Ring

I recently installed a Ring doorbell and security system and here’s my initial review:

Notes:

  1. Make sure you buy the most recent generation. There are 4 generations of the Ring doorbell for instance.
  2. They have “Pro” versions of devices like the Ring Doorbell Pro that cost significantly more. I’m not sure they are worth it.
  3. Integrates into Alexa, so if you have an Echo Show 10 then you can say, “Alexa, show me the front door”. After a few seconds you’ll see a live feed from your doorbell cam. Pretty cool. You can also use the Ring app and look at a live feed from any of your cameras
  4. There is a motion detector included in the security system kit, but I didn’t install it yet since I was worried about the Roomba setting it off
  5. I bought a 10 piece system at Costco since it was on sale, but should have bought a larger kit with more sensors and 2 keypads like this 14 piece kit.
  6. You might need 2 keypads since you’ll have one inside your front door and one inside your garage door so when you enter from the front door or garage you can disarm the alarm.
  7. Ring has a motion activated flood light with and without a camera. The cop I talked to said these are good since they’ll scare people away when they know they have been detected and are being recorded. The hardwired floodlights have a built-in camera. The floodlights without the camera are D battery powered. However, they have battery flood lights with no camera so that looks like a good solution.
  8. There are sales so check Amazon, Ring.com, and Costco
  9. The Ring website also has a feature called Neighbors where you can upload your video footage of crimes recorded on your cameras so your neighbors will know what’s going on.
  10. The cameras and doorbell use WiFi where the security system uses Z wave which I found is not as robust so it’s best to put the Base Station in the center of the house.
  11. Deciding between Amazon and Ring or Google and Nest? Nest products are significantly more expensive and as of Dec 2021 Nest doesn’t have a security system. I suppose you could use both brands.
  12. After deciding between Ring and Nest, I’d start with installing the doorbell of the latest generation, then at least 3-5 cameras, one for the front door, backdoor, garage, backyard. The front door is where you get the most action so I wanted both the doorbell and an extra camera there. I’d also recommend an Amazon Echo Show 10 or Nest Hub Max.
  13. Ring has several models of Doorbells priced from $60-$350, Nest only has 2, wired or battery. I got the Doorbell 3 on sale and hardwired it. I’d probably get the Video Doorbell 4 now since it was just released. Why not the wired? For whatever reason that model won’t activate your current doorbell chime so you’d have to buy a new Ring Chime.
Ring Doorbells Dec 2021

Another example of the price difference between Ring and Nest, the cameras. I got 3 Ring cameras on sale at Costco for $250. Regular price is $100 each. One Nest Cam is $150! It looks like it attaches to the base with a magnet? Not sure, but that would make it easy to steal.

The Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus is $180 and the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro is $250. The Nest Cam Floodlight is $230. So not much difference.

Questions:

  1. Q: Can I install the cameras or doorbell without the security system? A:Yes, they are separate items and can work independently of each other.
  2. Q: Can the Motion detector be configured so the Roomba won’t set it off? A: tbd

The App

  1. The Ring app is pretty good
  2. The installation of each sensor runs you through a bunch of boilerplate stuff that after the first or second sensor install is unnecessary and annoying.

Installation:

  1. Installation is pretty easy and utilizes the Ring app. You just need a step ladder or 6 foot ladder depending on how high you want to mount the cameras.
  2. I’m temporarily setting a camera inside a window on the sill pointing out to the backyard. I don’t recommend this since the blue light that is used as the motion detector reflects off the window so not sure it will work. Plus, at night, the reflection of a lit interior makes the dark exterior not really visible so this isn’t a good solution, just mount it out underneath an overhang to keep it out of the rain and direct sunlight.
  3. Put the Base Station in the center of your house so it has a line of sight to each device, range extender, and sensor or as close as possible.
  4. Attach a cat 5 cable to the base station.
  5. Place the Base Station in the center of the house if possible.
Cat 5 connection from Main router to Mesh router to Base Station

Goals:

Think about your needs and goals before you buy your system. For example:

  1. If you enter through the garage and your front door, you’ll most likely need 2 keypads and not just one.
  2. If you have say 15 windows and 5 doors in your house, and you want them all with sensors on them, then you’ll need 20 sensors, so maybe buy one of the bigger packages that has more sensors from the beginning instead of adding on later like I did which is more expensive. Do you really need sensors on second story windows?
  3. I’d like to be able to silence the siren, as in never have it make any noise unless I specifically tell it to. According to the Ring customer service tech I was chatting with there is no way to do that. Still researching this. False alarms are frequent and some cities fine the home owners for false alarms. I did find out that the siren only goes off for 10 minutes and then silences itself but continues to email you every 5 minutes.
  4. Some cities require a permit to install a security system, so check into this. My city does, but I haven’t gotten a permit.

Cameras:

I’ve installed cameras:

  1. In the garage since my neighbor said there was a guy breaking the glass on the garage door and reaching in to pull the release and then manually lifting the garage door.
  2. The front porch has a Ring doorbell on it but I also added another camera on the porch for extra coverage since I’ve had 5 packages stolen off my porch.
  3. I plan to install
  4. A wired floodlight and camera combo in the backyard.
  5. A wireless floodlight in the front porch to illuminate thieves for better footage and to scare them away.
  6. The thing about the cameras is that they are battery powered, easy to install, and can easily be moved if you change your mind about the installation location. Can even just have them sitting on a desk or bookshelf without being screwed down.

Problems

  1. False alarm. Initial cause stated was Garage door tampering. Came home a half after alarm sounded. Everything seemed fine. Sensor looked good. Called Ring support and we concluded it was the distance to the base station that was causing the problem. I took the sensor offline. This caused quite a panic.
  2. Ring Doorbell didn’t record any footage when packages got stolen twice! We figured it was poor wifi connection so I moved the router closer to the doorbell. I also changed the sensitivity higher and made the zone slightly bigger.
  3. Now I’m getting too much footage so I’ll have to adjust back to something in between.
  4. Could not do anything as a shared user even after accepting the invite sent from the primary user. Deleted the shared user, and then sent them another invite and it worked fine.