Need advice on buying a Ring doorbell

geegerbee · ‎03-09-2010

I think I am going to buy one, but I have many questions and no one to answer them. I have a Blink right now, but it isn't a doorbell one and I have never gotten it to work in real time. The black Friday specials offer a model for $59 today. I guess it is a plastic plate instead of metal, but everything else seems the same as the ones that are still $99. They have 2 way speakers and can be battery or hard wired.

They don't say if you have to subscribe monthly to be able to see who is or was there at a different time. Last week in our area a dog was stolen from someone's front porch. They had a ring camera which showed a man petting it, then picking it up and putting it in a car. I think the camera caught the license plate number. So that is one reason I want one.

Is it easy enough to install? I don't have a drill, but I have screwdrivers and have WIFI.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Goodie2shoes · ‎04-30-2012

I have had a ring doorbell for over 10 yrs and it worked fine but I decided to upgrade and bought one from amazon about a month ago model# 5F97F2. I have it on the battery operation mode and so far it's great. The video is much clearer and a wider view. I am in an apartment and have it set to share with my daughter's ring and she noted how much clearer the videos are from my previous ring. The newer model is easier to install, it hooks onto the installed faceplate instead of having to unscrew the doorbell to charge it then reinstall. You get a trial timeframe of videos before you have to decide what plan you want. I just recently canceled my old plan and set up the new yearly plan for my new ring and got a automatic refund from the old plan which was not over yet. You can see the plans to choose from on the ring website. Amazon had a sale when I bought it and it was $59. Good Luck, hope that helps

Lilysmom1 · ‎11-08-2020

@geegerbee I have had Ring doorbell for years now. The service was free for a year and then you had to opt in for a plan if you wanted to save videos. I opted to have live view only with no subscription and I am happy with that decision. It is probably time to replace mine...will probably do so in the next year. I would not be without one now. Love the convenience of being able to see who is at the door, check weather if I am away, etc.

gadgetgal613 · ‎07-07-2021

@geegerbee wrote:
I think I am going to buy one, but I have many questions and no one to answer them. I have a Blink right now, but it isn't a doorbell one and I have never gotten it to work in real time. The black Friday specials offer a model for $59 today. I guess it is a plastic plate instead of metal, but everything else seems the same as the ones that are still $99. They have 2 way speakers and can be battery or hard wired.
They don't say if you have to subscribe monthly to be able to see who is or was there at a different time. Last week in our area a dog was stolen from someone's front porch. They had a ring camera which showed a man petting it, then picking it up and putting it in a car. I think the camera caught the license plate number. So that is one reason I want one.
Is it easy enough to install? I don't have a drill, but I have screwdrivers and have WIFI.
Thanks in advance for your help.

You need to have a subscription to save videos. I have a subscription so I can send a video to the police department if needed or to view videos later. You need basic computer skills for any device you have. You can control the Ring doorbell using your phone or computer. One word of advice, turn off WIFI on your iPhone when leaving the house. Otherwise the phone will waste time trying to connect to the closest WIFI signal it finds and people tend to leave before you can talk to them. I find having a Ring doorbell is a deterrent to would be porch pirates. It starts recording before the criminal has the chance to cover the camera.

We rescue cats · ‎01-25-2023

We have a ring, it's an older model but it is hooked into our doorbell so no battery maintenance is needed. The pics are okay but not great so we should probably consider an upgrade. Just hate to have the handyman out to do it mid-winter. The only part I find annoying is that if there is wind (and we always have wind) my garden flag sets off the motion detector sets it off so it had to go (the flag not the ring!)

Lynn-Critter Lover!
(especially cats!)