Swann Security Camera Review 2024

Unboxing our Swann Cameras

Swann Packaging

We were pleased to see that Swann’s package includes everything we need to install, set up, and use the cameras starting from day one. That said, our Swann system (our model number is NVW-490, in case you’re interested) allows for plenty of options for connecting to our home Wi-Fi, thanks to its four-channel 1080p recorder (the black box) that includes a 1 TB hard drive.

We should also point out that there are two extra channels on the NVR intended to connect two more cameras to the system. That’s good news if you’re looking to expand your home security camera network in the future. Even better news is that Swann offers almost every type of camera imaginable — floodlight cams, spotlight cams, pan-tilt-zoom cams, even nanny cams.

Clearly, if you want a brand with variety, Swann’s a great choice. How do we know this? Here’s a brief look at how we review Swann cameras as well as other fast facts about Swann:

Swann Camera Features

But back to installation. As we lifted the cameras out of the box, we noted they included mounting screws and drill templates, which told us that installing our cameras would be relatively simple – seeing as we’ve become somewhat handy with a drill.

Swann Cams

Keep in mind that in this context, ‘simple’ is not the same as ‘easy.’ The process for setting up these cameras was simple to follow, but we still put in work to get these cameras installed. Of course, you could hire a professional installer, but you could also purchase a professionally-installed security system if DIY projects aren’t for you. ADT security systems, another industry classic, offers professional installation and continuous monitoring. We recommend starting there, and you can always add on more cameras later.

Swann Cam, Mouse, and NVR

As is expected with camera systems like this, we didn’t quite get that lightning-fast installation and setup experience with Swann as we did when we installed Ring’s security cameras. There was just some legwork involved for the NVR, with its numerous inputs and cables for us to plug in to get everything up and running.

Back of Swann NVR

Keep in mind, though, that installing even the best outdoor cameras is usually a bit more complicated than installing indoor cams, especially if you’re dealing with power adapters, network cables, or other connections. But that’s not to say this was a tough job; when it comes to multi-camera systems like this, we’d definitely put this installation process in the easy column.

But we should pause here and talk about that black box. If you’re not familiar with them, they might look a little intimidating. The fact of the matter, though, is that with really high-quality cameras, network video recorders — or NVRs for short — are pretty common.

They are essentially computers that process input from the cameras (video footage) and organize them for easier playback, storage, and sharing. Many modern security cameras store your footage in the cloud, which requires a monthly subscription. If you turn your nose up at that idea due to privacy or budgetary concerns, Swann has you covered.

Swann Outside Cam

Setting Up Swann

To fully understand how these cameras would perform in our home day to day, our first step was to set up our Swann cameras through their corresponding app, AlwaysSafe. If you choose Swann, this is where you’ll be able to control your cameras’ motion detection, set motion zones, schedule recordings and alerts, and more.

Swann App Settings

Once we downloaded the app, we took a brief look around before syncing our cameras to it. Right away we could see this app’s layout was pretty simple and barebones. That, we learned, is a reflection of the camera’s relatively limited features. It doesn’t have artificial intelligence-powered person detection,2 for instance, which is a powerful feature common in Ring, Arlo, and even Amcrest’s assortment of cameras.

On the other hand, it did allow us lots of different ways to customize our cameras. For instance, even though Swann’s camera can produce 1080p image quality, we can reduce that resolution to “fluent” (usually around 720p) to reduce strain on our home Wi-Fi. This has always come in handy for us, as our Wi-Fi service isn’t always stellar. This is something you’ll want to keep in mind, especially if your Wi-Fi speeds aren’t super fast.

Swann App

To complete our setup, we had a few options. We could sync our cameras to the app using the QR codes3 on the back of the cameras, or we could enter our UID, which is a number we found when we pulled up our cameras’ display on our TV after installing the NVR.

Swann UID

This tripped us up for a moment. It’s important to note that for these cameras to work on our phones, we had to give the app permission to access not just our photo library, but our phone’s camera as well.

Swann App Photo Permission

To do that, we went into our phone’s settings and added camera permissions to our Swann app. This is super easy to do, but if you don’t want the app to continue to have access to your camera, you can simply turn off that setting after your cameras are synced to the app.

We should note, though, that Wi-Fi cameras are all pretty similar in this regard. You have to allow the camera to connect to your network, and in order to do that, you have to give them permissions that you might consider private. If that doesn’t suit you, you might consider setting up a wired system. You could always take a look at the SimpliSafe system, which is one of the most secure we’ve encountered.

