Alarm Feature Request

Hello,

I would love to use a door sensor for my mailbox so I can get an alert when the mail has been delivered. The current sensor does reach with the use of the range extender included with the alarm kit and alerts occur when I test the two parts of the sensor inside the mailbox. It even works if I have the wider side (has the battery) mounted to the mailbox, but the smaller magnetic side is not mounted. As soon as I attach the magnetic side to the metal mailbox the sensor quits working. It would be great to include a specific sensor for mailboxes or a simple kit to allow it to work when mounted on metal.

Thanks in advance for considering this,

Chris

10 Likes

I would love if the alarm had an option to automatically unlock my deadbolt when arming away mode because I’m about to walk out the door.

With multiple kepads/locks, a front door keypad could be linked to the front lock and the back door keypad linked to the back door lock.

9 Likes

Keypads:

  1. Louder volume - they’re very quiet even at max
  2. Allow sensor chirps from the keypads in addition to the base
  3. When constantly powered (or activated by button press/proximity sensor when on battery), a status light indicating the system isn’t ready to arm. Either light up the “!” icon, or make the light ring glow a different color (amber or blue?) to indicate it isn’t ready to arm
  4. When continously powered, the keypad should act as a node on the Z-wave network, like other powered Z-wave devices do
  5. The armed light glowing red is OK, but it would be nice if the light ring glowed red when armed as well
  6. Duress PIN codes
  7. Allow 4-8 digit pins, which is the range that most of the compatible smart locks support—this 4 digit limits you to only 4 digits on the lock as well if you want to use with the Alarm
  8. Silent armimg/disarming option so you don’t have to wake the house when leaving before everyone else wakes up

Base Station:

  1. Change the light ring color to red when armed and yellow to indicate a problem (the tiny network and power lights are hard to see when mounted on a wall)
  2. Act as a Chime for Ring Doorbell devices/Cameras

General:

  1. More advanced diagnostics for the Z-wave network, like for example the network map (what’s using what as a node) to identify problems easier and better determine need and placement of range extenders
  2. Be able to issue a HEAL command to the Z-wave network without having to call support for it
  3. Activate ZIGBEE & Homekit support, please!
  4. More integration options, and better use of the current integration options
  5. Linked cameras (this applies to the Alarm and other devices too): create a category for these linked events, as having them appear as Live View events poses problems, especially when a linked device triggers a doorbell to record, and you can’t ring the Ring doorbell button until the recording ends. This can cause missed visitors. Put these events in their own category so the Alarm (or smart lighting) triggering the Ring Doorbells doesn’t prevent visitors from pressing the button.
  6. **Temporary disarm: ** either via a button in the app, or with a keypad code (like enter your code and press the check mark twice or something) which disarms your system for 2 minutes (or user-configurable would be better–ranging 30 sec to 5 min maybe) and automatically re-arms. This is a handy feature many alarms support that allows for letting out the dog or receiving a package or something without having to entirely disarm the system. _Edit 3Jul19: This should also include a countdown beep sequence starting at 30 seconds increasing in speed to a constant beep with 10 seconds left, so you close the door before it re-arms. _

I know I’ve got more, which I will add to this post as I remember them (assuming it lets me edit perpetually, and not just for a few hours/days like some platforms).

50 Likes

Some have already been mentioned:

  1. Duress codes
  2. Configurable PIN length
  3. A night or/high security mode - perimeter armed with no entry delay (or just the ability to create additional modes)
  4. Alexa Guard active in Stay mode
23 Likes

@abqnm wrote:

Keypads:

