In my opinion it’s because a contact sensor is more mechanical in function and therefore when exposed to excess humidity and freezing temps this can cause the metal contact to stick/freeze together thus making the alarm not trip.
When I talked to Ring Community Support today they didn’t have much helpful info.
We have an unheated, detached garage and I want to put a contact sensor on the side door. I tested today and I know it works from a distance perspective but I am wondering as well about the temperature limit since we are in Minnesota.
I think I am going to try it and see what happens this winter. I anticipate the battery might drain faster and I am certain the battery will be weaker as it gets colder, then rebound as it warms up. I will swap some reduced battery life for security.
My concerns are (1) whether we might get false alarm triggers due to the cold and (2) might the sensor stop working without any event like a low battery or device failure event due to the cold.
I am wondering if you got any reply from Ring on your question…? Or whether you have tried it out to see what happens?
Hi neighbors. The Contact Sensor for the Ring Alarm system cannot withstand temperature below 32° because it is powered by a CR123 or CR2032 battery and their effectiveness is drastically depleted in cold weather. If cold enough, a battery can completely freeze overnight. It is for this reason we do not recommend the Contact Sensor to be in freezing conditions.
When we purchased a RING doorbell 3+. For Montana address, why didn’t the service representative I spoke with recommend a doorbell that can be hardwired. I had the battery go from 75% to OFFLINE within 12 hours, And we had an attempted break in that night, the 28th. Because we weren’t notified, we dialed 911 late, and have no video. This information should be made available in all sales and service online ads and phone calls so that customers can depend on RING protection. I did bring in the battery. Warmed it up. Then charged it to 100% and reinstalled last night right before bed. This morning at -13F it is offline again.