So, once our cameras and NVR were all synced, we had a nice, clear 1080p display on both our smartphone and our TV.

Swann Cameras on our TV

By the way, the “video loss” you’re seeing on the bottom half of our TV? That’s there because there are only two cameras connected to our NVR, but it’s actually intended to house four.

Now, it was time to do some deep exploration of these cameras and see how they would fare in the face of threats like porch pirates, car break-ins, and more.

Our Experience With Swann Cameras

Swann Cam

There’s a lot to like in Swann, with its vast product selection and its impressive motion detection technology. But that’s not to say they’re a great fit for everyone. There were some points of concern for us, too. Here’s a quick rundown of some features we liked, along with a few that could be improved:

True Detect Heat-Sensing Technology

One selling point for us was the brand’s True Detect heat- and motion-sensing sensing technology. While heat-triggered motion detection (also known as passive infrared, or PIR, detection)4 is not new in cameras, the unique thing about Swann’s technology is that it senses heat from both people and vehicles to trigger alerts and push notifications.

Swann Motion Detection

That means, for one, you won’t get notifications for things like flying bugs or branches swaying in the wind, which will keep your storage space from filling up too fast. Heat-sensing motion is pretty common in outdoor cameras, so we’re glad Swann makes this feature accessible and easy to use. We also liked being able to make quick changes, like turning PIR off if we’d rather reduce the number of alerts we’re getting.

Free Local Storage

Swann NVR

Thanks to that super-versatile NVR in our Swann system, we had a number of options for power and network connection. But the best part of an NVR, in our view, is the huge amount of storage it gives us. This one contains a 1 TB hard drive. That’s one terabyte,5 which is … a lot of bytes, trust us.

This ample video storage means, first and foremost, we weren’t going to have to spring for a cloud storage subscription – although Swann does offer one. For people like us, who would rather not get locked into contracts or monthly subscription fees, this is an option we’re quite fond of.

Limited Motion Detection

When the cameras detect motion, they work like most other security cameras do: by producing a video containing the motion, sending us a notification that motion was detected, and – after a few minutes of waiting – letting us access that video through either the AlwaysSafe app or our TV.

This is all well and good, except that we discovered Swann doesn’t give us any indication of where or what the motion is. For instance, when we were due to have a package delivered, we wanted to see if it had arrived while we were out walking the dog. We received a motion notification on our phone, and after that brief waiting period, we had our video, ready to view.

Keeping in mind that most of the videos these cameras produce come in between two and three minutes, we now had to watch the entirety of our video to find out if the fine folks at UPS had delivered our package, or if it was something else entirely.

Sure enough, it was something else entirely: It turns out it was my dear husband checking out some maintenance issues on the porch. The package, as of this writing, hadn’t arrived yet.

So, we had to sit through the whole clip to learn what we’d missed – not a huge deal, but we’ve seen a few brands handle this better. When we unboxed a Canary camera system, for instance, we received motion alerts that included thumbnails with green outlines around the activity the camera captured. This allowed us to know exactly what activity the camera had picked up as soon as we opened our app. For on-the-go folks, the more insight we can get from our cameras right away, the more effective they’ll be.

With Swann, we were spending more time viewing our recordings, waiting for the videos to load, and trying to make sense of all that activity. This wasn’t a deal-breaker, especially considering the relatively low price point of Swann cameras. In fact, it’s almost to be expected. But it’s still something to keep in mind.

Swann Indoor Video Quality

We also get that it’s a somewhat unfair comparison, considering Canary is known for being heavy on advanced tech.

Limited Field of View

These days, we’re finding that folks seem to be really interested in getting the widest possible viewing angle from their security cameras — and we’re right there with them! It makes sense, as the more coverage you have, the fewer cameras you need, right?

So that’s why we were a little dismayed to see that our Swann cameras, despite a wide-angle lens, have a mere 75-degree viewing angle. That’s quite a bit lower than some of Swann’s rivals, notably Lorex’s wireless cameras, whose security cameras boast a 120-degree field of view or higher, depending on the model.

Despite this minor shortcoming, we still had no problem finding appropriate angles and positions for our Swann cameras that gave us plenty of coverage. It was especially adept at keeping an extra eye on our always-in-motion offspring, as seen in this clip:

Weatherproof Equipment

Swann Outside Cam Installed

With an IP65 weather rating, we knew our Swann cameras would be able to withstand most weather events – barring extreme flooding.