  1. Louder volume - they’re very quiet even at max
  2. Allow sensor chirps from the keypads in addition to the base
  3. When constantly powered (or activated by button press/proximity sensor when on battery), a status light indicating the system isn’t ready to arm. Either light up the “!” icon, or make the light ring glow a different color (amber or blue?) to indicate it isn’t ready to arm
  4. When continously powered, the keypad should act as a node on the Z-wave network, like other powered Z-wave devices do
  5. The armed light glowing red is OK, but it would be nice if the light ring glowed red when armed as well
  6. Duress PIN codes
  7. Allow 4-8 digit pins, which is the range that most of the compatible smart locks support—this 4 digit limits you to only 4 digits on the lock as well if you want to use with the Alarm
  8. Silent armimg/disarming option so you don’t have to wake the house when leaving before everyone else wakes up

Base Station:

  1. Change the light ring color to red when armed and yellow to indicate a problem (the tiny network and power lights are hard to see when mounted on a wall)
  2. Act as a Chime for Ring Doorbell devices/Cameras

General:

  1. More advanced diagnostics for the Z-wave network, like for example the network map (what’s using what as a node) to identify problems easier and better determine need and placement of range extenders
  2. Be able to issue a HEAL command to the Z-wave network without having to call support for it
  3. Activate ZIGBEE & Homekit support, please!
  4. More integration options, and better use of the current integration options
  5. Linked cameras (this applies to the Alarm and other devices too): create a category for these linked events, as having them appear as Live View events poses problems, especially when a linked device triggers a doorbell to record, and you can’t ring the Ring doorbell button until the recording ends. This can cause missed visitors. Put these events in their own category so the Alarm (or smart lighting) triggering the Ring Doorbells doesn’t prevent visitors from pressing the button.
  6. **Temporary disarm: ** either via a button in the app, or with a keypad code (like enter your code and press the check mark twice or something) which disarms your system for 2 minutes (or user-configurable would be better–ranging 30 sec to 5 min maybe) and automatically re-arms. This is a handy feature many alarms support that allows for letting out the dog or receiving a package or something without having to entirely disarm the system.

I know I’ve got more, which I will add to this post as I remember them (assuming it lets me edit perpetually, and not just for a few hours/days like some platforms).

Bravo sir, bravo! You hit the nail on the head with every point in this post!

16 Likes

As far as indicator lights on the keypad being lit at all times to show alarm status, It should be an option. Some people may not want this as then someone can look into a window at the panel and see if the system is armed or otherwise.

5 Likes

@SonofLiberty82 wrote:

As far as indicator lights on the keypad being lit at all times to show alarm status, It should be an option. Some people may not want this as then someone can look into a window at the panel and see if the system is armed or otherwise.

You can enable power save for the keypad and it will disable the lights until a button is pressed. Also, the status lights aren’t always lit if the device is on battery, only when hard wired. And that is already how it works, I was just stating that using the light ring would be useful for alarm status.

4 Likes

There are many, many posts on redit and the likes about ring alarm customers who have a keypad in the bedroom and the bright green light is far too bright, causing some to go as far as putting electrical tape over the indicator or purchasing a smart outlet that turns on and off on a schedule. We shouldnt have to go to such lengths to have a keypad in the bedroom.

Regardless, if the keypad is wall mounted and permanently plugged in it is a w@ste of energy to constantly tell me the battery is fully charged, especially for a company claiming to be eco friendly. Perhaps a better use of this LED would be to tell me when there is a fault with the battery (not charging, discharging, bad battery, etc) rather than stay on forever?

Please add an option to turn the “full battery” light off.

Regarding the alarm status lights (home, away, disarmed) personally I like these indicator lights to be on constantly when plugged in and not on power saver. Because its an alarm keypad, all I care to know when I glance at it is; if my alarm is armed, or if there is anything wrong with it. That said, it would be greatly appreciated if when adding the option to turn off the “full battery” light, y’all don’t turn off the alarm status lights with it.

Considering how quickly y’all added a brightness slider for the keypad alarm status from other requests, I’m sure this one won’t be too much trouble :slight_smile:

PS, why is “w@ste” a moderated word?

