Long gone are the days where someone would knock or ring your doorbell and you’d have to walk to your front door, look through the peephole or open up the door to find out who it is. Nowadays, there are electronic doorbell devices that can notify you via your smartphone when someone is at the door and even the ability to communicate with them regardless of if you’re in the house or not.Just one of these devices is the Ring Peephole Camera, which is one of the most popular options on the market, so we thought it was about time we checked it out and also chimed in with our own opinion.Keep on reading for our full review and more information about the Ring Peephole Camera.
Installing the Peephole camera is relatively easy and even if you’re not particularly tech-savvy then you’ll have no issues following the easy-to-follow instructions that come included.As this is a peephole camera, you’ll already need a current peephole within your front door that will be removed with the tool included with the doorbell.Make sure you charge your ring battery until it’s full before putting it back into your doorbell as you’ll want to go as long as possible between charges. You’ll need to download the Ring app to your smartphone which is available on the App Store and the Google Play store to be able to use your peephole camera.Once you’ve installed the Ring peephole into the front door, you’ll scan the QR code on the battery and it will automatically sync with your Ring app on your phone.
Design
The design of the component is pretty sleek and inconspicuous and may be unnoticeable to some visitors to your home unless they’re familiar with a device like this one.The peephole doorbell from Ring is battery operated and the battery that comes with it is rechargeable but will need to be charged up fully on arrival to get your doorbell running. The battery can go weeks to months before needing recharging, depending on the weather in your local area and also the number of activities that have been captured on your doorbell.The battery will take around 12 hours to fully charge from empty, So if you don’t fancy being without your doorbell for a few hours whilst your battery charges in an outlet, then you may want to buy an additional battery to alternate with.The Ring peephole has an IPX 5 weather rating which means it can withstand low pressure from water jets in any direction, so the peephole camera should be safe should it be struck by any rainstorms in your area.
Features
Real-Time Notifications To Your Phone
You can change the settings on your Ring doorbell to alert you whenever someone knocks on your door, presses the doorbell button, or if they activate the motion sensor. This is a great tool whenever you’re out of the house and won’t be there to answer the door as you’ll be able to speak to them straight away.The sensitivity for motion sensors can also be changed, which is especially good if you live in an apartment building as you don’t want to receive an alert every time someone walks past your apartment door. If you do have pets like cats or are prone to the odd coyote or raccoon in your area, then you may want to turn off your motion sensors completely otherwise you’ll probably wake up to a dozen or more notifications each morning.
Two-way Communication
One of the most convenient features that come with the Ring Peephole doorbell is the two-way communication ability where if you get a notification from your smartphone that someone is at the door and you notice it’s a delivery for yourself, you can request the delivery person to put it into a safe place instead of not delivering it at all to you.Audio quality is very clear and you’ll be able to easily hear what the person at your door is saying without them having to shout into the mic that’s attached to the doorbell.
Night Vision
The doorbell comes with 3 LED lights for night vision mode when it gets dark outside, meaning you’ll still be able to see the faces of those who knock or ring your doorbell even if you don’t have outdoor lighting at your front door. This is also handy if you did ever have a possible intruder try to get into your front door as you’ll be able to take a snapshot of their face for cops to try to find them.
Video Display
The camera has a 1080p HD video display which is pretty standard and the field of vision is generous enough to see visitors to your property from various directions. For such a small device, the video quality cannot be faulted as you’ll be able to visit people’s faces at your door without them needing to be super close to the camera.
Connectivity
The doorbell will need to be connected to your home WiFi, so if you don’t get good coverage near your front door then you may need to get a WiFi extender or consider moving the router closer to the front of the home. You’ll also need to be connected to WiFi or use your cell data to connect to the Ring App to be able to monitor your doorbell’s activities when you’re not at home.The Ring doorbell is also compatible with Alexa-enabled devices, so if you have an Echo Show and you receive the notification, you can ask Alexa to launch the video display without having to use your hands.So if you’ve got your hands tied with the kids or you’re stuck in the middle of cooking, then you can always ask to speak to the person at the door via your Alexa.You can also connect your Ring Peephole doorbell to other Ring devices throughout your home, so if this device gets triggered then you can set it to trigger the other devices in your home, which is useful if there’s ever an intruder trying to get into your home.
Is A Subscription Required?
There is no subscription required to be able to use the Ring Peephole device once you’ve installed it in your home. However, there are two subscription plans available, a basic plan and a plus plan that offers additional security features with your Ring Peephole Camera.The Basic Plan is $3.00 a month and includes 30-day video history, video saving and sharing, and snapshot capture on top of your original features. The Plus Plan is $10.00 a month and includes the features within the Basic Plan and also assisted monitoring, cellular backup, extended warranties, and also discount off future Ring products.If you did want to extend your security around your home, then we’d opt for the Basic Plan as it’s better value for money but does give you the flexibility to be able to refer back to your peephole’s history to spot possible intruders.
Pros
2-way communication – Can speak to visitors at your front door when you’re not at home
Night vision mode – Allows you to see the visitors face even in the night
Connects to other Ring devices – Can trigger other devices in your home to alert you
Compatible with Alexa – Can request Alexa to see, hear and speak to the person at the door
Cons
Recording and snapshot feature comes at a cost – Initial purchase cost is already quite high
Motion detection is sensitive – Can receive alerts for trash blowing in the wind or neighbors cats running past
Conclusion
Overall, the Ring Peephole camera doorbell would be a good option for anyone who lives in a home, apartment complex, or even a dorm room and would like some additional security to monitor activities outside your front door. It’s also super convenient for anyone who works long hours out the house all day and cannot be home to take in parcels from delivery guys as you’ll be able to communicate with them through the app and ask them to put it somewhere safe.Whilst it is a little bit of a drawback that you need to pay an additional $3 a month to be able to record or take snapshots through your doorbell’s camera or to go back through your doorbell’s footage history, it would be a minimal amount to pay for security if you do live in a slightly sketchy area. Installation is pretty foolproof and will only take 5 minutes to secure into your door and after a few hours of waiting for the battery to charge, you may not have to worry about handling it for another couple of months.
