Allowing you to see and speak to people who come knocking at your front door, it makes total sense why Ring Video Doorbells are such hot products right now.
Through smart technology, a Ring Doorbell will ensure you never miss a home delivery again. They will also go a long way in keeping your home and family safe when you’re not there to protect them and it.
However, there is an elephant in the room and that elephant is wondering how Ring Doorbells fair when the WiFi suddenly drops out?
In this article, we will present you with the cold hard facts on a Ring Video Doorbell’s ability to function when the Wi-Fi comes crashing down and you still need your door answered.
What Is A Ring Video Doorbell And How Does It Work?
Ring Doorbells essentially give you a pair of eyes and ears at your front door without you actually being there. How do they do this?
Through smart technology that connects the dots on device and smartphone via the power of the internet and apps, of course.
Whether you’re at home, at work, or off gallivanting around on the weekend, a Ring Doorbell will allow you to speak to anyone who comes knocking at your front door.
Even before a visitor has rung your Ring Doorbell, you will receive a motion detection notification informing you that there’s something snooping around the front of your house.
Maybe it’s just a friend who’s looking to see if you’re home. Maybe it’s a hasty delivery driver who’s looking to ditch your parcel and go.
Or, maybe it’s a suspicious-looking stranger who has no reason to be there. Whichever it may be, a Ring Doorbell won’t just give you eyes on the ground.
It will allow you to strike up a two-way conversation with the visitor in question and get to the bottom of who they are and why they are on your property.
Ring Doorbells are now so advanced that they can even send motion-detected warning notifications to your neighbors when you’re not at home.
Your neighbors will then be able to inform the police when and if something looks suspicious. Whether you like your neighbors or not, this type of technology can be the difference between keeping your home and family safe.
Can Ring Video Doorbells Work Without WiFi?
Now that you understand exactly what a Ring Doorbell is and how it works, it’s time to discover whether they can function without WiFi.
However, unfortunately, like most questions in life, there isn’t exactly a swift and satisfying answer to this one.
In short, no, a standard Ring Doorbell will not work without WiFi. Why? Because the internet is the key ingredient in how the doorbell sends data to your smartphone.
Of course, a Ring Doorbell will still function as a normal doorbell without WiFi, but nobody wants to spend the extra money on video analysis technology just to hear their doorbell go ping.
Features Of Ring Video Doorbells That Do Not Work Without WiFi
To show you exactly what you’ll be missing out on if your internet decides to drop out, we have listed the features of Ring Doorbells that don’t work without WiFi.
Notifications: One of the key features of a Ring Doorbell is its motion detection. When someone comes within your doorbell’s range of motion, the doorbell will send a notification directly to your smartphone. Without WiFi, notifications become obsolete, and that includes a notification when a rings your doorbell too.
Live feed access: Without the gift of WiFi, a live video feed can’t be recorded by your Ring Doorbell as well as any other Ring security cameras you may have linked to your Ring security system. This means you won’t be able to record people doing suspicious things on your property and hand it over to the relevant authorities.
No cloud storage: Another downside of no WiFi is that your doorbell won’t be able to record and store video onto your cloud storage.
Remote control: Think of the internet as a long piece of string that connects your doorbell to your smartphone. Without it, you won’t be able to control your doorbell from your smartphone when you’re not at home.
What Ring Video Doorbell Models Can Function Without WiFi?
You didn’t think a company with its finger on the pulse like Ring would offer no alternative to WiFi now did you?
Although both their standard and pro model video doorbells lose a lot of their functions without WiFi, the Elite series certainly does not.
Both the Ring Doorbell Elite and Ring Stick-Up Cam Elite have done away with a reliance on the not-so-reliable WiFi for a dedicated PoE cable.
PoE stands for “Power over Ethernet” and this clever cable is able to deliver both power and internet to your Ring devices.
As a result of these devices being connected to the internet via a hardwired cable instead of wireless WiFi, they are infinitely more reliable as they offer a more stable and faster connection.
