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NFT: Ring Doorbell

TampaGMan : 11/29/2016 11:09 am
Has anyone had any experience with the Ring Doorbell? I would like some opinions from members who have had experience with this or similar products.
I've tried them all (well, most)  
jcn56 : 11/29/2016 11:41 am : link
IMO, none are ready for prime time, but the Ring is probably the closest. If you're serious, I'd consider ponying up the extra coin to get the Pro, because while both are lacking in the motion sensing dept, the standard model doesn't have the adjustable sensitivity the pro does, and if you're anywhere near the street/sidewalk you're going to either have to reduce the sensitivity to the point where you'll miss valid activity or deal with a ton of false positives.

I didn't like the fact that you have to pay for cloud service to make it worth your while, the Skybell device was better in that respect.

Both Skybell and Ring seem like they're close, with the next iteration probably being the one that irons out enough of the kinks to make it worthwhile. I didn't like the August bell at all, bad combo of buggy software and inflexible, and the installation process was a bit worse.
I looked into these, but what makes me hesitate  
montanagiant : 11/29/2016 11:59 am : link
Is that they are pricey for covering only one approach to the house when compared to something like an Arlo, and I don't see how they would deter anyone but the casual thief.
I have one and I'm not impressed  
Gman11 : 11/29/2016 12:27 pm : link
Most of the time, by the time the motion sensor picks something up the person is leaving or the vehicle that it picked up has already gone by. If a delivery person leaves something at your door, you'll usually get the video of them walking back to their vehicle.

The doorbell itself is slow in that the video doesn't show up right away. We've had people leave by the time we got the video in order to speak to them through the Ring.

We're lucky that we live in a cul-de-sac. If you live on a busy street you'll get a lot of motion detection from cars passing by and people walking by. I have mine set at 5 feet, but it still picks up vehicles in the street, which is a good 25-30 feet away.

If I had to do it over I would buy a regular door bell and, if I wanted the security, I'd install a security camera.
Put me in the minority - I LOVE it  
Shecky : 11/29/2016 12:44 pm : link
Is the tech perfected yet, of course not. But ask why you want one. Most people have an expectation of a wow factor that no doorbell l4 camera will meet...

Pro if you can hardware yours is a no brainer. If you can't hardware, get the older model.
If you don't have an incredibly strong signal right outside your front door, get a wifi extender and put it as close to your door as possible (that will solve probably most of complaints)
Assume you have to upgrade your transformer to a 16-24v. That would solve the rest of complaints.
Take the time to adjust the settings and sensitive for the first week or two.

I've slowly gotten into home automation and LOVE it. None of the tech is perfect. But keep playing with it and adjusting it.
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