Choppy video and audio

Thanks for the info. My upload and download speed are both over 150 yet I still have the same problem. Even added a range extender and Chime Pro. The Chime Pro RSSI is 37. My Ring doorbell is attached to the chime and has an RSSI of 62 and my Spotlight Cam wired has an RSSI of 46. That should more than adequate to give smooth video and audio but the problem persists, especially with the Spotlight. Very frustrating. Tried listening on PC and i phone and all audio is still choppy.

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Ring 2 is sold at Costco and is NOT support by Smart Things app, only 1, 3, and Pro. Of course, I have the 2. ?

First up, I have 12 of the Ring Doorbells (The second generation, with removable battery, 1080p Resolution). So I am very familiar with setup, troubleshooting and device limitations.

Choppy video and audio is a well documented ‘Known Issue’ and all generations of Ring devices experience this. Yes, the common sense advice of making sure you have a strong signal, decent bandwidth and perhaps restarting your router, are all good suggestions.

But I have ruled out signal strength and router-reboot as the issue. AND all my Ring devices are hardwired to power. My internet is 958mbps (upload) and 997mbps (download) … blazing fast. But issue persists.

There is a few seconds latency between a motion-event or doorbell-press and your mobile device receiving a push notification. This has always been the case. It has never improved. Peoples comments and frustration about this are all valid and still accurate at time of me writing this (September 14th 2020).

The only reason I have continued to use Ring is that (for my purposes) I can live with the latency. But it’s 100% unacceptable for this to still be an issue, especially since Amazon acquired Ring, and all the technical and financial resources they bring to the table.

These devices do not do well, what they are supposed to do. And with so many new generations of devices now available it’s an unacceptable reality. It’s either a fundamental hardware issue or Server latency on host side. Because the issue is not on my side, my connection speed (1gig up/down) is mind-blowingly-fast.

One recent development I’ve noticed in last few months is video/audio latency (choppy) on playback. After the event has fully uploaded to Ring server. An event will playback 3 seconds, pause 2 seconds, playback 3 seconds, pause 2 seconds. This is a new issue (for me) and extremely frustrating. There is no reason why a video that has successfully uploaded to Ring servers, cannot be played back smoothly if one has adequate bandwidth (which I do, and then some). Even though it would still be unacceptable, I’d be willing to live with the ‘first’ playback of a recorded/uploaded event being choppy, but subsequent playbacks being smooth, if cache were brought into play. But it doesn’t matter how often you replay the event, it will still/always be choppy. This renders the device (in my case all 12) essentially useless. If this isn’t resolved I will be doing a chargeback on my American Express Card for +/- $2400 which is the amount I spent purchasing this equipment. Some direct from Ring. Some from Lowe’s. Some from Amazon.

So the short answer to your (and so many other people’s issue) is that there is no solution. This latency is a known-issue that is not on Rings radar for resolution, based on what they have communicated to their client base on the topic, which is … nothing.

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My upload AND download is 950+ mbps. AT&T Fiber Service (Mind-Blowingly-Fast!) I have 12 devices (Generation 2, with removable battery, 1080p). My devices are all in-range AND are hardwired to power. This chop & latency is a years-long known issue. Ring keeps pushing new hardware to the market, it has made ZERO impact on resolving this most fundamental functionality. Even Amazon acquiring Ring has made no impact on this prevailing issue. Actually, it’s not even an issue, it should be printed on the box as a ‘feature’.

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You hit it on the head!!!. I do like the ease of use of the software but these problems are driving me away. I am in process of buying new home out of state and will NOT be using Ring. Even if I have to pay more I want a reliable picture/audio playback. May actually replace my Doorbell II, Spotlight Cam and Stick Up indoor cam when I buy the cameras for the new house. You are correct with Ring ignoring these problems. They give the same generic troubleshooting tips. Wake up Ring, they do not work! Issue is at your end.

Video connection concerns are often related to WiFi, mobile device, or Ring app communication variables. The best first step is to check out your RSSI in the device health section of the Ring app, to ensure for optimal wifi signal.

On your mobile device, try testing video on wifi only, and then on data only, to see if either connection is more efficient. Please also ensure VPN is disabled.

If this concern persists, 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.

This issue has been going on for years now with no resolve in sight. Amazon has no interest in fixing these issues. I have a brand new ring camera 12 inches from modem and router with a RSSI signal of 36, does the same thing, Intermitent A/V lag and latency.

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Yep I thought I was getting the best doorbell so got the doorbell pro wired version along with the chime pro extender, and what a load of crap, never ever getting another ring product again, I should have stayed with next, I wouldn’t mind but I’m getting charged a monthly subscription for a crap service they don’t give a monkey about their customers

Logic would suggest, once the doorbell is hardwired (Ring Pro & Elite), that all Client-Side issues would be removed from the equation (ie) power and internet connectivity/latency. If your broadband is capabale to support Ring requirements, which Ring states is only 2Mbps down (mine is 998Mbps up/down) , there is absolutely no excuse for the equipment not behaving properly when hardwired.

Power cannot be an issue (because it’s hardwired PoE) and WiFi interference cannot be an issue (because it’s hardwired PoE). As long as the integrity of the CAT5/6 cable is not compromised (intact, undamaged, not an ecessivly long run, not picking up interference from flourescent lights, etc), and theres nothing configured on your router that would throttle data flow, the only cause of these issues is exclusively rooted on Rings side of the infrastructure.

Specifically, two potential culprits:

(1) The Ring Hardware itself, along with its firmware configuration.

