First off, I wasn't sure where to put this, so I'm sorry if this is not the right place. 

Someone most likely tried to break into our house recently. 

I'm looking for a simple in-home security camera that I can put in our living room.

The only thing is, we don't have wifi. 

I've seen some cameras that work on wifi but you can also insert an SD card. Do these cameras still work without being connected to wifi. I just need to be able to pop the SD card in my laptop and watch it back at the end of the day. We went to some shops but the sales people were not sure if it would work without Wi-Fi. 

 

 

Can't you get WiFi installed?

A car dashcam device would work and they require no extra parts or connections apart from a USB power supply. Any model would do the job. They are small enough to be hidden quite easily.

 

Your main problem with not having wifi is that you wont be able to configure a normal security camera, unless you also get a proper DVR and cable the two together.

4 hours ago, M93 said:

I've seen some cameras that work on wifi but you can also insert an SD card.

One of the things about having a wifi camera is that it transmits the images to a distant computer which, if you have internet, can be anywhere.  Even if they steal the camera itself there is a chance you'll get a look at them in action.

 

 

6 hours ago, KittenKong said:

A car dashcam device would work and they require no extra parts or connections apart from a USB power supply. Any model would do the job. They are small enough to be hidden quite easily.

 

Your main problem with not having wifi is that you wont be able to configure a normal security camera, unless you also get a proper DVR and cable the two together.

Thanks, a car dashcam seems like a good solution. 

 

 

On 7/3/2019 at 9:39 AM, M93 said:

I've seen some cameras that work on wifi but you can also insert an SD card. Do these cameras still work without being connected to wifi. I just need to be able to pop the SD card in my laptop and watch it back at the end of the day.

Yes they will work without Wifi...you can set them to record on a loop to the SD card..but a few problems  the thief can steal the camera/SD card ( you'll not see the thief ???? )  , you'll soon get bored removing inserting it everyday +  the card socket can be fiddly and easy to break...

Your laptop most likely has Wifi built in  you can connect to the cameras web-server and download the recordings without removing the sd card.