RING Doorbell WiFi range

[nbstl68]

So, I'm not a big believer in all the RING products but my sister bought the RING2 doorbell for my mom, (who is 82 and will never remember what to do with it on the smart phone she bought her last year that she can hardly use). I have been volunteered the tech support as usual. Well, I hooked it up, finally got it to connect to the Wifi router and...it's crap. The connection that is. The front door is literally no more than maybe five feet away from the room the router sits in and still has issues trying to access and keep the signal. The wall between the office and the front door is standard construction wood and vinyl siding.
It is a new AT&T Wifi router \ AP with sustained 30-40Mbps. I get a signal fine on my phone there and further in the house, yet the RING doorbell cannot stay connected.

This means ring the bell and maybe it sends the message to her phone but more often than not the little light on the bell just spins and either the phone app does nothing as it does not get the notice or it shows the pop up message then when clicked it goes to a gray blurr with a spinning icon then eventually closes.

If you try to ring the doorbell again while this is going on nothing happens.

So IMO this makes it totally useless when this happens at least 50% of the time.

Also had to turn off the separate motion sensing trigger...Every car passing would trigger it even when set on the short range...but then it is not fast enough to catch anything. So she would get a motion notice and a video of nothing would pop up because the car had passed the narrow line of site view before the dumb doorbell could start recording the motion it detected. I could not find any settings for pre-record.


Any thoughts on how to make this work properly or really be anything more than just an annoyance for her since I cannot send it back?

 

[giomania]

Maybe check to ensure the doorbell transformer is providing the required voltage?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[mat200]

Hi nbstl

Sounds like your wifi should be good enough.

I think giomania's suggestion is a critical one to look closer at. Also see if there is anything else on the wires - sometimes older intercom / fancy chime doorbells are problematic.
iirc there is also an optional resistordiode in the kit for some situations.

update: checked the Ring kits include diodes in the kit for use with some setups

 

[nbstl68]

Thanks I am not sure how to check that. The doorbell triggers as it did before the RING doorbell was installed. Live video and IR work. I'd imagine if both those are powered correctly the voltage should be OK (plus is has the full charged battery).
Could the RING's WiFi radio or whatever it is called needs more power for reception if that's even a thing?
I am bringing over my ASUS N56U WiFi router and going to connect it as well to see if it makes any difference but I don't think the WiFi signal would be an issue that close...just want to rule it out.

Any way to pre-trigger video a few seconds that I have missed? The whole notifuy on motion detect thing would be pretty useful for spotting package thief's or people walking near the house without ringing the bell but annoying when triggering on every car then showing nothing.

 

[giomania]

My suggestions are based on issues with a HikVision doorbell I have been watching for months. Same form factor as a ring using the same power methodology. I don’t think anyone can get around the physics, design challenges, and economics of these products, so I think the advice Matt and I are giving you apply.

And Wi-Fi is one of the major heartaches on the HikVision doorbell, with some requiring an access point on the other side of the wall, not that this is the case with the Ring.

Your idea to try another AP is wise; maybe bring it home to bench test if that is easier?

That doesn’t work for the Wi-Fi issues, as that is entirely dependent on the specific installation variables.




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[nbstl68]

Well, I tried the ASUS wifi router and basically the same issue.
I thought to use a WiFi analyzer app on my cell phone. I was also setting up a wireless VOIP box in a bedroom on the far side of the house.

No idea how accurate these apps are but at the RING doorbell it was showing low -30's. At the back bedroom I was getting high -40'sdBm. Both according to the app are very strong, basically almost maximum signal strengths.

The VOIP handles HD quality phone calls well and clearly...That has to use a lot more throughput than a RING doorbell which keeps hanging up (light just spins while it attempts to conenct to its server through wifi...aka You sit there and do not get a vido on your phone ap as it just hangs also.

My only assumption here is the WiFi antenna \ radio or whatever it is called in the RING unit itself is crap.
I had the same issue trying to set up the WiFi RING plug in chime. I set it up initially in the same room as the router and took several tries for it to connect.

I don't know what to do. If it does not work 100% of the time correctly I consider it pretty much a waste. I'd return it if I could but my sister bought it at Christmas and it was just installed by me this week so no one's taking it back.
Very disappointed in this.

 

[fenderman]

Well, I tried the ASUS wifi router and basically the same issue.
I thought to use a WiFi analyzer app on my cell phone. I was also setting up a wireless VOIP box in a bedroom on the far side of the house.

No idea how accurate these apps are but at the RING doorbell it was showing low -30's. At the back bedroom I was getting high -40'sdBm. Both according to the app are very strong, basically almost maximum signal strengths.

The VOIP handles HD quality phone calls well and clearly...That has to use a lot more throughput than a RING doorbell which keeps hanging up (light just spins while it attempts to conenct to its server through wifi...aka You sit there and do not get a vido on your phone ap as it just hangs also.

My only assumption here is the WiFi antenna \ radio or whatever it is called in the RING unit itself is crap.
I had the same issue trying to set up the WiFi RING plug in chime. I set it up initially in the same room as the router and took several tries for it to connect.

I don't know what to do. If it does not work 100% of the time correctly I consider it pretty much a waste. I'd return it if I could but my sister bought it at Christmas and it was just installed by me this week so no one's taking it back.
Very disappointed in this.