11 Likes

@TechGuy42 wrote:

There are many, many posts on redit and the likes about ring alarm customers who have a keypad in the bedroom and the bright green light is far too bright, causing some to go as far as putting electrical tape over the indicator or purchasing a smart outlet that turns on and off on a schedule. We shouldnt have to go to such lengths to have a keypad in the bedroom.

Regardless, if the keypad is wall mounted and permanently plugged in it is a w@ste of energy to constantly tell me the battery is fully charged, especially for a company claiming to be eco friendly. Perhaps a better use of this LED would be to tell me when there is a fault with the battery (not charging, discharging, bad battery, etc) rather than stay on forever?

Please add an option to turn the “full battery” light off.

Regarding the alarm status lights (home, away, disarmed) personally I like these indicator lights to be on constantly when plugged in and not on power saver. Because its an alarm keypad, all I care to know when I glance at it is; if my alarm is armed, or if there is anything wrong with it. That said, it would be greatly appreciated if when adding the option to turn off the “full battery” light, y’all don’t turn off the alarm status lights with it.

Considering how quickly y’all added a brightness slider for the keypad alarm status from other requests, I’m sure this one won’t be too much trouble :slight_smile:

PS, why is “w@ste” a moderated word?

I agree on this one too. The green light is intensely bright, while I find the status lights to be not overbearing, so I don’t need to use power saver to turn them off, like I suggested to someone here somewhere. I post so much between here and reddit I can’t keep track. It could have been on reddit too. But making it dimmable, or as you said, off when powered, except to indicate a problem or flashing when charging. The app can tell me or the light can change colors if it’s low, so it’s not like I need a constant update on the battery that will last 6 months on a charge. If the status lights stop being lit, I know it’s not being powered, so it really is redundant to have it constantly lit.

But I’m still determining if the keypad update has solved the freezing on power issue, since it typically only manifests after 3+ weeks, and the update has only been in full rollout for like 20 days. But once that’s confirmed fixed, I think it’s safe for the Ring team to focus on adding a few feature to the keypads. Or it would make sense to me, anyway, as they’re a little rudimentary.

As for the naughty words, they started out with the default list of moderated suggestions, including other brand names, but I talked to a Ring community team member who said they’d tone it down, and they really did. I was getting nailed like 5 times per post for bad words which were very much not offensive, and it was way over the top. Looks like they may have missed a couple that aren’t really that bad.

5 Likes

Keypad LED features, power save, and modes have been a hot topic and we are definitely making note of that. Of course we will always share all of your ideas and requests with the team, as well as recognize those in high demand. Consider it shared!

Keep those wishes coming, we love hearing and sharing them :smiley:

7 Likes

There is actually a feature that is the opposite of this you might be interested in! You can set your smart lock to arm your Ring Alarm when you leave instead!

2 Likes

(Some of these have already been mentioned)

  • A mode which would arm the system without the base station yelling out “SYSTEM ARMED!” when everyone is asleep

  • Additional audio feedback at the keypads

  • On the keypads, print the words ‘Stay’, ‘Away’, and ‘Off’. The icons for Stay and Away aren’t really that clear when you’re trying to rush out the door.

  • Add a configurable option to arm the system without first entering the code.

  • Add c0lored covers for the entry sensors - Even a fake woodgrain would look better on my doors and woodwork than white, especially since the sensors are so large. And my window frames are br0wn - a br0wn cover for the sensors would be nice.

  • I realize that Amazon owns Ring, but it would be nice if Ring would also embrace Google Home - there’s hardly any mention of it on the website. I’ve already invested in Google Home and don’t want to wholesale change over to Alexa (although it would be nice to be able to say “Computer!” rather than the clunky “OK Google”…)

  • You list 4 certified smart locks, but there isn’t really anything that compares them with respect to the Ring system. A matrix would be nice.

  • For the keypads, an option for in-wall wiring would be nice. I replaced my old alarm keypads and used the existing wiring (spliced in a micro-usb connector at the wall, and spliced in a USB power cable in the closet). However, it was very tight, and required me to cut out part of the base plate to run the wiring back into the wall at the keypad.

