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Original poster

To ask negatives of Ring Doorbell

43 replies

noenergy · 21/12/2019 21:50

Was thinking of getting one but someone mentioned on another thread that there have been negatives to it.

Interested to hear what the pros and especially the cons of this are. Did a quick google search and all seems positive but want to hear what the negatives are.

OP posts:
TheNameGames · 21/12/2019 21:56

It may have been me on the other thread as I mentioned something negative about them, but, the person I read about installed it in their children's bedroom to keep an eye on them at all times but it got hacked and someone started speaking to them and swearing and saying sexual stuff to them through it. I googled further and this was not a lone case. But tbh, I think putting a webcam inside your house is stupid anyway, especially in a bedroom. I think if you are planning to stick with just the outdoor one, you will be fine.

ShirleyPhallus · 21/12/2019 21:57

It won’t get hacked if you change the password off the default one it comes with

blueshoes · 21/12/2019 22:01

I am afraid someone will just come and pluck it off our front door. Does that happen?

CFlemingSmith · 21/12/2019 22:04

I have one, it’s amazing. And so secure they would need to drill it off...highly unlikely to happen

senua · 21/12/2019 22:06

I don't understand them.
Dodgy person comes to your door, you say - via ring - "Nobody is in right now", dodgy person burgles your house with impunity.
What am I missing?

hartof · 21/12/2019 22:08

When it's really cold ours gets a big blur across it. That's the only negative I've found so far (9 months in)

minniemoll · 21/12/2019 22:13

I don't understand them.
Dodgy person comes to your door, you say - via ring - "Nobody is in right now", dodgy person burgles your house with impunity.
What am I missing?

You can say that you'll be back in a couple of minutes, or just that you can't get to the door. Better than them just getting no answer and knowing there's no one in....

Plus you have their photo on file!

ValleyClouds · 21/12/2019 22:15

I'm disabled and I really want to know about this.

I want to know I don't need to struggle to door if it's a Jehovah or a Chugger as opposed to a friend or a delivery, but the doorbell will be looking out onto an ordinary residential street and I don't need alerts every time a pedestrian walks past 😂

LittleReindeer · 21/12/2019 22:15

You have to pay a subscription fee for ever and ever. That’s the main reason why I didn’t get one. I don’t want to fork out just to see who’s at my door.

Fireextinguished · 21/12/2019 22:16

Watching with interest

LemonSqueezy0 · 21/12/2019 22:16

We sent it back, it was awful. We have great Internet but the time lag was awful. Over 60 seconds delay, on a good day! People would have probably left by the time the call came through to us. And the sound was terrible, we couldn't understand each other it kept glitching and lagging. Also, you have to have a different app to have the doorbell sound inside your house, not just on your phone. So as a family you would all need the ring app or your teenagers would have a legit excuse not yo answer the door. It does sound outside and very loudly too... Surprised you haven't found more of these negative comments by googling reviews, there are alot out there.

senua · 21/12/2019 22:17

Plus you have their photo on file!
That's easy to get round - a bit of disguise or send a decoy in earlier so you know you can turn up in a balaclava ...

wanderings · 21/12/2019 22:23

Because I like my traditional doorbell operated by a pull-handle.

Seriously, though, the subscription charge puts me off; they claim to be hackproof, but they said the same about smart meters; I don't like domestic devices being too clever, like Alexa. I see things like Alexa and Ring doorbells as a step closer to 1984.

DontCallMeShitley · 21/12/2019 22:27

We had one, there was a time delay so couldn't see who was arriving until they were leaving. Tried a booster. Internet was fine so returned it.

Tried again, same thing. Gave up.

You need to specifically search the reviews as there are others with similar problems. You need to have decent broadband but it isn't a dead cert it will work. Don't throw the packaging away too soon in case you need to return it.

I have noticed that the people opposite don't seem to use theirs any more either.

Biancadelrioisback · 21/12/2019 22:30

I've got a Blink camera instead of a Ring. It's basically just the camera and 2 way speaker. I like the fact that my house is covered. I get notifications if someone triggers the cameras (including the neighbours cat!) But it's come in very handy when Hermes claimed they had delivered my parcel.

FromEden · 21/12/2019 22:30

Ours points onto the street and records every car that goes past. For that reason the battery doesn't last long at all, and it takes a whole day to charge fully again. That's one thing I dont like about it

LesLavandes · 21/12/2019 22:31

Mine has a time lag too. It is really annoying

Lifecraft · 21/12/2019 22:35

You have to pay a subscription fee for ever and ever. That’s the main reason why I didn’t get one. I don’t want to fork out just to see who’s at my door.

No you don't. You only have to pay the subscription if you want to have all activity recorded and view it retrospectively. If you just want to use it in "live" mode, there's no subscription to pay.

Biancadelrioisback · 21/12/2019 22:36

No subscription with the Blink too

TheShoeLady · 21/12/2019 22:36

Posted this on the other thread by mistake!

I visited a relative today. Rang the doorbell, he answered, we went in, said hello, took off shoes etc sat down, he made us a drink. Then his phone chimed. It was the Ring doorbell telling him that another relative (who had arrived before us!) was at the door grin

Apparently he usually gets a notification as someone is walking away at the end of the drive! Seems like you need good internet for Ring to work properly.

Lifecraft · 21/12/2019 22:37

Ours points onto the street and records every car that goes past. For that reason the battery doesn't last long at all, and it takes a whole day to charge fully again. That's one thing I dont like about it

The latest version runs off the mains and films constantly. It's very low voltage and costs next to nothing to run.

Lifecraft · 21/12/2019 22:39

Apparently he usually gets a notification as someone is walking away at the end of the drive!

You can choose in the setting to either get notifications based on movement, or just when someone rings the bell.

A lot of these gripes I'm reading are from people who really don't know much about it.

Awks · 21/12/2019 22:50

Negative is that whenever I leave the house, someone who has the app yells down the doorbell, muuuuuuum where are you going?

BorisForPM · 21/12/2019 22:57

Oh I read a really interesting article on this.

Apparently give it 5-10 years and Ring will start alerting homeowners when ‘undesirables’ are walking down their street.

Just think about that for a while...

LittleReindeer · 21/12/2019 23:02

If you just want to use it in "live" mode, there's no subscription to pay
What’s the point of that? Without the ability to record video and save photos it’s pretty much useless imo.

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