Smart doorbells

[RizzoTheRat]

We just moved house and need to fit a new doorbell, Given that we could be 4 stories up from the door, one with an intercom system would be a good idea so we can at least tell people to hang on. We already have 3 Echo's around the house so a Ring doorbell makes sense as I believe it can ring on the echo's as well as our phones. The main router is just inside the front door so it should have a decent wireless signal.


Has anyone got a Ring Doorbell 3 and an idea of how long the battery lasts in the real world?
Is it ok to just rely on Alexa's and phones or do you really need a Chime too?
I'm not interested in storing video for ages so presumably don't need the Ring subscription?
If I got one for the back door as well can you set up different chimes for each door?
Are there any other better options?
Did you expect the Spanish Inquisition?

[dapprman]

To answer some of your questions

RizzoTheRat said:

How long the battery lasts in the real world?

In theory it is about a month, but for some reason I am getting longer, closer to 8 weeks at the moment, however this might be down to the fact that motion detection is crap so it does not record anywhere as near as much as it should - note I have motion detection alerts turned off. I would recommend getting a spare battery as they take about 4-6 hours to recharge. With two doorbells you just need the one spare as you get low battery alerts with a few days of charge left.

RizzoTheRat said:

Is it ok to just rely on Alexa's and phones or do you really need a Chime too?

Chime is only needed if you mute the doorbell and do not have something else to alert you. Note in this situation there is a good chance the person at the door will not hear the ring. By default the Ring units themselves chime, loudly, with the result most your neighbours in the area will know you have a visitor. It can, and needs to be turned right down. You really ought to set the app on your phone to alert you as well as I've found Alexa alerts at times can be unreliable. Having said that the only alerts that do not go out through the Internet to the Ring servers then back to your phone or echo/google device are through the door bell itself (if not muted) and chime/chime pro.

RizzoTheRat said:

I'm not interested in storing video for ages so presumably don't need the Ring subscription?

If you just want to be alerted when in the house then you do not need the subscription. I believe this includes the video on the phone app so you can still be alerted when out of the house, see who is at the door, and try and talk to them.

RizzoTheRat said:

If I got one for the back door as well can you set up different chimes for each door?

Yes with the doorbell and chime (if you use one). Through the app on your phone (I think) and, on an Echo Show it tells you the door (i.e. Front Door or Back Door), but that is the only alert from what I remember. I assume it will be the same on an Echo Dot, just no video or the ability to see who is there and to respond.

RizzoTheRat said:

Are there any other better options?

The only ones I've looked at (post my Ring install) have been the rivals with remote alerting, such as Eufy, and all of them suffer delays with alerting you as the signal goes out to their servers then back to your phone app.

[Mutts]

We've got a Ring door bell. Battery seems to last ages and charges up quickly. It's pretty good at detecting people and the pp alerts seem to work.
The video recording proves useful especially when you get some random drunk trying your front door at 4:30am in the morning. Then wanders down the side of the house into neighbours garden. The audio from the Ring picked up the moment police pepper sprayed him and a nice clear shot of him staring right into the Ring camera helped get him off the streets for 27 weeks.

[Bullett]

You never know when the video will be useful.
I just used mine to show my car was on the drive when the police said it was in an accident 200 miles away.

I've never found them much use for talking to people at the door, it takes a second to ring then a couple of seconds to connect. Most delivery drivers are 4 stops away by that point.

I like that I can join them together with other stuff and each other. I have a camera watching the driveway, you have to come up the drive to get to the door. If it detects movement it records video itself and sets the doorbell to record as well. If we are out and its the evening, it will turn on the lights in the kitchen.