Ring video doorbell wired review

Editors note: This is the most recent version of the Ring video doorbell cable. Read our original review from March 25, 2021 below.

Ring is practically synonymous with smart doorbells, and the $49.99 Ring Video Doorbell Wired is its smallest, most affordable model yet. As the name implies, it requires wiring, but it’s still fairly easy to install. It supports Amazon Alexa voice control and IFTTT applets, but access to recorded video and a handful of other features requires a Ring Protect subscription. For around $30, the Ezviz DB1C (also a wired doorbell) is a much better deal. It offers free intelligent alerts, local video storage, and a high-resolution image, retaining our Editors’ Choice award for affordable video doorbells.

Ring’s smallest doorbell

At 3.9 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches (HWD), the Video Doorbell Wired is a bit smaller than the Ring Video Doorbell Pro (4.5 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches) and the Ezviz DB1C (5.0 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches), but still a hair. Thicker than the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro (4.6 by 1.5 by 1.3 inches). It has a matte black finish with a glossy black face and a ring logo at the bottom of the bezel

The front of the doorbell features a 1080p camera, a microphone, and a circular 0.75-inch-wide call button surrounded by an LED ring that glows white during setup, glows solid white during normal operation, and turns blue when the button is pressed. The camera uses two infrared LEDs for black-and-white night vision and has a 155-degree horizontal field of view. Connectivity comes via a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio

The bottom edge of the doorbell has a speaker and a security screw opening, and the back panel has two wire terminals. The box includes two Torx security screws, a Torx screwdriver, mounting screws and anchors, a user guide, a quick start card, and a jumper cable to bypass your chime box. This doorbell doesn’t work with your existing timer, so if you want to hear in-house audio alerts, you’ll need to pair it with an Amazon Alexa device or buy a Ring Chime ($29.99). Alternatively, you can purchase a Ring Video Doorbell Wired + Chime Bundle for $79.99.

Live video, motion alerts, two-way talk, and lifetime theft protection are free, but you need a Ring Protect plan to view and share recorded video, capture snapshots, and use the People Only mode feature that filters all motion and only sends a Alerted when person is detected. The Basic plan costs $3 per month or $30 per year and gives you 60 days of video history for a single camera, while the Plus plan costs $10 per month or $100 per year and gives you 60 days of video history for all your Ring devices. .

The Video Doorbell Wired works with Alexa voice commands and will interact with numerous smart home devices via the IFTTT applet, but it doesn’t support Apple HomeKit or Google Assistant.

You use the same mobile app (for Android and iOS) to control the doorbell as you do for all other Ring devices. Video Doorbell Wired appears in its own panel on the home screen along with any other Ring products you have installed. The panel displays the name of the doorbell and a still image of the last captured motion event. Tapping the panel will take you to a screen where you can watch live video by pressing the Go Live arrow. Tap the box at the bottom right of the video screen to view it in full-screen mode

Just below the video panel is a timeline of motion and doorbell events that you can scroll through to view footage of a specific event, and below that are speaker mute and two-way talk buttons. The gear icon in the top right corner takes you to the doorbell settings screen where you can enable or disable ring alert, motion detection, and motion alert. Here you can also view your event history, configure home, away and geofencing settings, link the doorbell to other ring devices when motion is detected, configure motion sensitivity and motion scheduling, and change device settings including ringer volume and video. Recording length.

Relatively easy to install and use

Video doorbell wiring is easy to install, but if you’re not comfortable working with low-voltage doorbell wiring, you may want to find or hire someone who is a professional. I started by turning off the power to my doorbell at the breaker box and removing my old doorbell unit. I closed the ring doorbell cover, connected the two doorbell wires, and used the included mounting screws to attach the doorbell to the door frame. I then restored power to the circuit by snapping the cover back on the doorbell.

If this is your first Ring device, you’ll need to download the app and create an account. To pair the doorbell with the app, I tapped Set a Device in the menu, selected Doorbell, and used my phone’s camera to scan the QR code on the Quick Start card. I entered my address, gave the device a name, and verified that I didn’t need to install the jumper cable If you need a jumper to draw power from your existing chime box, you can see the installation instructions at this point. After that, I verified that the setup light was on and confirmed that the doorbell was connected within a few seconds. I selected my Wi-Fi SSID, entered my Wi-Fi password, and the doorbell was paired with the app and automatically added to my Alexa device list.

Video doorbells delivered solid results in wired tests. Daytime video was sharp, with good color quality, while black-and-white night vision showed solid contrast and uniform lighting. There was some barrel distortion, but that’s fairly common with doorbell cameras and doesn’t distort the overall image.

The doorbell responded instantly to button presses and the internal chime was loud enough. Once I tweaked the sensitivity settings the motion detection works well, and the people only mode feature works as intended. Alerts arrived immediately, and I had no problem viewing video from the doorbell on the Amazon Echo Show using Alexa voice commands.

Are the most affordable ring doorbells worth it?

At $49.99, the Ring Video Doorbell Wired provides an affordable way to see who’s at your door without leaving your couch. It’s easy to install and delivers sharp 1080p video, and it works with many other smart devices. That said, you’ll need to pay for a subscription to view, save, and share recorded videos and only use the People Mode feature. Our Editors’ Choice winner for affordable doorbells, the Ezviz DC1B, may cost a few dollars more, but it offers a sharper UHD image, dual-band Wi-Fi, cloud and local video storage, and support for Google Assistant. Alexa and IFTTT. If you want to go wireless, meanwhile, the Ring Video Doorbell (2020) offers similar functionality to the wired model but with a built-in battery for $99.99.