The humble doorbell is now smarter than ever before with Ring – the new device that can tell you who’s at your door no matter where you are – whether it’s upstairs or interstate.
Ring is a connected doorbell and camera that connect to your home’s wireless network.
When someone rings the doorbell, you get a notification on your smartphone through the Ring companion app.
From here you can talk to the person at your door whether you’re sitting comfortably inside or even when you’re out.
Now you don’t have to wait at home for that delivery.
With Ring you will know when the courier rings the doorbell and be able to talk to them in real time and ask them to leave the package if you’re not home.
And there are also security benefits because anyone who presses the doorbell to see if anyone is home can always be answered even when no one is home.
But they don’t know that.
We had someone at our Ring doorbell and told them we were upstairs when, in fact, we were across town.
Ring can also detect motion and trigger video recordings before sending you a notification.
From the app, which runs on iOS and Android, you can view the video to see what the motion was.
Motion alerts can be set to activate from various distances and zones so you can pinpoint exactly what’s happening.
Ring is a compact unit that fits neatly next to your front door. It has a button below a wide-angle lens HD video camera which also has night vision.
Users are given free access to recordings from the cloud for 30 days.
Cloud recording is priced at $4 a month or $40 annually so you can access videos from as far back as six months ago and even save videos permanently. These videos could potentially be shared with police and insurance companies.
Installation of Ring is pretty simple – a base plate makes it easy to mark the spots where you need to drill. They’ve even include a drill bit, screws and plugs in the box so you don’t have to hunt around in your tool box to find the right size and these other parts.
There’s also a two-way screwdriver included as well to screw in the base plate and also to secure the Ring unit itself with two unique screws that can only fit with the Ring’s included screwdriver.
But even if someone does manage to steal your Ring doorbell, it will be replaced by Ring for free.
Customers have the choice of hooking the Ring unit to their own power supply which was maybe powering their old doorbell.
There’s also a built-in battery in the Ring unit which can be charged using an included USB cable.
You can then check the battery level within the Ring app.
Connecting the device to your home wi-fi is a pretty straight-forward process and the app does a good job stepping you through it.
It took us a few tries to connect to our wi-fi network but once connected we didn’t have an issue.
We also paired the Ring unit to a Ring chime (available separately) so we could hear it like a regular doorbell as well as through the app. Ring Chime also had to be paired to our wi-fi network in the same way as the Ring doorbell.
Ring can also be connected to other smart products like locks, hubs and switches.
If connected to a smart lock, for example, you could unlock your door with the Ring app to allow someone in.
Ring is available now for $299 which includes 30 days of free cloud recording. Ring is available in four finishes – Satin Nickel, Antique Brass, Polished Brass, Venetian Bronze.
Also available are accessories like the Ring Chime ($59), Stick-Up Security Cam ($299), Solar Panel to power the Stick Up Cam ($79).
VERDICT
Ring is a great example of a product becoming even more useful with the addition of smart connectivity. It will add convenience to your life and also, more importantly, provide peace of mind about your home’s security.
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