Ring Video Doorbells

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Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) - UK WiFi ISPs and weather conditions
wifi
negative-feedback
video-quality
I do not want to sound negative about the Ring doorbell as, in general, it works; but do wonder about its compatibility with UK ISP WiFi providers and weather conditions. Here's why... I have had a lot of problems recently with poor RSSI - I will not bore you with the details, only to say that I do not think I am alone. The advice from Ring about locating the doorbell near enough to the router without any obstructions, would be OK if you could do that, but most folks cannot, especially if you live in a house in the UK with thick walls (think I have read a post on here that suggests, jokingly, to bring the doorbell indoors!). All extenders, such as Chime Pro do, is 'extend' the WiFi signal. They do not boost it to make it any stronger, and are pointless if you cannot plug them in any nearer to the doorbell than the router is. The routers that Ring recommend as being a best fit for their devices (e.g., NetGear, etc.), might be super powerful, but a) are not always compatible with UK ISP providers, b) and are expensive - why should you have to pay a few hundred pounds to buy a new router, if your ISP has already provided one for their network that is fit for purpose for your other smart connecting to WiFi on it? Now for the Great British weather. There seems to be quite a few posts about lens misting problems prevention actions (burglars!) being picked up. Products like RainX (tried it), do not work and the product coats the lens making clarity worse. There are also suggestions on here about buying some sort of cover/hood to protect the doorbell, but surely this would further hamper the RSSI. Also, again, why should you have to go to added expense to buy additional kit to get your doorbell to work? I am sorry to sound so negative about the product, I really do like it, but just wish it worked a bit better for UK conditions and non-techie customers who would just like it to plug-and-play and then perform optimally with their ISP's router as other devices do.

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25-10-2023 07:50:27

Responses (1)

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@user62871 The number one issue you see on the forum is poor connectivity/RSSI issues etc. Ring products do work well in what they were designed for but they need a good strong and stable Wi-Fi connection. It is the same for all Wi-Fi based cameras not just ring, they are designed for ease of install. If they aren't getting that strong signal then they wont perform as well which then frustrates customers. The issue is exterior walls kill Wi-Fi in its tracks, especially the 5ghz band. UK homes, new ones anyway have multiple layers/cavity wall that make up the wall, brick, membrane, thick insulation and then either more brick or plaster. You sometimes get more luck with 2.4 as it goes through walls better. I have a high end router and still need a chime pro plugged in about 6 feet from the doorbell to achieve a strong signal even on 2.4. The best solution is wired ie POE (and Ring do the very old Elite model which is POE) where the power and also the data go over ethernet but the vast majority of consumers will not want to or be able to run ethernet to where they need it hence Ring would sell very few of them so go with Wi-Fi.

1

25-10-2023 08:59:47

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