This model ships in two versions: a regular unit that comes with a DIN-rail transformer for professional installation, or you can buy the doorbell with a plug-in adapter and install it yourself. Aside from bypassing the chime, both doorbells are otherwise identical and install in the same way, running the power cables to the terminals on the back. Once the doorbell is placed, you can use the test feature to set the range of the motion detection, cutting it off at the point your property ends. Around back are two wiring terminals, and under the removable faceplate are a reset button and a QR code for use with the initial setup. Please wait. The doorbell connects to 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, and it can be set to ring a Ring Chime or any Amazon Echo speakers you have. I spent more than 14 years on staff, most recently as the director of operations for PC Labs, before hitting the freelance circuit as a contributing editor. The camera captures 1536p HDR video and has a 150-degree horizontal and a 150-degree vertical field of view. You will receive a verification email shortly. Having the plug-in adapter option is neat for those who dont have a wired doorbell and want a quick way to install one. It makes the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 the most powerful device to manage, and Ive had far fewer notifications and recordings since installing this model. First, you can set a schedule for when you want notifications (you still get recordings and doorbell presses); and you can temporarily snooze notifications, which is handy if you have workmen going in and out of your home, or youre loading up a car to go on holiday. I removed the cover from the Pro 2, connected the two wires to the terminal, attached the base to the siding of my house, and powered up the circuit. That is, of course, unless you really need that 3D motion detection. Device Settings is where you can configure Video, Notification, and Privacy options. While Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 isn't useless without a subscription, it's going to deliver a severely limited set of functionality that would be better served by a cheaper doorbell. New York, I opened the app, tapped the three-bar icon in the upper left corner, tapped Set Up a Device, and selected Doorbells. This gives it a 1:1 aspect ratio that allows you to view a head-to-toe image of whomever is at your door. PCMag, PCMag.com and PC Magazine are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. When a cat came strolling around the porch at 2 am, I knew exactly where it went, just in case it left me any presents to clean up later. Theres also a button for configuring Smart Responses, where you can enable Alexa Greetings to have Alexa do things like provide directions for deliveries or take a message. Rings latest smart doorbell, the Video Doorbell Pro 2 ($249.99), offers a few features you won't find on the company's other models, including 3D motion detection and a Birds Eye View that gives you an aerial picture of motion events. Its quite easy to miss, particularly if you have multiple apps sending notifications. While the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 has plenty under the hood to differentiate itself from the first-generation model, the biggest change is how it sees the world. That said, it's also one of Ring's priciest models at $250, and you have to subscribe to a Ring Protect plan in order to access certain features and view recorded video. If local storage is your thing, the best smart video doorbell that stores locally is, undoubtedly, the Eufy Video Doorbell. This uses radar to measure how far away motion started. That connection to Alexa allows your doorbell to answer itself. The older model supports standard wired chimes. In February 2022 (running until 21 March 2022), Ring signed up with The Batman movie to have some caped crusader-inspired responses, such as Bat signal activated. Yellow dots represent the current path of the visitor and will gradually become redder and more transparent before disappearing after a few seconds. You'll still need an Arlo Smart subscription to get all the features, though, so that part isn't any better than what Ring offers. Similarly, all of your data can be stored locally for greater control of your data. It's still got people-only detection and cloud storage when you subscribe to a Ring Protect Plan, and it's even got the great always-on recording that'll give you a 6-second lead-up to motion events to understand the context better. However, its still the clunkiest part of the app, and scrolling back through a days worth of events isnt a lot of fun. Whether it's leaving a message for you to listen to later, get instructions for where to deliver packages or something else entirely, it's pretty comforting knowing that someone at the door isn't just standing there wondering if someone is home or not. This is a wired doorbell, so if youre not comfortable working with low-voltage (doorbell) wiring, you might want to have someone do it for you. The camera delivers razor-sharp day and night video, although color night vision isn't nearly as vibrant as daytime color. It measures 4.4 by 1.9 by 0.8 inches (HWD) and has a Satin Nickel cover and