Best wireless doorbell 2024: Top tested chimes to grab your attention
Never miss a visitor with the best battery and plug-in wireless doorbells we’ve reviewed
Video doorbells may be all the rage, but not everyone wants a camera on their front door – or the hassle and expense of setting one up. Today’s best wireless doorbells are cheap to buy and easy to install. They’ve also got bags of personality, with a whole range of chimes, tunes and flashing light alerts, plus adjustable volume levels and a range of different styles.
If you’re shopping for a new doorbell, we’re here to help. We’ve tested dozens of contenders – see below for full details – and on this page you’ll find our pick of the best wireless doorbells on the market. At the bottom you’ll also find our buying guide, in which we explain all the factors to consider in choosing your ideal wireless doorbell.
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Best wireless doorbell: At a glance | ||
|---|---|---|
| Best value | Byron DBY-22321 (~£17) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best budget | Avantek Wireless Doorbell (~£24) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best lithium battery | Novete Wireless Doorbell Kit (~£30) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best battery life | Honeywell DC311N (~£25) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best for extra features | Honeywell DC917NG (~£55) | Check price at Amazon |
How we test wireless doorbells
We test wireless doorbells in a real-world setting, installing each one at the front door of a three-bedroom detached house.
In each case we insert the required batteries into the bell-push unit and affix it the doorframe, ready for testing. We then plug in (or pop batteries into) any chime units supplied, and check that they work in various locations in and around the house, to verify the manufacturers’ claims regarding range and signal strength. We listen out for how audible the ring is, and run through any chime options to find out how useful, tuneful, or annoying they are. We also examine any additional visual alerts and other features, to arrive at our recommendations for the best wireless doorbell.
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The best wireless doorbells you can buy in 2024
1. Byron DBY-22321: Best value-wireless doorbell
Price when reviewed: £17 | Check price at Amazon
Great for: A smart, reliable bell from a trusted name at a small price
Not so great for: Very large properties
Byron has been making doorbells for nearly 120 years, and even this budget offering shows that it knows what’s what. The simple bell-push unit of the DBY-22321 may not look like anything special, but it’s IP44 weatherproof rated, and we found it quick and easy to fit. Meanwhile, the chime unit has a neat, solidly built design: it looks smart, with a neat fabric grille over the speaker, and three LEDs flash when the bell rings – so as long as you place it somewhere visible you won’t miss a visitor even if you have your headphones on.
There’s a choice of 16 chimes, and we found most of them very usable, although the super-bright speaker makes them wear on the ears. You can adjust the volume through five levels, from silent to 85dB, and pair additional pushes or chimes with relative ease.
Our only reservation is that the wireless range is a little limited, with the unit struggling to get a signal in our outside office. That’s an extreme test, though: for most homes it’s perfectly fine, and you can choose either a battery-powered or mains-powered chime unit – or one of each in a double-pack.
Key specs – Power: Mains/2 x AA battery; Quoted range: 150m; Chimes: 16; Flash alert: Yes; Mute function: Yes; Warranty: 12 months
Byron DBY-22321 Wireless Portable Doorbell Set, 150 m Range, 16 Melodies, Visual Alert System
2. Avantek Wireless Doorbell: Best budget doorbell for long range
Price when reviewed: £24 | Check price at Amazon
Great for: Excellent range and twin chime units with lights
Not so great for: Advanced features
This wireless doorbell comes with two plug-in receiver units, which you can install in two different locations around your home, so you can always hear visitors – or see the light that illuminates when someone presses the button. With an impressive system range of up to 400m, we were happily able to situate one of the receivers in our outbuilding, and there are 52 different chimes to choose from at five different volume levels, with the top setting rated at an extremely loud 115dB.
The button unit meanwhile is battery operated, and attaches to your door using either the screws or adhesive patch provided. It’s IP55-rated, meaning it’s both dust and waterproof, and Avantek says it will work in temperatures as low as -20°C. It’s not fancy or complicated, but that’s part of the appeal: for a great price you’re getting a doorbell that’s perfectly straightforward to install and ensures you won’t miss a caller.
Key specs – Power: Mains; Quoted range: 400m; Chimes: 52; Flash alert: Yes; Mute function: No; Warranty: 24 months
3. Novete Wireless Doorbell Kit: Best lithium-powered wireless doorbell
Price when reviewed: £30 | Check price at Amazon
Great for: People who hate having to replace batteries
Not so great for: No adjustable frequencies
If you don’t like changing batteries, the Novete Wireless Doorbell Kit is the doorbell for you. It runs for up to three years off a replaceable CR2032 lithium battery – so you won’t need to keep switching out those AAs.
