PROS:
Easy to setup
Easy to use
Reliable with good wifi signal
Convenient
CONS:
Motion is too sensitive to vehicles on the road
A bit pricey
Literally just installed and caught someone stealing our packages the same day. Sent video to our local police and they currently have them in custody. Found out they were also stealing our mail and trying to use our credit cards.
The only thing I have issue with is that it is not able to tilt or move so camera is not able to show packages on the floor.
Another issue is that if you want to change internet connection you have do take the whole thing down and do set up all over again.
Overall it's one of the best purchases we've ever made.
The Ring video doorbell is a solid choice for people looking to get into smart home technology, and provides security, peace of mind, and ease of use that is not present in many other options at this price point. I’ll go by claim-by-claim to evaluate how well this product lives up to the manufacturer’s claims.
SEE, HEAR, AND SPEAK: This works, but your mileage may vary. You will need to have a very solid WiFi connection to the Ring, so make sure it is close enough to one of your WiFi points (or an extender/Chime Pro) so that it can handle an audio and video stream. It can take a few seconds to establish the connection if you’re powering it from a battery, causing a slight delay when trying to see motion/ring activity or speak with someone at the camera. Additionally, I found the volume on the Ring to be fairly quiet, and I see visitors leaning into the doorbell in video recordings where I speak with them.
GET INSTANT ALERTS: This works flawlessly for me - when it works. I get motion and doorbell alerts instantaneously, notifying me of movement on my porch or visitors/delivery people pressing the button to ring the doorbell. I have to admit that Ring sometimes misses motion on my porch, but this is due to sensitivity and zone settings, which I must finely tune due to my proximity to a busy street. Those located away from busy streets will likely not have this problem.
WATCH IN CRYSTAL-CLEAR HD VIDEO: Ring falls short here. While it is technically HD at 720p, it looks much lower quality in my installed location. It is not terribly grainy or pixellated, but it is not video quality worthy of preservation or bragging. It does the job, but the promotional videos you see on TV or their website are not indicative of the actual video quality you will experience. I’ll sum it up as “fine.”
PROTECT YOUR HOME WITH INFRARED VISION: Reliably switches between infrared and no infrared depending on ambient lighting. A noticeable clicking sound occurs when the camera begins recording at night, which I have seen scare away someone thinking about lurking on my porch. It is loud enough to be heard outside near a busy street, but does not detract from the experience.
COMMUNICATE W/ VISITORS - TWO-WAY AUDIO: Again, Ring falls short here. Audio works, but everyone that has used it when pressing the Ring’s button has been either disappointed by the volume and voice quality, or was nearly unable to hear me entirely. Everyone leans in if I try and talk to them, and I must talk at an uncomfortably loud volume to be heard properly. Apparently it has noise cancellation, but this is not noticeable to me, so I can’t imagine how bad the sound quality would be without it.
LIVE VIEW: It works, but is not super useful for me. It takes forever to power up Live View on battery power, making it nearly useless if you are trying to get to it quickly. I have other security cameras installed on my porch that run on batteries and come up more quickly, so I rely on them instead of Ring for a quick view of my porch.
SETUP IN MINUTES: This is highly subjective and depends on what your mounting surface is made out of. Mine is brick, and it took me “minutes”, but closer to 45 of them than single-digit. If you’re mounting into siding or wood it will be considerably faster, but I had to drill pilot holes and then size them properly for the anchors before finally installing the Ring. Not super fun.
DUAL-POWERED: My home didn’t have a doorbell so I rely solely on battery power. While I am glad it has a battery, I wish it lasted longer. Realistically, I get about a month of battery life before I must recharge it. Admittedly, this is because my Ring records about 4 events every hour, since the street in front of my house has city buses that drive by about this often. I wish I had known about the wedge mounts before drilling holes into my brick exterior, because I’m not drilling more to install the wedge kit now.
Overall the Ring video doorbell is a solid product. I took a star off for the video and audio quality, as they are nowhere near close to what is represented in marketing materials. Everything else works about as well as I would expect, and I am happy with my purchase. One of the biggest selling points is that you can power this entirely by rechargeable battery, so it can be mounted basically anywhere!
