The term, ‘IP cameras’ can be quite confusing, especially as relates to cameras connecting to either their base stations (if any) or the home WiFi router directly.
This confusion compounds itself when IP cameras from the same manufacturer such as Eufy tow different paths and work on slightly different principles especially when it comes to their point of connection.
Why is that so? Why do some of the cameras from the same manufacturer connect to different points and why it is even an issue worthy of discussion?
Is there any reason why you should be bothered if your own preferred camera type connects primarily to a device type that you don’t like?
These and other issues are the tasks of today’s article. Please, permit me to roll up my sleeves and get busy. As usual though, first things first.
* * * * *
I’m an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases on Amazon (or any of the merchants recommended herein) if you buy from products or services linked to in this article; without any further cost to you. For my full affiliate disclosure, please follow the navigational links labeled ‘Affiliate Disclosure’ and contained in both the menu above and the footer, below.
* * * * *
What Is An IP Security Camera?
An IP security camera (also called an internet protocol security camera) is differentiated from the traditional analog CCTV cameras in that it deploys all its functions by means of an IP network in the classic local area network fashion.
Unlike the old analog security cameras of yore, however, these camera types do not require a physical recording device since that function has been taken over and is handled by the local area network such a camera system must connect to in order to work in the first place.
This deployment by IP cameras makes them both super easy to set up and use. Further, there exist very few things that can technically go wrong with the cameras since very few things are involved in the setup and operation in the first place.
One of the greatest attractions to these camera types today remains the fact that they can easily be viewed remotely and often lend themselves to easy use on the go.
Where Do Eufy Security Cameras Connect To By Default: The WiFi Router Or The Base Station?
Having clearly understood what an IP camera is and how it works in contrast to the older, analog systems, it is time to answer the all-important question; the one I set out to answer initially.
The Eufy security cameras connect to either the home WiFi router directly or the base station, depending on the model you choose to buy.
The Eufy Cam 2 Pro, for instance, doesn’t connect to the home WIFI router, at least not directly. What this model of Eufy security camera does is that it pairs up with the HomeBase and connects to the base’s own newly created WiFi network, only open to the cameras and other Eufy branded products made to be receptive to such a novel network.
The base station, in this case, the HomeBase 2 itself relies on a direct WIFi connection, powered by the home router WiFi, a connection that establishes itself prior to the pairing of the cameras and other specific products that are also capable of using the newly created novel WiFi network.
Other Eufy security cameras that rely on a connection to the base station rather than the home WiFi router include the Eufy Cam 2C, Eufy Cam 2C Pro, and the ‘slightly different’ Eufy Cam E. For these security cameras, the ultimate purpose of the HomeBase is to afford this all-important connection.
However, there are some standalone security cameras offered by Eufy directly that do not need the base station to do their thing. Such examples as the Eufy Solo Cam E40 and the solar-powered Solo Cam S40 are paired directly to the security app downloaded prior and derive their ‘internet power’ from the home router’s WiFi without needing to first make recourse to the often, newly created network the HomeBase ensures.
So, whether your Eufy cam connects directly to the base station or router is simply a product of which one you got in the first place, which in itself, would have been determined by your actual needs at that moment.
What Are The Advantages Of Each Connection Setting?
Each of the realities as captured above presents advantages that may be of interest to you as a user, depending on your particular reality and needs at the moment of purchase or use.
The cameras that must use the base station to do their thing generally have more memory on board and have the additional security of making certain that in the event of theft of the camera (which is a possibility), the footage isn’t lost – even right up to the ones that implicated its very theft for that matter as all footage is captured by the camera and saved securely on the base station.
Again, if you’re one who would appreciate other Eufy devices in the future like the Eufy Security Video Doorbell, this will save you additional expense when that time comes as you wouldn’t need to buy an additional base but simply use the existing one bought prior.
Further, if motion detection and subsequent recording (even when there’s an internet blackout) is important to you, then, by all means, opt for any of the models that deploy the use of a base station. This way, you are guaranteed motion detection and recording even in the sad event of the non-availability of an internet connection.
However, you will also find satisfaction from buying the non-base station-supported Eufy cameras like the Solo Cam S40 if you have no further need for additional cameras and are certain that the mono setup is all you need for your security surveillance needs.
If you’re also only giving the company a try and aren’t very certain that in the future, you’ll be buying more Eufy branded products that may need the HomeBase to work, going the solo way with the options from the company that doesn’t require a base station to work is the smartest way to go.
Wrap Up: Which Setting Should You Opt For?
Eufy IP security cameras connect to either the base station, in this case, called the HomeBase, or directly to the home internet WiFi router, depending on how they are manufactured from the factory and programmed. There isn’t any hard and fast rule here.
There isn’t also any hard and fast rule when picking one too, only your reality and needs for the moment.
Remember this and you’ll be fine whether you prefer the home internet router to handle your connection directly or like most of the Eufy world, you prefer the intercession of the base station, also known as the HomeBase.
If you’re however confused about the ideal option/camera model that you need, take a close and interested look at my guide: Which Eufy Security Camera Model Is The Best And Why?