a glossy black camera face. Ring just needs to tidy this up and have a simple screen of thumbnails, so its much easier to find an event. Plus, its a better option if you have multiple cameras and in particular if you have the Ring Alarm, as you get cellular backup and assisted monitoring, too. I finally called tech support, and after a series of hardware and account verification resets I was able to complete the install, but it had to be done manually without scanning the QR code. The Pro 2 uses the same mobile app (for Android and iOS) as all other Ring devices. A small speaker is located on the bottom edge. This calibration helps Ring understand where motion is located on said satellite image. That gives you better zoom detail than previous Ring efforts and, to make things even better, it's now displayed in a more helpful square aspect ratio that Ring calls "Head to Toe video." Most definitely. If you're not willing to pay $3 a month for a subscription, you should just buy a less expensive video doorbell. Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 doesn't do much to change the fact that Ring's products don't play well with Google-powered smart homes but, realistically, there are a lot more Alexa-powered homes out there anyway. There's a good reason for that. Is it cool? I began by shutting off the breaker circuit that supplies power to my doorbell wiring and proceeded to remove my old doorbell. I tried uninstalling the app and resetting the doorbell, but each time I did the results were the same. Ring Protect costs 2.49 per camera (24.99 a year) for 30 days of cloud storage, but Ring Protect Plus provides coverage for any number of cameras and costs just 8 a month (80 a year). The 1536p camera delivered very sharp video in testing with spot-on motion detection, and the doorbell worked well with Alexa voice commands and Alexa Greetings. Given how flexible Alexa routines are, you can really do a lot here say, turning on a hall light when someone presses the doorbell. Once in place, you just use the Ring app to connect your doorbell to your Wi-Fi network, with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networking supported. https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/ring-video-doorbell-pro-2, Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Its a neat feature, but Id also like the option to choose a response on the fly (with a default going out after the timeout), so I could target the reply to the person at the door. Nest is starting to trail behind and, while the Nest Hello is good, the only reason to buy this doorbell is if you have Google Assistant smart speakers, which Ring doesnt support. Despite many advanced sensors and features, Ring Doorbell Pro 2 remains one of the very smallest video doorbells on the market; in fact, it's roughly half the size of some of its competitors. This model has to be hard-wired into place. Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. Thanks to the wide support for the Ring ecosystem, and a huge range of partner products, the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is the best smart doorbell available today but its expensive, and loses the option to ring an internal chime. Instead of cloud-based AI processing, Eufy's onboard processors can differentiate between regular motion and a person. If youre fed up of receiving irrelevant notifications, this doorbell has the best motion detection controls, dramatically cutting down alerts. The face also holds a microphone, an ambient light sensor, and a doorbell button bordered by an LED ring that glows blue when the button is pressed. That said, you can save a considerable amount with the $99.99 Ezviz DB1C, which also delivers high-resolution (1526p) video and a wide vertical viewing angle, as well as intelligent alerts, local and cloud video storage, and support for Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT. If you want the latest in smart doorbell technology, the Video Doorbell Pro 2 is an excellent choice. I already had the Ring app installed on my phone, but if this is your first Ring device youll have to download the app and create an account. How well this will work for you depends on the layout of your front yard. The Pro 2 uses dual-band Wi-Fi to connect to your home network and requires a standard 16-24 volt AC power transformer. This doorbell can answer itself, thanks to Alexa. The idea is that you can get the doorbell to ignore motion at the end of your front garden, such as people just walking past. Ring has started to add some special responses. There was a problem. You also need a subscription to use Alexa Greetings. In addition, it uses IFTTT applets to interact with third-party smart devices such as light bulbs, plugs, and locks. The choices include, Please leave the package outside, Hi! The former is the neater option, particularly if you already have a wired doorbell in place, and so have the necessary cables. Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 has the same kind of feature, called Quick Responses, but takes that concept a step further by connecting your visitors directly with Alexa. Unlike the radar-driven motion detection, this feature requires a Ring Protect subscription but may honestly be the most compelling reason that Ring has ever devised to subscribe. To access the doorbells settings screen, tap the gear icon in the upper right corner. