Ring Mailbox Sensor Review

Editors Note: This is the most recent version of Ring Mailbox Sensor. Read our original review from November 18, 2020 below.

The latest member of the Ring family of smart home devices, the Ring Mailbox Sensor ($49.99 with the necessary bridge) is a wireless motion sensor that lets you know when your mailbox has been opened. It works with Ring security cameras and lights as well as Amazon Alexa. It is relatively easy to install, but it requires you to drill a hole in your mailbox and is not suitable for small mailboxes. For the same price you can install a Wyze Cam Outdoor near your mailbox and get the same alerts with video clips, and you can get camera trigger lights, cameras, and a host of other third-party smart devices.

Ring mailbox sensor design and characteristics

The mailbox sensor package includes a motion sensor, an antenna, a Wi-Fi bridge, various mounting hardware and tape, and a drill bit. The bridge uses the same ring smart lighting system that we reviewed last year. It measures 2.3 by 2.4 by 0.7 inches (HWD) and uses a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio to connect to your home network and an RF radio to communicate with the sensor. If you already have a bridge, you can buy the mailbox sensor yourself for $29.99 A single bridge can accommodate up to 50 Ring devices, including smart lights, mailbox sensors, and motion sensors, and you can only have one bridge per household.

The sensor comes in black or white and measures 1.4 by 2.4 by 2.5 inches (HWD). While this is not overly large for a typical home security motion sensor, it is on the large side for one that will be placed inside a mailbox (more on that later). The top of the sensor has a lens that provides a 120-degree motion sensing range of up to 15 feet, and the bottom has a small port for the antenna. It is powered by three AAA batteries (rated to last up to a year) which can be accessed by separating the top and bottom panels of the sensor. There is also a removable mounting plate on the bottom of the device. The antenna is a thin octagonal device that measures 0.2 by 2.5 by 2.5 inches and has a 17-inch cable that connects to the sensor.

When the mailbox door is opened, the sensor sends a motion signal to the antenna and the antenna sends the signal to the bridge. The bridge, which is connected to your Wi-Fi network, then sends an alert to your phone and triggers any linked Ring and Alexa devices. For this to work properly, the sensor is placed on the inside of your mailbox door and the antenna sits outside of it.

It uses the same mobile app (for Android and iOS) as all Ring devices. To get to the sensor’s control screen, open the app and tap the Lights tab (for some reason the sensor is automatically added to the lights group). Next, tap on the Mailbox Sensors tab. Here you’ll find a switch to turn motion alerts on and off and options to create motion alert schedules, set an alert snooze for 30 minutes or more (up to 4 hours), and edit or delete groups. You can view an event history log, check device health (online status, signal strength, firmware version) and link the sensor to other Ring devices.

Installing and Using the Ring Mailbox Sensor

Installing the mailbox sensor is fairly easy, but it does require some drilling. I already had a Ring account, but if this is your first Ring device, you’ll need to download the mobile app and create an account. I opened the app, tapped the three-bar icon in the top left corner, and tapped Set up a device. I selected Mailbox Sensor from the list of devices and chose my location for installation.

I was instructed to use my phone’s camera to scan the bridge and then place it in a location with a strong Wi-Fi signal. Once the bridge was powered on, I made sure the LED was flashing blue and waited a few seconds for the app to connect. I selected my Wi-Fi SSID and within 30 seconds the bridge connected to my network. Next, I tapped Setup a Smart Lighting Device and used my phone to scan the QR code on the sensor. The app asked me what type of mailbox I was using (metal or plastic) and instructed me to remove the cover behind the sensor and make sure the small switch was set for use with an external antenna. I inserted three AAA batteries (not included), replaced the cover, and tapped Continue. I gave the sensor a name and it was immediately added to my list of Ring devices and to my Alexa devices.

Next, I followed the instructions to install the sensor and antenna on my mailbox. Since the sensor is installed inside the mailbox door and the antenna is on the outside, you will need to drill a hole that will accommodate the antenna wire without damaging it through opening and closing the mailbox door. A detailed video on-screen instructions is included.

I have a small metal mailbox that measures 8.0 by 16.0 by 3.0 inches with a 16.0-by-3.0-inch flip-up lid. I drilled a hole in the side of the mailbox, inserted the wire and connected it to the sensor. Using the provided double-sided adhesive, I attached the sensor to the inside of the lid, but no matter where I placed the sensor I couldn’t get the lid to close completely. I managed to position it so that the lid was mostly closed and attached the antenna to the outside of the mailbox using double-sided adhesive. With the sensor and antenna installed, I configured the sensor’s motion settings, linked it to a ring stickup cam, and the installation was complete.

The mailbox sensor performed well in the test. Every time I open the mailbox lid I get a push alert and the Stick Up Cam starts recording every event according to the rules of my linked device. I created a routine to tell Alexa, “You’ve got mail,” every time the sensor was triggered, and it worked every time, too.

It’s worth mentioning that the first time my mailman delivered the mail with the sensor installed, he wouldn’t put my mail in the box. Instead he rang my doorbell and told me the mailbox was connected to some sort of device and, clearly worried, handed me my mail. I explained what it was and after that he was fine, but the setup seemed really suspicious.

What is the value of ring mailbox sensors?

If you want to know when your mail has been delivered, ring mailbox sensors are a relatively simple and cost-effective way to make it happen. It uses motion detection to understand when your mailbox has been opened and generates a push alert when triggered. While it doesn’t support the IFTTT applets that would allow it to work with third-party smart devices, it does work with Ring cameras and lights, and you can create a routine to let Alexa tell you when your mail has arrived. It’s easy enough to install, but you’ll need to drill a hole in your mailbox, and that might be too much for smaller mailboxes.

If you don’t want to change your mailbox, you can always install our Editors’ Choice winner for affordable outdoor cameras, Wyze Cam Outdoor, to monitor your mailbox. You have to use a separate app from Ring, but it’s the same price as the mailbox sensor and won’t tell you when the mailman is approaching, but will record the event and store the video clips for free.