I have only been using the Ring for a couple of weeks now but so far it seems worth the cost. I don't mind the $30 per year cloud storage fee as I'd much rather not have to house the hours of video data this thing records each day in being at the front door. Installation wasn't difficult once we determined we had the right configs. Things you should know:
1) we tested ring out of the box after a full charge (the ring button will fully circle with blue light when comeplete) and it worked like a dream. Good picture, although fish eyed, even in the dark. That surprised me.
2) we then installed the ring hard wired to our existing doorbell. The doorbell worked, but the Ring video and motion/button notification no longer did.
3) we checked the long list of compatible doorbells that you can find on the Ring website. While the advertising and box says it works with virtually every doorbell... It doesn't. We have a Nutone bell. Fairly common. Doesn't work with ring. I was determined to get this thing working.
4) went to Best Buy and purchased the Ring chime. It's a plug in ring chime that allows you to install the Ring without hardwiring to your existing doorbell. So we have the Ring doorbell screwed in to the same place on the doorframe, but the wires are capped off and not connected to Ring. Plugged in and synced up the chime to wifi and it worked. It's very loud. You can also hear the Ring chime outside pretty loud so with that plus the Ring chime on every phone, iPad, etc in your house... Maybe not necessary to have the Chime unless you have a 4000+ sq ft house or don't have phones, tablets or computers with Ring app on them near you. But the plug in Chime was only $30. To me less hassle and cost than buying and installing a compatible doorbell transformer.
5) Ring began working like a champ. Then it grew increasingly unpredictable. We played with the motion settings, decreased it so that cars going by wouldn't alert us of motion at the door, etc. Butterflies set it off; they say it's heat sensored; not sure butterflies are warm inside, but I digress. It still works when it needs to "most" of the time.
6) As a doorbell, it's flawless. If someone pushes the button, the video begins. Talking to the visitor is clear and easy to accomplish. This is the best feature of the doorbell.
7) motion is hit or miss. It works, maybe not always, but enough to give me peace of mind on top of my other home security without video capabilities. Sure I get video at 4am of nothing, so if you are a scared woman living alone this may freak you out more than it helps, but for people with latchkey kids or teens that you want to keep an eye on in terms of verifying they're home or that unwelcome visitors aren't at your home, this is excellent. For people who get deliveries while at work or out of town, or folks who can't get up to answer the door, excellent. To keep intruders at bay... Eh, there are better surveillance systems out there for that.
8) the live view feature does not work if you set up using the not-hard-wired method. So if doing what I did and using the Ring chime, you will not be able to view live feed from your doorbell. You'll need the stick up cam. Didn't know this until after I did all of the above to get this thing functioning. But, we ended up buying a Ring stick up cam after all to get a better view of the opposite side of our home since the view from Ring is blocked... and we love it. Use it daily. It's motion detection is actually a bit more sensitive but that's okay. We drilled a small hole in our garage door wall to hard wire electricity to the stick uo cam as it works hard every day and loses battery life in less than 2 months for us. Don't depend on the battery. It will drive you nuts. Or get the solar charger panel.
All in all, I'm happy we made this purchase. I wonder is the newer version really worth it for "better" video quality. This one doesn't nearly give out 720p so I'm guessing the new version saying 1080p is more like 720. The newer version had some bad reviews in terms of functionality and quality of the doorbell itself so I went with the longer-tested, older version and am quite pleased. So far so good and worth $200 IMO. We are still playing with doorbell types and have yet to find one that works after trying two different mechanical transformers. Customer service was less than helpful and referred us back to the list of tested doorchimes. If you have one that is not on the compatibility list, chances are it will not work hard wired and you will need the Ring chime. And again, know that the live feed will not work. Also concerning charging, it of course depends upon your usage but with a few notifications per day, we notice the battery has drained down about 8% over the last few weeks. I suspect it will need to be unscrewed and put on the charger within the next 5 months or so at this rate. If you are hardwiring, it will charge itself. If you are using the Ring chime and not hardwiring, you will need to charge it using the included USB charger, so expect having to remove it from the front porch every 5-7 months or thereabouts if using this method. Also don't be afraid to keep playing with the settings... we have managed to get it pretty close to perfect over the last few weeks. It takes some trial & error. It still misses some movement, and still picks up nothing... but it's better to have than not, IMO.
