Hello @Wilberr ,
I can see how this all could be confusing. So, let me try to âcover all the basesâ which should explain this better.
Of the 3 available alarm modes âDisarmedâ, âHomeâ, and âAwayâ, only two of them are Armed Alarm Modes capable of activating the alarm response & siren. The " Home" and " Away" Alarm Modes are the two armed modes.
Typically, most people set up their " Home" Mode with all their door and window Contact sensors enabled to form a âprotective perimeter barrierâ around them while they are home inside. And they typically set up their âHomeâ Mode with their Motion sensors not enabled to allow their interior movements (which are still being detected) to NOT be used to trigger the alarm response & siren. That way, as long as you remain inside (not opening an exterior door and not opening a window) you are free to roam about without a Motion Sensor triggering the alarm response & siren.
When you depart the house and everyone is away, most people configure their âAwayâ Mode settings to have ALL Contact and Motion sensors enabled , thus detecting Intruders that trigger the âprotective barrierâ and/or cause movement Motion inside (if they gained entry by breaking a window instead of opening it and thus not activating the windowâs Contact sensor).
But, Ring designed the Modes so you can tailor both Armed Modes of âHomeâ and âAwayâ as you want. You can change your settings in each of the armed modes to have any combination of Contact or Motion sensors enabled, but you must have at least one sensor enabled. If you really wanted to, since âHomeâ and âAwayâ are essentially the same (just named differently for you to remember which is configured which way), you could have your Motion sensors used in âHomeâ mode and Motion sensors not used in âAwayâ mode, thus reversing their roles. So, Home and Away are both armed modes, just named as such for your convenience in remembering how you set up your sensors in these modes.
To ** enable/disable which sensors** you prefer to have in each Armed Mode :
- Main Menu (the 3 horizontal line icon, upper-left-corner of dashboard) > then select âDevicesâ > Alarm Base Station > and then select the Contact or Motion sensor > Mode Settings > and toggle whether you want this sensor to trigger or not trigger the alarm in the âHomeâ and/or âAwayâ Modes > and finish by selecting âSaveâ upper-right-corner.
The " Placement" setting is important for your sensors. Once an armed Mode is activated, the âPlacementâ designation you set for each sensor will determine if the alarm will immediately go off or delay (for the time you set on the Entry/Exit delay).
To set âPlacementâ for each sensor:
- Main Menu > âDevicesâ > Alarm Base Station > and then select the Contact or Motion sensor > select the blue âGearâ icon (upper-right-corner) > Placement > choose Placement designation > âSaveâ (upper-right-corner).
You set a Entry/Exit delay (most use the 30-seconds option) so you have sufficient time to arm/disarm as you exit/enter. You can set a specific time delay for Entry-delay different (or the same) than for Exit-delay, depending on your specific circumstances. But in most cases, people use the same amount of time delay for both Entry (when entering the house from outside) and Exit (when exiting the house from inside).
Current Ring Alarm systemâs available Entry and Exit delay times are:
- 0-seconds
- 30-seconds
- 45-seconds
- 60-seconds
- 120-seconds
So @Wilberr note that in your example, there is not a 10-second option available at this time.
On the entryways that you use, set Placement as âMain Doorâ (Contact sensors, and you can have as many âMain Doorsâ that you want to use, not limited to only one door). And any Motion sensors that can possibly detect movement at these entryways, should have their âPlacementâ set to âEntryway.â You can also have a time-delay Entry or Exit delay different for Home Mode and Away Mode.
To set Entry/Exit Delays for âHomeâ and âAwayâ Modes:
- Main Menu (the 3 horizontal line icon, upper-left-corner of dashboard) > Settings > at your Location select âModesâ > for Delay choices, pick âHomeâ and/or âAwayâ > scroll down to Entry Delay / Exit Delay and then select > Pick your desired time delay > âSaveâ (upper-right-corner).
So, @Wilberr you wrote, âif I want to allow a 10 second delay between when I open the door (in the Away mode), and when the siren goes off?â, if entering from outside and then you open the door (that has a âPlacementâ setting of âMain Doorâ) with a minimum Entry time-delay of 30-seconds, you would then have 30-seconds from opening door, entering the house, and getting to the Keypad to disarm, before the Alarm siren goes off.
You can click this online link, and download the Ring Alarm system Operating Manual for more extensive information:
https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041532351-Ring-Alarm-2nd-generation-Set-up-and-Installation-Guide
Ring Alarm manual 2nd generation_web.pdf
Bottom-line is that you can use the above information to tailor the armed modes to react as you find best suited for your needs. By trying to âcover all the basesâ, I hope you find this is helpful for clearing up your confusion.