I can be kind of lazy. Case in point, we didn’t have a working doorbell for at least a year because I was too lazy to replace the battery in the outdoor push button. Instead of buying a battery, I just ordered an ultra cheap wireless doorbell from Amazon and used it for less than a year before the battery died. If my doorbell was hardwired, this wouldn’t be an issue, but since I don’t have that option, I either have to order the non-standard batteries from Amazon or just buy a new doorbell every time the batteries die. Wasteful? Yes. But I already told you that I can be lazy. Luckily for me, I was asked to review the Inateck DB1001 Battery-Free Doorbell. No batteries you ask? I know it sounds too good to be true, but it’s true. Let’s check it out.
What is it?
The Inateck DB1001 Battery-Free Doorbell is a two piece wireless doorbell that includes a transmitter push button that mounts outside your door and a receiver that plugs into a wall outlet. The push button that goes outside uses energy-harvesting technology instead of a battery. Pushing the button generates enough power to send the signal to the receiver in the house.
What’s in the box?
Push button
Chime (receiver)
Double sided 3M stick tape
Mounting hardware
Instruction manual
Design and features
The DB1001 doesn’t look very sleek. It’s 2.6 in (67mm) diameter plastic shell is large and white with the Inateck logo printed on the front.
The receiver is about the same size but has 2 prongs and a speaker on the back.
On the left side is a volume button and a chime tune selector button. The design is really basic and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Installation and use
Installing the doorbell is just a matter of peeling and sticking the push button outside near your door. There’s a 3M adhesive sticker pre-installed on the back of the button, or you can also mount the button using the included screws. I just peeled and stuck it to the wall next to my front door.
Then you plug the receiver into a wall outlet and use the buttons on the left side to adjust volume (there are 4 levels) and choose a chime tone (there are 38 tones).
According to the instructions, the range of the wireless signal between the push button and the receiver can reach up to 262 ft (80 m) in the open and up to 98 ft (30 m) indoors.
There is no pairing process although the instructions do state that you can pair additional push buttons. There isn’t any mention of pairing additional receivers in the instructions, but there is mention of this on the Amazon page, so I’m going to say that it is possible.
To get an idea of the tones you can choose from, watch the quick video below. I didn’t include all 38 chimes as they get pretty annoying after listening to 3 or 4 of them, but you get the idea of the selection.
I ended up just using the default chime tone because that’s the one that will be selected by default if the power goes off – which it does at least once a week at my house. The default chime is also the least annoying because it just sounds like a traditional doorbell tone.
Final thoughts
The Inateck DB1001 Battery-Free Doorbell installed easily and worked as expected. Pressing the doorbell outside would cause the chime to be heard inside from the receiver. It was plenty loud enough to hear throughout my home, but then I only have a 1700sq foot home.
The button press felt adequately tactile just like other doorbells that I’ve used over the years and each time I pressed it, I would hear the chime in the house. What more can you ask for, a wireless doorbell that doesn’t require any batteries and costs less than $20. It gets two thumbs up from me!
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Inateck. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.
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It would be cool if this company made a version that let buyers upload their own ring tone! And I hope they tweak the design to make it look more obviously like a doorbell, as one critical review on Amazon said visitors never used it, thinking it was a thermostat or something. If they made those two changes, I would buy one.