ET Speaks From Home

Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way

  • Chinese Culture & Festivals
    • Chinese Culture & Superstitions
    • Chinese Cuisine
    • Chinese Festivals
    • Chinese Wedding
    • Feng Shui
  • Craft
    • Adult Craft
    • Children Art and Craft
    • Chinese New Year Craft
    • Origami
  • Family Life
    • Collaboration
    • Home Improvement
    • Life & Parenting
    • Modelling
    • Printable
    • Sensory Play
    • STEM
    • Summer Activities
    • Tutorial
    • Lichfield Mandarin Club
  • Food & Drink
    • Bake Recipes
    • Cookbook
    • Dessert
    • Drink
    • Food Products
    • Meal Recipes
    • Restaurant
  • Review
    • App
    • Beauty & Health
    • Book
    • Drama, Movie, Theatre
    • DVD & Blu Ray
    • Fashion
    • Game & Board Game
    • General Products
    • Household Products
    • LEGO
    • Nintendo
    • Puzzle
    • Technology & Gadgets
    • Toy
    • Travel
    • Twitter Party / Party
    • Stationery
    • Vlog
  • Giveaway

Swann WiFi HD Security System Kit Review

6 November 2017 by Eileen

It is becoming more and more common for people to install security systems for their home, business and other places of interest, to protect themselves, collect evidence and allows them to report any suspicious activity. We have been wanting to get a security system for our home for peace of mind and as a deterrent for any potential criminals.

Swann wi-fi hd security camera review

We are delighted to review this Swann WiFi HD Security System Kit from Maplin. This system is four channel, 1TB and includes two cameras which you can connect wirelessly to the NVR. Since this is four channel, it allows you to add an additional two Swann WiFi cameras to give you maximum coverage of your home or property while you are at work or on holiday.

Once unpacked, I did a quick set up of the cameras to make sure it worked. Luckily I did that as one of my cameras disconnected after 5 minutes! I had to restart it each time. I phoned up the Swann help desk and they suggested I swap the cables around and that seemed to fix it. I’ve no idea why swapping the cables around works, but I’m happy that it does!

Before I fixed the cameras permanently, I checked the rest of the connectivity and did some testing. First, I connected the antennas, power cable, mouse, HDMI line and Ethernet port into the NVR machine. As this security system relies on Wi-Fi, it is important to have the Ethernet line connected at all times to enable you to view the live feed from SwannView Link app on your smartphone or tablet. The HDMI line can be disconnected if you didn’t want to view it via your television.

Swann wi-fi hd security camera nvr
Swann wi-fi hd security camera cable

Once this was set up, I connected all the power cables, power adaptors and antennas onto the cameras. Then I started the system setup wizard which took us over 40 minutes to set up. It was not too complicated but there were a lot of typing of email addresses, passwords, configuring the motion detection zones and many more. For some reason, it did pick up the right time and date but we did have to adjust to Daylight Saving in order for it to work. Once you have connected correctly, you are able to see the live view.

Next we downloaded the free app via App store or Google store. There are quite a lot of Swann apps in the store so make sure you download the correct one! Then put in your passcode and configure your device.

Swann wi-fi hd security camera app itunes

Each camera captures footage in crystal clear 1080p HD resolution with a wide angle view of 75 degrees. This means you will be able to record all activity in a large room or driveway in high definition. However, I am not very impressed with the picture quality at all. The 1080p HD is equivalent to about a 2 megapixel image. Most smartphones will take better quality video than this. In bright conditions, it looks fine, just slightly pixelated but for any duller days, the picture quality is very poor. I think in near future, I would probably upgrade the cameras to at least 4 megapixels.

The IR cut filters provide powerful night vision of up to 65ft/20m in low ambient lighting. So far the image and motion detection works very well. The built-in microphones on each camera allow you to listen in while you are away from home via the SwannView Link app on your smartphone or tablet.

Swann offers installation by their recommend installer. They are not cheap and can range from a few hundred pounds but if you don’t have wall drills or any power tools, then it is best to get some expert help!

