SG Xtreme Life Smoke Detector Side View

This one looks outward from the ceiling, not down. That is the whole difference between the side-view and bottom-view smoke detectors, and picking the wrong one is the commonest mistake made with a ceiling-mounted covert camera. A side-view unit sees across the room at a shallow angle from above — the door, the desk, the far wall. Battery and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi.

• Can wakeup device using your mobile phone within 1 second
• 2.4G Wi-Fi connection story Wi-Fi Connectivity
• Remote viewing and alerts from App
• Memory Card Recording
• Responsive motion detection
• Alarm information pushed to the mobile app immediately when someone is at the door
• Day and night mode can be switched automatically
• Memory card storage up to 64GB
• Cloud Storage for a fee (first 7 days free)
• Built-in recharegable battery
• Solar models Long life Battery operated 60days without sun
• Waterproof IP67 for SGBC, SGDB and SGFL only
• Free App for Android and iOS devices
• Easy and quick QR code set up
• High quality two-way talk with noise cancellation on non-covert models

SleuthGear Wi-Fi Setup

Side view or bottom view? Decide before you buy

Side view — this unit. Looks horizontally across the room from ceiling level. Right when the subject of interest is somewhere in the room: who entered, where they moved, what happened at the desk on the far side. It covers more floor area than any other ceiling position.

Bottom view. Looks straight down at whatever sits beneath it. Right when the subject is a fixed point — a safe, a till, a cabinet, a doorway you can mount directly above.

The two housings are indistinguishable from below. The lens direction is the entire decision, and getting it wrong yields a flawless recording of the wrong surface.

A smoke-detector housing is not a smoke detector

It contains no sensor and will never alarm. Install it in addition to working smoke alarms, never in place of one, and never in a position that removes required coverage. Fire code in most jurisdictions specifies the number and placement of alarms in a dwelling — a dummy housing occupying an alarm’s position is both a code violation and a real hazard.

Expect distance

Ceiling mounting means range, and range means small faces. A side-view ceiling camera establishes events and movement reliably; it is not the unit to depend on for identifying someone across a large room.

More hidden cameras — the category page covers Wi-Fi setup, battery planning, storage and where the law draws the line on placement. Ask us before installing if you are unsure.