Ring Security Cameras
user77475
Ring Cameras are not Security Devices!
I have 8 Ring cameras (both wifi hardwired and POE) at my workshop. Last night my Ring alarm went off. I woke up and checked my cameras, but nothing was being recorded on ANY of them, so I figured it was a false alarm caused by an animal or something. This morning, I discovered I was pilfered. They spend an hour or more stealing tools and welding equipment and my cameras picked up NOTHING. My WiFi was not hacked. They were using a WiFi interrupter or jammer to COMPLETELY DISABLE the cameras. Please be aware that Ring cameras are glorified nanny cameras.
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18-02-2024 02:39:16
Responses (4)
- M
A few observations/comments: How could your POE cameras be disabled by a WiFi jammer? I know it’s 20/20 hindsight now, but it sounds like you just saw that nothing was being recorded and assumed that all was well, but trying to start live view (which I assume would have been unsuccessful) would have given you a heads-up that something was amiss. Ring should acknowledge this problem (the apparent proliferation of wifi disrupting devices… amusingly, I could buy one from Ring’s parent company right now) and take some proactive steps toward hardening the system against them. Apparently there ARE wifi protocol measures that can be put in place to protect against those simple deauthers. Actual RF jamming devices are probably harder to protect against, but even with those, at a bare minimum the system should be able to at least DETECT that this is happening, and notify you “Alert: possible WiFi jamming in use nearby” or something like that. I’m surprised that the criminals felt comfortable enough to remain there for an extended period of time despite the alarm having gone off. Maybe they believed their WiFi jamming gear was preventing the notification from going out, and that no police would be dispatched? But you did get that notification, so I assume your alarm is hardwired?
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18-02-2024 04:11:21
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UI have a hardwired Ring doorbell (latest version) and the jamming has been happening on mine, mostly Amazon and FedEx. I was home the last time it happened and decided to test it by opening Live View. I could see the truck pulling up outside but first, I noticed my Echo Show suddenly cut off (I had music playing), then the live view screen froze and was completely pixelated. All this while I was sitting right at the dining room table and could see the driver dropping the package off on my porch. As soon as he left, everything went back to normal! Of course there was no recording of the truck in the driveway nor of him walking up on the porch, right in front of the camera. I don't understand why they're doing that if they're not doing anything wrong.
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23-12-2024 04:55:55
- M
I have personally experienced this occurrence & it is frequently used as a tactic in situations involving domestic violence. It is unfortunate that signal jammers can be acquired easily. Therefore, it is advisable to convert your cameras to a hard-wired system. Additionally, consider incorporating a VPN network.
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20-05-2024 11:25:20
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- U
It is terrifying to realize that the very devices we purchased (and paid A LOT of money for) can be so easily disabled by wifi jammers. I hope RING has taken notice of this and is working on a defense system. Like MichaelC suggested, at least add a function that detects jamming activity. In a recent jamming incident, an Amazon driver stood directly in front of my doorbell camera to take a picture of the package by my front door and there was NO RECORDING or notification from Ring. I immediately went outside after they left and tested it. I received an alert and a recording of me standing there, so I now the camera was working. This was not an isolated occurrence or momentary network glitch, it's been happening several times when packages are delivered.
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23-12-2024 05:09:25
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Caitlyn_Ring
Hi @user77475. I’m sorry to hear about what happened, and I’d recommend contacting your local authorities if you haven’t done so already. Check the Event History for your devices for any motions that were recorded, and verify your Modes settings to ensure you do not have motion detection turned off. Like many other smart devices, Ring devices may be affected by illegal targeted attempts to interfere with their Wi-Fi connection. We’d recommend reaching out to your internet service provider if you have any questions about the security settings on your network.
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20-02-2024 06:54:32
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