'll run into "low power" errors.
- Mount it at the right height: Eufy recommends mounting it about 4 feet (1.2 meters) high. This gives the bottom camera the best angle to see the floor without missing the faces of tall visitors.
- Optimize your notifications: Turn on "Human Only" detection first. If you find it's missing people, slowly dial up the sensitivity. Don't start at max sensitivity or your phone will explode with alerts.
- Consider the HomeBase 3: If you plan on adding more eufy cameras later, get the HomeBase. It centralizes everything and makes the AI faster because the "thinking" happens on the base station, not the doorbell itself.
The e340 feels like a mature product. It's not trying to reinvent the wheel; it's just trying to make sure the wheel can actually see the ground. For most homeowners, that's exactly what's been missing.