  • In addition to my Ring doorbell, I have 8 security cameras (non-Ring) around my house. I can’t afford to replace all of those with Ring cameras, but maybe if you did a promotion…(trade in your old security camera and get x% off the cost of a Ring camera)

  • You need to make Home Depot/Lowes aware that the Ring Doorbell Pro will probably require the user to install a new transformer. Or you could just sell a high power Ring-branded doorbell transformer. I had to replace my transformer, but HD/Lowes didn’t carry anything high power enough, and their sales associates were clueless as to why I would need one.

  • Finally, please continue the reasonable pricing (i.e. $0.00) for access to the Ring system through the phone. I actually bought a system from one of your competitors and returned it after I realized that they charge $24.99/month to access the system through my phone; this price included professional monitoring, but I didn’t want that - only to arm/disarm/see system status on my phone. It was ‘simpli’ too much, so I returned the system and bought Ring. Additionally, your $10/month charge for monitoring/camera footage retrieval is also reasonable, so I’ll probably sign up for that.

Ummmm…two more words for you to remove from you word censor: c0lored and br0wn

7 Likes

I agree 100%. I use the camera indoors and also have the alarm system. I hope I’m not missing something, but I think it’s a little ridiculous that I cannot disable the camera alerts in “home” or “disarmed” alarm mode. If there’s a way to do that then I haven’t found it :confused:

10 Likes

I think it would be really beneficial to add a key fob accessory for quick and easy arm/disarm. Most all other security solutions have this, and it’s one feature we wish that Ring offered.

19 Likes

This is a great feature request @dechnik ! I’ve moved it here with the other Alarm related requests, and will definitely be sharing this with the team. Keep those wishes coming :slight_smile:

7 Likes

How about adding a scheduling feature in the app? Say for disarmed and home?

As an example, I could schedule the alarm to turn on home mode from 10pm to 6am. Then from 6am to 10pm, it would switch to disarmed. This way, nobody would forget to manually turn it on, before going to bed. I could see this only working for home and disarmed as the away mode should always be triggered by the app or keypad.

15 Likes

I am coming from an IQ Panel setup via Alarm.com. When ring added support for Z-wave devices, this prompted me to make the switch. I have 2 request that are not currently supported with ring, while everything else moved over seamlessly from the other system.

  1. **Sensor Notification Schedule - ** The ability to set a time range that you receive push notifications to your device when a sensor is tripped. Example: Have the sensor on my sliding door notify me between the hours of 11PM to 7AM. I had this set up (IQ PANEL SYSTEM) If for some reason my kids got up at night and ever tried to go outside, it sends a notification. I have no need to get a notification every time a door opens or closed all day long, so it would be nice to not have to completely disable the notifications, but rather create a schdule.
  2. ** Z-Wave Light Switch Schdule -** The ability to have the lights that are controlled by a Z-wave swith go ON and OFF to a set schdule through the app. Its crazy this doesnt exist. I understand there is a work around to use Alexa to create a routine to do this, but this seems like something that should be available directly through the alarm device itself.
9 Likes

Is it possible to add additional sounds to use for contact sensor tripping? For example “Front Door Opened”, “Front Door Closed”, etc. as opposed to just a simple sound.

13 Likes

This is possible now if you have Alexa devices but not natively supported though the ring alarm.

1 Like

I would like to have an option on the keypad to always illuminate the alarm status led (disarmed, home, away), even if on battery power. It would be just as useful and use less power if it did this only in one of the armed states.

I want to do this so that my family can more readily see the alarm status without walking all the way across the house. It’s convenient to glance at the keypad before opening a door to walk the dog without setting off the alarm or glancing to see if someone else has set the alarm for the night.

The powered mode provides this experience, but it isn’t always practical to hardwire, or the look of hardwiring might not be desirable in all situations.

9 Likes