Wired Ring Doorbell not Triggering Original Chime

For the benefit of Ring 2 owners, noen of these comments are relevant. The Pro unit is mains powred and provides a powered circuit to operate the wired bell. If you have a wired system like mine that does not need a replacement transformer supplying power to operate the bell or to charge anything, there is no way to just close the circuit across the scew terminals on the back of the unit. It is a very basic requirement but the Ring 2 does not meet it as the designers made assumptions that do not apply to simple press to close systems.

I obviously don’t have a Ring 2 in order to test this, but there are many references on the Internet which say that it can be used with an internal bell, e.g.
https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/ring-video-doorbell-2
and, as I said in a previous post, Ring actually publish a list of compatible internal bells.

Not entirely sure what you mean when you say ‘a wired system that does not need a replacement transformer’. If it is wired, it must have a transformer unless your internal bell is battery operated. The screw terminals on the back of the Ring2 can easily be closed with power from the internal battery if it contains a solid state relay.

This, for example, is the relay that is in their Bypass Kit.
https://www.digikey.co.uk/product-detail/en/ixys-integrated-circuits-division/LCB710/CLA370-ND/2609734
The Ring 2 may well contain the same or a similar device.
We need a volunteer to do a tear-down of their Ring 2 :slight_smile:

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If we stick to the product being discussed, Ring Video Door Bell 2, the information on the internet is not correct. The Ring 2 will not close the circuit when the button is activated, therefor will not work with an existing door bell.

aurowatcher:

Your comment is in no way realevant to the Ring Video Door Bell 2

@aurorawatcher

Thanks for your detailed response. It was very helpful. Now I’m preparing my wall for flush mounting the doorbell. So hopefully I should be able to set everything up soon. I will keep you posted when I completed the wiring and mounting.

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I am at a loss to see how my last post citing a Trusted Review specifically about the Ring 2 and my reference to the bell compatibility list published by Ring specifically for the Ring 2 are not considered relevant to the Ring 2.

In any case the subject of the thread is ‘Wired Ring Doorbell not Triggering Original Chime’’ and so potentially covers all models, so my few comments which were specific to the Ring Pro are not off topic.

There are many references to the use of specifically the Ring 2 with an internal bell, both from Ring themselves and from third parties. I have also tried to explain why the Ring 2 will not show a closed circuit with a test meter, whilst it will work perfectly to close a circuit with a conventional bell and transformer in the same way as a simple mechanical push button. There is even a video showing the Ring 2 button being pushed and the indoor chime ringing.

If you chose to believe that these are all completely incorect or, presumably, falsified in the case of the video evidence showing the internal bell ringing, there is really nothing more to add.

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In a previous post you said you don’t have a Ring Video Bell 2 to test - thus you are only repeating what Ring is saying and what is posted on the internet. There is no video evidence of the Ring Video Bell 2 actually activating an internal chime that is operated by a simple push button closing the circuit. I have 3 Ring Video Bell 2 systems and they all work exactly the same - won’t operate a simple internal bell by closing the circuit. Sorry but not everything posted in the internet is accurate.

Having read this entire chain, I am now thoroughly confused. I purchased and installed a Ring Video Doorbell 2 over 18 months ago. I have a very simply mechanical chime with a 20 year old push button. It all worked perfectly until about 3 months ago whenit stopped activating the old mechanical bell. I have double checked the bell at both the bell tranformer and the ring connections. When I complete the circut, it works fine. But the Ring Video Doorbell 2 no longer makes the connection. Was there a software update that disabled the feature? Or is my Doorbell 2 now defective?

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Hi azwl

Well at least this shows that the Ring 2 can work with an internal bell! I can’t say whether there were any software or firmware updates that might stop it working . As I said previously, with the Ring Pro it was essential to set ‘mechanical bell’ in the App, but according to others this option does not appear to be in the Ring 2 settings (unless it is very well hidden).

You have obviously proved that your bell and wiring are OK. What I suggest is that you give your Ring2 a factory reset and re-install it. If this doesn’t work then the most likely explanation is that you have a faulty Ring.

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I can add nothing more to help Ring 2 owners who want to operate original wired bell systems and cannot. I have to admit failure and have managed to get Ring to admit it too. They finally come back and said that I could return the unit if I wasn’t satisfied, but there was a sting in the tail. They said that they would only refund my money if I had bought directly from them, so in effect they were washing their hands of the matter as I had bought the unit from Amazon. Luckily Amazon have a much better return and refund policy than ring and so now my Ring 2 is on its way back to Amazon and hopefully my money is on its way to me!

I’m sorry I couldn’t solve my problem with the Ring 2 and hope that perhaps others may do better than I did.

I haven’t given up on the concept of a video door bell so if anyone can recommend another make of doorbell that can operate original wired bell systems I’d be grateful.

PS. Did you know that you cannot use the word l1beral on this website! What sort of people operater Ring?

You can’t solve the problem with the Ring Video Door Bell 2 beacuse the problem is a defect in the design. There are a lot of comments in this chain but no one has provided solid evidence that pushing the ring button will cause the terminals on the back to make connection. As I mentioned, that can be verified with an ohm meter - there is a battery in the ring which should power the solid state relay - even if you do not have it connected to your internal bell.

I have come to the realization that there is no fix for this problem short of some intervention by Ring - which appears is not going to happen. I have learned to live with mine given that all the cell phones and iPads in my house sound an alarm so I can get by.

Its a shame that a company like ring cannot take ownership in this problem, regardless of where you purhased the product.

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@ aurorawatcher

I wired up my Ring Pro with my mechanical chime, and I can see it is working now. Yor are right making sure that the bell is set to ‘mechanical’ in the App in Device Settings is key for Ring Pro to link with your mechanical chime.

Thanks for your support.

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@Siva-07 Good hear hear you have got it working. Now you have the fun bit of trying to get the zones right!

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Problem I had - ring doorbell 2 worked fine for a year, then went from “hardwired” to “battery” and stopped ringing my mechanical indoor doorbell.

solution: hard factory reset (hold setup button for 30 seconds) then had to setup the RD2 again.

works fine.

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My Ring Doorbell 2 had been triggering my existing doorbell chime for over a year before it stopped a couple of days ago. Since I can get it to chime if I short the terminals at the back of the Ring doorbell (equivalent to pushing the old push button), it’s obvious that the Ring doorbell is no longer closing those contacts when the Ring button is pushed. Did some recent software update disable that function? Or did my Ring 2 just crash and burn?

MikeJA: If your ring video door bell 2 activated your existing bell for a while, you’re way ahead of all others in this thread. I have two new ring video door bell 2 and neither of them will make the contacts on the back when the button is activated. You can contact ring, but good luck wiht that. They will just tell you that your bell is not compatible - but wonder how they will explain that it worked for a while. Good Luck and please post any new information you get.

I installed my Ring 2 in July 2018. A couple of weeks ago I had a cable technician going in and out of my house. He’d ring the doorbell everytime he’d enter and that’s when I realized the existing doorbell wasn’t ringing. I don’t get many doorbell ringers other than delivery people so it’s possible it stopped a while ago. I started to wonder if I was only imagining that it had been ringing all this time after reading everyone’s comments. But I would have remembered if it didn’t work during installation since the instructions specifically discussed getting it to trigger existing doorbells. I would have done something about it at that time if it wasn’t working. I haven’t contacted Ring Support to find out if they have an explaination.

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I am a little late to the party, but this may help.
I was having the same issue ring button not engaging my existing chime. I could touch the two wires at the button and the chime would ring. I finally got irritated read this thread and took the ring apart. If you take out the tiny 6 screws of the back plate you can pop the back plate off. You will see the two brass looking cups that the terminal screws screw into. Those cups make contact with two tiny pins. I first touched the doorbell wires to those two pins and pushed the button bam!, the chime sounded. So I knew the cups were not making connection with the pins. I pulled the pins up a bit with tweezers and loosened up the circuit board so it would contact put it all back together and worked like a champ, I did have to use a different screw when mounting back to the bracket on the wall since I shifted the insides a hair, but all looks normal and works!
So my chime is a cheap brand standard chime I found at ace hardware, I do have a transformer 16v I believe, hope this helps it was driving me crazy. I’ll attach some pics where you can see the terminal cups and inside. Also when connecting wires to terminal screws I made sure it had contact with the brass cup rim not just the screw.

B7165: I was excited when I read your post thinking that finally this issue was solved. Not so fast. I don’t doubt that this solution worked for you, but you have a different ring video doorbell 2 than I do. To start with, there are 10 screws that hold the back plate on mine, where yours is 6. There two brass cups you refer to are present on mine, and they do go into holes where they make contact with two brass clips. In checking the clips that would receive the pins with an ohm meter, I found that there still is no continuity between the two when the door bell button is depressed. Nonetheless, I made sure they were high enough to make solid contact with the pins once the back plate was put back on. And of course it still does not work. I looked at your pictures and everything looks pretty similiar, other than you have pins and mine has brass clips. Are you absolutely sure you have a "Ring Video Door Bell 2? There have been other comments that were not the exact same unit.

I have an old Nutone doorbell chime. Touching the wires together at the front door rings it. Installed the Ring Doorbell Pro and pressing the button did not ring the Nutone chime. Went into the App and changed the chime from Digital to Mechanical, and now it works fine.

Glad I read the entire thread before going to all the extremes others have posted.

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