Post this issue on their Facebook page with a link to this thread.

 

[nbstl68]

Thanks...Did not know about that.

 

[Michael Graves]

I can't speak to the Ring,Ring 2 or Ring Pro devices...but their predecessor was called DoorBot and it was utterly worthless. Extremely poor RF design. It could not stay on Wi-Fi in many installations. I blogged about it here: Guides & How-To’s

In my case I was using the Ubiquiti PowerAP N and then AC Pro APs. I proved that I could have a SIP video call using a tablet over the same Wi-Fi link where the Ring product would not work.

Beyond the product itself, the underlying service was unreliable. It was unable to react to a button push in a timely, reliable fashion. It would take >20 seconds to initiate the connection to the client app, if it actually connected at all.

I presume that they got better with successive product iterations, but my experience with them was so bad that I'd never recommend their products.

 

[nbstl68]

Seems to mirror my experience with the RING 2 so far.
Either no connection, connection live video can be very choppy...cannot effectively talk back and forth. Often getting motion or door ring notices 15+ min after they happen even when both the doorbell and my phone are on a fast connection. I answer the alert and no one is there.
Bottom line, too many issues, too unreliable at least in my experience.

 

[Michael Graves]

A friend in France bought Ring more recently, even with my warning. He hates it.

The thing that I don't understand is why they felt the need to reinvent the wheel. Real-time streaming video is not new. It's been done for decades by folks in the video conferencing and security space. The CEO of Ring comes from a corner of the IP telephony business. They should have known better.

 

[looney2ns]

Seems to mirror my experience with the RING 2 so far.
Either no connection, connection live video can be very choppy...cannot effectively talk back and forth. Often getting motion or door ring notices 15+ min after they happen even when both the doorbell and my phone are on a fast connection. I answer the alert and no one is there.
Bottom line, too many issues, too unreliable at least in my experience.
View attachment 29285

Wow, that picture SUCKS!
Trash it, and buy a real cam for her if you think she really needs it.
The Ring most likely will just be continuing frustration for you and HER, no matter what you do.

I learned the hard way, when my parents pasted the age of 80, don't purchase new technology for them no matter how simply it seems to me, of any kind, it just frustrates them, and drives me nuts.

 

[randytsuch]

I recently changed my wifi to ch 11, and its working better now. I used to have some reception problems upstairs with my ipad, but they are cleared up after changing to 11.
This link explains why.
Why Channels 1, 6, and 11? | MetaGeek
If you know how to long into her router as an admin, it should be easy to do.

Randy

 

[RicRat2009]

We have the Ring Pro and it works perfectly for doorbell and intercom. It does take about 15 seconds to get the app open and connect, but after that no problems. Our router is upstairs and two rooms over.
The motion detection notification is only good for after the fact due to how long it takes to connect, but the recordings actually start a second before the object comes into view. With the Pro, you can mask areas of MD you don't want, like the street.

Video of cat caught by MD.

Just ignored this guy when he rang. Looked like he was looking for cameras.

 

[Michael Graves]

I am reminded of some advice I received some years ago, "Lower your expectations and achieve."

15 seconds to establish a connection is pretty slow. Not as slow as earlier versions of the product, which could take a minute or more.

My expectations stem from years of dealing with VoIP and video conferencing, where connections typically get established in milliseconds.

My UPS driver, delivering a package that requires a signature, won't wait more than 10 seconds after pushing the button. That's why I switched to a SIP-based audio intercom at our gate. It rings my desk phone or mobile phone in <2 seconds.

 

[nbstl68]

Yeah, I quickly realized motion based trigger is worthless except for seeing who may have been there after the fact. I have it set on the lowest range, (supp will only detect motion 5 ft out), but it still triggers on passing cars much further away. If I click when it is triggered I see nothing of course as the car has already passed. If I go to watch the video later, 80% of the time it shows nothing, 20% I may see just the tail end of a car go by...This is because the time it takes for the camera to start up, adjust, then start recording after motion is detected, the object is usually gone. Now it would work if someone walked up to the door to case the place but because of all the false triggers or empty video I am already tending not to look at all..which defeats the purpose. I want to see someone who should not be there but I don't have the time to wait to watch every motion trigger load and play.
Wish I could take it back.
...also checked the router and already on chan 11. No other wifi devices in the house and the router is no more than maybe 5 ft from the doorbell so it should not be a problem if the WiFi radio in the device was worth a crap.

 

[Michael Graves]

I really don't understand how people can be "happy" with the performance of Ring/Ring Pro, except to think that they don't know any better.

My experience with the company was terrible. My friends experience just last year was similarly bad.

Still, they satisfied enough people to become a unicorn and sell out to Amazon. As ever, I am an edge case.

 

[nbstl68]

People buy into the fake marketing and commercials, get stuck, but then decide it is "better than nothing" I guess.

 

[Caretaker]

Agree with Michael graves Honest advice.

 

[lifeatredline]

One of my customers has a ring and the chime pro extender. The motion detection gives you the choice of ringing every time a car drives by to know if somebody walks up on the porch, or having no notification of people on the porch unless they push the button. The app takes 15 seconds to open. I wouldn't pay money for one, or put up with the false alarms. About the only thing it has going for it is being easy to set up.