Ring Wired Video Doorbell 2nd Generation Review

Ring Wired Video Doorbell 2nd Generation: Introduction

• type: smart video doorbell

Amazon’s Ring brand is so dominant that its name is now virtually synonymous with video doorbells. The range has just been overhauled, and while the Ring Wired Video Doorbell (2nd generation) is the most basic of the wired options, it still covers what most households actually need, although you wouldn’t guess much from the specs.

It’s a pretty big jump from the original. The 1080p landscape view covering 155° is gone and replaced by a square sensor bearing the ring badge “Retinal 2K”. For you and me, that’s 1,920×1,920. HDR is now the standard, bringing out detail in both shadows and brightness. The new camera covers 140 degrees both horizontally and vertically, so it can also capture the feet of people standing more than half a meter away. This is very useful for monitoring your front door.

Naming is complicated. Ring calls the doorbell “second generation,” while Amazon calls it “latest generation” or “latest model.” This has also grown and switched to new mounting designs that can be frustrating for those upgrading because they are not backwards compatible. Speaking of frustration, there’s no chime in the box, and if you’re upgrading from a traditional wired bell, this doorbell won’t ring your existing chime.

design and components

• Wired power only
• screw-in

The size of this doorbell is surprising considering it doesn’t have a battery. It’s only slightly smaller than the chunky battery-powered TP-Link Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D235, but the design is a bit more rounded.

Installing the doorbell is quite complicated, at least if you follow all the steps in Ring’s in-app guide. There are no adhesive pads in the box, so secure the mount with the included screws. It has angled shims that allow you to shift it a few degrees horizontally instead of vertically. Proper bell wiring is also required. The doorbell should work with most existing low power AC systems. My review sample came with a rail-mount transformer that fits into modern consumer units (fuse boxes), but you don’t need it if you already have working wires.

Doorbells can connect directly to your home’s Wi-Fi, so it’s worth checking the signal briefly outside your front door before purchasing. Unlike the Plus and Pro versions, this model only supports 2.4 GHz networks. It generally penetrates walls better than 5 GHz, so that’s not a bad thing. I was frustrated when I entered my Wi-Fi password incorrectly and the app didn’t handle it properly. I had to reset the doorbell and try again.

Features

• powerful app
• Great integration with Alexa

That complaint aside, the Ring app is great. Get a snapshot of your doorbell view at a glance. Tapping this takes you to a page that neatly combines live view and timeline, allowing you to easily scroll back through the day’s events. You can go back even further using the calendar view.

The app lets you customize video, audio, and general settings, but some items are automatically selected. There is no resolution or night mode selection. This version only supports infrared (IR) black and white video and will automatically turn on when there is no more light to shoot in color. Some options, including AI Video Search, rely on Ring’s analysis of videos and are turned off by default for privacy reasons.

As you might expect, the doorbell integrates well with Amazon Alexa. You can link it to your Echo to issue alerts, have an audio or video conversation with the caller, and use triggers like motion or caller to start an Alexa routine, or turn on a porch or interior light to welcome someone, for example. One complaint is that it cannot be triggered based on the identity of the caller (for example, only when approached by a family member).

Motion detection can be controlled by sensitivity control and motion zones, but this model lacks the radar-based 3D motion detection found in more expensive models. 3D motion detection is a must if your doorbell faces the road, as you can control motion detection based on distance.

There is also an option to detect people and familiar faces. Many rely on Ring subscriptions, with tiers starting from £5 per month or £50 per year for a single device. Without it, you get live view on demand and caller alerts with real-time motion and two-way calling, but little else. The basic Ring Solo package adds 180 days of video event history, video alerts, and person, package, and vehicle detection. ‘Pro Intelligence’ costs an additional £3 per month per device and unlocks AI video descriptions, video search and Familiar Faces. Alternatively, Ring Pro, which costs £16 a month, enables these features on all your Ring devices.

performance

I’m testing the battery doorbell pointing straight toward the street, but the wiring is on the wall facing sideways. This meant the doorbell didn’t have to compete with busy sidewalks and roads when processing and filtering alerts. Still, performance was impressive, with subscription features like Familiar Faces and Video description working well to identify family members and summarize captured clips.

Ring’s AI processing seems fast. My cell phone received notifications as soon as a caller arrived or pressed the bell. There were several false alarms, mostly when passersby crossed the sidewalk when no cars were moving. Adjusting the motion zones almost stopped these, but not completely.

I was generally satisfied with the video quality. The video was pleasantly clear enough to identify the caller during the day, in dim evening light, and under infrared light at night, and was crisp and well exposed in natural light. The doorbell had a hard time preserving highlights on bright days, but everything else was captured well. At night, it tended to expose the caller well at the expense of underexposure of the surroundings.

final thoughts

The Ring Wired Video Doorbell (2nd generation) combines great camera quality with great alerts. However, there’s little value in getting a subscription unless you’re paying £5 a month to get video event history, so how you feel about that will depend on your desire for a subscription. You’ll appreciate this if an incident occurs and you need to search for footage. Expand further to £3 per month and Pro Intelligence adds features to help separate signal from noise.

Fully enabled with a 1-month free trial, this doorbell offers great rich notifications and easy search of video and alert history. It’s easy to use and generates videos and alerts that match the best fit-and-forget alternatives. If you have one of the multi-camera subscriptions and have a Ring alarm, Ring is an even better deal.

Test method

When we publish a review, you can rest assured that it is the result of long-term testing.

Video doorbells typically exist within an ecosystem, or set of products that all work together in harmony. And it’s designed to give you a variety of options. Therefore, it is impossible to use the doorbell for a week and give a verdict.

We test smart home kits all day every day, so we know what’s important and how a particular smart device compares to the alternatives you’re considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and unbiased, and of course we don’t receive direct compensation to review devices.

FAQ

Official product name: Specifications