We first saw the Ring Doorbell at a National Home Builders Trade show a couple of years ago in Florida. Ring had a booth at the show and I ended up speaking with the sales rep for 15-20 minutes. He ended up giving me a free Ring doorbell to try with the hope I would promote it to my customers. He was enthusiastic and excited about his product.
I took it home and it sat on my desk for about a year. “Why do I need a doorbell camera when I have eight high-tech security cameras mounted to my house,” I thought. The cameras were installed after our home was burglarized. I suspected someone in my neighborhood but had no proof.
The cameras worked fine except for one thing. You had to know something happened and then rewind the video to review it. It took a long time to watch, even on fast forward. We were on pretty high alert after the burglary and rewound and fast forwarded through a lot of video. It was pretty creepy to see just how many strangers were walking around our neighborhood at night.
Finally, my wife rebelled and said, “Why don’t you just install & try the Ring Doorbell that guy gave you?”
So I did and I love it. Here are the reasons why:
- You can see, hear and speak to anyone from your smartphone, tablet or PC so you can answer your phone from anywhere.
- Unlike my security cameras, the Ring Doorbell has video on demand so I can log in from my phone and see a live view of my property at any time.
- It is motion activated so I don’t have to wait for someone to actually ring the doorbell.
- Wide angle, high definition video.
- Infrared LED’s provide the ability to record even in dim light.
- Connects to existing doorbell wiring.
- Has zoom and pan features.
- Customizable motion zones.
- Can snooze motion when their is a lot of activity around the front door.
- Has a neighborhood app making it easy to post suspicious incidents to other neighbors who also have the Ring app.
When I first installed the Ring Pro, I explained to my wife that we could now answer our doorbell from anywhere. “For example,” I said, “We could take a vacation to Italy and answer our door from our cell phone while lounging at the beach on the Italian Riviera!”
“Hmmmmm…I’d really like the opportunity to test that therory,” she said.
While I haven’t had the opportunity to test the Ring Pro from Europe, I have used the product and app for about a year and am really pleased with it.
The product comes with a free 30-day trial of Cloud Video Recording and beyond that, you will need to pay about $30 a year per device for video storage. The storage is well worth the $30 annual fee (per device). You need more than a live view, you need the ability to record and then share the recording in the event of any incident. If someone steals a package off your front porch, you want to have the ability to send the picture of the thief to the police. Neighborhood kids tee-pee your house? Send the parents a video along with a request to clean it up.
“Can you imagine if we had this technology when our kids were in high school?” my wife mentioned. “We could have known when they got home and who was with them!”
In the event of a burglary, it does not call the police so I do not think the Ring Doorbell can replace a security system. Rather, it is another layer of protection. When someone walks up to your door and hears your voice, it is likely to scare them off since at the very least, they now know they are being recorded and someone is aware they are present.
The only real draw back to the Ring Doorbell Pro is that you must have a strong wi-fi connection at your front door and at your answering device. If you do not have a strong wi-fi connection at the installation location, you may need to add a wi-fi extender. And if you are answering from your cell phone, I have at times noticed a lag or lesser quality video (on the phone) if I have a poor cell signal.
We made this video while installing a Ring Doorbell Pro at a customer’s house. It has been edited down to the basic information required to install the device. It actually takes about an hour to install. Our company sells and installs the device for any customer who does not have the time or the desire to attempt themselves.
If you know of anyone needing a Ring Doorbell installed or other electrical work, please call CWC Electric, LLC today at 785-215-8775.
