Ring Doorbell

RING DOORBELL–UPDATE 3 – Upgrade from Doorbell 2 to 4

Please refer to my previous posts about my Ring Doorbell:

https://whysun.com/home/ring-doorbell-update-no-2/

https://whysun.com/home/ring-doorbell-update-chime-pro-wi-fi-extender-problems/

https://whysun.com/uncategorized/ring-doorbell/

I finally gave in and bought the Ring Doorbell 4. NOT that there was anything bad about the Ring Doorbell 2, especially after the Wi-Fi problems were resolved (See RING DOORBELL UPDATE No 2 ).

The main reason was that Ring sent me an Email offering a 25% Christmas discount and, apparently, I have more money than sense.

The upgrade was easy. You do get better video and a “pre roll” (you are given video of a few seconds before the detected motion) plus some other things. I turned on HDR video and this improves the quality of the videos. I now have 3 batteries so battery life is not an issue.

However, there are 4 things that I noted that may be of interest.

No 1 – Ring Plans

Having a plan is more or less essential. The basic plan for one camera device is AUD$40 per year – About AUD$0-77c per week.

Having a plan provides a number of facilities but the main one is the ability to download and save video. You could get by without one, but at 77cents a week – WHY??

I thought that my plan was attached to my Ring Account and that I could simply transfer to the new Doorbell. I don’t think this is the case. The plan appears to be attached to the device. I looked around on the site but in the end I could not find any alternative but to cancel the old plan and start a new plan for the new Doorbell. This is NOT an issue as I was given a full pro rata refund and I also was given a free month for the new device.

No 2 – Microsoft Store App

The Microsoft Store Ring App will be discontinued an the end of this month. However the new Doorbell 4 will not show on the App so mine is finished a couple of weeks early. PLEASE RING update the account web site as promised to full functionality. (A note on the App in the Microsoft Store advises that the App will be discontinued at the end of December but the web site will be upgraded to replace the App.)

No 3 – IoT Devices ( “IoT” – Internet of Things – Various devices that connect to the internet so that you can control them via an App on a phone etc.)

When I was setting up the new Doorbell, at first it would not connect to the Chime Pro. It suggested that I connect to my router. I did that and after an update it all worked as it should. (I should say that everything you buy these days requires an immediate update.)

HOWEVER, when I connected, it did not require the Wi-Fi password for that particular router. The App remembered it. THIS IS A REMINDER for one of the many reasons why you should have all IoT devices on a separate Wi-Fi Network. I only have 2 IoT devices – My Ring Doorbell and my Solar Electricity. They have their own router with a different SSID / IP address.

No 4 – Packaging

The Doorbell 4 package is less than half the size of the Doorbell 2.

They saved space by having the battery in the doorbell (with plastic protectors over the contacts) and by omitting things:

Only one extra (Corner) mount comes with Doorbell 4– There are 3 different mounts in the Doorbell 2;
The masonry bit is not in the 4;
The little level is not included in the 4;
Extra Face Plate (different colour) comes with Doorbell 2 but not with 4.

All of these items can be bought separately for a few dollars and I did not use any of them.

The Doorbell 4 screwed into the same holes that I made for the Doorbell 2.

Also, both have a screw driver for the special security screw for the battery but the Doorbell 4 is not reversable like the Phillips Head/Security screw with the Doorbell 2.

FINAL THOUGHT – WAS IT WORTH IT. The Pre Roll is worth the upgrade. I have tested it and it works well.

RING DOORBELL UPDATE – CHIME PRO WI-FI EXTENDER PROBLEMS–UPDATED MAY 21

REFER UPDATE NO 2 – Wi-Fi problems appear to be fixed. RING DOORBELL UPDATE No 2 – Whycal’s Blog (whysun.com)

The previous comments in my post about the Ring Doorbell 2 have generally not changed but, after about 12 months of use, I have some comments to add.

CONS – Delay of 6/8 seconds App Response.

This negative feature has been less of a problem than I first thought. Callers seem to wait for a response well beyond the delay time and, if they become impatient, they tend to press the doorbell again. I have not had anyone leave before I got to the door.

Therefore, I will remove this from the “CONS” and put it in a new “SHOULD BE AWARE OF” list.

CHIME PRO WI-FI EXTENDER CARE! UPDATE MAY 21 – SIMILAR ISSUES WITH NETGEAR EXTENDER SUGGESTS THE DOORBELL 2 IS THE PROBLEM

On the other hand, I have found an issue with the Wi-Fi extender built into the Ring Chime Pro that, at least in my case, is an addition to the “CONS”

After further observations, the issues with Wi-Fi seem to be related to the Doorbell 2.

RSSI – Explanation – The Ring Apps (Health) show the strength of the Wi-Fi signal measured as RSSI.

