I installed a new Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus with a Solar Charger (for Video Doorbell 3 and Video Doorbell 3 Plus x1).
I installed the solar charger with my new Ring doorbell less than 3 weeks ago.
As of this morning it’s showing an 11% charge and that I need to recharge it. I replaced my old Ring doorbell with the newer model and included the solar charger so that I wouldn’t have to keep charging it. I know that there will be days (clouds, rain, etc) when the solar charger won’t charge the door bell, but we’ve only had a few of these conditions over the past 3 weeks, and sunny days have had much more that 4 hours of sunlight; and there have not been a significant number of alerts/motion detections per day. The “Solar Status” for the device says: “Ring Solar Charger is connected and able to charge this device”. Also, I charged up the device before installing it. Also, when I’ve looked at the “Device Health” for the doorbell, I haven’t seen the battery charge change (increase). Is it possible I have a faulty solar charger? Please advise."
Hey there, @JR5! Great call on checking those Solar Charger variables. Sunlight is definitely the biggest factor for obtaining a charge. As long as the Solar Charger mounts are installed in a directly exposed area to sunlight, and not under an overhang or in an enclosed area, this should work. With the Ring app status showing a connected Solar Charger, this is a great sign that there is some power being received.
As you know, there are various factors that can drain battery. The best next step will be to charge your batteries to 100% manually. Next, monitor daily usage such as motion events, ring events, and live views. Frequent lengthy Live Views can also drain battery. Once usage and number of events have been fine tuned and optimized for battery charge, please also check on wifi signal strength, as interference can also drain battery. With there being recent cloudy and rainy weather, this can also mean a temperature drop, which can also drain battery. Check out our Community post for more tips on battery drain to optimize Solar Charging. I hope this helps! 