Letters

I bought unsafe doorbell – it was a disaster

I wish I’d read your warning about the Chinese-made Rakeblue video doorbell before buying it (Issue 679, page 7, pictured right). I came across it in early January on Amazon and thought it seemed good value at around £40. But it’s been a disastrous purchase. The battery is woeful and its connection to the internet keeps dropping. I couldn’t get through to Rakeblue’s customer service for help. Too late did I notice that 20 per cent of its reviews on Amazon are one star.

I was determined not to give up, but I’ve changed my mind having read about its security flaws in your article. I’ve returned it to Amazon hoping for a refund, which means I am now without a video doorbell. Please tell me there are better models to buy.

Jim Goad

CA SAYSIndeed there are, as we revealed in Issue 679’s feature (page 60) on ditching Ring doorbells following its outrageous 43-per-cent price rise. There are plenty of excellent doorbells that don’t require a subscription, such as TP-Link’s Tapo D230S (£100 from www.snipca. com/49494) and Ezviz’s DB1C (£55 from www.snipca.com/49497). If you missed Issue 679, you can buy the back issue from www.snipca.com/49591.

For the benefit of readers who missed the warning about Rakeblue, it follows research from US non-profit organisation Consumer Report, which found that several brands of doorbell made by Chinese firms Eken and Tuck lack encryption. This means they can be accessed remotely, allowing hackers to see images captured by the doorbell. As well as Rakeblue, Consumer Reports warned about the doorbells with the brand Fishbot.

I share Elon Musk’s Windows dismay

I empathise with Elon Musk’s dismay and anger that Microsoft makes it so hard to bypass a Microsoft account when installing Windows (‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 679). It’s the kind of anticompetitive measure that the company has always excelled at. I hope Musk’s high-profile shaming of Microsoft will alert the specific regulators who have the power to take on tech giants. You gave an interesting method for installing Windows without a Microsoft account, and I’m going to try it. But I’m sure I’ve read another trick that involves creating a fake email address. Is that correct?

Dennis Brock

CA SAYSYes, there is another method – as we explain in Make Windows Better on page 46.

Where is Apple’s iDesiccant?

Reading about Apple’s updated advice on not placing wet iPhones in uncooked rice (Issue