Roku Smart Home Indoor Camera SE Wi-Fi - Connected - Wired Security Surveillance Camera with Motion & Sound Detection

This review is for the Roku Smart Home Indoor Camera SE Wi-Fi. While it could be a decent camera, there are several flaws that need to be addressed before it can truly be considered "decent." Design Issues The first thing I noticed is the awkward power cord design. The camera has a fixed rubber boot on the back, and the cord from the wall plug connects to it. Why not just have a direct plug-in or a fixed cord? This design feels unnecessary and clunky. Firmware Update Frustrations Updating the firmware is another headache. Roku seems to push out frequent updates, which is good in theory, but if your camera was manufactured a while ago, you may be behind by multiple updates. The update process lacks transparency—there's no progress bar, no indication of data being sent or received, just a spinning gear telling you to check back later. Setup Annoyances Getting the camera set up is more difficult than it should be. You have to pull really hard on the bottom to expose the legs and access the setup button. Then, setup requires scanning a QR code from your phone, which was frustrating because the camera struggled to detect the code. Even with my Samsung S24 Ultra, I had to adjust the lighting just right for it to work. Performance %26 Reliability Once set up, the camera seemed to work fine. The live feed displayed “HD” and showed the bit rate, letting me know the camera was actively sending and receiving data. However, after initiating another firmware update, the camera froze about five minutes later. We had to unplug and restart it, and while it seemed to complete the update, Roku inexplicably removed both the bit rate indicator and the "HD" label. Why? No idea. Tech support wasn't helpful in answering this. Now, the camera randomly loses connection every few hours, even in a small, single-story home with a Wi-Fi 6 ASUS router. That shouldn't be happening. Tech Support Issue Another strange issue: if you're on the phone with Roku tech support while using the app, they can't hear you. That's right—if the Roku app is open, your phone's call audio cuts out. Who designs an app that requires you to follow instructions but prevents tech support from hearing you while you do it? What Works Well Despite the issues, the color night vision is excellent, and I'm using the camera through a window without problems. Final Thoughts For the price, the camera still offers decent value, but Roku needs to address these issues—especially the connectivity problems, the frustrating setup process, and the removal of the bit rate indicator. Bring the bit rate display back, Roku!