Merkury Smart WiFi Photographic camera Review

We review the Merkury Smart WiFi Camera to meet how it compares to the likes of Wyze, Blink, and Arlo.

Merkury Smart WiFi Camera

3.3 out of 5 stars

3.25

  • Pros

    Adept choice for the price

  • Pros

    Supports multiple voice assistants

  • Pros

    Easy to fix

Info current equally of post engagement. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject area to change.

John Carlsen

Senior Staff Writer, Security & Smart Abode

The Merkury Smart WiFi Camera is a pleasant surprise every bit far every bit cheap security cameras go. Information technology won't turn heads with features but is a decent security camera that fits into a respectable smart home ecosystem. Merkury Smart WiFi Camera doesn't take deject video storage, which is probably a deal-billow for about folks. Still, it's bang-up for a home security camera that costs less than $40.

Pro Heading

Pros

Pro Bullet Good option for the cost

Pro Bullet Mobile app controls

Pro Bullet Flexible stand

Pro Bullet Supports multiple voice assistants

Pro Bullet Smart home device multifariousness

Con Heading

Cons

Con Bullet No deject storage

Con Bullet No micro SD carte included

Con Bullet No 5GHz Wi-Fi network support

Con Bullet Occasional Wi-Fi connectedness problems

How Merkury compares with other cameras ~$forty

This Merkury camera is a nice camera for the price point—and its toll is pretty unbeatable. It'southward not going upwardly against heavyweights like Reolink Argus 3 Pro, Arlo Pro 4, or Nest Cam (Bombardment), but you tin get multiple cameras for the cost of a unmarried heavyweight and its costly premium features.

†Amazon.com list toll as of post engagement. Read full disclaimer.

What'due south in the box

Merkury Smart WiFi Camera box

  • Merkury Smart WiFi Camera
  • USB cable
  • Ability adapter
  • Mounting agglutinative
  • User manual

Average video quality

Equally far as engineering goes, the Merkury Smart WiFi Camera isn't besides complicated compared with other cameras around $twoscore. It boasts 1080p video resolution, which provides enough detail for most folks without chewing through storage space and internet bandwidth too speedily.

The resolution works well with Merkury's 115ยบ field of view, which shows a clear view of a room, especially if you install the camera in a corner. The infrared night vision on this wireless security camera works well and well-nigh matches daytime videos' clarity—similar to competitors like Wyze Cam and Eufy.

Plentiful smart home options

We didn't take much experience with Merkury Innovations before this review, only information technology was surprising how much smart home equipment the make sells.

There are 19 smart home devices in the lineup (sixteen price less than $40), including smart lighting, smart plugs, video doorbells, security cameras, and entry sensors.

In general, we found favorable customer reviews for these products—they're cheap enough to attempt out in your smart abode but like shooting fish in a barrel to return if you don't similar the results.

Each smart device (including the Merkury Smart Camera) connects to Wi-Fi and uses the Geeni camera app. They even work with voice administration like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant,* and Microsoft Cortana.

While nosotros like the Cortana compatibility since there aren't many smart home devices that support it, it'south not equally useful as Alexa and Google Banana.

Weak recording storage

The biggest weakness of the Merkury Smart WiFi Camera is that information technology doesn't offer cloud storage. Instead, you lot have the pick to take screenshots and download brusk clips from live video feeds. For all other video storage needs, you must have a micro SD card.

The good news is that this IP camera supports cards up to 128 GB, which can concluding for months before information technology starts to overwrite older stored footage. Merkury says the photographic camera generally uses most ane GB per day, so fifty-fifty a smaller carte du jour is sufficient for long-term storage when the camera records with movement detection.

The bad news is that it doesn't come up with a micro SD card in the box. And so you'll need to spend an extra $ten–$25 on a card for your camera, diluting its affordability. Nearly competitors don't include micro SD cards either, so this is more than of a full general gripe than a real drawback.

Merkury camera setup and installation

Easy Wi-Fi setup

Like most security cameras, this unit connects to your dwelling Wi-Fi network, so you can control it from your smartphone using the Geeni app (Geeni is a sibling brand to Merkury Innovations).

The Geeni app has a straightforward layout that's easy to apply for live viewing your photographic camera feed, watching stored footage, or talking with people using the Merkury Smart WiFi Camera'due south two-way sound.

How exercise I set up my Merkury Smart WiFi Camera?

  1. Connect the camera, USB cable, and ability adapter before plugging it in.
  2. Employ the Geeni app (iOS and Google Play) to connect the camera to your Wi-Fi network.
  3. Suit the settings, link to a vocalization assistant, and insert a memory card as needed.

You tin can place the camera on any flat surface or adhere it to a wall with the included adhesive pad. We like that the photographic camera'due south bendable stand up allows you to bespeak the lens at a item vista like an archway or pricey home theater setup.

Unfortunately, this camera doesn't back up 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks, so you may need to suit your phone's settings to ii.4 GHz during the setup process if you're struggling to connect to the camera.

We also plant some user reviews that notation occasional Wi-Fi problems like dropped connections and laggy video. But these bug don't seem to affect most folks.

Client service & support

On the surface, Merkury Innovations doesn't offer a ton in terms of client service. The manual lists a telephone number, and the main website has an email form for getting assistance, simply you lot have to dig deeper for additional support options.

For example, the transmission directs users to the back up site for Geeni cameras, which adds alive chat support to the list. Simply this is more helpful for the Geeni app than this specific smart security photographic camera. Y'all can also access basic support through the Geeni app.

Equally we read critical user reviews on retail sites like Walmart and Geeni's social media pages, nosotros oftentimes saw the company post-obit upwardly to offering more than help. And so we're hopeful that the company pays attention to customer feedback and works to gear up bug.

Overall, Merkury Innovations' customer service isn't as seamless as interacting with Wyze, Arlo, and Ring—just it'south notwithstanding very responsive and helpful.

Last word

Nosotros were skeptical when we started researching the Merkury Smart WiFi Camera for this review, simply nosotros were pleasantly surprised past this nifty little photographic camera.

While its specs are mostly boilerplate and won't outshine Wyze, Merkury's biggest forcefulness is its posse of affordable smart abode devices. Check out our guide to cheap security cameras for our top picks to watch over your dwelling on a budget.

Merkury Smart WiFi Camera FAQ

Based on our research, we think that Merkury Innovations puts a lot of try into its products and client service, making information technology fairly reliable. Though it'southward not at the same level as superlative brands like Arlo and Wyze, information technology holds its ain.

How nosotros reviewed the Merkury WiFi Camera

We have years of experience reviewing security cameras, so nosotros approached the Merkury Smart WiFi Camera with several goals. Specifically, we researched the camera'due south technology, installation, and customer back up options. We also looked at customer reviews to balance our perspective with real-globe performance.

Larn more than about our review process in our methodology.

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Disclaimers

*Google, Google Assistant, and other related marks are trademarks of Google LLC.

†Amazon.com listing toll as of post date. Production prices and availability are authentic as of the date/time indicated and are bailiwick to change. Whatever toll and availability information displayed on Amazon at the fourth dimension of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. Safewise.com utilizes paid Amazon links.

Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon. This content is provided "as is" and is subject to change or removal at any time.

John Carlsen

Written by

John Carlsen

John is a technology journalist specializing in smart home devices, security cameras, and home security systems. He has over nine years of experience researching, testing, and reviewing the latest tech—he was the Smart Home Editor for Pinnacle Ten Reviews and wrote for ASecureLife before joining SafeWise as a Staff Author in 2020. John holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism emphasis from Utah Valley University. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, photography, cooking, and starting countless DIY projects he has yet to complete.

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