I never thought I was someone who’d have security cameras outside my home. I didn’t have the electrical wiring, so that just left battery-powered cameras; I was skeptical at how good could they be, and whether they would be worth having to regularly change the batteries. Then there are the subscription fees that most security camera brands charge, which add up over time.
Having tested outdoor security cameras for a number of brands, I have become a real fan of the Eufy Solocam line, which manages to dodge the subscription and battery problems. (Unlike a lot of its competitors, Eufy cameras don’t require a subscription to view and save clips.) Eufy’s latest release, the Eufy 4G LTE Cam S330 ($249.99) is an addition with some notable new features, including the ability to switch between a 4G LTE card and wifi.
The S330 builds on previously well-received Solocams
A few months ago, I reviewed two other cameras in this line, the hardwired Floodlight Cam E340 ($219.99) and the wireless Solocam S340 ($199.99). What I really liked about this line above other outdoor cameras I’d tested were the dual lenses: A macro lens and micro lens survey your space in conjunction with each other, and you can easily flip between them. While even the macro lens offers great detail, the micro lens allows you to really home in on specific areas. While I tested the wired and wireless versions, the wireless impressed me most, and with a diminutive solar panel above it, it hasn’t lost power once—not through weeks of cloudy PNW weather, not through the week-long ice and snowstorm. It continued to produce exceptional 360 degree views of the yard. The solar panel allows you to place the camera almost anywhere—the only limitation is that you need wifi.
This new 4G LTE Cam takes the same wireless camera base and adds 4G capability to it, meaning you can quite literally place it anywhere so long as it gets a minimal amount of sunshine and has 4G coverage. Since Eufy doesn’t provide LTE coverage, the unit ships with a promotional card from EIOT and 100gb of free data so you can test out the 4G capability, and separately, a micro SD card for storage. I imagine most people will simply get a SIM from their wireless provider on an unlimited plan to use in their S330—the EIOT card is just so you can try the 4G LTE functionality out. Topping off the card at their rates made no sense given how much data you’ll go through, though you certainly could.
It’s worth noting that Eufy has, in the past, experienced a security breach. Realistically, any camera system, hardwired or wireless, is susceptible to hacking, but wireless models seem much easier to breach. Using any security camera in the modern era is to accept a certain amount of risk, but to Eufy’s credit, it has responded to vulnerabilities when they’ve appeared, and there hasn’t yet been a repeat.
Easy, if slightly insecure installation
The S330 looks exactly the same as the S340: it has a modern lens set mounted on a white plastic swiveling base that can tilt up, down, and around. The back of the camera has an input for USB-C power for charging in the home, for a direct wire (if you have it), or to connect to the solar panel. The solar panel can attach to the top of the camera or be mounted as much as 10 feet away, and can be adjusted to tilt in any direction needed. As mounts go, the Eufy wireless cams are some of the easiest to mount, but I do worry about their security since they’d be just as easy to remove. This is generally true of wireless cameras. In either case, the mount can be used in a few different orientations, secures with a few screws, and then you just slide the camera on until it clicks.
The Eufy app is great at guiding you through setup. It’s easy to set up your EIOT account and install the LTE card in the device, and the same is true for the SD card. You’ll be guided to set up zones that the camera should pay attention to, zones it should ignore, and you can even set up four points that the camera should default to. There are a wealth of notification options, and you can tell the app if you have pets, and whether it should try to identify people in your yard using AI.
All told, installation took me less than 15 minutes. Eufy does not require subscriptions to save clips, which is a huge bonus, and I connected this unit to my HomeBase, which allows me to store saved clips locally.
Improved solar notifications on the S330
While solar performs just as well on the S330 as the S340, the LTE model has one improvement: The app tells you how well the solar is charging at any time, a feature I appreciated. Like its predecessor, I’ve had no issues keeping the camera fully charged, despite getting quite a bit more activity in my front yard than my other Eufy wireless camera.
LTE lags, and switching between wifi and LTE is painful
While all wireless cameras suffer from lag time (notably, I’ve experienced the least lag time with Ring cameras) it was noticeably worse when I was on LTE. It was bad enough that it timed out once or twice while I was away from home while trying to summon the live view. It didn’t matter much since I burned through those 100gb in fewer than four days, despite settings to minimize my recording. Unwilling to pay the price to add on more data at the rates offered, I switched the camera to wifi. I wish I could say that was a painless process, but after timing out many times over a few days, I finally had to take the camera off the mount, bring it inside and reinstall it entirely to switch to wifi. Once I did, connection times improved dramatically.
Same great video as previous dual-lens Solocams
The video for the S330 is just as great as previous models. This is the only camera line I’ve tested with the dual lenses. I took advantage of the LTE and solar to place the camera on the edge of my wifi range in the front yard, aimed right at the spot where a neighbor has not been cleaning up after their dog. Within a day, I’d nabbed the offender, but the dual lenses took it from a video with a quick glimpse of the offender’s face to being able to provide a screenshot with enough clarity to be above reproach. I mean, the detail on the micro lens is so flawless I caught the dog giving his owner the side eye as they walked away.
Bottom line: A solid camera with expanded range if you need LTE
If you’re within wifi range, it seems a no-brainer to use the wifi here, even if you have unlimited LTE through your carrier. But the LTE aspect gives you tremendous freedom, if you need it—I imagine this allowing you to place a camera on a trail on your property, or at the front of a long drive. Still, if you are planning to use wifi, I’d just go with the S340 and save yourself $50.
