Problem solved! I had exactly this scenario - I have a mechanical ding-dong chime that I wanted to continue using with my new Ring Pro. I couldn’t figure out why it didn’t work - my researches prior to purchase indicated that it would. As everyone has pointed out, the two screw terminals on the Ring need to pass current when the bell is pressed, whether this is done with a mechanical switch or electronically. The odd thing was that when I first connected it up, prior to setup, it did operate the mechanical bell but after setup it would not. I began to wonder if something had blown in the Ring. After a lot of googling and playing around I found the answer. In the App, select the bell push in ‘Devices’ and go to ‘Device Settings > General Settings’. In ‘Internal Doorbell Settings’ set ‘Doorbell Chime Type’ to ‘mechanical’. (it will be set to the default ‘none’!) Voila, it will work!! This is such a basic requirement that I cannot understand why Ring do not feature it more prominently in the instructions, let alone why the technical ‘experts’ at Ring have given such ridiculous answers to this very basic question. If you have a digital/electronic chime you may need to use a Ring Pro power kit (as far as I can tell this is just a resistor and overload cutout) because the indoor bell will not pass enough current to operate the Ring Pro. The solenoid in my old mechanical bell passes enough current so I don’t appear to need one. Ring 2 uses batteries so it is just a matter of supplying enough current to keep the battery charged or charging the battery periodically outside the Ring. As I said, the above is for my Ring Pro. I hope it works the same with the Ring 2. Good luck!
I got excited about the prospect of this simple solution for my Ring Doorbell 2 but sadly there is no such option within General Settings so this advice does not apply to the later product. So I will still be sending it back for a refund.
Thanks, I wish it was that simple. Ring Video Door Bell 2 does not provide a setup for indoor doorbell
Oh - sorry to get all your hopes up. The Pro does definitely ring all the bells. It must have a relay (possibly solid state) built into it. I just installed it yesterday so it has the latest version of the App and the latest firmware, which it upgraded when I installed it. I am really pleased with it so far. In particular, the colour assisted night vision is excellent. The motion zones setting is extremely well implemented and user friendly - it prevents loads of unwanted triggers from passing cars etc. I don’t know if the Ring 2 has that. If you can still return for a refund on the Ring 2 then I suggest you do that and buy a Pro. It’s also smaller and neater. The only reason I can see for getting a 2 (apart from cost, of course) is that you can operate it completely wirelessly with its built in battery, which the Pro does not have. I got my Pro on an Amazon Black Friday deal bundled in with an Echo Show 5 for a total of
GBP 149 so I am well pleased!
Thanks for that information. I doubt it I can return what I have but can check with Ring. So far, they have been less than cooperative in solving this problem so I am skeptical of how far I will get. I think they monitor these posts but no Ring tech has jumped in to help - but I think that is becusae their is a flaw in the design as the terminals on the back cannot be made to connect accross them when activated.
I remain puzzled because the infomation online certainly indicates that the Ring2 can operate an indoor bell, even to the point of publishing a compatibility list.
Here is a screen shot of my app (It is the same for iOS and Android, I have both) which shows the General Settings page for the Pro.
By the way, the Ring bell pushes probably have a solid state relay, so a test meter across the screws will not register a closed circuit.
I can assure you that the Ring Video Door Bell does not work with ANY existing door bell, despite what Ring claims. BTW - doesn’t matter what relay they are using, the circuit does not close and therefore it will never activate any mechanical chime. Test with any ohm meter and you will find that out.
The point is that is almost certainly a solid state relay and you *cannot* test these for a closed circuit with an ohm-meter.
see:
https://forum.digikey.com/t/can-i-test-solid-state-relays-ssrs-with-a-multi-meter/546
They need both enough supply voltage and sufficient load current in order to operate.
see:
http://www.omron-ap.com/service_support/FAQ/FAQ02058/index.asp
for a recommended test circuit.
You wire your system up with the bell for a load and then check across the Ring screw terminals with an a.c. voltmeter for a drop in voltage down to around one volt when the button is pushed. If it is a mechanical ding-dong bell then the coil winding should pass enough current, but if not, the bell circuit may not pass enough current for the relay to work so you may need to put a resistor in parallel across the bell.
Hi,
I’m facing the same problem that you have described and I’m glad to know that you have got it working. Would it be possible to share wiring diagram of your circuit so that I can verify if I’m doing anything wrong?
I have Ring Pro and trying to connect to my existing Mechanical Chime. I used the AC transformer that came along with the Ring Pro box. The ring transformer is rated from 8V - 12V - 24V.
My original transformer which used to drive my mechanical chime was rated as 3V -5V- 8V. Do you see any issue on this?
By the way, Did you use any Pro Power Kit within the Circuit (pro power kit was supplied with the Ring Box? I bought this Ring Pro during 2019 Black Friday sale.
Any help is much appreciated? Thanks for your support.
Hi Siva, the circuit is just the same as your standard bell circuit, replacing the original transformer with the one supplied, using the two outside terminals to give you 24 v ac and connecting the Ring Pro instead of the conventional bell push. You don’t need the Pro Power / bypass mode module as this is meant to bypass the internal bell if you don’t want to use it, or to act as a current limiting device if you don’t use an internal bell in the circuit at all. I opened mine up. It has an LCB710 solid state relay and what I take to be a PTC thermistor which senses the current.
My mechanical bell, (Friedland Ding-Dong), although spec’d at 8 to 16 volts, appears to be quite happy working at 24 volts. It is only energised briefly so it is not going to overheat.
