Update and issues.

ETA - {Never mind - realized the face of transformer should be marked with VA. Stuck phone in there to take a pic and it is indeed only 10VA so that's sure the issue. Will just replace with 16V 30VA and be fine I'm sure. Of course nearby stores only have 16V10VA or 24V20VA....}

Got the Ring Pro, it hooked up and worked fine for a bit, a very short bit. Now it's as though there's no power to it, disconnected from wifi, etc.

Per Ring this is almost always a result of insufficient stable voltage and using up the onboard reserve battery. I had confirmed I have a 16V transformer as they require 16-24V, but they also need at least 30VA. No idea what mine is, but I'm suspecting less. So looks like I'm going to have to "upgrade" that transformer.

Question for the knowledgable here is can I just go ahead and replace with a 24V 40VA unit, or is that going to create any issues? IOW, damage doorbell itself, other normal doorbell button on back, etc. If so can try the 16V 30VA unit and see if that works. Transformers are (relatively) cheap...

{Original post}
Wow - when did we get to so many stinking choices??

I've had a Ring since 2015, one of the originals. Of course it sucked at triggering early enough not to get more than a butt-shot of most folks. We lived with it, knew we needed to replace. Well, some cleaning work we had done on front of house toasted this one, it looks like some ultrabright alien movie shot now and isn't coming back.

I've dug through their choices and keep getting hung up. We have a wired doorbell and the Ring works here until now so not worried about the transformer. Don't care about Alexa or similar connection. DO want the best image quality and reactivity. Normally would say not worried about price but DAMN the elite model is ridiculous so maybe I do!

For those that have gotten one of these lately suggestions on a model that gives great performance? I think the Video Doorbell 3 is the answer, but can't figure out what makes it better than the 2nd Generation. Is the improved motion detection really worth the nearly double price?

The Pro is thinner and would fit our doorway better, but now we're getting expensive again. See - this is where I end up.....

eta - AMZN reviews of the Pro make is sound like junk recently, not sure what's up there?

Ring Doorbell Models Page

eta2 - meant to link this page, but it still sucks. No simple side-by-side feature comparison. Have to drill down to each one.
All models

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Georgeair,

That site is awfully short on useful information.

We've had a 2 this year and use it all of the time to see if my girls are in the house or gone.

I've looked into getting the 3+ to get pre-roll. I've got the sensitivity down pretty low on ours so that it doesn't trigger on hot trucks passing in the street. I think that pre-roll might help that situation.

We have a Ring Pro that we just installed about 10 days ago. It works. I really like the ability to review “events” and then download anything I fell important - like the FedEx guy throwing a package onto our porch like a frisbee. With a porch light, the night view is not bad at all. But see below for what I don’t like.

What I don’t like. Resolution. Anything other than close up, as in 10’-15’ the resolution isn’t great. You can’t read license plates from the road. People on the sidewalk are clear but unless you know them, the zoom feature doesn’t have enough resolution (same with the license plates) to ID them for say LEO. It’s good for what it does. I’d look at something with much better resolution for a true security feature.

Finally, unless everyone in the home has the Ring app, you will NOT hear anyone ring the doorbell. We bought a ring doorbell that we can’t get to work for some reason to fix this problem. I’m sure it’s because I’m above the age of 55 but who knows.

Would I buy it again. Yes. But if they have a better resolution model, I would definitely pay the extra $$$ to get that one. In the alternative, I would look at competitors to see if they have better resolution and go that route.

I just bought the 3 for our house. It’s our first ring item and I’m very impressed. Sorry I can’t compare it to anything for you, but the image, notifications, etc are all exactly what I was looking for.

A lot of the effectiveness is due to the connectivity of the unit.
IF you can run an Ethernet cable then this is best albeit not always easy to do.
If the wifi is sketchy then you need to address that.
Sometimes the wifi signal has a tough time making it outside.
The Pro unit is the best of the batch.

