Amcrest 4MP ProHD Indoor WiFi, Security IP Camera with Pan/Tilt, Two-Way Audio, Night Vision, Remote Viewing, 4-Megapixel @30FPS, Wide 90° FOV, IP4M-1041B (Black)

I previously purchased another brand advertised as an indoor/outdoor camera, but had multiple issues after setup and wasn’t able to get reliable support from the manufacturer. My wife has been pushing me to get a replacement and since I’ve had positive experiences with other Amcrest products I own, I decided to give this one a shot. I was hesitant at first because the overall rating isn’t great (4* at the time of my review), but I am so glad I decided to get this one. This review will probably get a bit lengthily, so I’ll add a tldr at the end if you want to skip to it. Before I break everything down READ THIS IF YOU PLAN TO USE WIFI: You will need the included Ethernet cable and your router before you can connect to WiFi. Had I read the instructions before I started setting this camera up, I would have saved time by not installing it in the wall first, rooms away from my router. I read dozens of reviews before making this purchase, and one consistent complaint was the lack of instructions. I can’t say that I agree with most users here; I found the instructions very thorough in terms of actually turning the camera on and setting it up for the first time. I connected via WiFi, but there are detailed instructions for mobile and Ethernet as well. The back of the quick start guide also has links to alternative access methods and physical installation guides. Is absolutely every manual for each setup/installation method included in the box? No, but links to everything are provided in the Quick Start Guide and we’re all ordering this from a computer or mobile device anyway, so why not save the paper and use the links? But I digress… First off, everything came packaged nicely and was well organized. This isn’t something that will necessarily increase my rating, but would definitely count against it if I received a box with a jumbled mess. I found the physical installation itself to be very straight forward, but as mentioned, there is a link in the included guide to help with setup if needed. I ultimately installed the camera on my wall, as you can see in the picture, but there are also rubber feet on the bottom if you just want to set it on a different surface in your home. Note that this device cannot be set up level on vaulted ceilings without purchasing a separate bracket or mounting plate due to the angle of the ceiling. If you have flat ceilings, or choose to install on the wall like I did, it will install just fine with the included hardware. The included USB to micro SD cable is very long and had no problem reaching my wall outlet from the mounting position just under my ceiling, so that was also a plus. I mounted the camera before I connected it to WiFi, which was a mistake, but it was easy to unscrew from the bracket and take into my office where my router is to connect with the included Ethernet cable. The Quick Start Guide does a great job of walking you through the steps to get the camera connected, and once I had the app downloaded and entered my WiFi credentials, I was able to bring the camera back into my living room and operate it with no problems. When it comes to using the camera and app, I recommend going through the tutorial that pops up when you first log in. If you skipped it by mistake (like I did), you can access it again from the main menu. There are A LOT of features, and even after going through the tutorial and playing around with them, it’s easy to get lost or forget what function is “hidden” behind another icon menu. That said, all the functions and features seem to work exactly as they should. I did find the tracking feature a bit quirky at first, but this was my fault and not an inherent issue with the device. When I first tried tracking with the camera, it kept wanting to pan up to my ceiling fan (which was on at the time). Even when waving to the camera and walking around, it would start to follow me, then immediately go back to the fan. As soon as I turned the blades off, it tracked me perfectly. There’s also an option to set the tracking sensitivity, but the standard settings worked well once the fan was off, so I didn’t play around with them. Another thing I really like is HD mode. I attached pictures to my review of Standard Definition “SD” and High Definition “HD.” I only pictured a small section of the room the camera captured for privacy reasons, but there is still a big difference. Accessing, operating, and recoding the camera from the phone app works really well, even if the menu options themselves are a bit clunky. The privacy mode is also nice to have when it’s just my wife and I at home and we don’t want to feel like we’re being watched or recorded. I did not test desktop access because I don’t plan to use it. If there’s one negative I could give the device itself, it’s that it’s pretty big and conspicuous. I didn’t purchase this to be a hidden camera or anything, but it would be nice if it was a bit smaller, or was at least all white and didn’t have the black “Amcrest” logo printed across the front. tldr; I am very impressed with this camera, both from a function standpoint and the price point. Having mobile access and control, as well as the ability to record, were must haves for me, and this device delivers. The camera could be a bit more discreet, and navigating the app can be a bit unintuitive in some instances, but this thing is packed with features and everything works exactly as advertised. Overall, this was a great purchase for an indoor security camera.

I’ve been using this Amcrest camera for a few weeks and it has performed very well. The video quality is sharp, the motion detection works reliably, and the app is easy to navigate. Setup was straightforward and only took a few minutes. I contacted customer support for assistance, and Luke R was extremely helpful and professional. He guided me through the process and ensured everything was working as expected.

