Momentum Knok Video Doorbell – Review 2020
Know
for its indoor and outdoor smart security cameras, Momentum enters the video doorbell market with the Knok Video Doorbell ($130). The Knok uses your
existing doorbell wiring and an embedded Wi-Fi radio to connect to your home
network and to your phone, allowing you to see who is outside without having to
open your door. It offers motion-triggered recording, free cloud and local
storage, subscription-based cloud storage, and it works with Google Assistant voice commands.
It performed well in testing, but is missing some of the features that you get
with our more affordable Editors’ Choice, the RemoBell S, including support for
Alexa voice commands and IFTTT applets.
Design
and Features
At
5.1 by 2.0 by 1.0 inches (HWD), the Knok doorbell is a bit bigger than the RemoBell
S (5.1 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches). It
comes with two
interchangeable covers (black and silver); a chime adapter for connecting to
your existing doorbell chime; two angled mounting plates and a flat mounting
plate; assorted screws, connectors, and mounting hardware; a screwdriver and
drill bit; a small level; and an installation manual.
The
camera captures video at 1080p and has a 130-degree field of view. It uses two
infrared LEDS to provide up to 25 feet of black-and-white night vision and is
equipped with a 110dB siren and a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio. The front of the
enclosure also houses a PIR motion sensor, a microphone and speaker for two-way
audio, and a doorbell button with an LED light ring that glows solid red when starting up, solid blue when the doorbell is connected to the internet, and
blinks blue when the internet connection is lost. Around back are two wire
terminals, a microSD card slot (media is not included), and a reset button.
As
with any smart doorbell worth its salt, the Knok will send a push alert and
begin recording when the bell is pressed or when the camera detects motion. The
doorbell comes with a Lite storage plan that provides free cloud storage for
the past 24 hours of video for one camera. If you require a longer storage
period, Momentum offers a Plus Plan for $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year that
gives you seven days of video history for up to two cameras. The Premium Plan goes
for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year and provides 30 days of video history
for up to five cameras, and the Pro Plan will cost you $19.99 per month or $199.99
per year for 60 days of video history with support for up to 10 cameras. Or, you
can store recorded video locally on a microSD card (up to 64GB).
If
you have a compatible Google device, you can view streamed video from the Knok camera using Google Assistant voice commands, but it doesn’t support Amazon Alexa. It also doesn’t support Apple HomeKit or integrations using IFTTT
applets, and it won’t trigger other Momentum devices, despite using the same Android and iOS app.
The
app opens to a dashboard screen that contains tiles for all installed Momentum
devices, as well as Activity and Rules tiles. Tapping the doorbell tile
opens a screen with a live video stream and buttons for activating the siren, initiating
two-way talk, manual video recording, capturing a photo, a privacy button, and
a speaker mute button. There’s also an Activity button that takes you to a
screen with a list of doorbell activities (motion and ring) with video
thumbnails, times and descriptions. Tap a thumbnail to view, download, and
delete event video clips.
To access the doorbell’s settings, tap the gear icon
in the upper right corner. Here you can configure Wi-Fi settings, set motion
activity zones and motion sensitivity, turn the chime on or off, format an SD
card, and change your storage plan.
The Activity tile on the dashboard takes
you to the same Activity screen mentioned above, and the Rules tile takes you
to a screen where you can create schedules for motion-based notifications and
video recordings.
Installation
and Performance
Installing
the Knok is relatively easy, but if you’re not comfortable working with low-voltage wiring, you may want to hire a pro. I turned off the breaker circuit
that provides power to my doorbell and removed my existing doorbell assembly. I then attached the mounting plate to the siding of my house, making sure to pull the
wires through the opening first. I attached the two wires to the terminal using
the provided terminal screws, snapped the doorbell onto the mounting plate, and
tightened the screw at the bottom of the doorbell. I snapped on the outer shell,
restored power to the circuit, and moved on to pairing the app.
I
downloaded the mobile app, created an account, tapped Add A Device, and selected
the Knok doorbell from the list. Once the doorbell LED began flashing blue and
a voice prompt informed me that it was ready for pairing, I tapped Get
Started and followed the instructions to use my phone’s Wi-Fi settings to
connect it to the doorbell’s SSID. Once connected I returned to the app,
selected my home Wi-Fi SSID, entered my password, and after 30 seconds or so
the Knok was connected to my network. I gave it name and the installation was
complete.
The
Knok delivered solid 1080p video in testing. Daytime video contained rich
colors and sharp image quality, and black-and-white night video was clear and
well lit. The motion sensor did a good job of ignoring passing cars and
wind-blown objects, and always triggered alerts and recordings whenever a person
approached the doorbell. Likewise, a press of the doorbell never failed to
generate an alert and a recording. Two-way audio was clean and adequately loud.
Conclusions
Easy
installation and good video quality make the Momentum Knok a solid choice for a standalone video doorbell. It delivers rich colors and
sharp night vision, and its two-way audio is loud and distortion-free.
The Knok works with Google Assistant, but it doesn’t interact with other
Momentum cameras or third-party smart devices such as lights and door locks.
Moreover, it lacks the support for Amazon Alexa voice commands and IFTTT
applets that you get with our less expensive Editors’ Choice, the RemoBell
S.
Momentum Knok Video Doorbell Specs
Connectivity | Wi-Fi |
Integration | Google Assistant |
Notifications | Push |
Field of View | 130 degrees |
Resolution | 1080p |
Storage | Cloud, Local |
Two-Way Audio | Yes |
Mechanical Pan/Tilt | No |
Night Vision | Yes |
Alarm | Yes |