I really hate these batteries!!!!!

Why, why, why does Ring insist on running everything from batteries as the primary power source? That’s why I hardwired mine in…so I wouldn’t have to deal with batteries, but here I am uninstalling the whole doorbell (the 2020 model) because you have to turn off the breaker, remove the security screws, disconnect the wires and bring the whole unit inside to charge up because they (very sneakily) removed the option for removable batteries in the 2020 version. And why do I have to keep charging the battery when it’s hardwired? I HAVE NO IDEA! There is no pattern to it whatsoever. It can be fine, usually running between 90-100% charged for weeks at a time, then suddenly one day it’s at 65%, then 62%, then 58%…and I know I’ll have to charge it again. You try to find information from Ring and they say it’s because you have an unusual amount of motion events (nope…same as always) or the weather changed (nope…has stayed in the same range for the last 3 weeks). So why does it drop 35-40% in ONE DAY? No idea…nobody can tell me…it’s because of motion settings, weather, the color of socks I’m wearing that day, the alignment to the North Pole, an unlucky roll of the dice… Anyway, when this finally dies, I will NEVER buy another one again. I will definitely be getting the Google Nest doorbell because it doesn’t even HAVE a battery - and it works on the same wires this Ring doorbell is connected to. Why they can’t make it work like Google does? No idea.

Hi @RedHagar. This isn’t the experience Ring wants you to have. Our Ring Video Doorbell Generation 2 (2020 Release) has an internal battery just like its prior version. The model that has a removable battery would be the Ring Video Doorbell 3 and 3 Plus. The hardwiring of your Doorbell, and all battery operated model, serves as a trickle charge to the battery. As you mentioned, excessive motions (35 or more per day) could exceed the trickle charges capacity and cause a slight drain. This is all dependant on your Doorbell transformer and its voltage rating. We recommend 16 VAC, 30 VA.

What I would recommend to fix this would be a reset of your Doorbell. To do this, press and hold the setup button for 20 seconds, then release. After 1 minute has passed, you can reconnect the Doorbell to wifi. After a quick update, give the doorbell a ring to test its operation. You power source should reflect properly now. I hope this works for you!

I have done the reset before and it doesn’t make any difference. I counted up all my motion detection events and it averages about 14 per day, every day. This day was no different than any other. I never get any false events so it isn’t an issue with motion detection zones, etc. There also isn’t an issue where something is detecting the wrong battery level, though I have never seen a device report so many different battery statuses on the same app! It was down to 58% when I finally decided I needed to charge it…and based on how long it took to charge, that was correct. So…back to the original question nobody seems to want to answer…why does the battery randomly drop so much in such a short period of time for no apparent reason? This is not the first time…and the forums are full of these complaints. I have never seen a real answer to the question yet.

Hello @RedHagar ,

If on some days, due to some detected Wi-Fi interference, if your RSSI value (on your “Device Health”) becomes a high value number, that means your doorbell was working extra hard to maintain the Wi-Fi connection between your router and doorbell. If you check your RSSI, you will notice that it does keep changing daily. This could be another possible cause for the rapid battery drain on some days. Wi-Fi interference can also be produced from all sorts of devices, such as electric motors, other nearby Wi-Fi routers, electronic equipment, and pretty much anything that uses electricity. Once your RSSI gets bigger than about -55, your doorbell has to ‘work’ harder to transmit and maintain its audio/video data stream.

Your router and your neighbors routers typically automatically “hop” to different channels (1ch, 6ch, 11ch) trying to avoid interference. You could download utilize a free “Wi-Fi Analyzer and Scanner” to determine which channels are the busiest, and then manually configure/change your router’s setting to stop Auto-hopping and remain on a channel in between these channels of 1, 6, and 11. For example, I have my router non-hopping and remaining fixed on channel 4, now always in between channels 1, 6, and 11 resulting with less interference and a lower RSSI value, no matter which channel my neighbor’s router switch to. You can ‘google’ to see how to modify your model router.

You could also use a Wi-Fi extender, such as the Ring Chime Pro to help strengthen the Wi-Fi connection (lower your RSSI number) between your router and doorbell, so it won’t have to work so hard and drain the battery.

I hope you find this information useful. :slight_smile:

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