Mini Wi-Fi Security Camera with Magnetic Base

You can't watch the shed from the next paddock.

You lock up, drive out, and spend the next fortnight wondering. Fuel goes down faster than it should. A gate is open that you know you shut. Something's walked out of the toolbox — and you find out weeks later from what's missing, not from anything you actually saw.

This is a small camera on a magnetic stand. It clamps onto bare steel — a shed purlin, a container door, a toolbox lid, the inside of a ute canopy — runs off USB power, joins a Wi-Fi network and puts a live picture on your phone. No drilling, no conduit, no installer, and it's small enough that most people walk straight past it.

Be straight about what it is: a cheap set of eyes, not a security system. The picture is 480p standard definition, which is enough to see that someone is in the shed and nowhere near enough to read a numberplate. And it is Wi-Fi only. No network where you want to put it, no camera. Read the Limits tab before you order — especially if the spot you have in mind is a long way from the house.

What It Does

• Live view on your phone: once it's joined a Wi-Fi network it streams a live picture to a phone app, so you can look in on the shed from the house, from town, or from a camp two hours away.
• Records onto a card: there's a TF (microSD) card slot on the body so footage stays on the camera itself. The card is not included and the supplier does not state a maximum card size.
• Sticks to steel: it goes up in seconds on anything ferrous and comes down just as fast, so you can move it from the shed to the canopy to the container without owning three mounts.
• Runs off USB power: the supplier lists it as USB powered — a power bank, a 12V USB socket in the ute, or a wall plug. Connector type, voltage and current are not specified by supplier.
• Motion and loop recording: the supplier's own icon panel shows motion detection, loop recording and still photos. No detection range or sensitivity figures are given, so treat it as a rough trigger rather than a measured one.

Key Features

• Magnetic mounting: the camera holds magnetically onto the small stand it's supplied with, and onto bare steel. Magnet strength is not specified by supplier.
• 480p standard definition: the figure comes off the supplier's own image panel. Shapes, movement and where someone went — not fine detail.
• Wi-Fi only, no SIM: there is no SIM slot on the body and no mobile data option listed. The Wi-Fi band is not specified by supplier.
• Card slot on board: TF (microSD) slot for recording without a hub, a recorder or a wired run back to the house.
• Two buttons, that's it: an on/off button and a mode button on the side of the body. Nothing to configure on the camera itself.
• Wide lens: the supplier marks the lens 'Wide'. No field-of-view angle is stated, so don't plan a coverage arc around a number we haven't got.
• Fits in your hand: it sits on two fingertips in the supplier photos. Exact dimensions and weight are not specified by supplier.
• One, four or six: buy a single camera for the shed, or a set to cover a yard, a workshop and a container in one go. Same camera in every pack.
• Matte black finish: it disappears against a dark corner or the inside of a canopy instead of announcing itself.

Limits

This is the section worth reading twice. Cameras get sent back because of what's below, not because of what's above.

• No Wi-Fi, no camera: this is the one that catches people out. It needs a Wi-Fi network in range. A remote gate, a back paddock, a shed a kilometre from the house — it will not connect, and there is no SIM slot to fall back on. If that's your spot, put a 4G router or a phone hotspot out there with it, or choose a camera that carries its own SIM.
• No weather rating stated: the supplier states no IP rating at all, so we're not going to imply one. Treat it as indoor and undercover only — inside the shed, inside the canopy, inside the van, under an eave. Don't hang it out in the rain and don't assume it's sealed.
• 480p is not evidence: you'll see that a person moved through the shed. You will not read a numberplate, and you may not identify a face at distance. If you need footage that stands up as identification, you need a higher-resolution camera.
• Night vision not specified: no infrared range is stated, and the supplier does not confirm infrared at all. We won't invent a figure. Assume it needs light to see.
• Battery life not specified: the supplier states no battery capacity and no run time between charges, so there is no honest number for us to quote. Plan on it being plugged into USB power, and don't buy it expecting weeks of standalone running.
• Storage and subscriptions: the card slot is the storage you can count on, and the card is not included. Cloud storage and any subscription are not specified by supplier — so budget for a microSD card, and read any in-app offer carefully before you agree to it.
• The app is not named: the supplier does not say which phone app runs it or who maintains it. That means we cannot promise it will still be in the app stores years from now. No budget Wi-Fi camera can promise that, and anyone who does is guessing.
• What a magnet holds: bare steel — shed frame, container, toolbox, tow bar, roll bar. It will not hold on timber, rendered brick, besser block, fibreglass or aluminium, and stainless is hit and miss. On those surfaces you need to fix a steel plate or bracket up first and mount to that. The supplier images show a small pedestal stand supplied with the camera; no screw plate, screw holes or adhesive pad is shown or specified.
• Not a mount for the outside of a vehicle: a magnet on the outside of a ute at highway speed, or on corrugations, is a camera you'll lose and a hazard for whoever is behind you. Inside the cab, inside the canopy or inside the van is where it belongs.
• Privacy is your call, not ours: recording audio of people, or pointing a camera so it takes in a neighbour's place, is not always lawful in Australia and the rules differ from state to state. We're not lawyers and we can't give you legal advice — check the rules for your own state before you point it at anything past your own boundary.
• Nothing is monitored: no siren, no alarm company, nobody watching it but you. It tells you what happened. It does not stop it happening.

Q & A

Will it work at my front gate, a kilometre from the house?
Only if your Wi-Fi reaches the gate, and at a kilometre it almost certainly doesn't. Your options are a 4G router or a phone hotspot out at the gate, or a camera that takes its own SIM. This one has no SIM slot.

Does it need mains power, or does it run on a battery?
Feed it USB power — a power bank, a 12V USB socket or a wall plug. The supplier states no battery capacity and no run time, so we won't quote you one. Plan on a lead going to it.

Where does the footage go, and is there a monthly fee?
There's a TF (microSD) card slot on the camera for recording onboard. The card isn't included and the maximum card size isn't specified by the supplier. No cloud plan or subscription is specified either — if an app offers you one, read it before you sign up.

Can I mount it outside on the shed wall?
Not the way we'd do it. There's no IP rating stated, so treat it as indoor or undercover. Inside the shed, under the eave, inside the canopy.

Will the magnet hold it on my shed?
On steel, yes. On timber, rendered brick, besser block or fibreglass, no — fix a steel plate or bracket up first and stick it to that.

Does it see in the dark?
Not specified by the supplier. No infrared range is given and we're not going to make one up. Assume you need light.

What's the difference between the 1, 4 and 6 packs?
Only the number of cameras in the box. Same camera every time.

Specs