But there’s just one more thing we found to be a bit lacking about our cameras: the quality of the devices themselves. Though they are weatherproof, they just don’t feel as sturdy or solid as other cameras, in our experience. Just something to keep in mind as you’re shopping around.

Smart Home Integration

“Does it work with Alexa?” is one of the most common questions we hear when it comes to shopping for security cameras. Having reviewed several of Swann’s cameras before, we can say this for sure: Many of their cameras do, in fact, work with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for hands-free voice control of the cameras.

It just so happens that our Swann system, the NVW-490, does not have this capability. This was definitely a downside for us, as the majority of cameras we’ve reviewed allow for integration for at least one smart home device (usually Alexa). We really think smart home integration should be standard in security cameras nowadays – especially those with “smart” in their names.

But again, with such an extensive and diverse selection, it wasn’t hard for us to pop over to Swann’s website and immediately hone in on several cameras with features that our current system lacks, including some intriguing home automation features. Swann’s NVR- and DVR-based cameras don’t generally provide this feature, but after a quick look at the company’s product page, we found a handful of cams that would do the job, including their Wireless 1080p Security Camera (SWIFI-CAMW) as well as their 1080p Alert Indoor Camera (SWIFI-ALERTCAMPK2).

Swann Alert Indoor Camera

Those cams are definitely worth a second look if you’re looking to use your cameras with a smart home assistant, but for us, being able to cast our cameras onto our TV was just as effective.

Customer Service

Many don’t realize it, but with high-tech home security brands, solid customer service is a must-have. You never know when you might need the company’s help setting up or troubleshooting your equipment. That is why we laud companies with good customer service; we even have a roundup of security companies with the best customer service, if you also value this.

In the case of Swann, we can report a mostly pleasant customer service experience. When we hit a snag during setup, we turned to Swann’s live chat first, hoping that would be a fast, efficient way to get clarity on our issue.

Swann Support Chat

At first, we were kicked off the chat queue, as you can see above. But when we started a new chat, someone greeted us within less than a minute.

Whether that someone was human or robot, we can’t definitively say. But they were quite helpful either way.

Pricing and Subscriptions

In our tests and experiences with Swann, we’ve found their prices to be largely fair and reasonable– but we wouldn’t call them cheap, either. It’s important to note that Swann is big on packages, so if you’re looking to save money in the long run, you’ll find the package options to be more economical. But the individual cameras can get pretty pricey.

As an example, most of Swann’s bullet cameras, which is the style of cameras we tested, run from $99 to about $170. Take note, though, that Swann offers resolutions all the way up to 4K ultra HD in their cameras, so this is definitely a “you get what you pay for” scenario.

See below for just a small sampling of pricing for Swann. And check out our full roundup of Swann prices here.

Swann Camera Pricing

Worth noting, right now Swann is running a special. Some of their best sellers are on sale, and if you’re a first time customer, you can get 10 percent off your order.

Our Smart Security System, with its two cameras and four-channel recorder, cost us $269. Indeed, pricing on Swann is all over the place, so it’s important to take your time to find the product that’s best for you.

That said, if you’re looking to store large amounts of video, we’re glad to see that Swann makes that option pretty affordable, too. The $4.99 monthly fee for Swann’s ExtraSafe plan, for instance, is just slightly higher than Ring’s standard cloud subscription option at $3 per month. But you might also notice that while Swann’s plan includes 30 days of storage, Ring’s monitoring plan actually offers double the storage for that same $3 monthly fee. Just something to keep in mind.

Here’s a breakdown of Swann’s video storage options:

Our Verdict and Recommendations

All told, our Swann NVR system performed as any quality security camera should; with a strong Wi-Fi connection, we enjoyed clear, smooth live views of both of our cameras, and we didn’t have to worry about false notifications, thanks to Swann’s True Detect heat sensors.

For those reasons, as well as all the other features and options we observed throughout our tests of Swann products, we can say without a doubt that these are good, solid security cameras.

Swann Outdoor Night Vision

With all that said, though, we would still be hesitant to recommend Swann over more feature-rich cameras, which are becoming more popular in an industry that’s growing by leaps and bounds. We’re finding that folks these days tend to gravitate toward cameras that offer more than Swann’s relatively basic feature set, and we’d include ourselves in that category, too.

For those reasons, we recommend taking a closer look at one of Google’s feature-rich Nest Cams instead. However, knowing those cameras also come with a high price point, you might also want to look into Ring’s Stick Up or Spotlight Cam — two of our favorite outdoor security cameras.

Swann FAQs