Ring Pro very poor audio quality - garbled badly at doorbell - but fine if reviewing recording

I installed my new Ring Pro doorbell the other day, this is my first experience with Ring. The install went well, but in testing there is no way someone standing at the door can understand what is being said by the remote person, whether they are speaking in answer to the bell being pressed, or in a live view session. And it does not matter if the speaking person is on a phone or a PC with mic or from another device. If I download the live session from Ring, the audio sounds perfect – in both directions. But the audio heard at the door - at the Ring Pro – sounds like someone is speaking through a kazoo, or as if the Ring Pro speaker is blown. Occasionally you can discern a word or two if the person speaking has a higher pitched voice and speaks somewhat softly. But it’s rare to be able to understand more than a word or two. It does also seem as though the louder the source volume is (eg person speaking) , the worse the distortion. And I think at some point if I turn up the volume more from the source (eg person speaks still louder) at some point Ring seems to automatically reduce the volume coming out of the Ring Pro – and at that point I can’t hear the audio very well, let alone understand what is being said. Reading in this forum and other online technology forums, I tried all the remedies I could find, described as follows.

I started looking at network signal quality, even though my video quality is really good and solid and remains that way through all testing noted here. I started with the Ring health reporting RSSI in the range of -59 to -62 on a 2.4 Ghz SSID. I then tried a 5Ghz ssid that got me a bit more audio reliability, but not clarity. Then I placed an access point within 10 feet of the Ring Pro, on the other side of a wood and glass front door. The access point was set to enable a 5Ghz ssid on channel 161, dedicated only to the Ring Pro (wifi analysis tools inSSIDer & Win10 Wifi Analyzer showed that channel completely unoccupied). In that final set of tests my RSSI is in the range of -45 to -51, which is very strong and about as good as one can hope for, I think. This increased signal did not help at all. My audio is exactly the same at the Ring Pro, almost completely indecipherable. The audio is steady, you might even call it reliable since it does not cut in and out, it’s just tinny and garbled.

I also ran speed tests by hopping on the dedicated Ring Pro’s ssid and I get the following (on a tablet at the Ring Pro’s location outside): ping=11ms, jitter=0ms, download=21.5Mbps, uplink=17.7Mbps. The router has wifi built in, a ZTE ZXHN H198A and the access point I used to improve signal strength is a Dlink DAP-1522. The rest of my wired and wifi network has been extremely reliable for all sorts of devices, including crisp and clear VOIP phones via ooma.

While video quality remained (remains) superb, I next looked at the transformer being used for my mechanical chime. My transformer is only rated at 10VA and I measured 19 VAC on it (at rest, Ring Pro hooked up but no activity). So I killed power, disconnected the transformer and substituted my bench variac, set to 23 volts AC, and capable of 200VA. I turned on the variac, verified measured output voltage of 23 volts. The Ring Pro performed exactly the same as before – high quality video but totally garbled audio coming out of the Ring Pro speaker. I also looked at wiring. I do have low gauge (#22 I think) wiring, but the cable runs are short. Just two feet from the transformer to the chime on the other side of the wall, and about 15-20 feet from the Ring Pro to the chime. The chime only uses the Front door connection, and I am using the Ring Power adapter (V2 I think), which is installed across the “Trans” & “Front” terminals of the chime.

I read something about Samsung android phones causing audio issues with the timeline feature, and two of my tests were from such phones (Samsung S5). But I get the same garbled results in a live session run from my Windows 10 laptop microphone using the windows app. And I also tried speaking and generating audio (from an audio book) through an Amazon Echo (audio only via “Alexa, talk to front door”), with the same garbled result.

Still, given what was written about the Samsung android issues I tried disabling the timeline view in my account settings on all four android devices tested thus far. This too did not help, if anything the sound quality was slightly worse.

It seems to me I either have a defective speaker in my Ring Pro, or there is a firmware issue with Ring clipping the audio bandwidth or something like that. Ring Health reports my firmware is up to date. Another interesting data point is noteworthy: When setting up the Ring Pro, there is a female voice assistant that “speaks” from the Ring Pro, saying things like “This will take a minute, Rome wasn’t built in a day”. That voice sounds much better, much easier to understand. I think that points to Ring firmware and audio processing. We know that tiny speakers are generally capable of producing much better sound, for example the speakers in smart phones, cordless landline phones, etc. Given the number of people reporting issues like this on the web, I’m bummed about the sound quality, but still hopeful Ring can do something to fix it. Next call to Ring Support, after that I guess I’ll return it for refund.

I have attached a 90 second mp3 sound clip (zipped to allow posting here), recorded from a tablet sitting on a barstool 2 feet away from the ring pro outside the house. During the first half of the recording you can hear my voice talking in front of the ring pro, near the recording tablet. The rest of the recording is what the tablet hears (still 2 feet away from the ring pro) when the ring pro receives audio from a live session, wherein that audio is my voice followed by some audio from an audio book broadcast near my laptop microphone. Again, in all cases if I review/download the event from ring, all audio is crisp and clear.

Any help appreciated!

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Mine sounds very similar. Did you ever find a solution? Thanks.

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Did you ever resolve your issue? I am having the exact 100% same results :frowning: Very dissapointed in this product at the moment. My RSSI is at -51 btw.

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I have the same problem. Just bought the device today and this is a serious issue. We can’t use the communication feature at all.

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Hi neighbors. Audio and video connection concerns are often related to wifi, mobile device, or Ring app communication variables. The best first thing to check is your wifi signal strength, or RSSI, which can be found in the Device Health section of your Ring app. Check out our Community post about RSSI for tips on optimizing this signal strength.

Removing and reinstalling the Ring app is a quick way to ensure it is up to date and optimally integrated with your mobile device. 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 bluetooth and VPN is disabled. I hope this helps! :slight_smile:

I have the exact same issue. I have a Samsung S9 and the wifi router is 2 metres from the door. It worked without fail when I first got it just over a year ago. It seems to be related to either a Ring or Samsung firmware update.

Rest assured the problem is not your smartphone or your router or signal nor is it your transformer or any of the other tips and tricks listed by Ring - the audio problem is a basic bug or deficiency in the Ring device and its software. After reading a lot in this community, and reading tons of reviews on youtube, it’s clear that a majority of Ring owners have this problem and have experienced it for over a year (if not forever). If you listen carefully in some of the review recordings you can even hear the garbled audio right there in the review (yet many give it a positive rating). It seems that this will never be fixed and, after way too much research and testing (ie wasted time), I promptly returned mine for a refund. Slightly mitigating the issue, I can add that it turns out, at least for me, the feature to actually answer the door from a phone is rarely if ever needed or used. For me, most of the time the bell is pressed for a package delivery and if it’s someone truly waiting at the door I find there is little or no benefit to having a conversation with that person (assuming I am even able to answer before they walk away, which is even more rare). That may explain how such a key advertised feature remains broken for - well forever - and for nearly everyone who bothered to test it or try using the feature. Still, it remains extremely disappointing that Ring does not either fix it or own up to it. These days and for the past 6 months instead of Ring I am using the “Eufy 2K Battery” wired to a trasnformer for power and mechanical chime - so the battery is unnecessary. The Eufy works well, although it does miss motion events from time to time. I had also tried Arlo and Remobell - each of which has other major problems so I returned those too. I wrote more in response to youtube reviews, such as here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twy4RUUakSk

Was there ever a resolution to this? I’m currently experiencing this on all my cameras and I have 6, which includes the doorbell pro 2. The talking feature was fine then noticed recently my voice sounded distorted when trying to talk live. Answering the door is impossible at this point.

Sorry to hear this concern is persisting for you, @Regmeister! Audio should be working as intended, as long as internet connection and wifi signal is sufficient, per your RSSI in the Ring app.

Try testing audio on a different mobile device, or even an Alexa enabled device through enabling the Ring skill for Alexa, as this can rule out many mobile device related factors. While connection is most commonly related to audio quality, it’s worth also ensuring your Doorbell Pro’s power is sufficient.

If the above recommendations do not improve audio, please give our support team a call at one of the numbers available here. We’re taking additional steps to protect our team and help reduce the spread of COVID-19, so this has resulted in longer than normal wait times. If you are outside of the US, please read our response to COVID-19 here to see how to contact support. I hope this helps! :slight_smile:

Ring, are you going to realize this problem is on YOUR END yet?

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NEW to RING and the community. I just installed the RING equipment this week. Have had the same problem with my PRO doorbell. That said, I also purchased an older model (2020 release), which is on battery, and the sound is PERFECT with the same network and cell phone. SOOOOoooo - appears to me that the PRO speaker has an audio issue. The sound coming into the RING doorbell is also so faint I can hardly hear it or make out what is being said. Playback video is clear on the audio. So there is something up with the AUDIO via the RING APP and the PRO.

I am in the same boat. Customer support gives you all these issues to check, but never a resolution. I have a Ring Light with camera even further away from the router than the doorbell and it works fine. It is a bad design on the camera and it appears Ring is not fessing up to it. Had I not already bought 3 cameras and the doorbell, I would have gone with some other brand. This is not what I was expecting for the money I spent. I can’t see spending the money on a replacement since Ring isn’t doing anything about it only to find the same issue with another Ring Pro doorbell. I work in a product oriented industry and if our customer support continued to fiddle about and not resolve the issue we would be out of business. It all comes down to doing the right thing.

This thread is two years old. Has anyone come up with a permanent fix for this issue? I have noticed with my Ring Doorbell Pro that if I mute the doorbell microphone while I talk and unmute it to hear a person’s reply that my voice is not garbled for the person at the doorbell. It is a pain to have to mute/unmute in order to make it work but (for me at least), it seems to be a viable workaround.

Hi neighbors! If the audio on your Ring Video Doorbell Pro is poor quality or you hear any static, try the following troubleshooting steps to see if they resolve this concern.

  • Check out our audio and sound issues troubleshooting guide in our Help Center here. This will cover a lot of the possible causes for poor audio quality.
  • Reset your Doorbell by holding down the setup button for at least 30 seconds. After the reset is done, complete a new setup in the Ring app and test out the audio on your Doorbell.
  • Test the audio on a different smartphone or tablet to see if the same concern occurs. If it doesn’t, make sure the Ring app and your phone’s OS are fully updated to ensure compatibility.

If this issue persists despite reviewing the information above, please give our support team a call at one of the numbers available here. They can take a more in-depth look and determine the best resolution. If you are outside of the US, please visit here to see how to contact support. :slight_smile:

This definitely hasn’t re been resolved, I have the ring doorbell pro for almost 3 years and it has never sounded good. WiFi signal is good. I had a crappy skybell doorbell that sounded great compared to the ring.

Same problem continues. I’ve tested everything; tried every alleged fix repeatedly over the years on my Ring Pro 2. Ring ignores the problem. Ring hardware, software and tech support is quite a disappointment. If they had any integrity they’d fix the problem or replace the devices.

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I’m new to Ring and have just installed the Ring Video Doorbell Wired. Had to purchase and install a new transformer to get it to work but it is working “well”, except for LIVE audio. When I get an alert and use the app to view the doorway, the video is perfect, but the audio is “up and down” i.e. I can hear what is being said, then it goes, then comes back, then goes, then comes back etc. This doesn’t make sense given that I have perfect Video, so please don’t blame my wifi connection as I’ve had zero issues with this for ANY devices.

If I view the recorded image for the event, it is perfect in every way; video and crystal clear audio.

The lack of clear LIVE audio is very disappointing and appears to be a similar, if not the same issue, that many others are experiencing.

Any thoughts - and Ring Support, please don’t blame my wifi?

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Hi @milleniumaire. Try the steps listed in this Help Center article here. As a test, try connecting your Doorbell to a WiFi hotspot. If you have good audio while connected to the hotspot, this would indicate there is an issue with your network. If not, you may need to contact our support team to look further into this for you.

EDIT: Husband just replaced the transformer which was only a 16 volt (probably original to the house 1962). It’s now 24 volt and the audio is noticeably improved. Probably could be even better with newer wiring but that’s a
much bigger job.

We just installed the Ring Pro 2 about a week ago the audio speaking to the guest at the door is HORRIBLE both LIVE VIEW and also playback of the recorded convo!!! We have a mesh system for our wifi and one of the mesh nodes is 5 feet from the doorbell. We have fiber optic internet with high upload and download speeds so it’s NOT our internet. No other security cameras in our house or outside have this issue - ALL of them are ring cameras. Even our former $49 Blink doorbell was far superior in sound quality.

My original Ring Pro had great video and Audio. Unfortunately the bell button cracked and fell apart. Ring replaced it with a refurbished model and ever since my audio is garbled or none at all. They replaced that one and then gave me a a Ring Pro 2. I’m up to my Fourth Replacement and still have the same problem! I replaced my transformer, ran new wiring to the doorbell, and my router is a top of the line Asus Mesh system less than 5 feet away from the doorbell. It seems to me that the newer models have noise canceling circuitry added but it’s not adjustable and it’s very overpowered causing the problem. This is my fourth and last Ring device that I will use. Very Disappointing to say the least!