I have 2 motion detectors in an outbuilding with a range extender that is within 10ft of each. The range extender is 30 foot from the base. Both sensors read weak signal however the range extender is showing in good connection. Support suggested I addf another range extender. (where would I put it?). My CO and smoke alarm also show a weak signal per Ring support. This capability is not on the app. Any suggestions? I feel I made a big mistake with Ring.
Hey @MarkR. How far is the outbuilding from your Base Station, about 30-40 ft from the sounds of it? Sometimes when there is a lot of interference like walls, other appliances, metals, bricks, etc. in between, this can cause the signal to weaken as it has a harder time getting through the walls.
Was our support team about to tell you or verify if the Motion Detectors were connected to the Range Extender, or if they were reporting a weak signal from the Base Station? The Motion Detectors should show on our support side’s end if they’re connected to either or, so you may want to follow up with them to verify this for you.
In the event they may be connected to the Range Extender, but still having a weak signal, you could get another Range Extender to see if two of these can amplify the signal enough, but it’s possible there is too much interference in your outbuilding for them to have a strong signal. Please note that despite a weak signal, the device may still function, so feel free to test out the functionality to see if it’s still operational.
I understand about the interference potential. It appears the extender does not have this problem, however the motion sensors which are within 10 ft of the extender does. 1 sensor has a direct line of sight.
Today when I called, the representative did not provide me with the information regarding where the sensors were connecting. Even after I asked her. I had a very poor experience with her. It was apparent she was not listening to my explanation of my issue.
However, yesterday I had two calls to support and both were excellent. We resolved the weak signal issue yesterday, but it reappered today. Yesterday, I was informed the sensors were not connecting to the extender. We resolved that by a manual process with the sensors and it did connect to the extender.
It is not practical or acceptable that I would have to be on-site to correct this problem. I’m not sure if my equipment is faulty or it is just not suited for my application, which is not very complex with walls, windows and distance.
I have gotten to the point that I feel the system is not reliable and cannot be trusted to secure our house with weak signals, devices going offline or showing invalid statuses.
I have a similar issue to your but it is within my home. What process did they have you go through to connect the sensor to the range extender? I have one contact sensor that is within just a couple feet of the extender and it still shows a weak signal. If I can avoid a call to support, I would like to do so!
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I would like to know that as well…
I’m in the same boat with some of my sensors. Ones which are closer to an extender, and you’d think should have a strong signal, show as having weak signals - and vice versa.
I would be nice if Ring would incorporate the same type of network map which most routers provide especially within a mesh network. Ring Alarm, being a Z-Wave network (which uses a mesh network topology), should be able to show you which mesh “node” (Base or Ring extender) each device is connected to - along with explaining how to change if necessary.
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Hey neighbors! @MarkR @MarkR We’re sorry to hear about your experience with our support team, and we’re happy to offer some guidance here. When working with multiple buildings where the Base Station is in one building and some of the sensors are in another, it can be tricky to maintain a reliable connection on all of the devices. This is due to the nature of wireless networks and the interference that the different building materials can cause. You can reference this Help Center Article on Z-Wave networks here as well. You can try readjusting the placement of some of your devices and moving the Base Station as close to these additional sensors as possible, but please keep in mind that the Ring Alarm system is meant to be used within one building.
@Ringer330 I would recommend you remove the Contact Sensor from the Ring App and re-add it near the Range Extender. This will help ensure it connects to the Range Extender rather than the Base Station for the most optimal connection.
For any further connection concerns, please reach out to our support team at one of the numbers availablehere. They can take a deeper look at your system and the signals each device is receiving and offer more in-depth suggestions. 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-19here to see how to contact support.
Regarding re-adding the sensor closer to the extender and not the base. This does seem logical to me however, support had me move closer to the base and re-add it, then move it in place closer to the extender where it should reconnect.
What they said makes no sense at all.
Since Ring uses the Z-Wave technology, you have to “force” each battery powered device to connect to the strongest-signaled powered device. With Z-Wave you would need to setup the powered devices (base and extenders) first and get them in place. Then any battery powered device you add will connect to the strongest signal source node. Once the device has attached to a powered device, being either the base or an extender, that’s the one it stays connected with even if you were to add an additional, stronger powered node or were to move the device - it will always try connecting to the powered node it was first attached to. The Z-Wave mesh does not operate like a tradtional WiFi mesh network allowing the devices to “roam” and change which node it connects to based on the strongest signal.
Unlike a Z-Wave mesh network, a Zigbee mesh network is a bit easier to get the battery powered devices to find and connect to the strongest powered node.
Some systems out there which use the Z-Wave networking (Smart Things and Home Assistant to name a couple) allow you to run a “network repair” which essentially reassigns the devices to connect to the powered node which is providing the strongest signal. Something Ring has yet to provide within their app.
The mistake I made was I setup and configured all the devices in my work lab before putting them in their respective locations so they ALL connected to the base which was the strongest node at that time. So now that I have the entire house layed out, I will need to remove each device from the system, reinstall and let them connect to the strongest node. Fortunately I created a spreadsheet where I recorded the device numbers so I can add them back into the system without having to scan each QR code.
All this being said, that is my understanding of a Z-Wave mesh network operation - unless Ring has come up with something entirely new.
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This did not work for me. I’ve been on the phone with support for hours. Insisting to Level1 support that I’m experiencing signal issues - they say no. Finally got to Level2 support and they say “yeah it’s signal issue”.
By that point I had to hang up and run somewhere, so I’m waiting for a call back from Level2.
I setup the devices (2 door sensors, a motion sensor, and a keypad) right next to the range extender – yet they show week signal and are connecting to the base station (as I’m told by Ring support).
I’m not convinced these range extenders do anything.
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Sorry i’m late to this party but having the same issues 6 months later. What are the steps to “reinstall” the sensors so they connect to a better base-station or repeater since I moved those around for better coverage? is it literally starting from scratch or is there a push of the button (2nd gen ) to have it register?
Hi there, neighbors! The Alarm Base Station can reach quite a distance to keep your Alarm devices connected. This is possible through Z-Wave, which you can learn more about in our Help Center article about how Z-Wave networks communicate.
The Range Extender can be placed up to 250 feet from the Base Station. It will reach Alarm devices up to 250 feet away, in an unobstructed environment. Coverage may vary depending on the layout and construction of your home or business. This also means that, depending on the layout of your home, there might be an instance where your Alarm device is in range of both the Base Station and the Range Extender, but might choose connecting to the Base Station.
Placement of the Range Extender can help with this but, ultimately, as long as your Alarm devices are connecting dependably throughout your home, no need to change anything. Here is our Help Center article for more Range Extender troubleshooting tips! 
If you still seem to have any issues with connection, please give our support team a call at one of the numbers available here. If you are outside of the US, please visit here to see how to contact support.
I have the same issue. I tried all the solutions above and the one sensor I have 5 feet from the extender and 20 feet from the base continually connects to the base. The extenders are garbage and clearly weren’t tested for so many to have the exact same problem.
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