people only mode

I have no “people only mode” on my ring video doorbell 2. I have it hard wired. I am still in the initial 30 day trial period. Anyone know why?

Doorbell doesn’t have the people only option. Only the spotlight and flood cameras have it.

My Ring Doorbell pro does have people only option.

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My Doorbell Pro has it as well.

https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032947972-Refining-Your-Alert-Notifications-with-People-Only-Mode

Does everyone have access to People Only Mode?

No. People Only Mode is only accessible to those neighbors who have signed up for a Ring Protect Plus or Ring Protect Basic Plan or those who setup one of the following Ring wired devices prior to September 30, 2019:

  • Ring Video Doorbell Pro
  • Ring Video Doorbell Elite
  • Stick Up Cam Wired
  • Floodlight Cam
  • Spotlight Cam Wired
  • Spotlight Cam Mount

People Only Mode is also available during the 30-day trial period that begins when a device is first activated. After that period, a Ring Protect Plan is required to use the feature.

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Wow, looks like they clawed back a free feature :frowning:

I installed (hardwired) and activated a Video Doorbell 2 after Christmas 2019 and signed up for the Protect Basic plan to start at the end of my 30 day free trial. The Ring app on my iPhone does not offer the ‘People Only’ tile on the device settings screen. How do I get that tile activated? I have tried logging out and then back in to the app but that doesn’t do it. Isn’t ‘People Only’ available during the free trial? Or does it only start once the plan officially starts?

You won’t see" people only tile". Instead, you should see a tile called “smart alerts”. If you click that tile the people only option is in there. At least that is how it is on mine.

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Well that tile isn’t there either, Smart Alerts is missing.

I have a Ring Pro and Android app so the “People Only Mode” is under-Devices, Video Doorbells (click on whatever you name your ring doorbell…), Motion Settings and viola! hope that helps.

So I had a long online chat with Ring Tech Support and here is what I learned:

  1. Right now only Ring devices that are not primarily battery powered, regardless of whether or not they are “hardwired” (like a Ring Video Doorbell 2), have “people Only” mode.
  2. Hardwiring a battery powered device only trickle charges the battery. The device is not powered by the hardwiring directly.
  3. Tech support confirmed that the hardware in the battery devices will support this mode however the device’s firmware does not.
  4. There is a firmware update planned to enable this mode in battery powered devices.
  5. The firmware update is planned for sometime near the end of Jan 2020 or later in Feb 2020.

Guess we have to be patient. :confounded:

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So I see that “people only” works the following way:

Battery = all motion recorded but only when people detected is a notifiction sent.

Hardwired = only motion with people recorded and notified. So non people motion not recorded.

This seems a bit back to front. I would have thought the hardwired camera would recorded everything but only notify about people.

My issue with this is my doorbell camera is harwired. I would like it to record all motion but only notify for people. So in effect do what a battery powered doorbell would do. I would like the same for my floodlight camera.

My reason for this is I like to check footage occasionally to see what my cat has been up and to make sure she is ok. If I enable people only mode I will have no recordings to check.

Can an otion be added so I can record all but only notify for people with pro doorbell and floodlight?

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I’m reading this I have similar thinking on this as well.

Perhaps Ring can have same behavior - for both battery and hardwired-based devices - to have an option to

  • always record, but

  • only sends notifications for people-activated motions

I know my neighbors sometimes send their pets to urinate on my front yard, and I do want to see if that’s happening for sure.

i have people only mode on my doorbell 2, under Smart alerts, but i cant find it on the settings for my spotlight cam or my stick up cams. i am to understand that one of the new features is ‘people only mode’ for battery operated devices, and when you click on the details all it says is People only mode for battery operated devices- feature enabled. so does that mean it is just a new embedded features and not something that you can turn on or off yourself?

Well lo and behold!

I just checked my RIng app and I now have a Smart Alerts tile and a People Only Mode!

Seems like my tech support person was correct in that there would be an firmware update, just their anticipated delivery timng was off!

Thanks to the tech team!

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I just got a spotlight cam battery and don’t see a smart alerts option. I have the protect plus plan. My floodlight cam has that option.

The support article for People Only mode is either incorrect or contradicts what support is saying. The article talks about Wired Devices and Battery devices without listing any specific ones so that would mean it should apply to all.

Then the article says this:

Does everyone have access to People Only Mode?

No. People Only Mode is only accessible to those neighbors who have signed up for a Ring Protect Plus or Ring Protect Basic Plan or those who setup one of the following Ring wired devices prior to September 30, 2019:

  • Ring Video Doorbell Pro
  • Ring Video Doorbell Elite
  • Stick Up Cam Wired
  • Floodlight Cam
  • Spotlight Cam Wired
  • Spotlight Cam Mount

So the way I understand it is that the requirement is Protect Plus / Protect Basic plan OR one of the devices listed if setup prior to that date.

The keyword there is OR

However support says oh your Spotlight Cam Battery is not supported - its not on the list.

What list? I have Protect Plus plan so based on the article it shouldn’t matter what device I have or when I got it.

My Spotlight Cam Battery has the Smart Alerts tile with People Only mode. My stick up cams (battery) do not have this option. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

I have a Ring Video Doorbell Pro that has been working fine. When I go to Motion Settings for it, the People Only Mode states “to enable this feature, subscribe to a Ring Protect Plan”. We are not currently subscribing to any plans or using People Only Mode and only using live view.

But when I click on Motion Sensitivity to adjust that, it states “To set Motion Sensitivity manually, turn off People Only Mode. Sensitivity is set automatically when People Only Mode is enabled”. People Only Mode is not enabled and to do that you have to subscribe but I just want it turned off so I can set the sensitivity on the Doorbell camera.

Any assistance with this catch-22 situation would be greatly appreciated.