I am helping a friend who has this same issue. He actually has the super solar panel which is much more powerful than the regular one, and the same issue is occurring. Battery shows discharged even though solar panel is connected and putting out 5 volts. This started in last month or two.
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I am super annoyed by this. My camera is in a precarious spot that is very tricky to safely reach by ladder. Ring, are you willing to accept safety liability for borking all our devices and putting people at risk? If I fall off my ladder or my camera isnāt functioning when it needs to, Iām coming after ya.
FIX ?? WHAT ?? YOU ?? BROKE ??
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Checking my camera this morning, I noticed the battery level has increased. At the time of my original post it was at 35% (about a week back) and it is currently showing 81%.
Was there a firmware update released? Woudl be great if the app showed the version number instead of āUp to Dateā
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Sounds like a class action lawsuit
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I believe that is going to happen as well. It is a shame as it is not the optimal solution for anyone except the lawyers (and I am a lawyer). I hope Ring solves this asap. These is no reason it should not be. It is apparent from the posts here and lesewhere that this is a screw up of biblical proportions. Please, Ring, fix this. If nothing else go back ot the pre-November firmware. But please do something.
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Yeah, just adding to the numbers for strength. I only today installed a Stick Up Cam Battery with a solar panel add-on. Iāve never seen any message in the applicable settings area besides the recommendation to add a solar panel. That seems a bit obtuse. Iād appreciate a little more A.I. for my money than an undetectable expensive component. Iāll be looking forward to an update and a resolution.
This issue of Spotlight Cams not being charged by solar panels has been going on for about three months. The responses from Ring are weak at best. From all indications the fix should be simple. As a senior software engineer who used to develop software for aircraft, cruise missiles and other aerospace systems and manufacturing robots, I have some amount of knowledge about real-time software design and implementation.
It appears to me that the Ring software development team does not use professional software development methods or engineering disciplines. Who knows where the software is actually being created or what engineering life cycle processes are being used? Rapid prototyping? Ukraine? China? Who knows? The resulting software release numbers are not shared with end users. There are no roll back options provided. Nothing is backward compatable. It appears to be a write code/toss it over the fence/and see what works approach. No published software test reports. No offer of Beta testing by users. No open source opportunities given to end users who are able to review the source code and offer insights into potential solutions. No information given about what software language(s) are used as the source code? In short, Ring sofware deveolpment appears to be a totally ad hoc process with little understanding of real softare engineering protocols, configuration management or design control.
Jamie sold Ring for $1B+ to Jeff Bezos (Amazon) and then rode off into the sunset on his new mountain bike. Good for Jamie. Of course one of the hardest things to manage in a new company is growth and because Ring is now a teeny tiny part of Amazon, the issues and concerns of customers are much less important than when the company was first started. Jeff Bezos most likely doesnāt know or even care about the fact that Ring products are becoming defective because the objective is to put more and more products into the pipeline. And, as more products and increased interactive complexity is introduced into the product offerings the frequency and severity of resulting problems will become worse. Bezos may not even know that Amazon owns Ring. Itās of little matter or importance to Bezos that products donāt work. Microsoft was very good at this game. In the end the increased number of defective product offerings will destroy the company and along the way a competitor may take over the market and Ring will be history. For Bezos it wonāt matter because Ring is juat a little afterthought to his bottom line and the loss would most likely help him to continue not pay any federal income taxes.
So, this little episode of a software glitch involving Spotlight Cams and Solar Panels is just the tip of the iceburg. If the Ring software folks canāt fix this little problem, their future looks very dark.
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The only part you got wrong is Jamie didnāt just āride off into the sunsetā. He still appears on commercials from time to time.
I think you got it there ! Cheep solar panels that we overpaid for ! They pay people thousands of $ a year to figure this stuff out !!! Ring should step forward and fes-up !!! Waiting to see if anyone has a fix ! Might switch to different device altogether!!! Iām gonna try cleaning off panel and itās connection to the light really good and see what happens I guess !!
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Now that you mention it I saw the same things you the same way you did !! I thought that maybe it was always there and I never saw itā¦ I totally agree with youā¦
thatās what they tell you ever time you call oh clean the panle and the port thatās hog wash mine is new and they changed it told me it was the panel monde you i had already tested it with a bolt meter and it was pumping out the 5 volts it gives them they change the camera and that where i am at instal it sat and already one of the bats is at 80% i will give it until friday before i call them and demand a refund
virginiabeef:
At this point yours is the only explanation that makes any rational sense.
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Just stumbled on this on the app help section for the spotlight !! Seems they might have a design issue with connector ā¦ water getting in at the connection would definitely effect itās working properly ā¦see attached
I would agree with thatā¦ had I not had issues fresh out of the box. Mine has just never worked.
I just got the stickup cam and solar panel. There must have been a firmware or app update - my device health now shows āconnectedā for the solar panel status and a āvery goodā for power status.
Ring,
Apple App store sent me a notice thereās an update for my Ring app. I downloaded it and guest whatā¦IT DID NOT FIX MY ISSUE WITH THE SOLAR PANEL NOT CHARGING MY SPOTLIGHT CAM AND SHOWING MY DOOR BELL HAVING A SOLAR PANEL CONNECTED TO IT !!!
So I had go up a ladder and swap battery todayā¦THANKS RINGā¦
How long does it take to fix software issue?
I am having the same problem with my solar panel. I got the solar panel so I wouldnāt have to keep charging batteries & climbing ladders. I have a disability & this is a challenge.
@Jennifer_Ring wrote:
Thank you so much for this information. It seems like November is a common date. Iāll be sending this to the team.
Just to rule out weather, do you mind mentioning where you are from? No worries if not!
Jennifer,
Iām in WA state. All my 1st gen solar panels (micro USB connection) hold charge with absolutely NO problems. Only the spotlight cam and panel are affected.
Iām still within my return period for the panel. Iām sending it back.
Lol. I was thinking the same thing when I saw the update pop up. I felt like was playing Russian roulette, whether it would make things better or worse. Turns out it was a push.
Well this is weird. One of my stickup cams on a solar panel suddenly went to 100% in a single morning (from about 88%). My other stickup cam (also on a solar panel) is still losing power. My new Spotlight cam (also on a solar panel) is still losing power. My Ring Doorbell 2 has always stayed at 100%. Is this the Ring Twilight Zone?