I didn’t want to fit my transformer in the consumer unit so I just screwed it to the wall using a strip of 1mm thick sheet steel, 34mm wide, which fits nicely in the grooves in the back for the DIN rail. When I am next ordering things electrical, l’ll probably get one of these which will make a neater job of it:
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/WYESE2.html
The only thing to make sure is that the bell is set to ‘mechanical’ in the App in Device Settings > General Settings as shown in the screen shot attached to one of my my previous posts. Actually it also works if you set it to ‘Digital’ and you can set a ring tone length, which makes it go Ding <pause> dong. However, it absolutely doesn’t work if Internal bell type is set to ‘none’
Good luck, let me know how it goes.
For the benefit of Ring 2 owners, noen of these comments are relevant. The Pro unit is mains powred and provides a powered circuit to operate the wired bell. If you have a wired system like mine that does not need a replacement transformer supplying power to operate the bell or to charge anything, there is no way to just close the circuit across the scew terminals on the back of the unit. It is a very basic requirement but the Ring 2 does not meet it as the designers made assumptions that do not apply to simple press to close systems.
I obviously don’t have a Ring 2 in order to test this, but there are many references on the Internet which say that it can be used with an internal bell, e.g.
https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/ring-video-doorbell-2
and, as I said in a previous post, Ring actually publish a list of compatible internal bells.
Not entirely sure what you mean when you say ‘a wired system that does not need a replacement transformer’. If it is wired, it must have a transformer unless your internal bell is battery operated. The screw terminals on the back of the Ring2 can easily be closed with power from the internal battery if it contains a solid state relay.
This, for example, is the relay that is in their Bypass Kit.
https://www.digikey.co.uk/product-detail/en/ixys-integrated-circuits-division/LCB710/CLA370-ND/2609734
The Ring 2 may well contain the same or a similar device.
We need a volunteer to do a tear-down of their Ring 2 
If we stick to the product being discussed, Ring Video Door Bell 2, the information on the internet is not correct. The Ring 2 will not close the circuit when the button is activated, therefor will not work with an existing door bell.
aurowatcher:
Your comment is in no way realevant to the Ring Video Door Bell 2
Thanks for your detailed response. It was very helpful. Now I’m preparing my wall for flush mounting the doorbell. So hopefully I should be able to set everything up soon. I will keep you posted when I completed the wiring and mounting.
I am at a loss to see how my last post citing a Trusted Review specifically about the Ring 2 and my reference to the bell compatibility list published by Ring specifically for the Ring 2 are not considered relevant to the Ring 2.
In any case the subject of the thread is ‘Wired Ring Doorbell not Triggering Original Chime’’ and so potentially covers all models, so my few comments which were specific to the Ring Pro are not off topic.
There are many references to the use of specifically the Ring 2 with an internal bell, both from Ring themselves and from third parties. I have also tried to explain why the Ring 2 will not show a closed circuit with a test meter, whilst it will work perfectly to close a circuit with a conventional bell and transformer in the same way as a simple mechanical push button. There is even a video showing the Ring 2 button being pushed and the indoor chime ringing.
If you chose to believe that these are all completely incorect or, presumably, falsified in the case of the video evidence showing the internal bell ringing, there is really nothing more to add.
In a previous post you said you don’t have a Ring Video Bell 2 to test - thus you are only repeating what Ring is saying and what is posted on the internet. There is no video evidence of the Ring Video Bell 2 actually activating an internal chime that is operated by a simple push button closing the circuit. I have 3 Ring Video Bell 2 systems and they all work exactly the same - won’t operate a simple internal bell by closing the circuit. Sorry but not everything posted in the internet is accurate.
Having read this entire chain, I am now thoroughly confused. I purchased and installed a Ring Video Doorbell 2 over 18 months ago. I have a very simply mechanical chime with a 20 year old push button. It all worked perfectly until about 3 months ago whenit stopped activating the old mechanical bell. I have double checked the bell at both the bell tranformer and the ring connections. When I complete the circut, it works fine. But the Ring Video Doorbell 2 no longer makes the connection. Was there a software update that disabled the feature? Or is my Doorbell 2 now defective?
Hi azwl
Well at least this shows that the Ring 2 can work with an internal bell! I can’t say whether there were any software or firmware updates that might stop it working . As I said previously, with the Ring Pro it was essential to set ‘mechanical bell’ in the App, but according to others this option does not appear to be in the Ring 2 settings (unless it is very well hidden).
You have obviously proved that your bell and wiring are OK. What I suggest is that you give your Ring2 a factory reset and re-install it. If this doesn’t work then the most likely explanation is that you have a faulty Ring.
I can add nothing more to help Ring 2 owners who want to operate original wired bell systems and cannot. I have to admit failure and have managed to get Ring to admit it too. They finally come back and said that I could return the unit if I wasn’t satisfied, but there was a sting in the tail. They said that they would only refund my money if I had bought directly from them, so in effect they were washing their hands of the matter as I had bought the unit from Amazon. Luckily Amazon have a much better return and refund policy than ring and so now my Ring 2 is on its way back to Amazon and hopefully my money is on its way to me!
I’m sorry I couldn’t solve my problem with the Ring 2 and hope that perhaps others may do better than I did.
I haven’t given up on the concept of a video door bell so if anyone can recommend another make of doorbell that can operate original wired bell systems I’d be grateful.
PS. Did you know that you cannot use the word l1beral on this website! What sort of people operater Ring?