Ring Wired Doorbell Plus - Upgraded, with added security features and a sleek design (existing doorbell wiring required)

4 YEAR REVIEW: My original Pro finally had an issue that they admitted could not be fixed. They offered me the latest model with a 30% discount. Ring said if I wasn't happy, I'd get a full refund. I took the offer because I had tried a different company and had more issues. This one did the trick. I get a live video within 3 seconds using the Ring Rapid app. The pictures are share with great color. I do wish I could make my voice louder at the camera. I've done everything I could with my phone but when it's noisy outside, it's a little difficult to understand me. Now I am satisfied and it's definitely worth the current price.3 YEAR REVIEW: I've had the Ring Video Pro for over 3 years. This is absolutely the last update. The Creator of the Ring doorbell camera has diversified into different cameras and a security system. He also sold the company to Amazon. Throughout the time I had my camera, there have been many rough times. They have continuously tried to improve the system but it has not always been a smooth ride. The biggest flaw is still the time it takes to get a live connection from when it is motion triggered. The commercials show thugs trying to steal something from the house, but the owner scares them away by talking to them. That is more fantasy than fact. I can't even say "Thank you" to a delivery person. By the time the camera comes online, all I can do is watch the delivery person get into his truck and drive away. If someone tried to steal something from my stoop, they'd be long gone before I could say "Boo". I would have a great recording of the person stealing a package, but it couldn't do a thing to help me stop the crime. And I believe it's all because the signal goes through Ring's computers first before activating their app on my phone. It's done that way so they can charge you a monthly fee to save the videos. I have set up my own wireless IP cameras that I purchased from Amazon. I pay no monthly fees, I can save the videos on the camera or my phone and when they sense motion, I get a picture within a fraction of a second. Way ahead of the Ring. So after all this time I'm waiting for a doorbell camera that works like my other cameras; without the middleman. There is at least one that is close to being released as I write this. Not only will I save the monthly charge, but I'll have a doorbell camera that works like the Ring advertises in their commercial.ONE YEAR REVIEW: I've now had the Ring Video Pro for over a year. I can honestly say that I am happy with my purchase. Ring is constantly improving the doorbell camera by upgrading it's software. The company is honorable and stands behind their products. Even with the initial problems I had, I highly recommend their doorbell cameras and would certainly buy it again.FINAL UPDATE: I have been using the Ring Pro for about 6 months. After troubleshooting with my internet provider (they supply the router for my wifi network) my problems were due to my house's construction and my router. All my internal walls are sheetrock & cement with some having wire mesh. My network has many items on it and may get overloaded at times. It was suggested that I buy a better router that could handle the traffic at $350. So far that hasn't been possible. The Ring Pro works over 98% of the time. The doorbell button works, the live picture is crystal clear, the motion detection is constantly improving. The mobile app keeps improving too. That is a problem I can live with. The only issue I find difficult to live with is the time it takes from when the button is pushed, to when I can see who is at the door and talk to them and unlock the door. My workaround was to add a remote lockset that lets me "Buzz" people in. Technology is wonderful when it works and is a nightmare when it doesn't.2nd UPDATE: I am sorry for the length of this review. I thought you would get the best picture if I left the previous writings. You can understand the six weeks and how & why my reviews changed.I have been trying to get a Ring Doorbell Pro camera to work properly for over 6 weeks and 2 cameras. I have used email with level 1 techs. Email and phone sessions with level 2 techs, and finally level 3 techs. (Which you have to use a "Neighbor Advocate" as go between) I have always thought that the Ring techs were really nice and were trying their best. However, after stepping back and thinking about the events of the last few days, I wonder. How much time should it take to get a Doorbell camera to do what it claims. When do you say, "This is taking way too much time.", and give up. The second camera, after 2 weeks of trying, deteriorated to being worthless. The push button stopped working, the manual "Live View" stopped working and motion detection worked 30% of the time. I wrote 4 emails in one morning pleading for help and saying "Please answer ASAP ....Please." and"Sorry but this is a plea....Please help!" Those got no replies. I finally got a response after the tone of my emails changed. No cursing, no threats, just,"I hope you haven't gotten any of my recent emails and I hope you're not ill. But I feel deserted. I had sent at least 4 or 5 emails without receiving a reply. Lucky for me I can rely on myself. At least for now, I have my Ring Doorbell Pro button working along with "Live View"."Then I got replies. Coincidence, you be the judge. When no one answered, I unplugged the camera for a few minutes and plugged it back in. Unbelievably, that fixed the button and "Live View", but not the motion sensor. I had asked in a previous email, if unplugging the camera could help, but they never answered. There are still issues. However, the doorbell button and the "Live View" video now work. When they stop working again but I can still fix them, I'll continue to use them. When I need customer support again, I'll get rid of the Ring Doorbell Pro camera and look elsewhere.UPDATE: I just got off the phone with Timothy, a level 2 support rep. It was an excellent experience. He took his time, listened to everything I had to say and was respectful of my medical condition. He signed on to my laptop, which had the Ring app on it, and checked out my system. He felt the problems were due to my router settings. He made all the necessary changes to correct my problems. Since he couldn't stay connected all day, he checked what he could and gave me his personal email address. He wants me to check everything out and contact him on Monday to let him know how his changes did. He also gave me a year of cloud recording to make up for the difficulties I had. He apologized for the 3 weeks of problems I had. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people that picks up food from a drive thru and when I get home they forgot the fries. If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. So the fact that I "fell through the cracks" didn't surprise me. I use a lot of technology due to my illness. I judge a company by their support and there are very few companies that pass my judgement. Ring passes with flying colors and I changed my review from 3 stars to 5. They are definitely a good company to deal with 95% of the time, and in today's day of overseas money saving support, Ring stands out as one of my favorites.I purchased the Ring Pro to replace an aging wired system. I originally tried the doorbell camera from my alarm company,Vivint. That was way to slow, had only one way communication and full of glitches. I then got the Ring Pro. I decided on the Pro, instead of the standard for a few reasons. I wanted to use my 5 GHz network for the speed and the 1080 HD video for clarity. I originally had difficulty setting up the camera. I called support and they were great. First, I was told that I can't use the power pack because I didn't have a doorbell. So they sent out the proper cable with the ringer at no charge. When that didn't help, I spent about 45 minutes on the phone with a great support tech. I offered to pay to have a professional to set it up. The tech said I wasn't doing anything wrong and I should save my money. How often do you hear that from support? It wound up being a problem with my phone and not the camera. I used an older phone and setup worked fine. I have an HTC 10, so be aware. I do know others with the "10" that had no problems. I couldn't use the 5 GHz network because my walls were too thick which also caused sporadic connection problems. I finally purchased a Wifi extender and that solved my problems, for 2 days. As days went by, I started having more problems. The main one was sporadic live video pictures. Sometimes I would get a black screen instead of a live picture. Again, using Ring support by email, it took about a week to solve the problem. I had to move the extender around. Finally, it worked, for half a day. Now the problems became strange. The motion detection working sporadically, the black screen returned, the software crashed. We kept trying different things and nothing worked. I asked for a new camera, no deal. They are very much against sending a new camera. They finally upgraded my problem to level 2 support. That was 2 days ago. When I asked approximately how long it would be before they contacted me, I was told, "We're not allowed to give out that information". That's never good. One last item that I told them. I did not get the doorbell camera for convenience. I have a chronic pain condition that makes walking difficult and very painful. That's why I also have a remote door lock. Being without the ability to talk to some one at the front door is a hardship and each day that I wait for level 2 to contact me is painful.

I was looking for a replacement to my rusted doorbell and thought why not one of these more advanced video doorbells compared to the old, existing button doorbell.Transformer:I will talk about the transformer since there aren’t too many reviews based on it. The Ring website states, “Requires a 16-24 VAC transformer.” However, on the technical detail section on Amazon, it states, “Hardwired to existing doorbell systems (16-24 VAC, 30 VA) or powered by Ring Plug-In Adapter.” The Ring website did not specify the 30 vA requirement while the Amazon detail section did. This made me a bit hesitant on purchasing as my current existing doorbell has a transformer of 16 volts, 10 vA (not the 30 vA listed on Amazon). I contacted Ring via phone and chat and I was informed that 16 volts, 10 vA should be sufficient but I could only run one Video Doorbell Pro with that transformer since I didn’t have the recommended 16 volts, 30 vA transformer. I was advised to monitor it for a few weeks. I noticed that the voltage was decreasing from 3984 volts in the Ring app down to 3900 volts (3900 and above is the recommended voltage range). However, upon reaching 3900 volts (or 3898 volts the lowest), it would jump back up to 3980s to 3990s. In terms of functionality, there has been no problem regardless of the drop of voltage. Live views, recordings, motion detection, doorbell ring, etc. worked well throughout the day. I’ve had the device for more than a month now and I stopped worrying and looking at the voltage as it would drop but then increase back up and has been within normal range the entire time since purchase. I called Ring and was subsequently told that since everything is functioning well and has always been within the recommended voltage range, I was told that there is no need to replace the existing 16 volts, 10 vA transformer. If you are planning to install multiple video doorbells, I believe you should get the higher voltage/volt-amps transformer.(Note: Finding your doorbell transformer may be a challenge, especially for older homes. You can look first behind the doorbell chime, in a nearby closet, attic, closet of water heater, or basement.)Installation:Installation was very easy. They provide all the tools required. You will need to turn off the circuit breaker for the existing doorbell and locate your doorbell chime and attach the Ring Power Kit to the existing doorbell chime. Then remove the two wires from the existing doorbell and place it on the Ring Doorbell pro. Just follow the prompts on the Ring app from beginning to end as it guides you throughout the installation process. For proper installation, see their instructions and/or even their video installation instructions on YouTube. I would contact Ring if there are problems as they are always ready to help but for me, there were no issues during the installation. Overall, it was a breeze installing it.Videos and Recordings:I have