Ring Video Doorbell 3

Generally good functionality but don't believe RING's battery life claims – Already have a number of RING Stick Up cams around my house. Happy with their functionality so I decided it made sense to replace the one at the front door with a more purposely designed RING Video Doorbell 3. This unit (besides working as a wireless doorbell) also allows two way talk with visitors via your phone while you are away from home along with a video image. Because it needs to hook into your home WiFi and broadband to function, It will require speeds typically supplied by NBN but should be OK on a reasonably fast ADSL connection. RING claims minimum of 2mbps upload but you ideally should have better. There is a limit on how far away from the doorbell the router must be situated but if you have an issue with this, RING sells an accessory remote chime that also doubles as a WiFi booster.

DESCRIPTION This unit is around H128mm x W60mm x D28mm and is supplied with a mounting bracket and security screws. There was also a separate angled bracket if you need to position the doorbell aiming off to one side. Where you locate it at the door is fairly prescribed as the camera is not able to be “pointed” or otherwise moved in relation to the entire unit. There is some, however, some flexibility afforded by the camera having a mild “fisheye” style lens. In my particular situation there was no ideal location so I attached it using very strong 3M double sided tape to a side glass panel. This works well but will prove very difficult to remove in the future. Luckily the only reason I should need to remove it is if it becomes defective. Having no wires attached, it connects into your home Wifi necessitating the use of a rechargeable battery. For simplicity, this is the same battery used in RING Stick Up cams and only requires the removal of a security screw at the base (using a special included tool), unclipping the front cover, sliding out the battery, then replace and reverse procedure. All of which will only take a minute to perform. Incidentally, RING supplies the unit with a silver cover but you are able to purchase different colours to better suit your doorway. Mine included an offer for one free cover of my choosing so I went for a matt black (see photo below). Also, as part of the package I purchased, mine came with a separate door chime box (see photo below) which is simply plugged into a 240v outlet somewhere else in the house and connects to the front door unit via your WiFi.

Installation was straightforward. * Charge the battery using the supplied USB cable. * Determine the location and attach the bracket. * Download the app onto a mobile device and use it to connect to your WiFi. The one caveat here is if you wish to store any videos (up to 60 days), you will need to subscribe to the RING service which has an annual fee of up to $150 (depending on the number of devices you use).

There are a large range of settings regarding detection, notifications etc built into its capabilities including a newly added one where it will alert you with a specific notification identifying it has “seen” a package delivered to your door.

FUNCTIONALITY Performance wise, it can be slow to alert you. Particularly if you activate the “Person identification” feature. This is where rather than send you a notification there is movement at the door, it actually has to process the data to determine if it is a bird, a waving plant etc or an actual person. As this can take up to ten or twenty seconds, (plus the time to remotely alert you and you to respond) some people won’t wait that amount of time and may be half way down the driveway before you can connect. Night-time does not present an issue as there are IR lights included allowing the doorbell to give a decent (B&W) image in darkness...immediate area only. In respect to the alert sounds it makes (and the remote chime too if you get that) there are a number of preset sounds to choose from (like selecting tones for your phone). There are also some “canned” verbal responses (such as telling them to leave the parcel at the door or I will be with you shortly) called “Quick Reply”. RING recognises that it could take a short time before you can respond and delivers this message to your visitor in the meantime. While there is no facility to record your own message, RING updates the list frequently with novelty responses, however, these generally relate more to US seasonal activities like the Superbowl or Halloween. There were even some with a Batman theme while that was big at the cinema.

BATTERY LIFE I’ve devoted an entire section to this because this, I feel, is the major issue. After some 8 months of use I find that the absolute best life I can get is 1 month before charging is required. My problem with this is RING’s claim of 6 – 12 months of battery life in their advertising. Maybe you might sneak it into 6 months if, no-one presses the doorbell, there is zero motion (because you installed it in an empty unused room), all the advanced features were turned off and you ran it down to zero battery...maybe. In practical terms, this would be useless as at 30% battery, it sends you a notification on your phone (fare enough) but at 15%, it shuts down a number of features to conserve power. One of those features is “Live View” which allows you to access the camera on demand to see what is happening at your front door so as I don’t want to lose that feature, I’m getting somewhat less than a month. I don’t believe my unit is defective as this somewhat tallies with my non-solar powered RING Stick Up cams. They get longer but don’t have the doorbell feature. Incidentally, I should add that visitors only ring the doorbell two or three times a week and I’ve managed to tweak the motion detection zones so they are not perpetually falseing. The battery just does not have the capacity that RING advertises. Even replacing the battery at 15% it will still take most of the day to recharge so I have a spare battery always full charged and from immediately into place.

What I liked... * 1080p HD camera * Comprehensive amount of functionality and settings to tailor it to what you want * Basically does all you need of a video doorbell

and what I disliked... * BATTERY LIFE not even coming close to what was advertised * Subscription needed to store videos (although you do get a 30 day free trial) * Often slow to access video

Overall, I’m generally happy with appearance and functionality of the RING Doorbell and associated Chime in this package. The app works well, the software automatically updates when needed, RING employs two factor authentication and encrypts images collected. I just don’t know why RING can’t be more honest about the projected battery life of this unit under typical user conditions.

Very happy with the doorbell – I bought the ring doorbell 3 plus about 6 weeks ago for our front gate. It picks up when anyone arrives, and allows us to see who is there before we open the gate. It was a special where they included a spare battery, so it won’t have to be out of order while charging battery. Mine is battery operated, not hardwired. For the most part it works very well. My only issue is sometimes the WiFi connection is not strong enough, which after spending time online I’ve put that down to the placement of our modem, and being a steel frame home. I bought the chime pro (being an extender) to help with that and it seems to do the job well. I don’t particularly like paying the yearly fee, but I have because I want to be able to see who turned up if I can’t access the view at the time, for example, while driving. It is $40 for 12 months, which isn’t too bad. Just make sure you factor that in when purchasing. My husband built a case for it so it isn’t in the rain or direct sunlight. I have noticed the battery is under half now, so it has drained quite quickly, even though I don’t have any of the battery draining boxes ticked in the app. But as stated above, it came with a spare so not an issue. Overall, we are happy with the product, it does what it’s supposed to do, and once set up is complete you just forget about it.