Ring Video Doorbell tips and tricks: Become the ultimate Ring master

(Pocket-lint) - Ring is 1 of the stars of the astute home, with the Video Doorbell being 1 of those connected devices that everyone wants. 

The Ring Video Doorbell volition marque your beforehand doorway a connected experience, providing smartphone notifications, allowing two-way connection arsenic good arsenic capturing video of everyone who comes to your door.

But there's a batch much to it than that. Make definite you're a Ring maestro with our broad tips and tricks.

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Basic Ring tips and tricks 

Do I request immoderate tools for installation? The battery-powered Ring Video Doorbell is the astir communal instrumentality radical take and the tools you request for installation travel successful the box. You mightiness request a drill depending connected wherever you privation to instal it, but different everything is provided, including wedge mounts. If you're aft a Pro model, you'll request to cheque the existing wiring.

Which Ring Video Doorbell should I buy? That depends what you need. There's the basal Video Doorbell, the older Video Doorbell 2, caller Video Doorbell 3 and 3 Plus, Video Doorbell 4, the Video Doorbell Pro and the Door View Cam. The Pro needs a wired transportation portion the others tally connected batteries. You tin find a afloat comparison of devices close here, but the Ring Video Doorbell 4 volition beryllium the apical prime for many.

Do I request a smartphone to usage Ring? You'll request a compatible smartphone to setup your Ring Video Doorbell. One of the benefits of having a Ring video doorbell is that you get those alerts connected your phone. But if the phones are retired of the house, the Ring Video Doorbell volition inactive ring.

Do I request a Ring Chime? The Ring Chime oregon Ring Chime Pro is simply a abstracted chime/bell for your Ring doorbell. It's not essential, but it volition let you to person the doorbell chime successful different rooms of the location truthful you're not babelike connected smartphone alerts. 

Can you usage an existing chime with Ring? Yes. If you person a wired doorbell that you're replacing with Ring, you tin link your Ring Video Doorbell to support utilizing your AC chime. Refer to the installation instructions oregon the enactment conception of the Ring website for much information.

Create a abstracted Wi-Fi web for your Ring devices: This is a basic astute location information measure. If you tin make a 2nd Wi-Fi web from your router, it's worthy separating your astute location devices from the mean web you'd usage for devices similar phones, tablets and laptops. Should you person a information breach done your astute location device, this mightiness bounds entree to different accusation connected your network. 

Can I usage Ring without a subscription? Yes you can. There's a escaped level of monitoring with nary further cost. That volition let each the connected features of Ring, but won't prevention immoderate video for you to entree aboriginal - it's unrecorded oregon nothing. The Protect Basic program offers 30 time online retention for each video captured astatine £2.50/$3 a month. If you person aggregate Ring devices, you mightiness request the Protect Plus program astatine £8/$10 a month.

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Ring information and privacy

Ring tin spot what's going connected astir your home, truthful you privation to marque definite that your relationship is unafraid too. 

How to alteration Ring two-factor authentication: Two-factor authentication means that you request much than conscionable a password to entree your relationship - you'll request a codification sent to your smartphone too. You tin alteration this successful the relationship 2nd done the Ring website, oregon successful the Control Center conception of the Ring app.

How to region Ring entree from devices: If you've authenticated a batch of devices implicit clip with Ring, but person nary thought what those devices present are, you tin region them each from your relationship successful Control Center. Just caput into the app and you'll spot "authorised lawsuit devices". There's the enactment to "remove all" present - but retrieve you'll past person to login connected devices you privation to assistance entree to Ring.

Allow constabulary entree to your videos: If you're successful the US, there's an enactment successful Control Center to let requests if the constabulary privation to entree a video successful your area. This mightiness beryllium to stitchery grounds of a transgression - but you person to assistance support to the petition to let that to happen.

Managing question detection and alerts connected Ring 

Have alerts unfastened afloat surface video: If you truly privation to spot what's happening, you tin person immoderate alert unfastened arsenic afloat surface video connected your mobile device. Head into the app menu, find your instrumentality and click the settings cog apical right. Here's the enactment to crook on. 

Enable affluent notifications successful the Ring app: This volition mean you don't request to unfastened the app to spot what's happening, it volition springiness you a preview successful the notifications. Head into the Ring app, devices, and unfastened the device. Then prime astute notifications and crook connected affluent notifications.

How to crook disconnected question notifications: You tin crook disconnected question notifications, but inactive person question recorded. Head into the Ring app and you'll find options for question alerts successful the Video Doorbell, arsenic good arsenic for your Chimes. You tin crook disconnected those alerts if you don't privation them.

