eufy Security Wi-Fi 1080p Video Doorbell w/ Local Storage + Wireless Chime Expired

If you want to use the homebase, you have to get the wireless version. That version can be wired as well though, if you want. Really, it comes down to where you want the video stored.

Wireless = Home base
Wired = local

it has to do with the technology. PIR Motion Detection vs Pixel Motion Detection

all battery cameras/doorbell use PIR sensor - PIR Motion Detection [wikipedia.org] to save power (ALL, regardless of the brand). the PIR sensor wakes up the sleeping camera and then the camera starts recording (the wake up on each brand is different . . . eufy is one of the fastest). the wake up will differ depending on doorbell location and sensor setting. in other word, if you have a long walkway to the doorbell you can set the trigger zone way before subject gets to the doorbell and you would not experience the missing "pre-recording" that everyone is talking about. However, if you have a very short distance before the camera the subject detection may be too late and you may experience missing "pre-recording". the camera will also use it's Ai when it's awake to determine if the subject is human (more detail about Ai below). and because all eufy battery cameras/doorbell use homebase the content of the camera has to travel to the homebase before you can view it.

with non-battery (wired) cameras/doorbell you do not experience the above "pre-recording" because the motion technology is based on pixel change (Pixel Motion Detection). the camera is always ON (never sleeping), evaluating every pixel change. when the max number if pixel change (based on sensitivity settings) the camera stars recording into RAM, and then the camera's Ai (if turned on) will evaluate to determine if the objects is human. If the Ai determines that it's human it sends you the notification and the video link, on the other hand if the Ai determines it's not human it discards the RAM video and you don't get bothered with false warnings.

hope this helps in understanding the two technologies

additional notes: in the past PIR was considered a better solution because the Pixel based detection used a lot of power and triggered on just about any motion. what eufy did is that they installed an Ai chip inside their cameras to separate true detection from false. for example wyze sends all it's pixel motion detection videos from the cameras to their servers to evaluate the video with their server Ai (this process is slow [youtu.be],expensive < they charge extra for it too > and it puts a lot of load on the camera (overheating [wyzecam.com]) a lot of load on your wifi and/or internet bandwidth. with eufy the Ai and video are on the camera/homebase so you get speed, efficiency and no need to pay subscription fee for the Ai.