Ring Door Bell/ home security

[BabyDustAllRound83]

Hi mumsnetters can I ask if any of you have the ring door bell? I'm currently in the house alone most of the time, mostly due to working from home or being here with my 2yo grandson while my 16yo DS is at school and my other 18yo DS is in uni and I want to get some security in the house, I dont want to be answering the door to strangers ESPECIALLY on dark winter nights, also id like to be notified when someone is at my door when I'm away from the house, id also like some indoor security but im on a tight budget and want to get the best value for my money, I dont want to have to pay monthly fees but would like to check on my house (inside) when I'm out aswell. All advice GREATLY appreciated 🙏 TIA

Hi I have a ring - no monthly fees as it’s local storage on your phone but you can probably route it to a home server if you want.
Alerts us every time someone crosses the perimeter, loud ringing on phone when someone presses doorbell and it records everything they do. You can see, hear and even use it as an intercom it’s great.

They are great. Easy to use. Highly recommended.

Thanks a million guys you've just made up my mind

I’ve got a ring doorbell, recently moved and thinking of adding the whole alarm/security system as well.

Are they easy to fit? That’s the only thing putting me off.

I've got one it's mint. Don't be swayed with a none brand, they suck trying to connect them to WiFi. I got a chime also..

To store the videos on my phone it's the first month free and a quid odd a month after that. I just pay for the year. You can set your parameter so it doesn't go off if someone walks past your house.

Also, make sure your neighbours are ok with it, obviously can't record them without their permission due to GDPR.

I got my ring on Amazon day a few years ago. With Black Friday coming up you might get a good deal. We have the one that fits in the hole where your peephole is so no drilling or anything was so easy to fit. The yearly fee isn’t much at all when you consider the peace of mind

I had one fitted a few days ago, it's brilliant!

We love ours. It's great to be able to talk to delivery drivers remotely and ask them to put the parcel BEHIND the plant pot and not on the mat where every thieving tyke can see it from the road.

I've got a ring camera and love it. It's proved to be real peace of mind as I'm a single parent so only myself and young DD home.

I got a fab deal on Amazon last Black Friday. Ring camera and Echo show for something like £80. Essentially, one of the two was free. I got the rechargeable battery one so no wiring, just stick it up and switch on. (I've got mine screwed to top of front door frame)

I have a Ring doorbell and it's great for what we need it for, which was mostly for me getting alerts that someone is at the door when I'm working upstairs at the back of house, as I often don't hear the door. We don't pay for the subscription to record as we don't really need it. We also got a Ring security kit on a Prime Day deal, which I also like. It's useful to be able to activate and deactivate my alarm on my phone wherever I am, and I like the peace of mind that I am notified if the alarm goes off. Very easy to set up too.

Depending on how much security is a concern, Ring might not be the best option and fixed CCTV could be better. It's susceptible to wifi blockers so has a point of weakness that a traditional camera doesn't have. But if it's just to have a general idea about what's going on at the front door, it works great.

@CovidCorvid Thats actually a good question I have wires there ready for a bell @gamerchick can I ask you what a none brand is? Is it just a similar idea but isn't the "Ring" brand? Also what is a chime? @YungDumbThrills @DedalusBloom are they easy to fit? would I need to get someone to do it? As I said door bell wires are already there, @RainbowZebraWarrior that sounds like a really good deal, can I ask you exactly what I'm looking for and the best place or seller on amazon that you got yours? Also just wondering is it just people at the actual door you can see with the door bell or front garden too, and what the angle is like? Would you recommend wired or rechargeable battery? And if I pay for recording is it easy to access the recordings? Or if I just opt for storage on my phone can I still record? Sorry for all the questions im doing my research online also but no better advice than from you guys who have them, thanks so much everyone for your advice already given and TIA for the advice im hoping to get

We found ours easy to fit - we have the rechargeable battery one so didn't have to wire anything in.

Ours shows our whole front garden/ path to front door ( just over a cars depth) in pretty good detail. We can also see the houses over the road clearly if daylight is relatively bright. Night is different - you can see shadows of people walking past the house and vehicles driving by but unless someone comes up to the door you can't identify them easily.

Our neighbours front door is next to ours as we are in a terrace. We can see a small portion of their garden. We asked them if they minded before we put it in and they were fine with it on the basis it was a little added security for them too.

I have a ring doorbell which I got recently after there were some dodgy types hanging around the area. It’s good for knowing who’s out there, and we get a lovely video of the fox who tends to visit us nightly.

Neighbours are only a concern if you’re facing their gardens. I.e. if mine were attached to the front door it would point straight at my neighbour’s front garden, but you’re perfectly at liberty to have one which points down your driveway for instance.

We have a Google Nest doorbell camera. It's one of the best things we have bought for the house.

My car was destroyed in a fire on our drive last week It has been invaluable to be able to watch what happened and to be able to check it wasn't arson. The footage has gone to the insurance company now.

I'd recommend getting it hardwired. I had the battery initially but sometimes the battery plummeted from 60% charged to 10% & I found it a faff to charge it. If you've already got the wiring definitely get it hard wired.

I wouldn't be without mine now.

They really sound amazing but the ONLY thing putting me off is that they can be jammed by WiFi jammer which are only like €/£10 on the Internet except the ring elite which is over €550 so im now trying to find a system that I can still see who's at my door, have the option of in home security but which can't be blocked with the WiFi jammer, they seem to be a big problem with a lot of customers using ring, I really want to avoid big monthly fees if possible, does anybody have any suggestions PLEASE? TIA 🙏❤

You don't have a big monthly fee. If you pay for their storage it's about £2 a month

I wouldn't be put off by reports of WiFi jamming. Realistically how likely is it??

I'd still recommend a Ring.

Sorry off topic but @Yayalala what on earth happened for your car to catch fire??!!

gamerchick can I ask you what a none brand is? Is it just a similar idea but isn't the "Ring" brand? Also what is a chime?

As in, spend the money and get a proper ring doorbell. Not the cheaper ones.

You can get a chime to hook up to the doorbell. So you can hear it in the house if you're not next to your phone. Ding dong.

@ThisIsStartingToBoreMe

Also, make sure your neighbours are ok with it, obviously can't record them without their permission due to GDPR.

Read about an interesting recent court case about this, yes, need to take care.

@gamerchick yea I kind of guessed what you meant but I just presumed it chimed when pressed anyway rather than just your phone ringing I wouldn't have thought you'd have to buy your ding dong @Redglitter yea I suppose your right about the jammer its not as if I live in a mansion....or anywhere near one lol, can I ask which model you have? Do I just buy the doorbell and chime and connect it to my WiFi and phone or do I need anything else, just I seen someone mention alexa and other bits, Or which is most popular, is there even a difference except the price, @ThisIsStartingToBoreMe my neighbour doesn't mind at all so im good to go there, just need to know which one to go for, im thinking just basic, thanks all, just going to bite the bullet tonight and buy one

I just have the Ring2 which is the cheapest one. I have it connected to Alexa. I have several in the house & the dots tell me someone's rung my bell. The Echo show tells me then opens the camera and displays who's there.

I don't have a chime because I've always got my phone handy or the Alexas notify me.

A friend of mine installed it. Took about 30 mins but he hardwired it and had to go under my floorboards because I had no bell wiring.

I dont get notifications for movement because my neighbour spends half her life walking up & down the path & triggers it. The app still records movement but I don't hear it.