However, this stable internet connection does come with a slight catch.
Because Ring’s Elite devices and doorbells need to be hardwired into each other via your house, it is likely you will require a qualified electrician/ technician to do the cable wiring for you.
Of course, if you are competent in electronics and network knowledge, then you can do it yourself, but we would not advise this otherwise.
Another cool feature of the Elite series is that, on top of their PoE capabilities, they are still compatible with a wireless WiFI internet connection.
This allows you to try both, see which one you prefer, and revert back to the first method, if, for whatever reason, you’re unhappy with the other.
Below, we have featured both the Ring Doorbell Elite and the Ring Stick-Up Cam Elite.
If you’re interested in a premium doorbell that puts you in control of your internet connection, then you can click on through today and regain control of your video doorbell’s destiny tomorrow.
Yes, the Ring Video Doorbell Elite doesn’t rely on WiFi to be great, but that’s certainly not all it’s good for.
Considered within the top echelon of smart video doorbells, there is no mistaking a Ring Elite from the next doorbell down the street.
This particular bundle features the Doorbell Elite plus a 2nd Gen Ring PoE adapter to enable the all-important ethernet connection to take place.
The Elite also loves to get chummy with Alexa. This relationship allows you to answer the front door through the powers of Alexa.
On top of that fun little fact, the Elite is ready and waiting to send alerts straight to your phone, tablet, and PC as soon as its motion detector has been alarmed.
Take a deep dive into the doorbell’s camera and you will find 1080HD video with infrared night vision.
Not only does this give you a super sharp image, night and day, but it goes a long way in providing facial recognition when it counts. The Elite also comes with a whole list of premium privacy features.
Things like customizable privacy zones and audio privacy are just two features in a long list of advancements that endeavor to keep you and your family privacy protected.
Although not technically a video doorbell, in conjunction with the Ring Video Doorbell Elite, this high-end security cam sure is handy.
The Ring Stick-Up Cam Elite can be powered by a PoE cable, and bar the actual doorbell part, it has many similarities to the Ring Doorbell.
For instance, it has both two-way audio and access to live video. This will allow you a watchful eye over your home at any time of the day through the super convenient and easy-to-use Ring app.
Wherever you’ve got in mind for a security camera, it can never hurt to have eyes on the ground when you’re not at home.
Maybe you’ve gone away for the weekend and your teenage child was acting rather suspiciously before you left.
Or, you have a side door that can be easily seen and accessed from street view, and you’d really like to have a security cam on patrol.
In steps the Stick-Up Elite to offer your side entrance protection. All you have to do is slip this sneaky little number behind a pot on the inside of your side window and you’ll be able to catch any suspicious activity and alert the police.
Whether you want to set it on a flat surface or mount it to a wall or the ceiling, the device’s mounting platform is ready for it. In a great security camera fashion, you can also pair multiple Stick-Up Cam Elites to the one Ring device.
Doing this will give you a supreme and total view of your entire home (inside and out) so that nothing or no one passes you by.
What Are Some Reasons Why Your Ring Video Doorbell Isn’t Working?
If your Ring Doorbell has unexpectedly decided to take a break from its responsibilities, then there’s a good chance the WiFi is to blame. Yes, it’s true, the doorbell itself may have malfunctioned.
However, Ring Doorbells are premium products designed and made to last, so, 99 times out of 100, this won’t be the case.
Below we have listed some handy ways to get your home WiFi back up and functioning as it should so that your doorbell can carry on and do its most valuable thing – protect your home.
Ask around whether anyone in your home may have updated the WiFi password without your knowledge and without programming it into the doorbell.
Sometimes power outages can be the cause for WiFI routers going down. You may need to flick a particular switch at your electrical mains to get the power back on and the WiFI humming again.
Unplugging the router for at least 30 seconds before plugging it back in again could help reboot the WiFI.