Review of the Amcrest IP4M-1041W Decent value for not a lot of money and Blue Iris support I've had the older version of these cameras for almost 3 years now and have used them in spots where mounting a regular camera would be problematic and they have worked well enough for me. This camera will be used in my kids playroom to keep an eye on them when we're not down there with them. Unfortunately, this camera is NOT able to be used with the Amcrest Smart Home app which is a shame as (although not perfect) it is much nicer to use than the Amcrest View Pro app(maybe this will change in the future?). I set this up via the Amcrest View Pro app, but am not a huge fan of the UI in the app or the quirky issues it faces. The app works, but it's far from great. Instead I use Blue Iris and for anyone who doesn't know, Blue Iris is a video camera software that supports most types of cameras. It is what I use for my home and it allows most types of cameras to be added via ONVIF. For $59.99(price at time of writing this), this is a decent little camera for security or to use as a baby/kid monitor, but honestly the ASH-21 might be a better choice for some people as it has the newer Smart Home app you can use. If you use it with a separate software like I do then the app doesn't really matter and if you can pick it up on sale then it may be a more solid option. It's still good for anyone that wants to be able to keep their video storage locally and not rely on the cloud as it has an SD card slot. However, it also offers cloud storage too so you have a choice either way. It can be wireless or wired which is nice for an easy install and portability or for someone that can plug it into their network to keep WIFI traffic reduced. Night time visibility is also pretty good, same as most other indoor cameras with night vision so no problems there. It has an auto tracking feature which is pretty cool in theory, but I think I will turn it off as it needs a little work software wise. It tends to jump around a lot to center a subject even when they're still in frame and I don't see much (if any) adjustment you can make and it doesn't self center when the motion stops. I've seen cameras like the Yi Home cameras that do this very well in comparison. I think auto-tracking is kind of gimmicky at this point anyways for lower end cameras and ends up being a nuisance instead of a good tool. It's better most of the time to get the camera far enough away to capture the entire area you need or have two angles. In the end, it is a solid camera and my other two have lasted without issue for over 3 years so I can't complain.

May not be a problem if you rely on cloud storage, but I'm not a cloud storage guy and prefer to keep any footage recorded locally on the sdcard. The camera fails to save video recordings if your ISP has an outage. This means the camera is still on, but if you internet goes down, no recordings locally to the sdcard. I have custom rules in my firewall that allow the camera out only ntp protocol to set the time. It cannot go anywhere else. Time and remotely viewing live footage over my network appliance's built in VPN capability are the only reason it has any wan connection. Support is less than helpful with illogical answer such as: "Since it's a wifi camera, it requires wifi to record, even to the sdcard." The camera also supports and ethernet connection, so using their same logic, it's an "ethernet camera" and requires an ethernet connection to work. In reality, it's an internet camera, and requires an internet connection to even do what a camera is supposed to do: record. I have other outdoor ptz cameras that record back to an NVR. They also have an sdcard option and will record to the sdcard regardless of "internet". I picked this camera up as an easy option for keeping an eye on my dog that stays inside my house while I'm at work. If something happens while I'm gone and the internet goes down, I have no recording of it, lol. Off to find a camera that, well, records.

I will update if things change as far as failing over time, only had them for a month so far. I'll quickly cover all the things I wanted know and couldn't find a difinitive answer to before I purchased. Yes these can be wired or use wifi. I have mine hard wired with ethernet cables (initial set up requires ethernet). The cameras can be viewed on either phone through their phone App or desktop via Amcrest Surveillance Pro that you download for free from their site. I have my cameras mounted on the inside top of my windows looking outside (image flipped), so they can be set to fulltime "daytime" so the IR camera never turns on and causes window glare that blinds the image. You can turn off all the indicator lights on the back so no one can notices you have cameras in your window at night. These can be difficult to set up if you don't have some basic computer knowledge. Each camera gets it's own IP address so you have use the phone app to intially set up and give it a new password and then after enter the camera via desktop/laptop internet browser using the IP address to really dig into all the features. And there are quite a bit of features to fine tune. Good news, if you go to Google AI type the model number and ask whatever question, AI will explain how to find anything within the camera you're looking for and explain. Each camera records two simultaneous vids, a hi and low res that you can switch between when veiwing. The purpose is to make it easier for your computer to show multiple cameras at the same time in low res (4-16 cameras at once etc.) and not stress the computer or your internet speed. When I have all the vids showing hi res my computer runs hot and I have to turn on all my fans. I have SD cards in each so the cameras record both hi and low to the cards at the same time as well as records seperate "motion detection" events, you can set each camera to record to other sources like a central DVR or cloud. Playback is easy once you play with it. You can set the cameras to record 24/7 7 days or specific days and times. General playback and Motion Events are seperated by color so you can quickly find and look at the "events" and not have to search through the normal feed to find the events. Sensitivity of the motion needs to be turned up to catch vehicles and clothing that are close in color to the background. Again, when you dig into all the features and you see options you aren't sure of, ask Google AI, it clearly explains every minute detail and tells u what 2 choose based on your situation (explain ur situation first i.e. they're in the widow looking outside or ur trying to catch your wife sneaking snacks at 3am, it'll tell u exactly how to catch her). These are much better than the cheap MIPC cameras, they come with brackets that allow you mount upside down at the top of the widow. Unfort. the Samsung PRO Endurance 256GB microSDXC Memory Cards I'm using cost almost twice the price of each camera (256 is the max and gives you about a week before it overwrites). Image quality is good enough for me, zoom works but really looses quality after zooming 1/2 way. I don't think the camera itself has any zoom like your phone, it just enlarges the area ur trying to zoom in on, so it pixelates quick. I purchased the white, since I didn't want the IR lights to come on (that's the black outer ring) I covered the camera lens with painters tape and spraypainted with black IR ring and the Amcrest logo with Rustoleum Prof. 3 quick coates-15 min between coates and let dry for 24 hours and now you can't see anything from outside unless you're really trying to find them.