Wifi not not an issue - 8' from router as it turns out.

Purchased the Ring 2nd gen about 2 months ago. Replaced an original 1st gen Ring that I hated for two years. Night and day difference in performance and video quality. Amazon package deal that had the Chime with it, regular Chime not the Pro. My nephew said Pro is useless as a WiFi extender. Better off using a separate extender. The Chime is loud and has worked as designed.

2nd Gen Ring is 1080 vid and you can tell the diff from the previous 1st gen Ring at 720. Images are far better. Like others have said though your still not ready car tags or seeing faces at sidewalk or street unless you know the person. But you can actually see the cars and the people with the 1080. The 720 you couldn’t see anything but a blur and video was very choppy.

2nd gen Ring will catch motion before it happens. When watching vids you see the motion a few seconds before the video actually alerted you. So you actually see things happening as they happened. Not as others have said when things are walking away or driving away. The 1st gen Ring was nothing but after the fact video. Lots of asses and rear bumpers of vehicles. Useless.

Connection on 2nd gen is better. When alerts happen more often than not I can open alert and see image within a few seconds. The 1st gen was totally useless to try to see an active alert. It was always after the incident before any images would appear. You would never catch anything in the moment. Live view would just give you a spinner or reconnect. The 2nd gen will let you see what’s currently going on. Live view actually works with 2nd gen.

I also added Ring Spotlights to system. One front one back of house. I went with Ring since I was familiar with system and app. Also price point is better than most other options. I didn’t want to have multiple apps to deal with on different brands. I love the way you can link all cameras. So when one is activated by motion and or doorbell pushed all cameras start recording and give me almost a 360 view of my yard for that moment. It’s an app option to choose you don’t have to do it this way.

Definitely have 1080 no matter what brand you buy/use. 720 is useless. And make sure all cameras have a very good WiFi signal. That’s the key with Ring. I added two extenders and my notifications and video quality have improved greatly.

I have the pro. It is decent. Whatever you do, hardwire it. DO NOT get the ones you have to recharge, or the solar charger. It doesn't work in the winter.

Better than the doorbell, are the spotlight cameras. Motion activated lights and cameras. Inhave them on all 4 sides of the house in addition to a doorbell.

Pro... easy, simple install. Good picture quality.

I'd second the advice on no batteries or solar. Just wire the pro up, log on to wifi and it's running.

Andrew

We've had a Ring for about 5 years. I don't know the model number.
I also use Wyze cameras at another location. They are amazing for what they cost.
When I replace the Ring system I have it will probably be with something else. The software is so-so or less and the cameras are expensive compared to a lot of others out there on the market today. The battery isn't replaceable per Ring and unique so no real aftermarket options either.
Many of the other brands are much less expensive, the monitoring/storage much less, and work better for me. Unfortunately they all seem to be made in China so that's not a consideration.

Ditto Pro and ditto hardwire.

I had the "original" and same issue as you, by the time it fired up and connected, all you saw was the person's back.

Hardwire Pro is ALWAYS on, keeps a buffer of 20-40 seconds or so which is available when triggered so you can see the approach, action and retreat.


Yup, it does cost more but hey, you're worth it!

We went with the Pro, specifically for the hardwired version having the better buffer and more consistent performance.

If you think you may possibly have at least 3 Ring devices some time, get the premium $100/year plan so it gets warrantied forever.

I replaced the Ring 1 which is as you described, slow, poor sensing, average video with the 3 Plus, it was on sale at ring for $149, and we are not hard wired to the door bell since the home was built with an intercom doorbell.

OTherwise I would do the Pro.

They are having a labor day sale at Ring.com, the Pro is $189 vs $249, the 3Plus $179 vs $229 so for $10 more you can get the Pro model.

https://shop.ring.com/pages/doorbell-cameras

No problems with the Pro version here.

Pro it is then. Thanks y'all.

Update and issues in OP.