Update 6/6/2017
Someone pried the button off my doorbell and I had to interact with Ring customer service for the first time. I'm upgrading them back to 5 stars because I was so impressed with my interaction (unlike Skybell). I went on chat to see about buying a replacement button. Zach told me they didn't offer replacement buttons, but would be happy to replace the whole unit for me. A few minutes later, I had an order confirmation and a new unit on the way. I'm impressed by how easy it was to contact them, and how responsive they were. On top of that, I'm pretty sure a break-in to my neighbour's house was averted when a suspicious person came to look through her windows last night and she confront him through her Ring.
Update 6/1/2016
Finally got live view on my own Ring now. Other members of my household got it a few weeks earlier than I did so they don't seem to roll it out by household but rather by individual account.
Update 3/31/206
Although my Ring has the latest firmware update (1.6.76), I still don't seem to have live view on my app. According to the Ring support site this feature is being steadily rolled out and users will receive an email when their device has been enabled. My neighbour's Ring has already been activated so I added a screenshot of what your Ring should look like with live view as an option. Note : According to the support page on Live View, you will only have this feature on the regular Ring if you are connected to doorbell wiring for power.
Update 3/23/2016
You might want to wait to get the new Ring Pro depending on your needs. They just announced that they are accepting preorders for availability within the next couple of months (not available to preorder on Amazon yet.) The new Pro version requires wired doorbell power while this current version allows battery. The Pro version is 1080P instead of 720P and supposedly has better options around motion detection and night vision. I'm curious to see if the Pro version will resolve some of the issues I've seen (and some of the criticisms other reviewers have) of the delay between a motion alert or doorbell ring and getting the alert on your phone.
In my previous update 3/19/2016 I erroneously stated that only Ring Pro will have live view. As Joe pointed out in the comments, Live View should be available as a firmware update for existing Ring devices. My device did not yet update so I cannot test this feature, but once mine does I will check it out and update this review again!
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I bought the Skybell first because I hadn’t heard of Ring. Due to a manufacturing issue where I started seeing the video feed of SOMEONE ELSE’S front door instead of mine, I got a Ring instead. I'm actually glad it happened because I prefer the Ring so much more to Skybell, despite some of the limitations.
Having had a chance to install both on my door, here are my impressions:
***Installation***
Skybell comes with the bell, a mounting plate, and some instructions. Screws were standard and installation was relatively straightforward. Getting the doorbell to connect to our network was a PAIN. It wasn’t able to connect via a 5G network plus it didn’t have strong enough signal strength so we had to get a second router for and set up a whole separate network for Skybell.
Ring’s package impressed the heck out of me. You get a little tool pouch with all the tools you need to set up the Ring, including a screw driver, drill bit, self level and more. If you are screwing into stucco (as I was), I don’t recommend you use the included drill bit. The hole it drilled was a little large and I had to silicone caulk the hole afterwards to give the screws enough grip. Ring connected to our network pretty seamlessly and didn’t need to have a separate network nor require the 2nd router.
***Size***
Ring is MUCH larger than Skybell. I wish it was thinner but I understand there’s a lot to cram in. The Ring does stick out quite a bit visually on my wall, but worth it for what I get. See attached photo to see the size difference.
Skybell: 2.15cm / 0.8in thick, 7.1cm / 2.8in diameter
Ring : 0.87in thick, 4.98 tall by x 2.43 inches wide
***Battery / Power to the device***
Skybell is fairly low powered, so there is no battery attached to it. It runs off the power from your doorbell so it cannot be mounted anywhere you do not have direct power.
Ring is battery powered. I charged it to about 60% via a USB cord first before I plugged it into the wall. You can get some trickle power from the doorbell, but depending on the weather and use, you may find you drain the battery faster than it charges. An hour after the bell has been plugged and with one test video call in I was at 57% battery. Three days later it charged to 77%. This might get annoying, but it does mean Ring can be mounted anywhere, not just where you have direct power.