the other Ring cameras and cameras from different brand so this is not my primary video recorder in terms of recording everything. I wanted this primarily as replacement to my regular, doorbell button and to detect and record motions nearby. I set the motion zones to cover only the driveway up to the door. You can set up to three customizable motion zones, which is very helpful. You can also set the motion setting to “People Only Mode” if you don’t want too many notifications such as cars passing by. Like the other Ring cameras, there is a Motion Schedule option to alert you with motion alerts based on your schedule. It has a color night vision, tap camera preview for live view, and audio streaming/recording video setting options that you can toggle on or off.An important thing to note is that it requires a $3 per month subscription or $30 a year. However, if you already have the $10/month or $100/year plan for the Ring Alarm, this is basically free as this plan includes professional monitoring, Ring Alarm cellular backup should someone lose electricity, and includes unlimited camera and doorbell cloud recordings.Alerts and Notifications:You get instant notification once a motion is detected or the doorbell is pressed. There are only a few occasions when there is a one second delay of notification when someone pressed the bell but I’m not sure whether it is due to my older phone but in terms of Alexa from Echo Dot or Echo Show announcing, it pretty much notifies me when motion is first detected or doorbell is pressed. For android, I love how you can customize the notification sounds per device. For instance, you can choose the one that rings like a doorbell followed by a voice saying, “Someone’s at your door” when someone presses the doorbell or “Motion detected at your front door” when a motion is detected via your Doorbell Pro. You can change for each Ring devices such the cameras. For iOS however, I couldn’t find a way to do this so hopefully Apple catches up in terms of customization.Ring AppI know many people complain about the Ring app. For me, I love it. I love how you can see all your cameras in the dashboard and how it updates after a few seconds so you can quickly glance at your cameras when you are too busy to check out all the recordings. This for me is a game changing feature. I don’t like other brands whose images of the cameras in the dashboard is just a still photo from who knows when. There is also the Rapid Ring app the answers the doorbell and cameras or allows you to “live view” much faster than the regular app.Echo Dot/Echo Show Integration:I love how you can set routines such as Alexa announcing when motion is detected or the doorbell is pressed. This works both on the Echo Dot and Echo Show. You can also customize the light to turn on when the bell is pressed at a certain time frame that you have set. As stated earlier, Alexa notifies instantly as soon as activities occur, whether someone pressed the doorbell or a motion is detected.My issue is with the Echo Show (in my case, Echo Show 5) where it takes a few seconds before the device shows you who is at the door/answers the doorbell. I wished it was instantly as the when Alexa announces it with the Echo Dot 3rd generation. It would also be a game changer if there was an option to show/answer the front door as soon as the doorbell is pressed. I believe this is a popular request. Perhaps Ring will make this possible in the future.Integration with other Ring Devices:I love how you can integrate the ring devices with each other. You can integrate this with the Ring Alarm so all your cameras will record should the Alarm goes into entry delay or when the alarm goes off. You can also integrate this with their lights such as the pathlights or even their motion sensor. You can also have the other cameras record when the Doorbell Pro detects motion. As mentioned above, you can integrate this with other lights that are non-Ring lights via Routines in the Alexa app.Recent Activities:I love how you can check the “Recent Activity” and see all the recent activities such as when the doorbell was pressed or missed so you can know when someone has rang your bell or what time a package was delivered assuming the delivery guy actually pressed the doorbell. It’s definitely helpful to know when someone has pressed the doorbell, such as visitors and guests.Design/Look:For me, this is the best looking doorbell. There are other doorbells out there that older people may not even think are doorbells since some don’t look like one with their ugly designs. Some also looks like plastic while this one looks class to me. This one for me has the best design. I also love how they give you different color Faceplates so you can choose from four different colors such as silver, black, etc. The ring circle is white and is lit up the whole time. When pressed, it changes to a rotating blue. You are also able to hear the doorbell sound from the outside when pressed.Price:I got this on sale with the Echo Show 5 so I got it a cheaper price but I do think the $250 is a little bit on the high side. However, I do think it’s worth the price and would probably by this compared to the other competitive brands. I like how I don’t have to bypass my existing doorbell chime as I prefer to have that ring as well. Other brands require you to bypass your existing doorbell chime so you cannot use it but I think they do provide a free chime of their own compared to Ring where you have to buy one if you need an additional chime in another part of your house.Customer Service:I have contacted Ring a lot regarding various devices, whether it is for troubleshooting/first time setup, product information, etc. I have to say that they remain courteous, professional, and helpful. However, some representatives would give different information compared to others. This might exist with other companies as well but I do wish everyone was on the same page in terms of knowledge. I feel that some are more knowledgeable than others. For the most part, they are helpful and are able to resolve all my issues. Ring on Tweeter is also very helpful. You can private message them and they respond pretty rapidly.Overall:Overall, I highly recommend this video doorbell. I am pretty much satisfied and happy with this doorbell addition to the home.