RingWired Doorbell Pro (newest model) – Best-in-class with cutting-edge features (existing doorbell wiring required)

I have 2 Ring doorbells, a Doorbell 3 and a Pro 2. The version 3 was installed four years ago in Florida. After the first year, all of a sudden Doorbell 3 stopped working in the middle of summer - we were up north. I checked the device health and the battery had discharged to less than 5%. It did not work until the fall when we went back to Florida.I have an electrical engineering degree - so I know a little about electricity. The doorbell had been connected to the previous mechanical bell transformer which was 20 years old. So, I called Ring and fortunately they send me a replacement because the device was still under warranty. So, I replaced the old one with the new one. During the following summer months, same story - the battery discharged and never charged back.When we went back to Florida, I decided the replace the 20 year old transformer. Home Depot sells them for $20 bucks and they are Ring certified. It has been 2 years since and I have not had any issue with the battery discharging. However, the battery is now 4 years old and I will probably replace it - it costs $32.For the new Pro2 which I just installed in our house up-north, I actually ordered a new Ring transformer for $23 since the existing one is 30 years old. I installed the new transformer and the power-pack. We have a mechanical doorbell. I have not had any issues with the doorbell and everything works just fine. I like the Pro 2 much better than the 3 because it does not have any batteries. The Pro2 version has many nice features including a birds-eye view which shows the front door landing space in case someone drops a package. It also has a separate "package alert" which detects someone delivering a package from 30 feet away. Yesterday, I had a package delivery and sure thing, it sent me a text alert when the guy was 20 feet away.The installation and setup was easy and Pro 2 offers the usual features of a Version 3 and more. An important feature is that it supports 5GHZ wifi channel which obviously is a lot faster than 2.4GHZ for streaming videos. It also comes with Welcome message feature which warns people that they are being recorded when they approach the door and trigger motion detection. You can turn it on or off. During the setup, it asks if you want the Birds-Eye view feature and then shows an aerial Google map of your house and asks that you pin-point the exact location where the doorbell is installed. This is a great feature since it allows you to edit the motion detection zone aerially and have a very focused zone which does not necessarily have to be square.The one negative thing about Ring company is that they force you to purchase a separate "Basic Protection" plan at a cost ~ $45 a year for each camera if they are not installed in the same location. This is really bad business practice and Amazon/Ring should reconsider it. Lastly, I have had three encounters over the years with the Ring tech support and they have been excellent.

I upgraded to the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 for our home, and it’s been a fantastic addition. Installation was a bit of a project but went smoothly – I’m a reasonably handy 57-year-old and it took me about an hour. Since this model is wired, I shut off power to our existing doorbell and followed the included instructions to connect the Ring to the old doorbell wires. Everything needed was in the box (including a handy little screwdriver). Once I got it mounted and turned the power back on, the device powered up and walked me through setup via the Ring app on my phone. Within minutes, I had a clear live view of my front porch. The video quality is outstanding: sharp 1536p HD with a head-to-toe field of view. I can easily see packages left on the ground and even the expression on a visitor’s face from head to foot. The motion detection on the Ring Pro 2 is very smart. I was initially worried about getting constant false alerts from cars or pedestrians on the sidewalk, but the customizable motion zones solved that. I drew an area just covering my front walk and porch, and now I only get pings when someone actually approaches my door. It’s accurate and quick – I usually get the alert on my phone and Alexa devices a second or two before the person even rings the bell. Speaking of which, I integrated it with our Echo Show, so when the doorbell rings, the Echo automatically displays the camera feed and announces someone is at the door. My wife and I love this feature; we can politely yell “be right there!” through the two-way audio no matter where we are in the house, or even if I’m out in the yard. The two-way talk is clear, and I’ve used it to instruct delivery folks to put packages in a safe spot. They often look surprised hearing a voice from the doorbell, but it’s been really useful. One incident really sold us on the value: a few weeks after installation, late one night, we got a notification and saw someone we didn’t recognize lurking near our porch. I was able to activate the built-in siren from the app, which sent the prowler running off. The fact that I had clear video recordings of that event (with face and all) gave us evidence we passed to local authorities. If there’s any downside, it’s the subscription required to access recorded videos beyond the live view. I did opt for the Ring Protect plan after the 30-day trial because I find it worth it for the video history and advanced features. It’s an extra few bucks a month, but now I have all motion events saved in the cloud, which is reassuring. Also, since it’s wired, if your existing doorbell chime isn’t compatible, you might need to use the Ring Chime or an Alexa device for alerts – in my case I disabled my old chime and just use our Alexa speakers. All in all, this video doorbell has significantly boosted our home security and convenience. It’s like having an ever-vigilant sentinel at the door. I feel more connected and in control of who’s on my property, which is priceless for our peace of mind.