***Mobile App***
Skybell only lets you have one user at a time. If you want more than one person to have access to the video stream you have to share accounts. I do like that you can see your doorbell on demand. I like being able to check in on my door. I understand that Ring is working on this but it’s not yet available.
Ring lets you have multiple users. The first installed user just has to send email invites to the other users. Ring shows you recent activity, but you need to pay a $3 a month subscription to see your videos on cloud. I wish that wasn’t the case but $3 isn’t that bad. I imagine I will upgrade for the cloud storage long term.
In terms of use of app, the Ring interface was relatively straightforward to use and understand. I like being able to set the active zones for tracking motion so that you don't get too many false alarms.
***Video on demand**
Skybell : yes, but I saw another person's front door too.
Ring : not yet, coming soon
***Motion detection:***
Skybell : Yes
Ring: Yes
***Video quality***
I couldn’t find the specs on the Skybell. Ring seemed to have slightly higher video quality in the day and slightly higher audio quality but this may be subjective.
Please note : If you are expecting the quality that you get on your web cam or Facetime on an iPhone the quality will NOT be comparable. This is still early technology so the voice quality and video quality will be a bit crude. I suspect the design team had to make some trade-offs between video quality and ability to power the unit via battery / trickle charge from the doorbell electrical wire. That said, I am able to identify the voices and recognize people in the camera so that for me is sufficient though of course I hope that future generations will continue to improve in this respect. Ring's cloud recording page gives you a pretty accurate idea of what your videos would look like.
***Lag / Delay between door bell ring and phone notification***
Seems to be about the same on both. There is a bit of a delay, but for me that’s acceptable compared to the alternative of just missing the door altogether.
***Customer Service***
Haven't had to interact with Ring's customer service, but Skybell's was so horrid I'm still upset about the interaction. Skybell wanted me to ship my defective Skybell to them at my expense when it was broadcasting someone else's video stream instead of mine right from the start. I get that it's expensive for them, but it's NOT a way to win a customer.
UPDATE : I actually did have to interact with Ring customer service and they impressed me greatly. My doorbell button was probably tampered with and they issued an exchange, no questions asked within minutes of contact.
Overall, between Skybell and Ring, Ring wins for me hands down.
Feature Product
- Works with Alexa to illuminate and send announcements to Echo devices when your doorbell is pressed or motion is detected. You can also see, hear, and talk to visitors through Echo Show or Echo Spot.
- Lets you see, hear and speak to visitors from your phone, tablet and PC
- Sends alerts as soon as motion is detected or when visitors press the Doorbell
- Works on any home, with or without existing doorbell wires
- Monitors your home in HD video with infrared night vision
- Lets you check-in on your property at anytime with Live View on-demand video
- Includes Lifetime Theft Protection: If your Doorbell gets stolen, we'll replace it for free
Description
At Ring, our mission is simple: To reduce crime in neighborhoods. And by putting the power of home security in your hands, we’re making that mission a reality.
Ring keeps your home secure and your family safe by protecting you against intruders, burglars, package thieves and any other unwanted guests. Ring makes sure you never miss a visitor. Because with Ring, you’re always home.
Ring Video Doorbell lets you answer the door from anywhere. Whether you’re halfway across the world, or just too busy to walk to the door, Ring lets you see, hear and speak to visitors from the comfort of your smartphone, tablet or PC.
Ring sends you instant alerts when anyone presses your doorbell button or triggers the built-in motion sensors. From the free Ring app, you can see your visitors in brilliant HD video, and hear and speak to them with crisp two-way audio. You also get a free trial to Cloud Video Recording, which lets you review, save and share videos captured by Ring.
Ring Video Doorbell comes in four color options, so you can pick a finish that fits your home and your style. It's weatherproof construction and infrared night vision means you can monitor your home around the clock—day or night, rain or shine.
Compatible with iOS and Android mobile devices, and Mac and Windows PCs.
Live video on demand available for hardwired Ring Video Doorbells.
Comes with a free 30-day trial of Cloud Video Recording.
Requires Wi-Fi connection
Here's a real world review from a verified purchaser that has above average technical ability.