The doorbell also has a huge wireless range of around 400m, is IP55-rated for dust and water resistance and is designed to work at temperatures between -20°C and 60°C. As with the Avantek, the twin receivers offer 52 different chimes and five volume levels to choose from, and once you’ve made your choice, they will be remembered and restored whenever you turn the doorbell off and on again, even in the event of a power outage.
Key specs – Power: AC and in-built battery; Quoted range: 400m; Chimes: 52; Flash alert: Yes; Mute function: Yes; Warranty: Lifetime
4. Honeywell DC311N: Best doorbell for battery life
Price when reviewed: £25 | Check price at Amazon
Great for: Range and battery life
Not so great for: No visual indication when the button has been pushed
The DC311N doesn’t have a lot of smart features, but if you’re looking for a reliable push-button bell with a battery-powered chime unit, you won’t get much better. It runs off a set of four AA batteries, so you can conveniently situate the chime unit wherever you want, or carry it around your home. With a range of 150m it should even work in the garden – in our tests we found the connection was rock-solid in the external office building behind the house.
It’s loud too, so it should still be audible from afar even if your hearing isn’t so good, and while you only have the option of four different chimes they’re all quite listenable. The only downside is that there’s no flash on this one for hearing-impaired users or anyone wearing headphones – if that’s what you want, you can pay a little extra for the DC315N.
Key specs – Power: 4 x AA batteries; Quoted range: 150m; Chimes: 4; Flash alert: No; Mute function: No; Warranty: 24 months
5. Honeywell DC917NG: Best wireless doorbell for extra features
Price when reviewed: £55 | Check price at Amazon
Great for: Customisable rings and support for multiple buttons
Not so great for: Hardly a budget option
This Honeywell doorbell kit is expensive, but you’re paying for more than just a snappy design and a well-known brand. When someone rings the bell, the receiver flashes in one of seven selectable colours, and if you’re not inspired by any of the eight existing chime sounds, you can use the provided companion app to upload custom MP3s of up to 15 seconds. Even smarter, you can pair multiple bell units with a single receiver and have each one activate its own colour and chime tone.
The maximum volume level is powerful at around 90dB, and you shouldn’t have any problems with the 200m range. We also like this one’s adjustability: you can tweak the brightness or volume, and set the doorbell to a Sleep or Mute mode. A cracking wireless doorbell with all the bells and whistles.
Key specs – Power: 4 x C batteries; Quoted range: 200m; Chimes: 8 plus MP3; Flash alert: Yes; Mute function: Yes; Warranty: 24 months
How to choose the best wireless doorbell for you
What types of wireless doorbell are there?
There’s a wide selection of wireless doorbells available, with designs ranging from traditional push-button efforts to minimalist units that barely look like doorbells at all. Your first decision however is whether to go for one that uses a plug-in chime unit, or one where both the doorbell and the chime run on batteries.
Plug-in chimes are generally slimmer and smarter-looking, and they work over longer ranges. Needless to say, they also have the added bonus that you never need to change the batteries. However, they permanently occupy a power socket, and most plug directly into the wall, which means you have limited options as to where you situate them, and any visual indicators may not be conveniently in your eyeline.
With a battery model you can place the receiver anywhere you like – or conveniently carry it around, so you don’t miss a visitor while you’re in the loft or out in the garden.
On that note, wireless doorbells make varying range claims, typically from 100m to 400m. Walls and appliances may reduce the effective range, but 100m is a very long way (think of a running track) – even those with luxurious estates are unlikely to need anything beyond 400m.
Do I need selectable chimes?
A few doorbells just have the classic “ding-dong” sound, and arguably that’s all you need. However, even cheap models often pack in dozens of different chimes, ranging from poppy jingles to horrific chip-tune assaults on the classics. It’s a fun bit of personalisation that can make your abode feel more homely. Some bells even support MP3 chimes, so you can create your own ditty, or play the opening bars of AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells”.
Just as important as the tune is the volume of the chime. Some can be a little on the quiet side, while others blare out at ear-splitting volumes that’ll rouse even the sleepiest of homeowners. You may want a loud model, to ensure you can hear it from afar, or an adjustable one that you can keep at a low level most of the time.
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What other features should you look out for?
Many receivers have flashing lights, so you can silence the chime and still be alerted when someone’s outside. Some models offer a handy mute switch, or an option to silence the doorbell for a set period of time.
The most advanced doorbells support multiple wireless channels, so you can switch frequency to minimise interference, or even pair multiple push-button units on different channels and assign a different ring to each one. It’s also worth looking for a push button that’s IP-rated, as this means it should be protected against the hostile weather many UK front doors endure on a daily basis.
Finally, when choosing your new wireless doorbell, pay attention to battery life – because, trust us, you will keep putting off replacing the batteries for longer than you should.