Doorbell 2 battery: is this normal?

Products Video Doorbells
#1

I just bought a Doorbell 2 refurbished (though the packaging looked brand new) from Amazon and installed it. I initially charged the battery for about three hours (the light turned green in less than an hour), put it in the unit and let it sit outside overnight while I explored its features.

The next morning I noticed the battery was at just 67%, and also noted that the manual said to charge it for 5-10 hours, so I charged it for nearly seven hours while I installed the doorbell, which took a lot less than seven hours! Then I installed the battery, which reported that it was at 97%. I then had to leave the property, which is a second home. The next morning, the battery was back at 67%, with ten false motion alarms. I dialed motion sensitivity down to minimum and disabled one of the motion zones. I also set frequency to “light”.

That night, with no further motion events, the battery was at 37%! At that point I disabled motion sensing and live vew entirely. A day later it is still reporting 37%. This doorbell is located in Flagstaff, Arizona where the low temperature was 19 degrees last night. Overnight lows close to zero are not unusual in the winter. I read that low temperatures can impact battery life, but this seems ridiculous. Is this device going to be usable in this environment?

I went with the Doorbell 2 over the Pro specifically for the battery because there is no existing wiring in this location. With the advertised 6-12 month battery life I was not concerned because I’m usually at the property every 4-6 weeks at most. Unfortunately I won’t have an opportunity to recharge the battery for a few weeks, which is why I disabled motion and live just to hopefully retain some use of the doorbell. Maybe the cold weather also causes the battery level reporting to be wildly innacurate. Does anyone have experience with these in cold weather?

#2

Update: Now the doorbell is offline; I assume the battery is dead. Well, that was fun while it lasted!

#3

That is definitely not a normal decrease in battery. I recommend charging back to 100% and seeing if it drains at this rate again. In the meantime, take a look at our Community Device Tips for a quickly draining battery to see if it helps to improve your experience. If this concern persists, please contact our support team at 800-656-1918, for more in depth troubleshooting.

#4

I am having the same problem with the doorbell 2 being purchased refurbished from Amazon. I properl charged the battery and have turned off anything that says it can reduce battery life. This includes motion detection. I only get three days max out of the battery. I purchased two other batteries to make sure that was not the problem, but I have to continually swap out the battery and charge one ever two or three days.

This is a far cry from the six month + life advertised.

I do not have the option of hardwiring it since a prior owner took out the wire.

#5

Not working as advertised is a big pain. Are you sure the previous owner removed the wire and did not just shove it into the wall? If you have an led flashlight or preferably one of those tiny telescoping led flashlights would make looking for it easier.

#6

The wiring is gone/disconnected. This is why a battery is important. I was using a battery chime doorbell that works quite well, but want the video now. I would be ok with a battery life of one or two months but two to three days is flat out extremely bad. I would go to say defective.

#7

I have the Classic (original) Ring (and I’m new to it) so I don’t know much about the Ring 2 (or the original for that matter.) The video is working on the battery mode; it’s hardwired in, but not working via the wiring (long story I won’t share now.) I would call customer support and ask about why you aren’t getting the video; maybe you just need to adjust your settings.

FYI re: original Ring…I don’t have extremely cold weather here as mentioned above (but still freezing at night.) I charged the battery fully Friday night, installed it Saturday afternoon, and it has 80% battery this Monday morning. I did have some activity on my camera over the days, but not a lot. I’m guessing it will last about a week. I read in some other posts some doorbells have a “people mode” which only alerts for people. I don’t know if your has that or not; it seems like that may save the battery some (still not many months previously mentioned.) I don’t think mine does, or maybe it’s a subscription only thing. I would call customer support as 6+ months is a far cry from a few days.

#8

I have exactly the same problem. Doorbell 2 from Costco brand new. Installled at vacation home. Charged overnight to 100%. Left Friday morning. It shows 53% Sunday with ‘light’ motion detection. Turned off everything, motion detection, live view, notification, etc. … It showed 18% Tuesday. Called Ring CSR, he run diagnostic remotely and was able to see every history. Determined it is a bad battery and is sending a replacement battery to my home… will replace it in next 4-6 weeks. He also mentioned that , IF, it still does not work, then it may be a defective device. He recommended to take back to Costco for replacement.

#9

Same problem. I have the 2020 version. It is hardwired and reads hardwired until it goes to -1 degrees C then switches to battery and drains in less than 24 hrs from 100% to zero!