Ring Pro Doorbell (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

You'd have to get the original Ring, if you don't have a wired doorbell to use for power. Video subscription was $3/mo or $30/yr, when I signed up.

 

[Alf S]

My house doesn't have a wired doorbell system, so I suppose the original wireless versions is the one I should get? What is the subscription fee?

If you're going wireless, I highly recommend getting one of these. No subscription fee. Free cloud storage of videos, access via smartphone, rechargeable battery that lasts up to 6 months before charging built in speaker/mic so you can hear and speak to visitors etc. Super easy to mount, use. It's magnetically mounted if you choose, or screwed down like a camera tripod.

http://www.arlo.com/en-us/products/arlo-pro/

https://www.amazon.com/Arlo-Pro-Security-System-Siren/dp/B01LR8PG52

 

[Johnny Angell]

If you're going wireless, I highly recommend getting one of these. No subscription fee. Free cloud storage of videos, access via smartphone, rechargeable battery that lasts up to 6 months before charging built in speaker/mic so you can hear and speak to visitors etc. Super easy to mount, use. It's magnetically mounted if you choose, or screwed down like a camera tripod.

http://www.arlo.com/en-us/products/arlo-pro/

https://www.amazon.com/Arlo-Pro-Security-System-Siren/dp/B01LR8PG52

I've been thinking of the Ring for a while as an doorbell with extra features. These Arlo's are more security oriented and start at $250, quite a bit more.

Do you have experience with the Arlo's, is that why you recommended them? I could think about upgrading my goals.

One of the Amazon reviews mentioned it took him about 12-15 seconds to bring up a camera with a live feed on the phone app. That's a bit long.

 

[Alf S]

Yes, my wife was getting flustered about the rash of mail thieves in town and we also will have a teen driver soon who will park car outside so she wants to make sure we have a way to at least capture pix/video of any troublemakers.

The minute the cameras hear or see activity (you can adjust sensitivity) it starts recording and stores that video for you to watch on a PC or your smartphone. As for live feed, takes me about 5-10 seconds to see live, but that's to be expected, I don't know that any webcam can pull up live video instantaneously via a phone app.

Note that the home base also has a LOUD siren on it you can sound via phone app if you have an intruder. Not that it will 100% stop them, but may scare crap out of them and make them think twice about sticking around.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Yes, my wife was getting flustered about the rash of mail thieves in town and we also will have a teen driver soon who will park car outside so she wants to make sure we have a way to at least capture pix/video of any troublemakers.

The minute the cameras hear or see activity (you can adjust sensitivity) it starts recording and stores that video for you to watch on a PC or your smartphone. As for live feed, takes me about 5-10 seconds to see live, but that's to be expected, I don't know that any webcam can pull up live video instantaneously via a phone app.

Note that the home base also has a LOUD siren on it you can sound via phone app if you have an intruder. Not that it will 100% stop them, but may scare crap out of them and make them think twice about sticking around.

Do you use it as a doorbell also, doest it work well that way? How easy are the cameras to mount, could be be moved around easily?

 

[Alf S]

I guess you can call it a doorbell..lol Meaning whenever someone steps within the zone, my phone and my wife's phones notify us with a notification ding noise. Kind of like getting a text. So I know someone is at door (front or back). I can either look at the screen cap the notification took or of course, go answer the door.

Mounting is easy. You can use the included dome shaped mag mount and the camera "sticks" to it and you can move camera as needed, or you can get the mount that telescopes a bit and you screw the camera to it, again, takes 4 minutes and three screws to mount. Super quick and easy. Then use your phone app to make your visual/audio adjustments.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I guess you can call it a doorbell..lol Meaning whenever someone steps within the zone, my phone and my wife's phones notify us with a notification ding noise. Kind of like getting a text. So I know someone is at door (front or back). I can either look at the screen cap the notification took or of course, go answer the door.

Mounting is easy. You can use the included dome shaped mag mount and the camera "sticks" to it and you can move camera as needed, or you can get the mount that telescopes a bit and you screw the camera to it, again, takes 4 minutes and three screws to mount. Super quick and easy. Then use your phone app to make your visual/audio adjustments.

I presume that magnetic thing has an adhesive backing for sticking to a wall. I wonder if they sell extras. We have cats and every so often one gets a urinary tract infection and pees in the house. I'd like to have a camera I could move around from "favorite" spot to spot.

If I put a camera at the front door, can I talk to the person at the door? Can I have it record something without chiming my phone?

 

[Alf S]

The included mag mounts have a plate to screw to wall, then the dome attaches, then you just pop the camera on and move it all around till you find your best spot. It's a super strong magnet btw. FYI, they also sell dark colored silicone skins to wrap around the camera if you don't want stark white.

Yes, you can talk to them, record (or not) them. You can opt not to have notifications if you want. It also give you the option to email you when it triggers, I don't use that feature.

 

[Alf S]

If you go with Arlo, just don't get the NON Pro version. Their camera require something like 4 or 6 of those big "watch" batteries per camera. The Pro has the rechargeable cube battery. I bought a spare to keep around when I need it.

FYI, I've had my set up for 2-3 months and my batteries are at 70% full currently.

 

[Johnny Angell]

So far the WAF is weak on this one.

 

[Alf S]

LOL.

Luckily opposite for me. She actually liked the lil "eggs".vs. some of the other unsightly cameras that are out there.

 

[Sam Posten]

So Ring just alerted me that I have motion at my front door....

Spoiler

 

[Johnny Angell]

So Ring just alerted me that I have motion at my front door....

Spoiler

 

[Alf S]

So Ring just alerted me that I have motion at my front door....

Spoiler

I've had a few birds buzz my cameras and trigger them. It's funny opening the app to look and see just a bunch of wings fluttering.

 

[Rodney]

I see that Ring has announced a new version of the product:

Ring Video Doorbell 2 Features

• Removable, rechargeable battery pack (charged through micro-USB port; micro-USB cable included with purchase)
• 1080p HD video
• Two-way audio
• Connects to existing doorbell (8-24VAC)
• 180-degree horizontal motion detection angle
• 160-degree field of view
• Compatible with 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz)
• Improved night vision
• Lifetime purchase protection
• Familiar, sleek design
• Interchangeable faceplates

 

[DaveF]

Except for styling, I can't tell the difference between the new Video Doorbell and the Pro models.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

We have had ours for a few months. Install was easy except my power supply wasn't strong enough so I had to pick up a new one for $12 at Lowes. Install was super easy. I'm happy enough with it that I picked up the ring floodlight for the boathouse and will be getting two of their cameras as soon as the solar charging option is released later this year. I opted for the subscription service as I like being able to see what happened earlier. I second the comments about high WAF.

 

[DaveF]

Cool. Glad you like it. The one quirk we’ve had is that firmware / software updates cause my motion zones and settings to be reset. A bit annoying, but apparently it doesn’t affect everyone.

The neighborhood feature is interesting. I get notices once in a while about someone in the area posting a video of weirdness that got recorded by their Ring.

But here’s my new concern: is Ring going to issue a patch for the Krack attack WPA2 exploit?

 

[Johnny Angell]

Cool. Glad you like it. The one quirk we’ve had is that firmware / software updates cause my motion zones and settings to be reset. A bit annoying, but apparently it doesn’t affect everyone.

The neighborhood feature is interesting. I get notices once in a while about someone in the area posting a video of weirdness that got recorded by their Ring.

But here’s my new concern: is Ring going to issue a patch for the Krack attack WPA2 exploit?

The what?

 

[DaveF]

The what?

https://arstechnica.com/information...ck-attack-destroys-nearly-all-wi-fi-security/