eufy HomeBase Setup in London: S380, Mini and Pro S1

• Best within 3–5 m of each camera; between 5 and 15 m, no more than two walls in the way; beyond 15 m, eufy says the signal is likely too weak for a direct link
• Thick brick of 240 mm, solid wood doors and metal rolling doors weaken it, while 240 mm of concrete, steel doors and steel beams block it; the solid brick walls of an older terrace, about 225 mm thick, are close to that brick figure
• On a table or shelf 1–1.5 m off the floor, as far from the wall as you can, and in the open, because the S380 has a cooling fan and needs air around it
• Not on the wall: eufy says the HomeBase Mini should not be wall-mounted and belongs on a flat shelf between the router and the cameras
• When the router sits at the back of a long terrace and the doorbell is at the front, the HomeBase can move to the middle of the house on a longer network cable, or a mesh node or 2.4 GHz extender goes about halfway, as eufy suggests

• eufy's set-up guide says the HomeBase 3 must connect to the router by Ethernet during set-up; in the S3 Pro kits, a 12 V, 2 A adapter and a network cable come in the box
• From firmware v3.1.5.1 the S380 can move to Wi-Fi, under Settings, General, About Device, Connection, Wi-Fi Setup; eufy's UK product page still says Ethernet only, from an older note
• HomeBase Mini: eufy recommends a cable to the router, and it needs a 5 V, 2 A adapter, since a 5 V, 1 A one is not enough
• HomeBase Pro S1: its 4G backup and 24-hour built-in battery keep it going through a broadband or power cut; eufy includes 400 MB of data on activation, after which the data is paid for or the SIM is suspended
• Firmware: once it is online, the pro updates the HomeBase before pairing anything, because several current eufy devices will not connect, or lose features, on an older version

• HomeBase S380: a 5 V 2.5-inch SATA hard drive or SSD, the laptop size, up to 16 TB; eufy says 12 V drives are not supported
• HomeBase Pro S1: a 3.5-inch SATA drive up to 16 TB, with eufy suggesting surveillance-grade drives; a 2.5-inch SSD needs an adapter bracket
• HomeBase Mini and HomeBase 2: no drive bay, so the Mini's microSD card is the way to add space
• If the S380 does not see a new drive, eufy says to wait about two minutes and format it in the app; an old or overheating drive can also be the cause

A vetted pro prices your job from the eufy model, photos of where each device goes and what power is there now, and the JACK app shows you that fixed price before you book.

The power and the walls move the price more than the device does. A battery doorbell on a brick reveal, or a SoloCam on a fence post, is a smaller job. An S4 Wired doorbell on a new transformer, a HomeBase moved to the middle of the house with a hard drive fitted, a Floodlight Camera E340 in place of an outside light, or four PoE cameras cabled through solid brick and a loft all take longer, and the price reflects that.

The eufy kit is yours to buy, since JACK sells no devices. A stronger transformer, a Chime 2, a wedge, a floodlight's weatherproof box or extra Cat cable is agreed with you and added at cost before you book, and several devices go on one booking for one price. Where parking has to be paid for, that is added at cost and agreed before you book too.

Prefer to pay for time? As a guide, smart home work is typically £45–£95 per hour, and electrical work such as a floodlight camera £55–£110 per hour. For a multi-camera system or a PoE NVR, a full-day booking is a flat £350–£400 for up to 8 hours on site.