According to one report, Ring’s video doorbells account for nearly 40 percent of the market, and it’s not hard to see why: the Amazon-owned company literally invented the category, and thanks to bundles with Amazon Echo devices, they can often be had for cheap. Still, the company must be feeling the pinch from lower-priced competitors. It’s also much smaller, which makes it easier to install on narrow doors.
The Ring Video Doorbell Wired is the company’s smallest wired doorbell that doesn’t require a battery and has a 1080p sensor and standard motion detection. It’s slim and attractive, and you should have no trouble attaching it to most door frames. You no longer have a choice of front panels with this model; it comes with a black one. To be fair, this is a cheap product and Ring is trying to reduce the amount of plastic it produces. So if you prefer a different color, the company offers alternative faceplates.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]While Ring usually includes a transformer with its wired products, this model doesn’t. It works with an 8-24 VAC transformer, so if you already have a wired doorbell, this model should work with it. If not, Ring offers a compatible DIN rail transformer that can be installed near your consumer unit. Or you can purchase the Ring plug-in adapter and use a regular plug instead.
If you already have wiring, you will need to bypass your existing wired ring, as the doorbell will not work with one. This is a new feature on all Ring products, and even the more expensive Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 does not support wired rings. Once you’ve selected your power source and routed the cables, all you have to do is connect them to the ports on the back of the doorbell. Once powered up, connect the doorbell to your Wi-Fi via the Ring app. It only supports 2.4 GHz wireless, so make sure you have a strong signal near your front door.
Although the Ring Video Doorbell Wired is inexpensive, it doesn’t skimp on features. It has pretty much the same options as the original Ring Video Doorbell Pro. First of all, as a wired device, it uses the camera’s sensor to detect motion. This allows you to set activity zones where you select the area of the image to monitor; motion outside of these zones is ignored. This is usually better than using a PIR motion sensor, as is the case with the battery-powered products, although the more expensive Pro 2 camera also has radar so you can adjust the motion detection distance.
You can also reduce the number of alerts with some other settings Ring provides. First, you can set when you want to receive notifications. The camera will still record, you just won’t know about it. People notifications – which are available with a Ring Protect cloud subscription – are also worth it. They’re pretty accurate, as you’ll only get an alert when a person is spotted, though all movement is recorded.