Alarm.com 781B Battery Video Doorbell: Video at Any Door, No Wires Required
Every house has a door that never got a video doorbell because there was no wire behind it: the side entrance by the garage, the basement walkout, the back gate on a Lehi corner lot. Alarm.com’s new 781B Battery Video Doorbell (ADC-VDB781B), announced this week, is built for exactly that door. It runs on a battery, needs only Wi-Fi, installs in minutes, and brings the full Alarm.com doorbell feature set with it: person, package, vehicle and animal detection, Familiar Face recognition, two-way talk, remote unlock and AI Deterrence. It replaces the 780B. Here is what it does, where it fits on a Utah home, and when we would still run a wire instead.
- Video at any door. No hub, no wiring. Battery power and Wi-Fi are all it needs, so the side door and the back gate finally get a doorbell camera.
- If there is a wire, it uses it. Existing doorbell wiring trickle-charges the battery and rings your wired chime, so the battery routine mostly disappears at the front door.
- The real Alarm.com analytics. 2.4MP square video with Video Analytics 2.0 (people, animals, vehicles, packages) and Familiar Face for up to five people.
- Talk, unlock, deter. Upgraded speaker and mic, remote door unlock, and Perimeter Guard plus AI Deterrence to warn off someone who should not be there.
- One battery, two devices. The same universal pack powers the V731B battery camera, so a house with both keeps one spare.
What the 781B is
A battery-powered video doorbell that lives on the same Alarm.com account as your alarm, locks, cameras and thermostat. Alarm.com’s own summary is the right one: for some entry points, no wiring meant no video. The 781B removes that condition. Mount it wherever there is Wi-Fi, pair it to the app, and the doorbell at that door behaves like the wired Alarm.com doorbell at the front: ring and motion alerts, clips, two-way talk, and the unlock button for the smart lock on that door.
It is a replacement for the 780B. Alarm.com intends to stop selling the 780B in early Q4 2026, subject to supply, and will keep supporting the ones already installed. If you have a 780B today, nothing changes; if you are buying now, the 781B is the one to buy.
Install it anywhere, and use the wire if there is one
The battery version of a product is usually the compromise version. Here the interesting part is that the 781B is both. With no wiring, it is a true battery doorbell: charge the pack, mount the plate, done. Where doorbell wiring already exists, connect it and the wire trickle-charges the battery and rings your existing wired chime. That makes it a sensible front-door doorbell too, not only a side-door one, and it means the battery routine at a wired door becomes an occasional top-up rather than a monthly chore.
Need a chime where there is no wired one, say at a detached shop or a basement apartment entry? It works with the W114C Wi-Fi chime, which plugs into any outlet.
The battery, and what Energy Saver changes
The 781B uses Alarm.com’s universal battery pack, the same one in the V731B battery camera. On a property with a V731B at the gate and a 781B at the side door, that is one spare pack in a drawer instead of two incompatible ones. Energy Saver Video Analytics throttles the camera’s processing during quiet periods, which is how a doorbell that is constantly looking for people and packages still gets useful life between charges. We will give you a real-world number for your door after the first month; it depends on traffic, temperature and how many events it records.
Alerts that mean something
Video Analytics 2.0 classifies people, animals, vehicles and packages, so the notification says what happened instead of “motion.” Familiar Face recognizes up to five people you teach it, which turns “person at the door” into “your daughter is home.” The 2.4MP square frame is the right shape for a doorbell: head to doormat in one image, which is what our doorbell analytics guide is all about. Package rules, person-only alerts and quiet hours are set up the same way as on every other Alarm.com doorbell.
Talk, unlock, deter
Two-way audio got an upgraded speaker and microphone, so a conversation with a courier does not sound like a drive-through. From the same screen you can unlock the door for a trusted visitor. For the visitor you do not want, Perimeter Guard and AI Deterrence use the doorbell’s light and audio to make it clear they have been seen; Alarm.com’s launch clip has it telling a lurker in a black hoodie to leave, by description. That is the same deterrence posture as the V730 spotlight camera, now at the door.
Where it goes on a Utah home
- Side and garage-entry doors. The most-used door in most houses, and the one that almost never has a wire. This is the 781B’s reason to exist.
- Basement apartments and ADUs. A tenant gets their own doorbell and their own notifications, with no electrician.
- Back gates and detached shops. Anywhere Wi-Fi reaches. If Wi-Fi does not reach, that is a network problem to fix first, and we will tell you so.
- Front doors with old wiring. Connect the wire, keep the chime, and forget about charging.
When we would still run a wire
Honest answer: at the front door of a new build or a remodel where the wall is open, we still pull a wire and install a wired doorbell, and at a custom home we usually specify a flush door station. Wired power means no battery to think about, ever, and a wired camera can record more aggressively. The 781B is for the doors where that was never going to happen, and for existing homes where opening the wall to add a wire costs more than the doorbell. On pre-wires we now run doorbell wire to the side door as well, for exactly this reason.
Frequently asked
Does it need a hub or a base station? No. It connects to your Wi-Fi and to your Alarm.com account directly.
How long does the battery last? Alarm.com has not published a single number because it depends on traffic and settings; Energy Saver Video Analytics extends it during quiet periods, and a wired connection trickle-charges it continuously. Ask us after your first month and we will tell you what your door is doing.
Will it ring my existing chime? Yes, when connected to existing doorbell wiring. With no wiring, add a W114C Wi-Fi chime.
Can I use it with my current Alarm.com system? Yes. It joins the account you have, and we take over Alarm.com systems installed by other companies.
I have a 780B. Should I replace it? Not unless it is giving you trouble. Alarm.com will keep supporting installed 780Bs; the 781B is for new installs.
Is it available now? Alarm.com opened it to all service providers this week. We are quoting it now.
Have a door that never got a doorbell? Tell us which one and whether there is any wiring behind it. We will tell you whether the 781B is the right answer there, check that your Wi-Fi reaches it, and quote the install.
Shield Low Voltage installs and services Alarm.com doorbells, cameras and monitored security across Utah County, Salt Lake County and the Wasatch Back. Product details are from Alarm.com’s October 16, 2026 dealer launch announcement for the ADC-VDB781B; we will update this post with the data sheet as it is published.