The cameras comes with thick cables so you will need to drill a sizable hole through the wall and feed the cable through. This main cable for the power so before you start drilling, you should plan on where you can plug the power adaptor in.

Swann wi-fi hd security camera full cable
Swann wi-fi hd security camera power cable

This NVR has a huge 1TB hard drive which is capable of recording continuously for up to 48 days. I love that this records onto the hard drive and not to the cloud. There are systems on the market that require a monthly subscription fee. Also at a later date, you can physically increase the hard drive up to 4TB if you find that 1TB does not provide enough space.

Overall this security system does what it says on the box such as it is easy to connect, provides motion detection and many more. It is only that the picture quality is not ideal or up to my standard. This security system is available to buy from Maplin.

Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however all thoughts and opinions remain our own.

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Filed Under: Technology & Gadgets

« GB Sewing Bee Sewing Machine Review
Choosing a Roof Window »

Comments

  1. kayleigh watkins says

    6 November 2017 at 2:36 pm

    A lovely review, they look like good quality, we have just moved home so we don’t know the area yet so will be looking to install cameras for when we are away, its a shame it kept disconnecting, the joys of technology, a simple switch of the leads and all sorted xXx

Trackbacks

  1. How to Keep your House Secure - ET Speaks From Home says:
    30 December 2021 at 9:10 pm

    […] any suspicious activity. They can be your eyes to unwanted visitors and behaviour. We have reviewed WiFi security systems while we were living in our old house. It gave us peace of mind and is a deterrent for any […]

  2. Unveils New Features and Redesign for mydlink App - ET Speaks From Home says:
    28 September 2020 at 5:34 pm

    […] for ways to improve their app and add more smart gadgets into our lives. I am currently using Swann CCTV and they have stopped updating the app for almost three years now. The app is not user friendly and […]

Search

Hello!

Welcome to ET Speaks From Home. My name is Eileen, mother of two children aged 17 and 16 with visual impairment. We've been online since 2012 and continue to grow. I love to cook, craft, DIY, write about Chinese Culture and YouTube reviews.
Top 20 UK Parent Blogs 2020
Tots100 2014 Top 20 Blog on Twitter
Tots100 2015 Mummy Vloggers, Tots100 2016 Top 20 Vloggers
Shortlisted Britmums Brilliance in Blogging Awards (BiBs) Video 2014 Read More…

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Click here to get in touch!

Contact Me here!

Click here for Media Pack!

pr media pack

Archives

Recent Posts

  • How to Choose a Surveyor for a London Property: 6 Smart Tips
  • Clean Label Supplements: Are They Worth It? What to Look For
  • Checklist for Your First Airplane Trip
  • Luxear Cooling Air Mesh Duvet Review
  • This One Home Addition Could Add Thousands to Your Property Value
  • The Secret Perks of Loyalty Cards You Might Not Know About
  • How to Handle Injury Claims After a Family Holiday
  • Making Boredom Beautiful: Why I Stopped Filling Every Quiet Moment
  • Proscenic P11 Ultra Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Review
  • Why the Dolomites Are a Great Choice for Your Family’s First Hiking Adventure

Amazon Affiliate

“We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.co.uk and affiliated sites.”

AWIN & ShareASale Affiliate

“We are a participant in the AWIN Program and ShareASale, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to their clients and affiliated sites.”

Google Privacy Policy

By continuing to use this website, you agreed to be bound by the Google Terms of Service. To find out more, see here: Google Privacy Policy

YouTube API Terms & Conditions

By continuing to use this website, you agreed to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service. To find out more, see here: YouTube API Term & Condition For Handling YouTube Data and Content Policy : to store the public data temporarily, but not more than 30 days and the stored data will be either be refreshed or deleted after 30 days.

Copyright

©2012-2025 Eileen Teo unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved. You may not reproduce text excerpts or images without my prior permission.

Disclaimer

To find out more, see here: Disclaimer

Privacy Policy

To find out more, see here: Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress