Ovoid ghosts on video doorbell pro

Frequent false-positives from video doorbell pro (battery powered) located in covered porch area. Slowly-drifting “ghosts” appear ovoid, translucent, small. Out-of-focus micro-spiders or something? Condensation? Can distinguish from headlamp reflections & shadows. Any ideas? Any solution? Issue is peculiar to doorbell, no issue with other Ring cams.

Hi @Schooner , it would help if you were able to add a share link for a video from your device to help give more context. Also, we currently do not have a Doorbell Pro that uses battery, might your device be a Video Doorbell or Video Doorbell 2?

You’re right: ghost-prone cam is VDPro (16vdc doorbell circuit). I do have another battery powered VD2 - similary situated, it does not share the issue. Sample stills attached from recent vid. Customer Service says “probably a flare” which I take to mean a transient optical reflection. “Ghosts” are generally observed in late twilight or dark, typically drifting along sigmoid path from top to bottom with 6 second transit time.Ghosts

Hi @Schooner ! Is your Sensitivity Slider set to all objects or human only?

Sensitivity in “Motion Settings” (iOS app) is set at point #2 of 5 along 5-point slider.

Thanks! I suggest playing around with the motion zones and sensitivity slider. If a bug does crawl across the device it definitely may trigger an alert no matter the settings. Please keep in mind the team is always working on perfecting our motion settings so feedback like this is appreciative!

I’m happy to see your post since we have had the same thing every night (sometimes 2-3times) for weeks. Can’t figure out what or why since it is winter on east coast. Have you learned any more about what these ‘ghosts’ are?

Much reduced frequency of late, I figured Ring had suppressed the issue with a FW update. Suspects remain reflections (vehicle lights falling obliquely on lens, refracted into camera) or insects/Arthropods (tiny bugs walking on lens?). Adjacent maple tree is infested with maple mites…

I’m getting the same ‘ovoid ghosts’ drifting across the videos and causing alerts all night (https://ring.com/share/6794656464354151914). I had this Ring Doorbell Pro for over a year before the problem started. Lighting and other factors have not changed. I tried cleaning the lens and reducing sensitivity - neither worked. As others have said, constant false alarms defeat the purpose of having a smart doorbell or camera.

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Same issues happening nightly on our ring video doorbell 2. This is very annoying. Couple this with recent issues with Ring security and it frustrates us even more.

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https://ring.com/share/6799121233200864575

This is our orb. They do about the same thing. I want ours gone. Help desk didn’t really help us.

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https://ring.com/share/6799121233200864575

This is our orb. Very annoying. Set our ring off at least 50 times in February.

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Hello. I called RING to see if they could give an explanation, and showed them one of my videos that I’m getting almost nightly. The rep. said, to the best of my understanding, it was “reflecting dust floating and could be related to our cold weather” (in NJ). Can you tell me where you live? I’ve had this device for over 2 years and this is the first time to see the ‘ghosts’. I’m having a hard time going along with the floating dust explanation. Have you reached out to them? If it was dust, wouldn’t there be more particles? And it would float faster, and not sideways?! A bit frustrated…

Hello. I sent this reply to a few other customers who have had the same problem…I’ve also tried to clean my lens several times. I called RING to see if they could give an explanation, and showed them one of my videos that I’m getting almost nightly. The rep. said, to the best of my understanding, it was “reflecting dust floating and could be related to our cold weather” (in NJ). Can you tell me where you live? I’ve had this device for over 2 years and this is the first time to see the ‘ghosts’. I’m having a hard time going along with the floating dust explanation. Have you reached out to them? If it was dust, wouldn’t there be more particles? And it would float faster, and not sideways?! A bit frustrated…

Is this issue confined to doorbells? My instance is limited to wired doorbell, no issue with various other Rings (Floodlight cam, Spotlight cam, battery doorbell, indoor cam). Installation is typical: immediately adjacent to entry door, under awning. No direct weather exposure. Ovoids/Orbs/Ghosts are nocturnal.

I have trouble accepting the “dust” explanation too - noting that fog shows up as discrete in-focus particles on other ring cams.

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I have been getting the same thing as well, I saw two at one time to boot. Can see through them, only happening on my wired doorbell. Very annoying! Is it a ghost???

I have had ring pro 3 years. Problem showed up recently on a regular basis. I believe it is app software causing it…or a hack…

Yep, we have them every night, all night. Wired doorbell, covered entry, no traffic on street (no headlights), in all weather conditions and temperatures, and seasons.

Surprisingly, I’ve had fewer sightings lately.Our of curiosity, where do you live? I live in NJ. I’m not sure if there’s any relation to weather? We had regular appearances in Jan-March.

I’m getting something similar with indoor ring cam in my garage. There are no fans and the garage is not drafty. I can log in live to see this happening. About 50 alerts today and software saying “person detected.” Near the end of this clip the object stops mid flight and transforms. What the heck is this?!?