Options for plugging outdoor camera into indoor outlet

I'm looking at getting Xfinity Self Protection, but I have concerns about the requirement that outdoor cameras have to be plugged into an indoor outlet. Do people just run the cable to the inside and then down an interior wall, or is there a way to run it inside the wall so you don't have to see the cable?

If you get Xfinity Home with their professional installation, how do their installers run the wiring for outside cameras?

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Accepted Solution

CCStephanieK

Problem Solver

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909 Messages

3 years ago

Hi there, @user_29dd6b! Thank you for your interest in our security system! I recommend checking out this video. This video half-way through will show you how outdoor cameras are installed. It involves drilling a hole through the wall, running the cord through, and then plugging the power adapter into an inside wall outlet. We do not offer a way to plug the adapter inside of the wall, but you're welcome to work with a local electrician for other options. I have mine set up with runners to hide the cable inside of my home, same as my TV cords and other devices throughout my house. Similar to these.

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user_73d52c

Visitor

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3 Messages

3 years ago

They drill a 5/8" hole in the wall because of the size of the connector on the cable but they do fill all the extra space around the hole with clear silicone, not very professional looking. The cable then run downs the outside of the wall to an outlet and held in place with cable holders and screws. It looks very tacky to say the least. I suppose the wires could be run inside the wall assuming you could talk the technician into doing it, good luck with that one.

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user_29dd6b

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17 Messages

3 years ago

I chatted online with someone at Xfinity who said their installers won't run the power cable inside a wall, but an electrician should be able to do it. If I go with the Xfinity solution I'm just doing the Self Protection plan, not Xfinity Home, so I'll have to find my own installer anyway. DIY is not my forte for something like this. 🙂

Is the end of the cable that attaches to the camera an RJ45 (ethernet) plug? If so, I assume I can lengthen the cable with another RJ45 cable and coupler. I'll definitely need more than 12' of cable for the one of the cameras.

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XfinityNicolas

Official Employee

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1.1K Messages

That makes sense, I also get worried myself when drilling holes in the wall. Correct, for extending the cord, you would just need a RJ45 coupler and Cat5e or greater cable. With the Cat5e cable, you can extend it up to 50 FT.

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3 years ago

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user_73d52c

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3 Messages

@user_29dd6b Yes, that should work fine. I got lucky with my camera locations and wall plugs. My son-in-law did install an outlet for one of the camera's, that was an expense I didn't have. They quality of the camera's are not that great either, they stutter when playing back a video and just plain ole hard to make out the image and I just upgraded to there 1GB download speed. To make it even worse I was just informed you can no longer view your camera recording's or live feeds from your laptop or PC's. You can now only watch them from a phone or a tablet, great, I get to watch possible thieves from a 5" screen. Not impressed with the internet at all. It was better 4 years ago when I had there 250 MB download speed. It seems the more you pay for faster service the worse it gets. AT&T just installed new fiber optic cable in the neighborhood, I think I'll be switching service when my contract runs out.

3 years ago

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user_29dd6b

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17 Messages

3 years ago

I still haven't decided if I'm going with the Xfinity cameras or something else. I've researched lots of wireless camera options (mostly on Amazon), but many reviews (across different brands) cite short battery life and trouble staying connected to WiFi. I haven't found user reviews for the Xfinity cameras anywhere, other than comments in these forums. Whichever cameras I choose, I just want them to work as the manufacturer describes -- is that too much to ask? 🙂

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XfinityNicolas

Official Employee

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1.1K Messages

That makes a lot of sense especially when your home's security is involved. The upside to our cameras is they have power to them not batteries but then you have the installation part to worry about. Personally I have ours and like it a lot mainly because I can pull up the cameras on the TV with the voice remote. This isn't Xfinity Supported or sponsored as it is a third party review but cnet.com had some articles on it which were pretty in depth. I mention it only because you had mentioned you hadn't found user reviews on it yet.

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I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer. tick

3 years ago

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user_29dd6b

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17 Messages

I did find some articles about the Xfinity cameras, but I was hoping to find more reviews from actual customers. Another brand I was considering had great specs, but some pretty bad reviews on Amazon.

3 years ago

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Options for plugging outdoor camera into indoor outlet

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