My ring doorbell is wired but is running off battery..what is wrong

My ring doorbell is wired but is running off battery…what is wrong

Mine Ring Doorbell 2 does exactly same thing (plugged in yet only runs off battery). I actually have two Doorbell 2’s; one works fine off the transformer, the other drains battery. WHAT TO DO?!

@Hawk4585 and @bobmumin,

Your Doorbell cannot and does not work off main-connection power. It always runs via Battery power, regardless if you have a hardware connection supplying current or not. The “Ring Video Doorbell Pro” is the only Doorbell exception that I’m aware of and it does runs off the hardwired power (and @Hawk4585 didn’t specify what model doorbell you own). For all other RIng Doorbells, the hardwired can ONLY trickle-charge the battery . . . the hardwired alone cannot run the doorbell. It is not unusual to see the battery level drop into the low 90% when there are frequent activations. It should recharge back up when the load decreases.

Also, @bobmumin double-check your app. On the Doorbell setting page, in the upper-right-corner you should see the Battery Icon with a lightening-bolt in it. If the lightening-bolt is not in the Battery Icon, then your hardwired is NOT trickle-charging, even if the wires are connected. Also, look at Doorbell’s “Device Health” page and it should have “Power Source” as “Hardwired.”

If you do not see the lightening-bolt or the word “Hardwired”, then your battery is not charging, even if the hard-wires are physically connected. If you don’t see these, there is a possibility that your Doorbell has only been running on the battery for a long time (without getting recharged).

You should fix your settings if you app doesn’t indicated that you are Hardwired. You may have to redo the setup to ensure that indeed you switch from Power Source - Battery to Power Source Hardwired. I’ve heard claims from others, of instances where the initial set up was performed BEFORE the wires were supplying electrical power, and possibly the Doorbell did not “see” the external power and therefore defaulted to Battery Only and will not charge . . . even if the hard-wires were connected later.

@bobmumin , if all your settings are correct and your Video Doorbell 2 is still draining, then there is something that is draining the battery faster than the “trickle-charge” can recharge it (heavy/frequent number of motion events, commanding frequent “Live-Views”, triggering often on moving trees, etc.). It is not unusual for a frequently activated Doorbell for the battery level to drop, but then when the high-draining activity decreases, the transformer should be able to bring it back up to 100%. Another possibility is that the hardwire power level is at a minimal voltage to that doorbell.

I hope you might find this helpful :slight_smile:

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