Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 stars*****REVISED! THE CAMERA WORKS!******
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2018
**********************10/26/2018 Revised***************************
I'm changing my review from 3 stars to 5 stars. In short, it was not the camera - it was my router.
Ring contacted me not once but twice wanting to help me with my lack of movement sensitivity. I thought the last thing I want to do is talk with customer service - any customer service. I think I even read a review or two that Ring customer service was "bad". So I ignored the first email. A second one came that read like they sincerely wanted to help me. With a heavy sigh I set up an appointment knowing full well I'd done everything possible to trouble shoot already and assuming this would be a complete waste of time. Well I was completely wrong. Even though I have one of the best routers on the market - Jason (Ring Customer Service) was able to tell on his end that the data transfer rate just wasn't fast enough. The signal was going through too much house. Just now, to test this I used a 50 foot long Cat7 cable and put the router in the middle of the house and suddenly the camera works just exactly as it should. Jason was a wealth of knowledge, he was a wealth of ideas that I hadn't though of (I won't say what I do for a living - but I "think" I know all there is to know about computers and technology). Jason sincerely wanted to correct the issue (AND HE DID) and was as polite as anyone could possibly be. I'm 53 years old and I've never had such a positive customer service experience (possibly partly because I avoid customer service like the plague) AND now I know the issue is not the camera - its the distance from the router and the amount of house the signal has to penetrate - which I can correct. The slowness was causing gaps and a delay in triggering motion. And it's not just his theory. I just proved it to be true. Jason, if you're reading this - outstanding job!!! Now that my issue is resolved I'll probably pick up some more ring cameras. My goal is complete coverage of the outside of the house.
I used to have a few inside D-Link cameras. They have all been disconnected and removed. I got to thinking, if the bad guy is looking at one of my D-Link cameras - he's already in the house and my family is already in danger. Better to have outside Ring cameras and avoid the break-in altogether.
Product Idea: I would like to see some sort of Ring mount extension. It would be something like a foot and half long and the normal mount would mount to this extension allowing you clear some obstacle and see around a corner. It would be made of aluminum and have a three point mount that would be no wider at the base than a normal sized front porch post. It would come in white or black and be priced reasonably. Three points at the base for stability. Think about the arms you see cameras hanging from that are mounted on a pole.
Original Review
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It seems to me the software is different as far as how "movement" is detected between the older models and this latest model. I put movement in quotes because just turning on the porch light or a car driving by and the headlights sweeping across the yard will trigger an alert with sensitivity set to medium and the motion detection area set for only about half of the front yard ( the half closest to the house ). I installed this new one above the patio and under the second story deck. I never get an alert from that one unless I get within approx. 20 feet of it. I have sensitivity set to the max and the detection area set to everywhere but the under side of the deck. Turning on the patio light does not trigger an alert. Turning on the deck light above - which lights up the back yard pretty well does not trigger an alert. A large racoon getting within 10 feet and climbing up the deck post and on to the deck also does not trigger an alert. I wish it did. That was a big part of why I bought it. I just happened to view the camera and saw the racoon milling around, looking for something to eat and climbing the deck.
I have an outlet out side. I could plug it in out there. However, I tested this. I can unplug it before it can send a video to the cloud.
So I drilled a whole though the house and powered it from inside. The smallest drill bit you can get away with is 7/16 to accommodate the plug that goes into the camera. I thought about cutting the wire and running that though the wall and then reconnecting the plug but I didn't attempt that.
Also, a little puzzled why there is such a large hole on the back of the camera. I the cord goes through this hole. I guess it's to accommodate the largest imaginable Cat6 cable plug.
Additionally, the arm the camera hangs on doesn't seem stiff enough. There is a screw that can be tightened down. I tightened it. I tried shaking the camera a bit and the inertia would easily move the camera. So I installed it so the arm attached to the base at the top and the camera hangs off of it at the bottom. This configuration gives the smallest footprint horizontally. If there is too much to work with under a covered patio - you'll have a bird building a nest on it. My main complaints are it seems a little on the flimsy side. I don't trust the arm to stay put. The camera seems too heavy for it. There is a huge hole on the back of the camera which I imagine bugs my try to use as a hideout or maybe try to ride out the winter in. For some reason the sensitivity on max does trigger an alarm until a 235 pound 6 foot 1 man gets within 20 to 25 feet in full daylight. The night vision does not seem as good as the door bell.
What I like: picture quality. Nice app. Would I buy it again? Yes, but just barely.
