In general recommend 2nd gen ring alarm in UK?

UK Topics Security System
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I know sometimes we get less, or eventually get, updates, features etc in UK, compared to the US. So in general do you recommend the Ring alarm in UK?

I’m thinking of upgrading my alarm, from an old wired system, that rarely use, to a Ring alarm. I have a doorbell, and rear cam spotlight as well, so will have to upgrade to the £80/year for all these now to - worth it?

I like the idea of the app integration, the ability to arm when forgot, notifications etc.

Is it easy to setup? Is everything completely wireless apart from the base that needs a socket to be plugged in?

How often do the batteries need changing on the devices?

I’ve read a bit about the outside siren, seems some poor design choices imo. Why need 2 power sources for dusk to dawn? Why if wired permanently powered need 2 power sources? Obviously I want this high up, out of way for easy access, so how often do you need to change/charge batteries? I would probably go with the C cell, and ring battery, but no solar.

thanks

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Hi @L1111. The Ring Alarm is a great system. This system is completely wireless, aside from the Base Station. It is a DIY system that can usually be set up and running in about an hour. The battery life will vary depending on use, but they do last for a few years in my personal experience. With most battery-powered devices, in outside-cold weather, you will notice a decrease in battery life.

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Thanks it does sound decent. Just wondering if all the features are in UK that the US have?

Also could you answer about the outdoor siren please

Thanks

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Hi @L1111. I’ve addressed you Outdoor Siren question in that post. Since the US and UK are different regions, they have slightly different features. For example, US has Professional Monitoring and the UK has Assisted Monitoring. You can find all of the features for the Ring Alarm in the UK on Ring.com.

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Hiya,

Ring’s answers really are poor at best and useless at worst aren’t they?!

I’ve recently bought a Ring alarm, a 7 piece kit plus one extra magnetic sensor to cover a third door. I also bought a Glass Break Sensor for my conservatory and an Outdoor Siren.

In general, setup and use is really good, and despite my notes below, I still think its the best of the bunch (which includes Yale, ERA etc.)

If there is a bug, then it’s the constant nagging to buy into the Protect Plus subscription. The app constantly nags for you to do this and nothing you do will ever stop it. You have a choice; put up with the annoying nagging or subscribe!

Subscribing in the UK gets you very little compared to the USA. It automatically calls 5 people in order to say the alarm is sounding, and you get video storage. You also get cellular backup in case your wifi goes down or you suffer a power outage.

And the customer support is dire! As you can see here, I think the guys are just bored of helping people and it shows in their responses.

As for your Siren question, I’ll try to answer, but questions I’ve asked haven’t been answered either, but I’ll do my best:
The Siren comes with 4 x D-Cell batteries installed. In “normal use” these batteries last up to 3 years. SO I would estimate it’s likely to be closer to 18 months to 2 years depending on how cold the winters are!
Adding a Ring rechargeable battery adds “Dawn to Dusk” where the Ring logo lights up at night. I cannot tell you how long the batteries last in this mode as that’s a question they cannot seem to answer. The D-Cells become a backup and would therefore likely last longer.
You can add a Solar Panel to the 2 power source (making it three) which keeps the Ring Rechargeable battery charged. I should imagine this could become almost constant power with no need to recharge the Ring battery.
Finally you can also Hardwire using the Ring Power Supply, but obviously this needs to be indoors and is likely going to need a hole drilling in the wall. This keeps the Rechargeable battery topped up constantly, I doubt you would ever need to touch the Siren again in its natural life.
All the battery levels and the state of the Hardwire can be monitored from the app.

Your specific question about how long with D-Cells and a fully charged rechargeable battery only is something Ring don’t seem to be able to answer.

If you have any other questions, I’m happy to try to help, but do bear in mind, I’m just a customer and not a Ring employee :slight_smile:

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Hey @user51307, thanks for sharing your experience with the Ring Alarm here for @L1111. The Ring Community is a public forum that serves as a space for neighbors to interact with one another. It is not a direct line to our support team, and the moderation team is here to moderate the forum and assist with general questions. We often try to share self-service options for support, such as our Help Center, alongside general troubleshooting tips and tricks.

@L1111 You might find this Ring Alarm FAQ helpful in getting an overview of the Ring Alarm system. Essentially, it is an almost entirely wireless alarm system that you can control from the Ring app. This doesn’t change going from the US to the UK. There is some variance in the features available, such as Assisted Monitoring rather than Professional Monitoring. A breakdown of Assisted Monitoring can be found here, which is a feature available with the Ring Protect Plus plan. Check here for more information on what features the Ring Protect Plus plan entails. For the Outdoor Siren, here is information on the different power sources you can use.

We don’t have a specific time range for how long the batteries will last in a particular device, given that there are so many factors that affect battery life. The weather, connectivity, and amount of activity or traffic will all impact how often a battery needs to be changed in a device. As such, we don’t want to set the wrong expectation for neighbors. For the most part, the batteries in the Ring Alarm devices don’t need to be changed out that often, though excessive activity or extreme weather conditions would affect this.

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Thanks for trying. I’m surprised it hasn’t been tested and at least give an estimate, every other system seems to be able to answer…

So I’ve bought and got most stuff working, haven’t done the outdoor siren yet though.

I’ve subscribed to protect plus though as already had a video doorbell, and back outdoor camera.

Regarding the outdoor and hardwire, you say you still need a Ring rechargeable battery as well in there? I thought having a hardwire option you’d only need the D cells and hardwire?

I’m now thinking, eventually when I get around to it, if decommissioning my old burglar alarm, but somehow use the existing wire of the outdoor siren somehow. Even if I just use the wire and some adapter?

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You could be right about not needing the battery pack, but that’s half the problem, its not clear enough.

I literally just finished installing my Siren. I’ve been putting it off for a long time knowing it would be a pain to do. I had painted the house after fitting a dummy siren a few years ago, so I knew it would mean getting a paint brush out, but luckily the builders had drilled a hole for the cable and I had used it previously for a 4G antenna giving me a draw cord!

Working above the second floor on a ladder was not fun. I couldn’t imagine it being possible to maintain H&S 3 points of contact on a ladder whilst screwing two fiddly forked contacts onto screw terminals safely. Why on earth Ring didn’t use a plug like for the solar panel is anyone’s guess. I ended up using a couple of sets of bullet connectors which I fitted before taking it all up the ladder, but you still have to feed the cable through the backplate. Again, a simple slot in the backplate would work so well.
There is a spirit level bubble on the backplate to help with level, but up a ladder to one side, it’s too small to be of any use. So you might be well recommended to have a helper eying it up as you mark to drill holes.

So to answer fully, I am actually glad I shelled out the extra €30 for the battery pack as it just means more time before having to go back up the ladder, even to just replace alkaline batteries which I know suffer a lot in low temperatures. Frankly I don’t think D-Cell batteries will last more than one winter in my opinion, so having the extra pack being constantly recharged I believe is the better bet, but its up to you, at least you can weigh up the options. I suppose a lot is down to how accessible your siren will be.

As for utilising the existing cable, I would say it’s possible. Most wired alarms used phone cable (4 cables in twisted pairs), so I think I would be very tempted to use that cable to supply power to the siren from the PSU as the PSU cable is no thicker than phone cable is. You can strip the ends and wire straight into the screw terminals, noting the colours you use and the polarity so you can connect the other end.

In the end, I like the Ring, but more information is needed really. Ring seem to be a bit blasé on testing the different options.

Good luck, and let me know how it all goes?