REFER UPDATE and Update No 2 – Problems appear to be fixed RING DOORBELL UPDATE No 2 – Whycal’s Blog (whysun.com)
A few months ago, I bought a Ring Doorbell 2. The main reason for buying one was the superseded model (Ring Doorbell 2) was on sale at about a 50% discount. The latest model has better Wi-Fi, video, and motion detection BUT not that much better – an upgrade rather than a significant improvement.
Therefore, I went ahead and bought a Ring Doorbell 2, a Chime Pro to amplify the ring and improve the Wi-Fi reception plus a spare battery (see below for why I recommend a spare battery); AND I also paid AUD$40 for an annual subscription.
SUBSCRIPTION
NOTE for RING devices to be of real use you do need the subscription that provides storage, downloading and sharing of video. The subscription is cheap – AUD$4 per month OR AUD$40 per year to save video for 60 days for 1 video recording device (not including non-video devices like the Chime – a ringer extender – or the Chime Pro that includes a Wi-Fi extender as well).
At AUD$40 per year it is well worthwhile. If you have more than one video recording device, it jumps to $150 per year. However, most people only have one eligible device. This means you have 60 days, to download and save any particular video to your computer.
PROS
- Excellent Video quality (Doorbell 2 that is – The 3 is said to be even better)
- Excellent night vision video
- Starts recording in about 1 or 2 seconds of detecting movement
- Field of detection is good and adjustable
- Spare second battery is cheap and easy to swap
- Easy to set up via the App
- Even if you are not at home, you can talk to people at the door via the App.
CONS
- Battery life
- App Response time – It takes about 6/7 seconds for the App on a phone or computer to respond. (NOTE – it starts recording the video almost immediately) CARE SEE UPDATE
FURTHER COMMENT ON CONS
Battery Life.
The advertised battery life is variable, but 6 months is what you will mostly see in adds. However, my experience is about 3 months.
PLEASE NOTE that any problem with battery life can be easily mitigated by purchase of a cheap second (spare) re-chargeable battery. SO, THIS IS NOT REALLY AN ISSUE. Swapping the battery is easy and, with a spare, you don’t have to wait several hours to charge it. Just charge the spare first and swap it in seconds.
Battery life can vary depending on the number of notifications the doorbell sends, strength of the Wi-Fi connection and cold temperatures. (Cold weather is not an issue where I live.) The number of notifications can be reduced by changing the detection range and field and, if the Wi-Fi signal is weak, you can buy a Chime Pro which not only amplifies the ring but acts as a Wi-Fi extender.
At first, I had mine adjusted to detect cars going past in our quiet street. It turned me into a “sticky beak” – but I lost interest quickly and adjusted it back to my letter box so I can be notified when the postman comes. I get most of my mail electronically so visits from the postman are infrequent.
As stated, the battery life issue is easily remedied by the second spare battery and you get an email when it is time to charge the battery (at 20% level).
App Response time. SEE UPDATE
I assume the delay of about 7 seconds is because it sends to a server and the server sends back notifications to the App and Chimes. The doorbell connects to the internet via your Wi-Fi, but it does not connect directly to other devices on the network. In fact, I have it on a separate network on a different subnet IP address. I have a good internet connection (always at or near my plan of 50/20 Mbps) and the Health Widget on the App reports that the Wi-Fi signal to the doorbell is good.
Seven seconds is not long BUT some of those parcel delivery people move like greased lightning. However, if you get to the door quickly, you can usually get them before they escape to the truck.
Even though the video starts recording almost immediately, the delay for the App and the Chimes to respond, while not a deal breaker, is an issue. When I look at the video later, you can see some people start to look around and contemplate leaving but as soon as they hear the chime go off, they relax. I want to say that the Australia Post people must be aware of the delay as you can tell from the video that they expect to wait a few seconds after they press the doorbell.
SUMMARY
I am glad I bought it and recommend it particularly if you work and are not at home during the day. Both the doorbell and the Chime (with Wi-Fi extender) were easy to install and set up via the App.
Definitely factor in the cost of the subscription but AUD$40 per year (AUD $0.76c a week) is nothing and well worth it.
Overall, I am happy with my Ring Doorbell. Although, now you will probably have to pay full price for the latest model (Ring Doorbell 3) as, after a quick search, I can’t see any cheap version 2 models still for sale.