Why You Should Get A Ring Doorbell
(Cover photo by Steve Garfield)
With Black Friday just around the corner, I thought it would be the ideal time to share my thoughts on the Ring Doorbell. I bought the 2nd gen wireless doorbell with the built-in rechargeable battery.
Why did I decide to get a Ring doorbell?
That’s a great question! The truth is that I was fed up with missing couriers and couriers doing strange things with my packages like leaving them in my neighbor’s bin. I find that the doorbell gives me more control over how packages are dropped off and which neighbours they are left with.
The second reason was security, whilst I do have a security and CCTV system, I find the doorbell to be the first point of call when it comes to security as it monitors my front door directly.
The third reason for getting a smart doorbell was, well the fact that I’m a technophile.
What’s the battery life like?
The battery is actually pretty good. I charge it once a month, sometimes less. I’m actually seriously impressed with the battery life!
To charge the device you have to take it off the mounting bracket using a special screwdriver (included in the box) and connect it to the mains. An ultra-short Micro-USB charging cable was included in the box. I find that it takes a few hours to charge.
The Design
I don’t think much of the design. In fact, in my view, it looks clunky and unnecessary. However, you can’t really complain about the price. I recommend having a look at where you plan to hang it first as it’s a lot larger than standard doorbells.
Video Quality
I think the video quality is very good, unfortunately, it’s difficult to show an example of the footage without revealing my address. That’s why I included a video that’s already online. The video below is by The Ambient, check out their channel!
In general, videos recorded throughout the day have strong detail and colours, even with the sun shining directly on the doorbell. Night videos provide less detail but that’s to be expected, I mean it’s dark! But they still do provide a reasonable quality.
Other Features I like
The doorbell has a “near” motion zone that extends from as little as 5 to around 15 feet from your front door.
One of the most important things I like about the doorbell is the fact that I can be outside without worrying about missing any parcels. That’s just another reason for the investment. In fact, I can mow the lawn or have a BBQ in the back garden without fearing a missed delivery!
Who should buy the Ring Doorbell?
If like me, you do a lot of online shopping and you work a 9 to 5 job then you should get a Ring doorbell! I can honestly say that it stopped parcels being sent back to the distribution center and me having to go to pick them up the next day! In all fairness, if my couriers actually read the instructions, I wouldn’t need to make the investment. But the sad reality is that not all couriers care for your parcels. Now I’m not speaking about every courier when I say this, because they work a hard job and most are very nice. But I have had incidents where the courier damaged or threw a parcel at my door. Since I installed my doorbell, I haven’t had a bad experience with a currier – touch wood!
The Verdict
I definitely think that in this day and age, a Ring doorbell is a good investment and it should be on your priority list when building a smart home.
What do you think? Would you buy a Ring Doorbell? Let us know in the comments!