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant. Ring has added its Privacy Zones, which let you block out part of the image to protect a neighbours privacy. Android Central is supported by its audience. Following the on-screen instructions, I used my phones camera to scan the QR code on the doorbell and it was immediately recognized. Ring also sells a $289.99 package with the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 and a Ring Chime Pro if your house is like mine and doesn't have a traditional doorbell chime in it, or if you just need to add another chime for other places in your home. last updated 29 March 22. Below the video panel is an event timeline you can scroll through to find an event that occurred at a specific time of day. Rings real strength lies in its ecosystem, with the doorbell working well with the alarm and any other cameras you have. Is it essential? Home Depot and Best Buy are typically the best retailers to find the product if you want to pick it up right now, and the $249.99 price is the same no matter where you buy it. After saying the message, the doorbell will continue to record, showing any message left as a new type of event in the recording history log: Quick Reply. It's also definitely best when paired with a Ring Protect Plan as you'll get access to advanced motion zones options and be able to see 60 days of recorded history. And for the same price, you can go wireless with standard the Ring Video Doorbell, which is much easier to install, but doesn't offer many of the advanced features (such as Pre-Roll recording or even dual-band Wi-Fi) that you get with the Pro 2. You're deeply invested in a Google-powered home. Snapshots can be taken on a configurable interval, helping you get some better context to motion events. Ive been working with computers for ages, starting with a multi-year stint in purchasing for a major IBM reseller in New York City before eventually landing at PCMag (back when it was still in print as PC Magazine). As an Amazon company, Ring always sells its products on its website and Amazon.com. The new 3D Motion Detection feature, combined with traditional activity zones, means that youll largely only receive important notifications: a powerful and genuinely useful upgrade. Powerful and easy to set up, the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2s new 3D Motion Detection accurately cuts down on pointless alerts and provides more information about whats going on outside your door. The main benefit, aside from more detail, is that you can see a person in full, head to toe. Ring's smartest doorbell is also its priciest. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Video quality has been bumped up to 1536p which, just as the numbers suggest, is a 50% bump in resolution. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. You can scroll through the timeline on the live view screen, and filter by date and event type (motion, ring, person or live view). Ring has used a loud speaker in the doorbell, so callers can clearly hear what youre saying, and their responses are loud and clear, too. Alexa Greetings and Quick Replies are two new features in the Ring repertoire, and I couldn't love them any more if I tried. There are two versions: the first requires professional installation to put the DIN-rail transformer in place near your consumer unit; the second version ships with a plug-in adapter for self-install. You can at least set your Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 to people-only mode, keeping other types of movement out of your notifications, but I still prefer more granular options when I can get them. You'll place a pin at the approximate location of your front door, then rotate the view to line up with what your Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 sees. 1996-2022 Ziff Davis. If those things don't bother you, you're in for a real treat of a product, as Ring's expertise in the video doorbell realm shines through with a truly excellent product that detects motion like none other. These plans are only $3 per month for a single doorbell, though, so we're not talking about an exorbitant amount of money. As is the case with basically all Eufy Security products, Eufy Video Doorbell keeps as many things local as possible. With my Ring Floodlight Cam on, theres no problem with full-colour night vision, and the image quality at night is as good as during the day. If you don't need crazy advanced motion detection or the ability to answer itself, this is a fantastic choice. Second, I'd love a way to run this thing on battery power. Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 creates the most realistic view of what you'd see if you were the one standing at your own front door by not just providing a pretty moving picture but also giving you an understanding of the depth of the scene. Ring does provide a corner mount in the box, which can help you angle the doorbell to get the best view if youre having trouble getting the right image. Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. Ring Doorbell Pro 2 is the culmination of Ring's impressive motion detection technology research and introduces a brand new concept to video doorbells: 3D motion detection. I guess the lack of local storage and server-side processing would make it kind of useless, but I suppose those would have to be part of the package if this were an option. Having Alexa act as your personal butler feels nothing short of futuristic, and the ability to answer back with quick, contextual replies at the tap of a button (and without your own voice) is more than just handy; it feels like a necessity going forward for top-tier video doorbells. Ring also seems to have worked on response times; from pressing the button to receiving a notification on my phone was only a few seconds, and it was no more for Echo devices. When you answer on your phone, you notice that the Video Doorbell Pro 2 has a square 1536 x 1536 resolution, up from 1080p resolution on previous models. Here, the camera records six seconds of video to internal memory constantly. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. That last part is particularly important with Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 since it can record at all times. Ring has had a range of doorbells for a while now, although theyve largely offered the same Full HD recording resolution and similar features, with the main difference being between wired and wireless options. If you upgrade to a Ring Protect Plan then you get cloud storage. Given that this is a doorbell, thats what Id expect, and footage is usually good enough to find a still frame that clearly identifies someone. You also get more information thanks to 3D Motion Detections birds-eye view. If you want to hear your doorbell inside clearly, you need to go smart. A pop-up window shows you the satellite view of your home, and a series of animated dots appear to show the path that the person who triggered an event took. They're some of my favorite things about Arlo and Google's video doorbells and really do make a difference when knowing whether or not I should even bother looking at a motion notification. Sure, the characters and scenery are all there, and the colors are great, but without that sense of depth, it's hard to understand what's truly going on. When a cat came strolling around the porch at 2 am, I knew exactly where it went, just in case it left me any presents to clean up later. I certainly experience no issues using my mesh system. Nick started with DOS and NES and uses those fond memories of floppy disks and cartridges to fuel his opinions on modern tech. 3D Motion detection enables the video doorbell to see motion and understand where that motion is happening in viewable space. Android Central is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. At night, the camera can use full-colour night vision, although the quality of this depends on the ambient lighting. Finally, the doorbell responded instantly to my Alexa voice commands to display video on an Amazon Echo Show. As you can see from the shot below, Im in black and white thanks to the IR lights, but the background is in colour because of the streetlights. Throw in better video quality and head-to-toe footage, and its the best smart video doorbell available right now, although it does work best if you have Amazon Echo smart speakers. Gone is the passive infrared sensor that detected heat and, in its place, is a new radar sensor that can actually detect movement up to 30ft away with near-pinpoint accuracy. Physically installing the Video Doorbell Pro 2 was relatively easy, but pairing it with the app was problematic in our tests. That, complete with the birds-eye view that's created in a picture-in-picture-style over the live video gives you a glanceable view of which way movement originated and where it ended. No other manufacturer comes close to offering the same range of products, all tied together with one cheap monthly subscription. Many of Ring's other video doorbells have the option to run on a battery or be hardwired, and I'd love to be able to easily hook Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 up to a battery and, at the least, have it run in a reduced-capacity if the power were to go out. With the Nest Doorbell (wired) you the option to send quick replies from a Google Nest Hub smart display and the app, although you cant send a reply automatically after a set period of time.. You can also trigger Alexa Routines when motion is detected or the doorbell is pressed, adding to the power of the camera. Even so, I think that the Arlo Video Doorbell just edges it in terms of overall quality. The Alexa Greeting feature works reasonably well, but when you answer the door in person you have to tell Alexa to stop in order to interrupt the greeting. Heres why you can trust us. With its 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi support, youll have fewer problems getting a strong signal to the doorbell. The newer model offers higher-resolution video, 3D Motion Detection and Advanced Pre-roll. With Linked Devices, you can make your camera work with other devices say, turning on your Ring Floodlight Cams light when motion is spotted or getting another camera to start recording, too.
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