Ring App
IOS App 5.21.0 Update Solar Charger Status – Add a Ring Solar Device to Extend Battery Life
Hi All My iOS App has updated to 5.21.0 On my device health I have a new feature Solar Charger Status – Add a Ring Solar Device to Extend Battery Life All my ring devices are connected to Ring solar panels. What does this feature do if it is not detecting my Ring solar Panels. I get a trickle charge from the Ring Solar panels Attached pictures Regards Ken  
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19-12-2019 12:20:06
Responses (5)
- V
This is what the HelpDesk told me to do Not very helpful as I need to get a ladder out and climb up to the ring spotlight cam and solar panel. Doesn’t make a difference. I have 9 solar panels and all 9 states the same message “ I see you're reaching to us because you have questions about the feature that asks you to add a solar panel to extend battery life. I understand if you would like to clarify since you already have it connected on all your Ring devices. Don't worry, I'd be more than willing to verify it for you. Does it show the same thing for all of your devices? Check each device if it shows the same message. If it does, try to unplug the solar charger or panel from the Ring device. Inspect both the cable and port to ensure they are clean and undamaged. Then, reconnect it to the device and check if you will still get the same message. ”
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21-12-2019 10:54:17
RI spoke with them last night and they told me the same thing but I too need a ladder and it's cold and snowy here so that's not happening any time soon. I told them I shouldn't have to touch the camera to make this work and there should be a way to reboot the camera with the app but alas there is not. Realistically the camera should just see the panel with the update but that's not the case either. Pretty much everyone I see says this is not working for them
•2
21-12-2019 11:20:28
RSo I hauled out my ladder, climbed up, unplugged the panel, removed the camera battery, then put it back in and plugged in the panel again. It did not resolve the issue. Does anyone from ring monitor these boards?
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21-12-2019 04:10:39
VWow your braver than me !!!! Here in the UK its raining 24/7 there is no way I'm going up on a ladder in the rain. Pretty extraordinary they would expect us to do a reset on the device and solar panel given the solar panel has a 4 meter extension running off the battery spot light cam running upwards !!!
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22-12-2019 10:14:58
VThis is what I got from ring Support last night " Thank you for the follow-up emails. I already consulted this with our Technical Team. There is no need to be concerned with this message if your devices are already connected and charging okay with the solar panels. We’re sorry to hear the Ring app is showing confusing messaging about the solar status of your Ring device; rest assured that our team is investigating and working to resolve it as soon as possible. If there’s anything else I can help with in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to ask. We very much appreciate your patience. Best Regards,"
•3
22-12-2019 10:16:01
- O
I think the developers coded this backwards. I’m experiencing the exact opposite problem. I don’t have a solar charger, but my status says it’s connected. I had a chat agent essentially act like I’m stupid and not know what I have. I definitely don’t have a solar charger and my doorbell is hardwired.  
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13-01-2020 02:31:44
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TThat really seems to be Ring’s response lately - to assume the customer is an idiot. Shame, their support was great even a year ago. Last time I called I got a similar reaction, and seems to be what we’re getting in this thread. The function is clearly supposed to show the presence of a solar charger, but is broken and coded totally wrong. As a software engineer myself, I gotta ask, how did this make it out of testing, and why are the official Ring people in support forums so clueless?
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13-01-2020 05:22:45
JI too get no status on my solar panels connected to spotlight cams. They are charging as one of my batteries just went from 39 to 40% so it is charging. I think they may be looking for a significant charge rate to indicate the presence of a panel - in the North East winter, it won’t get that.
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16-01-2020 05:22:04
MI have exact same thing, it tells me that all of the sudden I have a solar panel that’s connected while in fact I don’t have one
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19-02-2020 12:00:21
JI agree with this assessment. Both of my solar connected devices show "add a Ring Solar panel...". My hard-wired Doorbell, Solar Charger Status "Connected". My panels are in fact working. I can track the battery at the start of the day vs the end, they do increase. Furthermore, I have one panel that gets more sun and it charges more. Also, it was brought up that they do not charge under 32 degrees. Yep, I can confirm that too. The actually documented that one. [Cold Weather Battery](https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005939463-Cold-Weather-and-Battery-Powered-Ring-Devices)
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03-03-2020 01:14:58
- E
I now have solar units on both doorbells. Complete waste of money! So disappointing!
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19-02-2020 01:38:06
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DThe solar charger does not work , I am in south Fl and it's facing SE and get direct sun 3-5 hours a day and provides no charge , worthless .
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23-02-2020 09:45:05
SRing need to immediately address this product performance gap. I, too, was hoodwinked and bamboozled into getting a solar panel for my driveway camera and installed it over the weekend. I've yet to see any charging cababilities from the panel to the camera - trickle or non-trickle. Luckily I have two batteries in the camera and a spare that I can insert at a moments notice for either the driveway cam or doorbell (wireless). In the winter, it's a bit dicey getting up on a ladder to replace the battery when it runs low. I hope that Ring is listening to its customers and financial supporters. This is a huge miss and a major disappointment. The app was updated and it's highly misleading to show "Solar Panel Status" under Device Health if there is nothing to show. Deception isn't cool and it does very little to build our on-going trust and support in your new product releases. If it's not ready for product release, leave it on the development board until it passes QA with 100% certainty.
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24-02-2020 03:52:10
ISince Ring support has decided to just completely abondon any attempts at helping this community, here is some info I have found. If the temperature is below **32°F ** all Ring devices will STOP TAKING A CHARGE. Meaning your solar panels will not 'work'. Same goes for hardwired Doorbells. While the temperature is below 32, the device will run purely off of battery. From experience I know this to be true. When the temperature warmed to 38, my cameras and doorbell suddenly had their batteries recharged. This functionality was seemingly introduced in a software update last fall. **[https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005939463-Cold-Weather-and-Battery-Powered-Ring-Devices](https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005939463-Cold-Weather-and-Battery-Powered-Ring-Devices)** The Solar Panel section in device heath is completely broken with zero communication from the Ring team. My hardwired doorbell reports a happy Solar Panel, where as my camera which is hooked up to a solar panel (that works when above 32 degrees) suggests that I should try out a solar panel. Ring is too busy trying to stop employees from complaining about the services' security to actually improve their products. It's a shame.
•1
25-02-2020 03:23:32
TUnfortunately, this makes perfect sense. Lithium-Ion batteries should not be charged at freezing temperatures, as this can damage the battery. No way around that, it’s just chemistry. As for the solar panel message, yep. It’s completely misleading. Ring Support here thinks it’s just an “advertisement”, however it’s clearly bad code that is intended to detect the solar panel but never actually does. My guess is Ring’s development team is overseas / outsourced and the communication between support and front-facing teams with them is either limited or nil. Overall, a bad approach - but certainly cheap to keep those VCs happy.
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25-02-2020 04:04:45
KI installed my camera and solar panel, based in the North East of England in early spring so not exactly sun central. It is stating like everybody’s that I should add a solar panel, however when I installed it the battery was at 49% just checked it there after just a morning in the sun and the battery is up to 73% so it is obviously working as described.
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21-04-2020 12:33:51
- I
Same issue here, bought three of the solar chargers so hoping to get a resolution.
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17-04-2020 01:47:58
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01-10-2021 10:33:45
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redisant
I came here looking for this answer as well. The release notes of that version indicate that you can "Choose from three power options: Battery, Plug-in or Solar" I see no option to set it and my camera is connected to solar.
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20-12-2019 03:04:43
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