Hardwired Video Doorbell - App Says Battery
I have just installed a Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen). When installing it, I connected the doorbell to the existing wires from the old doorbell. Using a digital multimeter I confirmed that there is 1A, 60Hz, 13.57VAC available at the wires. By touching the wires together I can activate the existing doorbell chime in the house. Furthermore, we've had the old doorbell installed for the last 8 years w/o issue. With the Ring installed I'm having a few issues/questions. First, in the Ring app under the doorbell device health, the Power Source is listed as Battery. The Battery Level is given as 100% (I charged it before installation), but I expected the Power Source to change to Hardwired. I've read a number of places about the trickle charging, but in each of those articles it talks about the Power Source being given has Hardwired and/or showing the lightning bolt in the green battery icon to indicate charging. I'm not seeing any of that. However, I have been watching the live view for quite a while to see if the battery would drain at all and it's not; I'm still at 100% regardless of how much I pester the doorbell. The second issue I'm having is that the Ring system is not activating my existing chime (not the Ring Chime device, but the mechanical chime that's been in the house for... who knows how many years). Anyhow, as I described above, I know the chime still works as I can simply touch the wires together and it sounds off. In the Ring app under the doorbell Device Settings, In-Home Chime Settings, I try to configure the chime. Using Automatic Chime Detection the app asks if I wired the device to a power source. I say "Yes," and the app says the "Ring Doorbell is not receiving power from your doorbell system." I've swapped the wires in the back of the doorbell (though it shouldn't matter); I've cleaned the wires with light-grit sandpaper and isopropyl alcohol and reconnected them - no change. The breaker is turned back on and every other outlet on that circuit is working fine and, indeed, I'm still getting the above described numbers at the wires - 1A, 60Hz, 13.57VAC. I should say too that these numbers are rock solid. I tested them while bending and wiggling the wires and I could not get the numbers to budge at all. So that's where I'm at. I don't know if this is "normal" operation right now - I've read some things on here about firmware suspicions and issues with the iOS app. If anyone has any suggestions or can provide any insight into what I'm seeing, I would very much appreciate it.
8379 •
0 •
6 •
29-07-2021 03:09:00
Responses (9)
- R
@faust Same, just noticed this today as well. I have had both installed for a couple months and they were charging just fine. Good voltage, wires are not corroded, etc. These are the Video Doorbell 4's. I have 8 ring devices in total and am getting ready to pull my hair out! :laughing: I came here just because I wanted to vent about the plastic brackets on the new floodlight cameras, but then was going in my device health on my two doorbells and saw "Battery" instead of "Hardwired". So I searched this as well and it brought me here! :grinning:
•0
29-07-2021 03:08:47
- M
Hi there, neighbors! Thank you for continuing to share your experiences with us. Aside from the normal battery and power troubleshooting steps, please also consider usage factors such as back to back events, many events, many live views, or signal connection interference. These variables can cause battery drain, or the power status to show battery. If none of the suggestions in this thread have resolved your concern, our support team would love to take a more in-depth look at solutions for you. Please give our support team a call at one of the numbers available [here ](https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/213608406). We’re taking additional steps to protect our team and help reduce the spread of COVID-19, so this has resulted in longer than normal wait times. If you are outside of the US, please read our response to COVID-19 [here](https://support.ring.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360041597471) to see how to contact support. Feel free to let us know of any solutions you obtain! :slight_smile:
•0
29-07-2021 05:03:05
•
RForgive my insolence Marley, so your generic reply is insinuating that the multitudes of people that have experienced this very issue recently could attribute this to the "usage factors" you listed. It is quite unbelievable that a feature that worked so well in the past for so many people could have a problem brought on by some external factor other than a firmware push. I am usually not this vocal, but being in the technical support business for over 30 years I can honestly say that these generic replies to real problems not caused by the end user or environmental variables are preposterous. I realize that I am just one person and the revenue Ring generates from me means nothing, but this type of experience will cause me to never buy another Ring product or recommend it to anyone.
•4
29-07-2021 06:45:50
J@Marley_Ring these cut/paste replies is not an answer to the problem. It also makes it seem like you're some sort of a bot and not human... I think the issue is that Ring pushed some firmware update. I don't think it's the app because on Android the last update was Jun 18 and this issue just started occurring recently for everyone.
•1
30-07-2021 06:06:44
- H
I have the same issue. There were only two wires connected to my existing doorbell button. I tested with a digital volt meter and it showed 21vac. I also noticed two more wires however that were not connected. I then connected the pair of wires that were used as instructed, attached the device, and when I checked the status it said it was running on battery power. I am now removing the device to test for voltage again, and then status again if there were no wire failures. What are the other 2 wires for??
•0
29-07-2021 07:05:44
•
- T
For the last 3 days my 2 nd gen doorbell which is wired is showing up in device details as being powered by battery. It used to say wired! The battery isn't draining so I'm confident it is wired and the wired door bell chime also works when pressed. Has anyone else noticed this? Was there a firmware update done to 2nd gen recently? The bell has been in use for 8 months now best buy in long time
•0
29-07-2021 10:58:15
•
- M
Thank you for providing those details of your setup and available wires. Whenever you have extra wires at your door, or mounting location, it's best to consider how wire was run or if there was another system there before. For instance there may have been an intercom or speaker there prior. When seeing multiple wires, please check if the wire run from the transformer to your Doorbell is spliced multi-wire, or cat5. Keep in mind spliced wiring can sometimes be too thin or cause resistance in voltage. Check out our [wire gauge article](https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041807292-Selecting-the-Correct-Wire-Gauge-when-Wiring-a-Ring-Video-Doorbell-Pro) for reference. I hope this helps! :)
•0
30-07-2021 04:03:32
•
Didn't find an answer ?
Log in or create your Ring account to post a question and join in the on the conversation.
Community Resources
©2024 Ring LLC or its affiliates
rmdodger
Hi: I'm having the same issue and posted it the other day. The problem you outlined regarding hardwired not showing may be due to a firmware update pushed out by Ring. I've had my Ring Video Doorbell (2020 Release) hardwired for over a year and the Power Source always showed as "Hardwired" until recently. I'm waiting for Ring to hopefully acknowledge there is a problem and push out an update that will resolve it. My mechanical chime still rings however even though I received the same message during setup that you received. What I did to get around the setup failing was to go in the app to Device Settings > In-home Chime Settings > Advanced Settings > select 'Mechanical' as Chime Type, select Continue > select Ring my In-home Chime > select It Rang Correctly (even if it doesn't) > select Continue. When you press the button on the actual Ring doorbell you should hear the ring in the app and the mechanical chime as well. And just verify that 'Mechanical Chime" is selected in Advanced Settings > Chime Type. Good Luck!!
0
29-07-2021 01:30:48
•