EZVIZ EP4 Review: A 4K Peephole Doorbell That Knows Your Family's Faces
The EP4 is the top of EZVIZ's peephole range and it behaves like it. The outdoor unit replaces the door viewer and shoots 4K through a 160-degree lens, the 5.5-inch touchscreen inside is bright and responsive, and owners consistently report that the picture stays clear at night on infrared. Detection pairs a PIR sensor with AI human shape recognition, and on top of that it recognises the faces of up to ten people you register, so a notification can tell you it is your child at the door rather than someone. There is no subscription attached to any of that: a microSD card up to 512 GB holds the clips. Battery life impresses too, with owners reporting a fifth of the charge used in two months on a quiet door. What frustrates buyers is not the hardware: you cannot talk to a visitor from the indoor screen, only from the phone, notification thumbnails sit behind EZVIZ's paid plan, and clips played back from the card can stutter while the same footage from the cloud is smooth.
- Renters and flats where nothing can be drilled or wired
- Recognising family at the door without a subscription
- 4K detail on a doorway
- Long battery life on a quiet landing
Pros
- 4K sensor with a 160-degree view and a bright 5.5-inch indoor touchscreen
- Face recognition for up to ten registered people, with no subscription
- PIR plus AI human detection, with alerts owners describe as reliable
- 7100 mAh battery that owners measure in months on a quiet door
- Records to microSD up to 512 GB, so the fee is optional
- Fits peepholes from 14 to 50 mm, with screws for three door thicknesses
Cons
- You cannot talk to a visitor from the indoor screen, only from the phone
- Notification thumbnails are behind EZVIZ's paid plan
- Playback from the microSD card can stutter where cloud playback is smooth
- 15 fps, so motion is less fluid than the 4K resolution suggests
- 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only, with occasional disconnection reports
- Expensive, and no published weather rating
Who is the EP4 for?
It replaces an existing peephole, on holes from 14 to 50 mm and doors 35 to 105 mm thick, with three sets of screws in the box for different thicknesses. The camera records 4K at 15 fps through an F1.6 lens covering 160 degrees diagonally, with WDR and distortion correction, and infrared night vision to about 5 metres. Inside, a 5.5-inch colour touchscreen shows the live view, the recordings and the doorbell calls, and it comes in gold or silver. Detection is a 110-degree PIR sensor reaching 6 metres, filtered by AI human shape detection, plus face recognition for people you have registered. Storage is a microSD card of up to 512 GB or EZVIZ CloudPlay, power is a 7100 mAh rechargeable battery, and the connection is 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi.
What buyers love
Image quality is the first thing owners mention, in Italy, Spain, Germany and France alike: the 4K sensor and the big screen make it obvious who is outside, and several say night vision is as usable as daylight. Installation is described as a job anyone can do, helped by the three screw lengths supplied. Battery life beats expectations: one owner used a fifth of the charge in two months, another went three weeks without thinking about it, and even a reviewer living on a shared hallway with constant traffic got over a week from 80 percent. The face recognition is the feature that sells it, registering up to ten familiar faces and alerting you by name at no extra cost, and one owner points out you can mask off part of the view, such as the neighbour's door. It also works without a subscription for anyone who fits a card.
What to know before you buy
Two-way audio runs through the phone, not through the indoor screen, which one German owner rated a single star for: if you want to answer the door from the panel itself, this is not the model. Notification thumbnails are part of EZVIZ's paid plan, which another owner considered a bait and switch on a device this expensive. Playback from the microSD card can stutter while the same clip streams smoothly from the cloud. Wi-Fi is 2.4 GHz only and one Spanish owner never stopped it disconnecting, though another who needed four attempts to pair says it has been rock solid since, including through a power cut. The 15 fps frame rate makes motion look less fluid than the resolution suggests, the AI detection settings are thinly documented, and the camera tube will not fit a peephole narrower than 14 mm. It is also expensive, a point owners raise even in five-star reviews.
Is the EP4 worth it?
If you cannot fit a normal video doorbell, this is the most capable way to turn a door viewer into one, and the face recognition without a monthly fee is genuinely unusual at any price. Buy it for the image quality, the screen and the battery. Skip it if you want to hold a conversation from the indoor panel, if you need notification previews without paying for them, or if your door is exposed to the weather, since EZVIZ does not publish a weather rating for it.
Frequently asked questions
Does the face recognition cost extra?
No. You register up to ten familiar faces in the EZVIZ app and the doorbell names them in the notification, which owners single out as the reason to pick this model over cheaper peepholes. Notification thumbnails are a different matter: those belong to EZVIZ's paid plan, and one buyer was annoyed enough to leave a one-star review over it.
Can I answer the door from the indoor screen?
No, and this is the complaint to take seriously. The screen shows the live view and the recordings, but two-way audio works through the phone app. A German owner rated it one star specifically for that, so if talking from the panel matters, look at a video door phone instead.
How long does the battery last?
Longer than most peepholes. EZVIZ quotes up to 120 days, and owners back that up on a quiet door: one reports 20 percent used in two months. On a shared hallway with constant traffic it is far shorter, around a week from a full charge with detection running, and one French owner puts it at about a month with human detection enabled.
Will it fit my door?
It takes peephole holes from 14 to 50 mm and doors from 35 to 105 mm thick, and the box includes screws in three lengths. That is a wider range than the older CP4, but the camera tube still will not go into a hole narrower than 14 mm: one French buyer had to return it for exactly that reason, so measure before ordering.
Do I need a subscription for recording?
No. Fit a microSD card of up to 512 GB and events are stored locally, which is what most owners do. EZVIZ CloudPlay is optional and, according to owners, plays back more smoothly than the card does. Note again that the thumbnail in the notification is a paid feature either way.
