Last year, my friend told me about her Ring Doorbell.  I didn’t even know what it was, but she was able to watch a live video of the mailman at the door from her smartphone.  There are so many instances where I kept thinking it would be awesome to have a Ring Doorbell, so not long after, we got one for the holidays.

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Ring Video Doorbell

There are several models of the Ring video doorbell, and they also have other products like security cameras.

Ring Doorbell

It was recommended to me to get the wired model so that you don’t have to worry about recharging, so we purchased the Ring Video Doorbell Pro.

Ring Doorbell

My husband installed the doorbell, and started by removing our old doorbell and rewiring in the Ring Pro.  At first, it seemed to work, but then it was having issues connecting, which turned out to be a power supply issue.  Our doorbell was 8 volts, and the doorbell needs 16, so my husband was able to make some electrical changes to get it to work.

Once the doorbell is hardwired (or your rechargeable version is set up), you can sync the doorbell with the Ring app.  The first month is free, and then it is $3 per month.

Ring records motion and doorbell rings.  You can adjust the motion sensor area so that it isn’t picking up every little thing (like cars passing by).  You can also choose which notifications you receive and the notification sounds.  I have it set to get a jingling noise when the doorbell detects motion, and a ring when someone actually rings the bell.

One of the things I love about Ring is that I can make a decision about answering the door.  There were times I had just finished a shower or was sick in bed and gone to a lot of effort to answer the door, only to find it was someone trying to sell lawn care or other products.  Now, I can choose if I need to answer the door or not.

Here are some stills from recent video captures:

This is us heading out for chores.

Ring Doorbell

Package delivery.

Ring Doorbell

UPS delivery.  This way we can also monitor boxes that are left on the porch.

Ring Doorbell

Ring has night vision, so you have surveillance at night, too.

Ring Doorbell

The mailman placing a package on the porch.

Ring Doorbell

Sometimes I check the live view feed, too.  For example, I woke up early one morning and wanted to see how much snow we had without actually getting up and looking outside.

Ring Doorbell

There are so many reasons I love the doorbell.  Ever been in the middle of a project or in the shower and the doorbell rings?  You can easily keep an eye on things from wherever you are.  You can also use the doorbell as an intercom, so let’s say you are at work but you need to talk to whoever is at the door – you can do that!

It also makes it easy to keep track of all the comings and goings.  Let’s say I head out to an event but I’m wondering if my husband is back from the grocery store, or we are waiting for guests to arrive – we can keep track of it with the app notifications.

I had fun checking out some of the videos that customers shared at Ring.com (here).  My favorites are the criminals caught in the act and the animals!

Pros: adds a level of security to my home, I can keep track of people coming and going, I can talk to people at the door. Pretty easy to install and no issues.

Cons: a little expensive, service is $3+ a month (but worth it), movements from things like animals or wind can set off motion sensor.

We bought our Ring Doorbell at Walmart, but you can find it at many retailers, including Amazon.com.


Save $10 when you download the Ring app here! https://download.ring.com/GnMK/gQKML5SKQJ