Customise the question seizure scope and area: You tin prime zones that you privation question detection for. That mightiness beryllium to exclude an country with passing traffic, for example. Head into the app menu, prime your device, past question settings. Here you tin alteration the range, zone, frequence oregon usage the wizard. 

Put question detection connected a schedule: While astatine location you mightiness not request question detection, but mightiness similar it erstwhile you're retired astatine work. Head into the advaced settings successful question detection and you tin specify times and days to person question detection turned on.

Snooze your question alerts: If you person a batch of radical coming and going - possibly you're loading the car oregon person the doorway unfastened for a enactment - past you tin snooze the question alerts done the app. Head into the settings, find your devices and deed snooze the due magnitude of time. You'll besides get this enactment done notifications connected Android devices.

Ring Video Doorbell artillery tips and tricks 

With the Video Doorbell and the Video Doorbell 2/3/4 there's an interior artillery whereas the Ring Video Doorbell Pro is wired. On the Ring Video Doorbell 2/3/4, this artillery is removable, making for casual artillery management.

How agelong does the Ring artillery last? The artillery beingness of the Ring Video Doorbell depends connected however often it is utilized and however galore question alerts it detects. That mightiness beryllium a mates of months, but successful a busier house, it mightiness beryllium a mates of weeks. The upwind besides makes a large difference, reducing the beingness arsenic it gets colder. 

How bash I cheque the artillery life? There's a ocular icon successful the app, but if you caput into the instrumentality settings and pat connected "device health", you'll get a due artillery percentage. As your artillery depletes, you'll get alerts to archer you it is low.

Turn crook question detection to prolong battery: If you find the artillery isn't lasting long, past switching to a lighter question detection frequence volition springiness you a amended life. Whether that's suitable depends connected what you privation detection for and if you person different information devices.

Does the Ring Video Doorbell enactment with a level battery? No, if you person the Ring Video Doorbell oregon the Ring Video Doorbell 2/3/4 it needs the battery. If the artillery is flat, you get nary effect from it - nary rings, nary alerts, nary notifications, nary sounds. 

Can I bargain a spare Ring Video Doorbell battery? You tin and you should. There's nary accelerated charging connected the artillery pack, truthful it takes a fig of hours to afloat complaint the battery. You tin get spare batteries truthful you tin support 1 afloat charged. 

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Turn disconnected mobile video access: This is different enactment successful the app settings that volition sphere artillery beingness - accessing the unrecorded video provender uses a batch of power. 

Using Ring with different devices

Use the desktop app to enactment connected: When sitting astatine your desk, oregon gaming with headphones, the desktop app is simply a batch much convenient than utilizing your telephone each the time. It volition bring those alerts to your computer. You tin download the app here for Mac, Windows, iOS oregon Android.

Use Alexa to presumption Ring Video: Alexa supports Ring and the Echo Show and Spot (and Fire Tablets with Alexa) tin presumption the Ring video feed. Simply install the Ring Skill done the Alexa app to alteration linking. Then you tin inquire Alexa to amusement your Ring Video Doorbell connected an Echo Show oregon similar. 

Answer your doorway with Echo Show oregon Echo Spot: When your doorbell is pressed, you tin inquire Alexa to reply the doorway - conscionable accidental "Alexa, reply the beforehand door" and you'll beryllium capable to speech to whoever is astatine the door. If it's not working, effort uninstalling the Ring Alexa accomplishment and reinstalling.

Use Alexa Routines to make customized actions: Ring is present 1 of the devices supported by Alexa Routines. This means you tin person Alexa execute peculiar actions erstwhile question is detected oregon the doorbell is pressed. That mightiness beryllium alteration a airy colour oregon marque a customized announcement. You tin acceptable them up successful your Alexa app, with afloat instructions here.

Create customized Ring actions with IFTTT: Ring is besides IFTTT compatible, meaning you tin nexus your relationship and make customized actions with different IFTTT devices oregon services. Custom recipes see lowering your Sonos measurement erstwhile idiosyncratic rings the doorbell, pausing your TiVo, oregon possibly signaling connected your Arlo camera - oregon creating your ain recipe. You tin find each the details here.

Using Ring with Google Home: Google won't bash arsenic overmuch with Ring arsenic Alexa will, but you tin inactive usage dependable to crook connected signaling oregon crook disconnected question alerts. You can't presumption the unrecorded watercourse however, truthful you mightiness privation to see Nest Hello alternatively if you're tied into the Google system.

Writing by Chris Hall. Editing by Britta O'Boyle. Originally published connected 1 February 2019.