I purchased the Ring Video Doorbell on Amazon in 2016 because it was the only unit available in Brass. Living in a condominium complex there are very few things you are allowed to update esthetically. My Brass finish matched perfectly and I have never received a complaint.
Pros. Easy setup, seriously easy. Easy install, even using existing wiring. Video quality is awesome. I loved that I could stretch and zoom the video on my iPhone to scan the neighborhood. Also, I am a professional video surveillance designer and installer, I was blown away with the night vision abilities of this unit. Astounding.
Cons. Internal battery. Sounds wrong, doesn't it? Well, most lithium ion batteries are rated for 12 months (1 Year) of continuous use. The superior brands are rated, but not guaranteed, for 24 months (2 Years). Ever notice after about 1 year your cellphone starts to suck and after 2 years it's pretty much useless... unless tethered. Well, my Ring Video Doorbell at 2 years officially exploded. I attempted to access some video online and noticed it was a month old. I then tried to view online and it reported device is not connected to wifi. I retrieved the instructions for reconnecting to wifi and as I removed the device I noticed many issues. Primarily the installation screws where basically a Corel reef of rust and the brass finish was bubbled up from the inside out. The backplate contacts where worn and some protected areas where now exposed. I understand that this can happen, but trust me when I say it shouldn't. The professional grade units I install are rated for 5 years, I guess since I originally paid more for the Ring Video Doorbell I expected more.
Another con... was promised live access and Apple TV integration. After about 6 months I had live integration and was very pleased to have the ability to check on my house while out of the country. Contacted Ring about Apple TV integration and was told "We have a newer unit to be released soon and it has the ability to be answered with your Apple TV 4" - Really!
The BIGEST con of the system is speed. I have a well above average internet connection. I currently run at 200Mbps download and 15Mbps upload. These speeds, even in the house, I never established a connection quick enough to actually speak to anyone. When I ever attempted to answer the Ring Video Doorbell it would not fully connect for up to 3 minutes, which is apparently way too long for UPS to wait.
In short, don't waist your money. There are many cheaper solutions now that work as well or better. Find a unit that has no or changeable batteries and you should seriously consider one with a Micro SD slot to avoid the $30-120.00 fees.
UPDATE -
With no request on my part a Ring Representative (Alexis) reached out to me via email and requested a conversation about this review. I honored her request and quite frankly I was surprised Ring would care at all about one little guy and his review. The Ring representative appeared to be fully concerned and wanted a satisfied customer, rare these days.
After a brief conversation on the phone the Ring Representative told me they would like to ship me one of their latest models with no lithium battery, hardwired only, completely free of charge and simply test it and provide an unbiased update.
I was only concerned because I reside in a condo development that is quite picky about the rules of conformity. All of our units have brass fixtures outside and they maintain a vigilant check on that. The new Ring device is either black, silver or white. I was firstly impressed that it came with the 3 different colored faceplates, simply pick an choose out of the box. I went with white and it actually blends in quite well. Not a single complaint filed. The second thing that impressed me was the wedges included in the box also. In case you don't know this, some doorbells are mounted to a side wall near the front door of the residence and the camera of the Ring device doe not have an alignment ability. Because of this there are mounting wedges to adjust the angle of the camera when surface mounting. What impressed me is that several of my clients required such a wedge and they previously had to be purchased third party or 3D printed yourself. Very nice attention to detail and reviews.
What's awesome - the new installation method is extremely, seriously, extremely simple. I had this unit installed and fully configured in under 5 minutes. The day time picture quality has been brilliantly enhanced, so clear even while zooming. The response time has been incredibly rev'd up. I walk out my door and a notification immediately announces on my iPhone. This is extremely important to me since Amazon recently began self delivery in my area. In case you are unaware, Amazon self delivery just drops the package at your door. They do not require a signature or even a hand off. The driver approaches the front door, drops your package and takes a photo... done. The actual Ring response is vastly improved as well. Previous model by the time I connected to the device over the internet the person at my door was long gone... no longer the case. Connect time is about 15-25 seconds. The motion zones are also much more customizable then previous models, so now I am only notified when someone is actually near my door. All That being said...