RSSI stands for Received Signal Strength Indicator. It is a measure of the strength of the Wi-Fi signal being received by the device. More correctly, it measures the loss as the values are a MINUS figure. Consequently, the closer the value is to Zero, the stronger (or better) the signal. Zero would be full strength (i.e. no loss) and minus 100 is no signal (full loss).

An RSSI of say minus 55 or better is considered “Good” for most normal use cases. Minus 56 to say Minus 60 is still good enough. Minus 60 to minus 70 is reasonable or OK while minus 70 and lower is not so good and lower than minus 80 is bad.

When connected directly to my Router via Wi-Fi, the Doorbell shows an RSSI of around minus 73 but it still works well.

Even so, I decided to install a Wi-Fi extender, so I bought a Chime Pro and located it between the router and the doorbell but closer to the doorbell – about 1 metre or 3 feet away from the doorbell. The signal strength received by the Chime Pro was minus 50 (or better).

I then connected the Doorbell to the Chime Pro. This was easy using the Ring App on my phone.

When the connection was complete, the Doorbell RSSI was good – under Minus 50. I then forgot about but, after several weeks, I noticed that the Doorbell had lost its connection to the Chime Pro. I turned off the power to the Chime Pro, waited a minute or so, then turned it back on and the Doorbell re-connected automatically.

I then began to regularly check the Wi-Fi for both the Chime Pro and the Doorbell.

The Chime Pro connection to the router remained strong but the connection from the Chime Pro to the Doorbell began to deteriorate and after a couple of weeks it was no better than the original connection direct to the router. Dropouts between the Chime Pro and the Doorbell also occurred occasionally. The same issue has now become apparent with the Netgear Wi-Fi Extender.

The most annoying drop out occurred while I was in North Queensland over Christmas. (Lock downs for travel within the state had been lifted.) The Ring Doorbell was disconnected from the internet for a couple of days and, without physical access to the device, I could not do anything about it. Luckily, there was a power blackout from a thunderstorm and, when the power came back on, the Doorbell reconnected automatically to the Chime Pro.

I was not at all happy with this and on return, re-connected the Doorbell directly to the router. Dropouts ceased and it seemed to operate well, even with a low RSSI of around minus 73. I did not leave it attached to the main router long enough to state that dropouts had ceased.

I then remembered that I had a Netgear AC750 Wi-Fi Range Extender (Model EX3700), so I set it up and attached the Doorbell to this device.

This resulted in an immediate ~~and~~ permanent improvement in the Doorbell RSSI to minus 50 (or better) with no dropouts in the last couple of months. After a while, deterioration in RSSI as well as dropouts also started to occur with the Netgear Extender.

The Netgear Extender is about the same price as a Chime Pro and, in my case, performs much better as a Wi-Fi extender. I have a standard Chime plus the Chime Pro and I now use the Chime Pro solely as a Chime ringer.

I don’t know if I just got a bad device but – once bitten, twice shy. Internet searches suggest that the issue is with the Doorbell not the Chime Pro.

Checked reviews on the Chime Pro on various sites and it gets generally favourable reviews (4 out of 5 stars). However, the less favourable reviews can best be summed up by the heading on one – “Chime works – Wi-Fi Extender sucks”.

That is my experience, but it is definitely not the majority consensus. I have changed my mind about which device is causing the problem.

AND to be fair, other brands of Wi-Fi extenders have similar reviews.

My conclusion:

Going on the generally favourable reviews, I must have been unlucky with the extender function in my Chime Pro.

However, I will keep using my Netgear Extender and, in future, probably not risk buying another Chime Pro to use as a Wi-Fi extender.

UPDATE May 21

Exactly the same issues have started to occur with the Netgear Extender prompting the conclusion that the Wi-Fi problem is with the Doorbell 2 rather than the Wi-Fi extenders.

I note that the Doorbell 3 is advertised as having enhanced Wi-Fi, but I assumed that this related to the Doorbell 3 having both 5GHz and 2.4 GHz bands.

There is a new Doorbell 4 coming out in a few days and some retailers are discounting the Doorbell 3. ~~Since I have more money than sense, I will replace the 2 with a 3 and see if this improves the situation. I will provide further reports in a couple of months.~~ I have read the unfavourable reviews of The Doorbell 3 and it has similar complaints about Wi-Fi as the Doorbell 2. Therefore, I will wait for the Doorbell 4 to come out to see if people keep complaining about this issue before I spend more money.

NOTE – I can’t find a Doorbell 4 in stock at any local retailer. I’ll keep looking but, in the meantime, if I go away for a few days or more I will first:

Remove the Chime Pro from the power for a minute or so (eventhough I no longer think it is the problem): and
Remove the battery from the Doorbell 2 and replace with a new fully charged battery so that it is turned off completely. This will re-establish a fresh Wi-Fi connection.

It takes time before the Wi-Fi issues start to occur.

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.