Okay, so I’ve been messing around with my smart home setup again, and I had this question bugging me: Can I get my Eufy hub to play nice with cameras from other brands? I mean, it would be awesome to just have everything under one roof, right?
So, I started digging. First, I just tried to connect a random non-Eufy camera I had lying around directly through the Eufy Security app. No dice. The app is pretty straightforward, you go to “Add Device,” but it’s clearly looking for specific Eufy products.
Then I started checking forums and stuff. Seems like a lot of people are in the same boat, wanting a unified system. Most of what I saw was people saying, “Nope, it’s a closed system.” Eufy wants you to buy their cameras, which makes sense from a business perspective, I guess.
Diving Deeper (and Getting a Little Disappointed)
I wasn’t totally ready to give up, though. I checked the official Eufy website, their FAQs, and support pages. Nothing. No mention of supporting other brands. It’s all about how great their ecosystem is, which, to be fair, it is pretty good if you stick with their stuff.
I even thought about workarounds. Like, could I use some kind of third-party software or a hub like SmartThings or Home Assistant to bridge the gap? This is where it gets a bit technical, and honestly, beyond what I was willing to try for now. From what I understand, you might be able to get some limited functionality using something like IFTTT (If This Then That), but it’s not a true integration. It’s more like setting up triggers – “if my non-Eufy camera detects motion, then send me a notification.” It wouldn’t let me view the camera feed directly in the Eufy app, for example.
The Verdict (For Now)
So, after all this, here’s the deal: It looks like, out of the box, the Eufy hub is designed to work only with Eufy cameras. It’s a bummer if you’ve already invested in cameras from another brand.
My takeaway? If you’re starting fresh and like the Eufy ecosystem, stick with their cameras. If you have a mix of brands, you’re probably going to need to manage them separately, or get into some more advanced (and potentially complicated) smart home setups with hubs that support multiple protocols. I’m not quite ready to go down that rabbit hole yet, so I’ll just keep my Eufy stuff separate for now.