Gear Review: Pixsee Smart Baby Monitor

As a tired and sometimes overwhelmed mom, I am grateful for the moments when my kids entertain themselves—and even more thankful for daily naps and bedtime. Like many parents, when my children are playing on their own, I find myself regularly peeking at our monitors to see what they are up to because while I covet the short periods I find myself alone, I still want to feel connected to them when in another room. The Pixsee Smart Baby Monitor aims to bridge the gap between parents having moments to themselves and never missing a memorable moment with their little ones. Through real-time live stream monitoring and an automatic photo feature that snaps share-worthy pictures, Pixsee helps you stay in the know (with pics to prove it) day and night.

Set Up

What first caught my eye with the Pixsee monitor is that it’s super lightweight and kind of adorable. My son quickly noticed that it resembled an animal and aptly named it “Foxy.” What’s also impressive (and appreciated) is that it only took four easy steps to have Foxy the Pixsee Monitor up and running. The included manual comes in print and can also be accessed via a QR code, both featuring written instructions and comprehensive images. After downloading the Pixsee app, I simply plugged in my Pixsee, connected it to our home Wi-Fi network, paired it to my phone, and set up a basic profile. It took all of 10 minutes from start to finish—pending you can remember your Wi-Fi password.

What’s a bit more cumbersome is having to mount the monitor on the wall or assemble the floor stand; these different options are dependent on your child’s mobility and your preferences. The 5-in-1 camera stand boasts four height adjustments and five modes to accommodate different growth stages and usage scenarios. For example, if your newbie is spending a fair amount of time in a bouncer or on the floor for tummy time, there are modes to better monitor and capture quality keepsakes from that angle.

I decided to use the Pixsee for my kids’ new playroom that we recently moved to our basement for extra space, making a monitor especially necessary when my older kids are downstairs alone. To keep it out of reach from my 1-year-old, I mounted it on the wall behind a bookshelf. Aside from the included hardware, you’ll need a drill and a Phillips screwdriver to set the anchors and secure the mount. So far, the Pixsee has been quite helpful, and the included features make it more functional for my family.

Key Features

The “smart” component of the Pixsee offers versatile elements that allow you to personalize your monitoring experience, plus a few extra bells and whistles.

Dynamic monitoring settings

I quickly realized that Pixsee keeps a lookout for many different scenarios when it started sending a ton of notifications to my phone. It monitors for:

• Environmental settings (whether the room is too hot, cold, or humid)
• Cry detection (or increased noise of any kind)
• Area detection (if baby leaves a designated safety area, like their crib, or in my case, the playroom)
• Covered face detection

Of all the monitoring features, I particularly like the area detection because part of our basement (the laundry room) is off-limits to my children. This ensures that if they leave the room to wander about, I will be notified and have a chance to intervene. (I also like that my kids think I know and see everything in the house at all times.)

It’s worth noting that more monitoring settings equal more notifications on an already overstimulating smartphone, but each setting can be easily adjusted for sensitivity (low, medium, or high) or turned off altogether if not pertinent to your setup.

Automatic camera

With the Pixsee smart baby camera, it’s like having a built-in photographer capture the cute things your little one does throughout the day. In the app, parents can snap images or record videos manually. If you’re into organizing and sharing pictures of your kid(s), you’ll probably love the app’s subscription offers (sold separately) for themed frames and for creating digital photo albums and e-cards to send to family and friends. What’s more, the Pixsee is made with 6-Layer Optical Glass Lens with Nighthawk NIR Technology to produce clearer images, not the grainy snapshots you typically get from a video monitor. You can also track baby’s growth through compilations and add diary notes with each photo. Just know that you will have to choose what images and video clips you want to save to your phone library, as they’re not automatically exported from the app.

Wide-angle lens

Part of successfully monitoring and catching memorable moments on camera involves having access to the action, and the Pixsee’s ultra wide, full-room view ensures your baby is always in sight. Even though I’m not exactly using my monitor for impressive Instagram pics, I still appreciate that I don’t have to adjust the screen or turn the camera to maintain a good view.

Two-way talk

When I’m alerted to possible screaming or one of my kids venturing outside the playroom’s parameters, I can quickly address it through the talk feature in the app. I’ve used this function quite a bit and am impressed with the sound quality while conversing with my kids. The two-way talk could also be helpful for parents trying to help their tot get back to sleep on their own with the help of their soothing voice.

12-hour video playback

This product offers 24-hour live streaming and a 12-hour playback option. If you want to investigate what caused your baby’s tantrum or listen to their post-nap baby babble, you can access the day’s footage (including overnight thanks to high-quality night vision) to learn more about your child. My youngest is learning how to walk, so we’ve been practicing in the playroom with the hopes of getting a special milestone on camera!

Areas for Improvement

While the Pixsee does a great job monitoring my family and reporting anything important back to me, there are a few things to know beforehand.

To start, I’ve experienced a lot of lag time when trying to open the app. The connection seems to randomly cut out, which prevents me from having quick and reliable access to the live stream. I also don’t think the app is quite as intuitive as Pixsee claims it to be on their website. While setting up my monitor, some of the prompts were confusing and held up the process longer than necessary. Another thing is that certain buttons within the app were hard to find. (It’s a good idea to check out this app interface tutorial before you get started.)

When I first started live streaming the playroom, the monitor kept mistaking the noise as crying, which would trigger an automatic lullaby to begin playing. It took me a while to figure out how to stop the music from playing on its own, which was annoying after the fourth or fifth time. I’m not sure if it was a glitch or if the monitor is programmed to play lullabies unexpectedly, but I think it would be better to make users opt into that feature versus having to figure out how to turn it off.

Lastly, I find the privacy settings a bit confusing when it comes to photo viewing. When I went to access the privacy settings in the app (to confirm that my photos were indeed private), it redirected me to a subscription offer to pay for “conditional sharing.” This sent me down a Google rabbit hole for more information on whether or not the images of my children were protected. Thankfully, I came across this FAQ on safety and security that provided needed clarity and reassurance, but it wasn’t easily found. In the same breath, I think the app offers many cool features, but understanding how it all works takes time and could be better explained and more user-friendly.

Who Would Enjoy This Product

The Pixsee Smart Baby Monitor is a great option for any parent wanting a dynamic, feature-packed video monitor offering a well-rounded, in-depth look at how their little one is doing from afar. I think the Pixsee would ideally be used from day one with a newbie to get the full scope of its picture-taking ability before baby becomes too mobile and the floor-stand becomes too dangerous. Of course, users of this product should specifically find the picture-taking feature appealing and feel comfortable with that functionality.

I’m looking forward to seeing what sweet—if not interesting—moments my Pixsee monitor continues to collect for me to scroll through alone every night after bedtime.