Aaahhh, the Ring Doorbell. We have all seen the commercial or know someone who has one. However if you are not familiar with this system, it’s pretty cool. It’s basically caller ID for the doorbell. Remember the days you just had to pick up your phone and never knew who was on the other line? It always seemed to be a sales person. Then caller ID came out and our lives and time were saved. Well the Ring doorbell is exactly the same, but with a twist. Once someone rings your doorbell, you don’t have to guess who is on the other side of the door. Now you can look at your smartphone and see who’s there and decide if you want to answer it. In fact, you can even talk to them through the Ring system. Now Ring has a new system out called the Ring Doorbell Pro. We covered their early version which you can read the Ring Doorbell review, so I am not going into the basics of the Ring. For this I just want to talk about the pro version.
Ring has been popular ever since it came out. As with any new item to market, there are always ways to tweak it and appeal to a greater audience. So that’s why we are here today, the Ring Doorbell Pro. In regards to software, it uses the same software as their previous version. You also get cloud recording, night vision and works with both IOS and Android.
The pro model is going to run you about $50 more than the original. With that $50 premium, you do get a ton of new items that are only available with the pro model such as a better camera, motion alerts, face plates, WiFi settings and a small unit. So let’s cover the internal workings and what is new. The original Ring uses a 720p HD camera where the pro uses a 1020p HD camera, so the quality is much better. Another change is with the original version and motion settings. With the older model, you have predefined motion areas. With the Pro you can draw in your motion areas, which is a huge change. I love the idea of being able to set my own areas where I want to monitor motion. Ring also added the new WiFi. Before it would connect to 2.4GHz, now you can connect to 2.4GHZ, but you can also connect to 5GHz for faster speeds.
Looking at the outside of the unit, they have decreased the size of the unit which will help a ton of people where the bigger unit wouldn’t fit. They have decreased the height by about 1/2″ and the width a little over 1/2″. The thickness also slightly decreased. So now the unit dimensions are 4.50in. x 1.85in. x .80in. So how did they do this? I believe this has to do with the battery. The original unit could be powered off a rechargeable battery or powered by existing power to the unit. With the Pro, it doesn’t have a rechargeable battery, you have to connect it to power, which most doorbells already have. I think this is a great option because not everyone wants to deal with a rechargeable battery. I know during the summer time, I have to recharge my Ring every other month. In the winter time, it could be every other week. When the temps get very low, the battery doesn’t even work since it’s Lithium. So people in cold weather will opt for the Pro version for this very reason. The Pro also comes with 4 different face-plates so you can match or come close to the color of your house. Unless you have a pink house, well then you will be out of luck. I also noticed the doorbell button is different. The older version has a nice button, but I feel like sometimes it has to be pushed hard for it to work. The new Ring has a nice button where you know it activated the Ring system as soon as you push it.
So what do I think of the Pro? For a $50 premium, you do get a lot. The camera and new motion detection is worth it. While you will have to have power to the doorbell in order to use the Pro, it shouldn’t be hard to get power to that area of the house if you don’t already have it. The system is extremely easy to install and best of all uses the cloud recording. The thing I love best about the Ring is they don’t rip you off with cloud recording. It seems like every company wants to charge $10/month, I guess that is the going rate. On the other hand, Ring doesn’t try to take advantage of you. They charge $3/month or $30 for the whole year. For me, this is a no brainier. I sign up for the year and have the piece of mind I can review a recording. I rarely sign up for services that charge $10 a month. Before you know it, you’re paying $100 per month for all these services. So thank you Ring for not trying to take advantage of the consumer.
Overall I think the Ring is a great product. It’s the Caller ID of the doorbell world. Personally, I think every home should have a Ring. While I know everyone won’t own one, I do think it’s worth every penny to have on an older persons home who may be living alone. We all know there are scum bags in this world that try to take advantage of the elderly. Even if your parents or grandparents don’t have a smartphone, you can still set it up so you get alerts on your phone. You can monitor who is trying to reach out to your parents or grandparents. It’s a great way to help keep them safe and protected. Yes it has its quirks, but this is a must have system for the homeowner. You can read more about it or buy one today at The Home Depot.
Is there an option to save to a local drive instead of the cloud?
Not that I am aware of