The Not So Awesome - Night Vision. Not so great. I will not go so far as to say it's horrible, it's just not as clear and impressive as the past model. Ring has made some changes to their camera, it's obvious, and have offered more extensive settings with Night Vision mode... why? Because they know the new camera does not perform as well at night. Grainy, purple... just bad. Even their B&W mode is blocky. I have a well lit front entrance and I actually had to start turning off my lights to receive a clearer video.
On the upside, that's it. The Night Vision is lacking, as far as quality, but that's the only flaw in this system. A+
Kudos to Ring and Alexis!
This is a great way to view who is coming to your door without opening the door. You can even view and speak to whomever is there from a remote site, so no one has to know that you aren't home. I have seen some reviews that mentioned that a thief or a scammer can tell that they are oncamera - that is a good thing, not a bad one. I want this to be a deterrent to anyone standing at my door who shouldn't be.
I was very pleased also by the customer service. My motion sensor did not work although if the doorbell was used, it notified me. After suggesting various very simple quick fixes - all by computer chat - the representative told me a replacement was on the way. It was overnighted and came to me right away. I simply had to return the defective unit in a paid return envelope. I would not hesitate to recommend this device and have already done so to many of my friends and neighbors.
Finally ordered and installed the Ring Doorbell. Installed it as a hard wire over our existing doorbell hard wired placement. Very easy to install although had some slight adjustments to make on the back plating to ensure that it was "straight" to snap in the cover. After I was able to adjust everything, locking the cover in place with the screws was easy. Suggest installing the app before physically installing the unit as there are a couple of videos on the app that will give you some guidance on how to do the physical installation. I assigned the app to provide notifications to multiple people in the house and everything works great. Motion detection was a little tricky as I needed to adjust for detection distance. Only small issues we've had were some slight delays in notifications when ringing the doorbell on occasion which was probably due to internet or server congestion. The infrared detection is very reliable as we also have a security camera on the Ring Doorbell also and I feel that the motion detection is a little better on Ring than my camera! After about 2 weeks, we are very pleased about the Ring Doorbell performance. Highly recommend as an addition to your "smart home".
I love this product! I had mixed emotions when I ordered due to the polarizing reviews, but (so far) I haven't experienced any of the issues posted by the negative reviews. I have the lowest internet speed available, and my images are very clear and have only been delayed once. I also bought the chime, and you can set it to any volume as well as going off only for rings or motion. I did keep the default settings to 5' rather than extending the zone. If you increase the zone, it will pick up traffic driving by. Overall, I'm very pleased and think it's worth the money.
Update: they've now added a Live View option through the app, so you can activate the video and voice on demand. I love it even more!
Update 2:
My Ring has continued to work great. Ring support was awesome. 100% recommended now. (And FWIW, I think just the full hard reset process made the biggest difference. Hold orange button 20 sec and then set up again. Minor hassle to have it fully functional.)
Update:
Ring has been working to get this worked out for me. Updated performance is TBD, but I raised my rating for now mainly based on their support. They've really been outstanding. So far, after a hard reset, it already appears better. They are also sending me a signal booster. Will report back with another update.
Original:
We've had this for about a year now and have mixed feelings about it. Bottom line up front is that about 80% of the time, it won't connect to see motion live and 95% of the time it won't connect to answer the doorbell. The good news is you do get video of the events, so you can at least see who you missed, but that's not really the point of the Ring doorbell, is it? My wife's phone has an even worse track record than mine. So it is a terrible video doorbell, but decent security video cam.
Good:
* Installation was a breeze
* Integration with Smartthings and Alexa was simple
* Daytime recordings are decent, although night video is not very clear.
* Motion sensing is good
Bad:
* Not really usable for answering the doorbell remotely. You get notified, but the vast majority of the time it comes back with "having trouble connecting at this time". You can only see after the video has uploaded.
* Can't see video due to motion events either. Only after it has finished uploading it.
* Has a known bug where it constantly tries to connect and disconnect from bluetooth, e.g. in car, when trying to view video.
Update:
Still horrible. Considering just ditching it and getting nest hello.
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