Doorbell not working despite being hardwired - status showing as battery critically low

Doorbell not working despite being hardwired - status showing as battery critically low. This was working fine until about 3 weeks ago. why is it no longer woring correctly?

Hi @dereko! A battery powered Video Doorbell will still require charging even when hardwired. While the power supplied from hardwiring will produce a trickle charge, variables such as too many events, long video stream times, or even poor wifi signal, can drain the Doorbell battery quicker than a trickle charge can charge it.

The best first step here will be to charge your Video Doorbell to 100% and monitor to see how quickly the battery is draining. Fine tuning motion settings to avoid unnecessary motions can help with battery life. I hope this helps! :slight_smile:

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Thank you Marley_Ring for your reply. However it does not explain why the dorrbell does not work - the fact that the battery only takes a tricle charge from the hardwire implies that the doorebell should be working from the mains connetcion and only utilise the battery as a backup i.e. where there is a failure in the hardwire connection. I have checked the connections from the harwire and these are all OK returning correct voltage levels. The dashboard on the app shows the power levels are fine but the battery level critically low. Why does the battery voltage level cause the doorbell to stop working? Many thanks

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Of course, @dereko! As mentioned prior, the intended operation is that a battery power device will always operate from battery power even when hardwired, and any power applied will be for charging the battery. The hardwired status in the Ring app is only an indicator of successful connection to obtain a charge.

I recommend charging the battery to 100% and monitoring over time to ensure the battery is keeping a charge as intended. If you feel as though your battery and Doorbell are not operating as expected after charging, please give our support team a call at one of the numbers available here. We’re taking additional steps to protect our team and help reduce the spread of COVID-19, so this has resulted in longer than normal wait times. If you are outside of the US, please read our response to COVID-19 here to see how to contact support.

@dereko wrote: " . . . the fact that the battery only takes a tricle charge from the hardwire implies that the doorebell should be working from the mains connetcion and only utilise the battery as a backup i.e. where there is a failure in the hardwire connection."

Hello @dereko , just to clarify upon what @Marley_Ring said. Your Doorbell cannot and does not work off main-connection power. It always runs via Battery power, regardless if you have hardware connection supplying current or not. The “Ring Video Doorbell Pro” is the only exception that I’m aware of and it runs off the hardwired power (and you didn’t specify what model doorbell you own). For all other RIng Doorbells, the hardwired can ONLY trickle-charge the battery . . . the hardwired alone cannot run the doorbell.

Also, double-check your app. On the Doorbell setting page, in the upper-right-corner you should see the Battery Icon with a lightening-bolt in it. If the lightening-bolt is not in the Battery Icon, then your hardwired is NOT trickle-charging, even if the wires are connected. Also, look at Doorbell’s “Device Health” page and it should have “Power Source” as “Hardwired.”

If you do not see the lightening-bolt or the word “Hardwired”, then your battery is not charging, even if the hard-wires are physically connected. If you don’t see these, there is a possibility that your Doorbell has only been running on the battery for a long time (without getting recharged), and then once the battery became critically low, it stopped working.

You should fix your settings if you app doesn’t indicated that you are Hardwired. You may have to redo the setup to ensure that indeed you switch from Power Source - Battery to Power Source Hardwired. I’ve heard claims from others, of instances where the initial set up was performed BEFORE the wires were supplying electrical power, and possibly the Doorbell did not “see” the external power and therefore defaulted to Battery Only and will not charge . . . even if the hard-wires were connected later.

I hope you might find this helpful :slight_smile:

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Has anyone looked into the firmware update? I think the firmware has something to do with this issue. removing some features will make the ring doorbell think it’s not hardwired and will start on battery mode

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This is a good question about the firmware update. Our Video Doorbell 3 Power Source has been “hardwired” all along and we haven’t had any problems with it until today. All of a sudden, I get an alert today that the Power Source now says “battery” and the Battery Level is only 9%. How does that even happen?

Hi neighbors. Check out this Help Center article here highlighting steps and tips on hardwiring your Video Doorbell to charge your battery. If you are needing assistance with wiring or installation, this Hardwiring Checklist for Battery-powered Video Doorbells could help. Please keep in mind, your usage and other factors can determine the effectiveness of the charge applied. Our Community post about battery drain lists all things to consider when looking to obtain optimal battery life.

If you continue to have any issues, we recommend contacting our support team. Please give our support team a call at one of the numbers available here . If you are outside of the US, please visit here to see how to contact support.

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