We know this seems like a simple one, but checking to see whether all the wires are connected to your WiFi router is a smarter idea than you may think. Maybe the dog/ kids accidentally (or not accidentally) unplugged a cable. You would be surprised how many times a WiFi issue can be put down to something as simple as an unplugged cable.
Getting on the phone with your internet service provider is always advised as they may know something about the server that you don’t. Maybe there’s an issue with the internet in your entire area while you’re under the assumption that it’s just your home. Double-checking with your service provider will help put your mind at ease and they are the best chance of fixing a problem that you can’t solve yourself.
If there has been an issue with your WiFI, go onto your Ring smartphone app and reconnect your Ring Video Doorbell to the WiFI network as it may need a helping hand to do so after an outage.
How Do I Know If My Ring Video Doorbell Has WiFi?
As you are well aware by now, there are a multitude of reasons why your Ring Doorbell may not be able to connect to your home’s WiFi.
Luckily, there are measures that you can take to tell whether your Ring Doorbell is connected to the internet and working as it should.
The beauty of this is that you can do most of them from anywhere in the world!
Use your Ring app through your smartphone to check if your Ring Doorbell is connected to your home’s WiFi network. If you’re trying to gain access to functions on your app like a live video feed, or you’ve noticed a stark drop in notifications, then there’s a very good chance that your device isn’t connected to the internet.
If this is the case, go onto your Ring app, select the device in question, and then select Device Health. If it says “offline” under the “network” heading, then you know for sure that your device isn’t connected to the internet and needs your help to get it back online.
What Are the Telling Signs That Your Ring Video Doorbell Has Poor WiFi Signal?
If you find that your Ring Doorbell isn’t running as smoothly as you would like and you’re scratching your head as to why it could very well be your WiFi.
Bad WiFi has a tendency to slow devices down to the point of annoyance when all you want to do is pull your hair out.
Below we have listed a few of the symptoms to watch out for if you’re suspicious of your Ring Doorbell’s lousy WiFi connection.
If there’s a delay to the live notifications being sent from your Ring Doorbell to your phone, this could indicate a lagging WiFi connection.
If it’s hard to hear visitors through your Ring Doorbell’s two-way audio. Or, vice versa, they are having a noticeably hard time hearing you. Poor audio quality could be a result of your WiFi.
Your Ring Doorbell needs a good WiFi connection for its motion detection to work properly. If you notice that it’s not picking up on movement as well as it was before, then checking your WiFi connection is a clever idea indeed.
If your Ring Doorbell’s live video feed is glitching and skipping then you just know it’s going to be the WiFi connection that’s to blame.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is There A Monthly Fee For A Ring Video Doorbell?
Yes, just like your home WiFi, Ring Video Doorbells require a monthly subscription to run. Luckily, though, their monthly subscription is one of the cheapest subscriptions you will ever come across.
Ring Protect Basic costs just $3 a month and if you subscribe for the year it comes down to a nice and even $30 (saving you $6 annually).
Of course, this isn’t exactly breaking the bank but it is still good to know before you decide to buy a Ring Doorbell.
Can A Ring Video Doorbell Be Stolen?
Yes, unfortunately, Ring Video Doorbells can be stolen. Their higher-than-average doorbell price coupled with their demand and Ring’s prominent brand name make them an easy and popular steal for thieves.
Luckily, Ring has one-upped thieves by designing an anti-theft mount that makes their doorbells very hard to steal.
Without this mount, the doorbell can be unscrewed in seconds, and, with the wires ripped out, you can say bye-bye to your doorbell.
Conclusion
Yes, it’s true, standard and pro model Ring Doorbells aren’t able to work without WiFi (yet), but at least we have the Elite.
Whether you live in a remote area or just want to wean your home, devices, and family off an ever-growing reliance on WiFI.
We hope this article has inspired you to pick up a Ring Video Doorbell Elite today and start protecting your home tomorrow.
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