(2) The Server response time on Rings host side.

But with AWS, Amazon Web Service hosting, and Amazon literally owning Ring, theres surely no conceivable way it could be a Server processing bottleneck. I mean, it could be, but seriously AWS is a global leader in their server/hosting offerings, and processing (what in 2020) is a small data package is not in any way challenging for the scope of AWS’s capabilities.

So, of the two potential culprits, at the end of the day, with all other factors ruled out, the only logical cause of all this latency is the Ring hardware itself. Period. The end.

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Exactly

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@Kaiszen, I’m so happy to see you have detailed what you have done.

I too have been throwing money at this situation. I have upgraded my internet from 100 Mbps to 940 Mbps download. I know upload is most important, and that moved my upload to 10 Mbps to 20 Mbps, to finally 35 Mbps. So I thought that moving it to 35 would solve the problem… NOPE, same exact problem.

I have upgraded my wifi by completely changing my wifi infrastructure, and now I’m using WIFI6 with mesh extenders - still no luck. I have many of my cameras wired for power, and some are very close to the router, yet still no luck.

Seeing your setup, and you having the same problems, I think I may just give up on RING and switch to Ubiquiti or something. I just can’t stand the fact that I continue to have choppy video that never seems to stop. I can’t rely on this for security.

Sorry to hear you are experiencing the same issue. All signs point to the hardware as culprit for this latency (once all other factors ruled out). Which is such a pity because Ring is the quintessential American small business success story. The inventors name and backstory to Ring proudly showcased on the side of each box. With their proof of concept and ability to bring such a compelling and useful new technology to market, their product could (and should be) outstanding. Especially now with the might of Amazons resources to stomp out these persisting issues. <br><br>I am an eternal optimist and believe that Amazon will prioritize focused resources to address this. And once the hardware latency issue is finally put to rest, they will no doubt develop this niche into something truly unique. <br><br>That said, Amazon has already had a few years to address this, since their acquisition of Ring. Since then, their focus has revolved around developing new supplemental products and getting them to market as quickly as possible. All the while, ignoring a key legacy technology issue which still haunts the platform and cripples its most basic functionality (ie) the consistent, reliable and fluid movement of (audio/video) data packets from Client to Host to Client. <br><br>No doubt this will be resolved at some point. The frustration shared by most of us, is that it could and should have already been fixed. As a matter of priority. A long time ago.

Sorry but no…I have fiber 2gig up and down, still choppy as h*ll!

I have the same problem with a ring pro. The doorbell has its own wifi with its own channel, strong signal and an upload of 5 mbps. The choppy sound is only during daylight and can be eliminated by covering the camera lens. This suggests the bandwidth required for high def colour is too high. If ring are monitoring this, might I suggest modifying the software to allow for lower def video and the option for black and white only as an option.

Hi @Patrickbrynhowel. That’s a great suggestion. It could possibly help a lot of people. As we value our neighbors’ feedback, we’ve created a Feature Request board. Feel free to add this and any future feature requests there. This will help us to organize and share your requests with our teams here, as well as allow other neighbors to comment and add interest, all in one place. Feel free to link that post you make in the Feature Request board here so other neighbors that come to this thread can easily find your feature!

Hi all, i was searching the web and came to this page, i am in the UK and have recently bought a ring doorbell gen 2 and I’m also having choppy live view, I’ve been through all troubleshooting, got good signal, good speeds, even tried it on 2 ISP’s and infront of the modem and it still does it, i can see this post is a couple of years old now and it looks like they still haven’t fixed this issue. Support suggest a ring chime pro even though the doorbell has good signal strength and does it infront of modem, i refuse to waste any more money on a chime pro. Did anyone manage a fix for this or is it just that its a poor quality product? There’s also a delay from when it picks up motion to recording, sometimes it picks up at the start of the zone, sometimes a metre or 2 into the zone. And an intermittent delay in receiving notifications. I’ve tried everything and going round in circles with support, might just get a refund.

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Same issue here - had ring for years and upgraded to new pro but video is choppy even in live view - door bell is 5 ft from router and hard wired - I did complain and was sent new doorbell but it has the same issues - never had this issue with older models or the 3 spotlight cams I use - very dissatisfied with ring now

Hello neighbors! Video and audio quality concerns could be related to wifi, your mobile device, or variables such as third party apps or devices. Try the following troubleshooting steps:

  • Check your Ring device’s RSSI, which is a measure of the strength of the wifi connection it’s receiving.
  • Test out the Live View on both wifi and cellular data to see if one connection provides better quality than the other.
  • Turn off any VPNs if you have any enabled, as the Ring app doesn’t support the use of VPNs.
  • Disable Bluetooth or disconnect any Bluetooth devices connected to your phone as these may interfere with the video or audio.
  • You can also reset your Ring device by holding down the setup button for at least 20 seconds. After the reset is complete, set the device back up in the Ring app using the steps under Set Up a device.

If none of the above troubleshooting tips and tricks help, you can also review our Audio and Sound Issues Troubleshooting Guide. Should you need further assistance, 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. :slight_smile:

The choppy video is solved by turning off HDR. I’ve been dealing with the issue for months now and was given the same guidance provided above. While it seems logical to turn HDR on as it clearly states that it’s supposed to improve video quality during the day, after testing it out with HDR turned off, that solved the problem. Again, this defies logic and why Ring is unaware of the issue is beyond me. Hope this helps others.

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This has resolved the issue with lag in the videos and live. Like you said, it makes no sense since this settings is supposed to provide better quality LOL.