UPDATE:
I was able to speak to RIng support today via US telephone number 800-656-1918. The wait time was under 5 mintues at around 12PST. I spent about 20 mins on the line with them and the TL;DR version is that they are going to replace my spotlight camera free of (extra) charge.
For those interested, here is how the process went:
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Company rep verified, via two factor, that I was actually the account holder. I needed to have my account email accessible while on the phone with them.
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A detailed verbal account of the issue from me, and what I had done to troubleshoot.
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A short attempt to troubleshoot remotely, on their end, which required me to have the malfunctioning camera handy. We essentially went over the same steps as described elsewhere in this post. They did ask if I had previously tried two batteries at the same time and each battery slot individually (which I had).
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A shot period of time on hold while the company rep attempted to do some research. I had mentioned that I had posted on this forum and there were at least a few people experiencing the exact same problem. I wouldn’t be surprised if they checked the forum to verify; I presume there was a conversation with a manager at some point, in order to authorize the replacement.
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The company rep came back on the line and confirmed Ring would replace my camera since I had the “extended warranty”. As an aside, I don’t recall getting an extended warranty; unless that is included in the yearly subscription which allows for monitoring of multiple devices.
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Email instructions were sent, while I was still on the line, to explain the return process. A new unit is being expedited and I was told the return of the old hardware needs to be done before 30 days or I will be charged the full amount.
Overall, the RIng rep was friendly and helpful; even though the chat and email attempts to reach them were not as successful. I would reccomend calling as the best method.
I hope this is useful to some of you and you’re able to get the hardware replaced as well.
Cheers