Wired versus wireless CCTV for Kent homes: which one actually works

What wireless really means

The brick and flint houses across East Kent are exactly where WiFi struggles to reach an outside wall. A wireless camera still needs power, so it is either on a battery you have to charge or it is plugged in somewhere. The wireless part is the video going over your WiFi. That works when the camera is close to the router and the WiFi is good. On the outside wall of a brick house, twenty metres from the hallway, it usually is not.

What goes wrong

Dropouts at night when the WiFi is busy. Clips that start five seconds after the person arrived, because the camera was asleep to save battery. Batteries that need a ladder to charge every few weeks in winter. And footage stored on a subscription that stops when the payment does.

Why we fit wired

One Cat6 cable carries power and video to each camera. The picture is 4K, constant and recorded locally on a recorder in the cupboard, with 30 days of storage and no monthly fee. The cable runs along the soffit and through the loft, so there is nothing to see from the road. It takes a day to install and then you forget about it.

When wireless is fine

A flat with nowhere to run cable. A rented home where you cannot drill. A single doorbell near the router. In those cases we will fit wireless kit and get it on a stable connection, but we will tell you what to expect.

The cost difference

Wired costs more on the day and less every month after. Over three years a four camera wired system is usually cheaper than four subscription cameras. The CCTV installation page has the camera planner and the survey booking, and the CCTV rules guide covers what you can record. For business premises see commercial installation.