Newhouse Hardware BR5WL Lighted Doorbell Button, 1-Pack, Brass

All those darn pesky door to door salespeople ringing my doorbell finally did my original doorbell in and it was time for a replacement. Home Depot didn't have any so I ordered it from here since it looked exactly like the one I had. Arrived fast and in good condition....and easy to install.....although it would help if you didn't have large sized clumsy hands as the parts are quite small and need a bit of care to handle. For all those who say this is a cheap piece of junk, it's not. Yes, it's made up of various loose pieces that need to be assembled together before the final step of inserting it into the wall, but once it's in, it looked as good as new and fit into the wall perfectly. Project doorbell replacement, happily done.

Once installed it works very well and the illumination is nice and bright. The wiring was a little flimsy but once it was connected and pushed into the wall it works well. I would have liked to have had a gasket to seal it to the wall and to block the light from showing around the outside edge of the switch. But for the price, it's not that big of a deal.

Our house uses this round style doorbell with pushbutton activation - after many years of wear and tear the mechanical parts stopped functioning. Checking all the major home improvement stores turned out to be futile, I could only find the small rectangular type which would not fit my application, and I didn't want to install an electronic doorbell since we already have a perfectly functioning Outdoor Blink camera which works great. So I ordered this item hoping it would be an easy replacement, turns out I was wrong.When I took the doorbell out of the plastic bag it seemed to be fine, and appeared to be a good form/fit/function for my busted one. Once I started unscrewing the screws in order to wire it in, that's when the parts started to fall apart - there are essentially three functional pieces (I don't count the round plate or the bracket): the pushbutton itself, the small bulb, and the housing which is supposed to hold the bulb and interface with the pushbutton. Well, as some reviewers have noted, those three pieces just fall apart. You can put everything back in its place but when you try and wire it up and push it back into the stucco hole, it won't hold. This is totally unlike the broken doorbell I have - even though it is broken, the entire doorbell holds together as a single unit. I shouldn't have to figure out how to epoxy or otherwise keep all the pieces together in order to install it. Funny thing is that is comes with a sticker that says, "QC passed".After reading the reviews here, I am led to believe that there are two different kits that are being shipped: one which holds together, and one which falls apart. Needless to say, I'm in the second camp and am returning it ASAP, and hoping my replacement will be better - going to look for another brand, though.Update: I bought a Nu-tone version of this doorbell which only came in a silver polish as opposed to the more attractive rubbed bronze. I noticed that the design was pretty much identical, except the two-prong metal bracket, which is needed to hold the doorbell in place, gripped more tightly on the housing compared to this Newhouse. The Newhouse bracket was loose and allowed the housing to freely rotate/come loose, and the tension on this bracket is the only thing that keeps the housing in place. So now I know, the variability in reviews is likely due to how tightly the bracket grips onto the plastic housing, and this is not something you can adjust. You might get lucky and that bracket will grip just fine, or you might get unlucky like me.

I was a little apprehensive in buying this unlighted doorbell because of the negative reviews. I took a chance since it was so inexpensive. Many had said the doorbell comes apart when you loosen the screws for the connection. I had no such issues. This doorbell was manufactured well. I can’t understand the negative reviews, either they are inept or just can’t do DIY stuff. This was so easy. Just loosen the screws enough for the wire leads to wrap around then screw tight. I don’t know about it falling apart, but even IF you removed the screws (which I didn’t) I can’t see how it would come apart. Once both leads are connected, I folded the flanges so they could fit in the hole, and tested it beforehand. It works perfectly. The finish on the brass is shiny and bright. My old doorbell was metal, but this one is plastic with shiny brass finish. Looks really good. See pictures of the old and new. Looks great and priced right! Super easy to install.

Contrary to some of the bad reviews, the door bell button is suppose to come part. The switch the bulb in it can be removed by twisting it make it easier to install and possible to replace the bulb.One downside I saw with this button was that the screws were VERY tight upon delivery and required a pair of pliers, vice grips and a small screw driver to loosen. It is cheap because its $7. The base is metal and the button is plastic; this was not surprising for a $7 button.The other thing to note is that the button gets warm to the touch due to the light bulb inside.

I normally dedicate my review writing time for my vine items. But I just had to "chime" in about this product. Absolutely not for people who ARE NOT handy. Everything falls apart in your hands the moment you try to unscrew the contact screws to connect the wires. The contact screws come to you from the factory super tight, so there is no space to wedge in the wires, you need to unscrew them a little, and that's where the fun begins. When you go counter-clockwise to unscrew, you will undue the entire button assembly. LOL! If you're not handy, at this moment, you'll think it broke. I kid you not, every component, even the tiny light bulb inside fell out. Everything had to be re-assembled, and it'll take a minute for you to figure out how all the parts connect. I managed to get everything to work, but during the process, I said to myself, "I bet they get a lot of returns." If you are not handy, pass on this product, or get someone who is do the install for you. 3-Stars.

Exact match to one that needed replacing. Bulb works now.