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There are many areas in the world where there is a lot of rain and there are even hurricanes from time to time. If your Ring Video Doorbell* is not under a roof or protected from the rain in any way, it will get very wet regularly.
But is this a danger, or can the doorbell withstand it?
Is the Ring Video Doorbell Waterproof? Yes – but only against normal rain and splash water! It can’t be submerged completely in water or constantly sitting in heavy rain.
So if your Ring Video Doorbell is in a bad position and exposed to a lot of water, a rain cover* is advisable.
In this article, we first look at what the manufacturer says, then what the difference is between waterproof and weatherproof.
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Table of Contents
Ring Video Doorbell – Official Operational Limits
Temperature: This smart video doorbell has been designed to withstand extreme weather conditions and can be used between -20 and +50 °C. The doorbell can be used in a wide range of temperatures.
Rain: The official Amazon page of the Ring Video Doorbell* (both the first and the second version) only states that it is “weatherproof”. There is no mention of rain resistance or an IP protection class.
That makes you a little suspicious if it wasn’t for that official Ring tweet:
The Ring Video Doorbell has been designed to withstand the worst-case scenario for quite some time. But it’s not officially waterproof!
Ring’s smart doorbell isn’t too expensive, but I don’t like to take unnecessary risks and prefer to protect my Ring Video Doorbell with a suitable rain cover.
The Best Rain Cover for Your Ring Doorbell
The simplest answer to a problem is often the best. This also applies to the solution from OLAIKE. This cover simplay blocks UV and weather for little money. The cover is absolutely waterproof and protects your ring Video Doorbell reliably even from the strongest monsoon!
You can get this cover in different colors: Black, Dark Grey, Light Grey and White.
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What is the Difference between Waterproof and Weatherproof?
All smart video doorbells from Ring are weatherproof but not waterproof. What does that even mean and where is the difference?
Weatherproof means that the product is designed to be used outdoors all year round. This includes solar radiation, rain, frost and other environmental conditions found outside. Rainproof or weatherproof does not mean waterproof! Rainproof is something like “splash-proof”.
Exactly because of these differences, there is the IP certification or the IP code. “IP” stands for International Protection. If Ring had its products IP certified, this article would be useless, because you could see directly on the product page at Amazon* how waterproof the doorbell really is.
The IP protection class indicates how well the product is protected against its environment. The code consists of the two letters IP and two numbers behind them, for example, IP64. If a product is IP64 certified, it is dustproof and protected against splashing water from all sides. The first number indicates the dust protection and the second number the protection against water. One could say that IP64 is the closest to “weatherproof”.
The number for the dust protection or the protection against foreign bodies is incremented from 0 to 6. 0 means no protection and 6 means completely dust-proof. The numbers in between describe the seal for objects with different diameters.
The second digit, the protection against water, counts from 0 to 8. 0 means that there is no protection and 8 means that the device is protected against permanent submersion. An electrical device is therefore only completely waterproof if it is IPX8 certified (X can be 0 to 6, whereby anything but IP68 would be illogical).
An IP68 certification can only be found on products that actually spend a long time in the water. For example, pool robots*.
Ring Video Doorbell – Installation and Setup
As with most other modern smart home devices, installing the Ring Video Doorbell is super easy and takes no more than half an hour.
First, you can either mount the doorbell directly on your house wall or download the ring app and follow the installation steps within the app.
To mount the doorbell, you have to insert rechargeable batteries first. You can also connect the Ring Video Doorbell to the power supply of your old bell. This happens almost exactly the same as with the old bell.
If you are unsure how to connect the cables, there is a very descriptive video tutorial inside the Ring app.
If you don’t necessarily need to mount your new smart doorbell exactly where the old one was, you can try out where it has the best viewing angle over the area outside your front door and mount it accordingly. I improvised with a bit of duck tape 😉
Once you have installed everything and established the WLAN connection, you can start the setup mode. In this mode, the Ring Video Doorbell goes through a few automatic test cycles to check that everything is properly connected.
Then you can immediately start to try a little for yourself. You can test the motion detector, upload videos and try them out, program smart events, and more.
The Best Alternative to Ring Video Doorbell: Skybell HD
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Although the Ring Video Doorbell 2 is currently our favorite among the best video doorbells, it has a very strong competitor: the Skybell HD*.
The big drawback of Ring Video Doorbell is the monthly subscription you have to take to store videos in the cloud. Sure, storage space is not free, but you might think that such a service is essential for a smart doorbell, right? After all, you want to be able to access your videos from anywhere.
Just like Ring’s smart doorbells (except the original one), the Skybell HD records videos in 1080p both day and night. There is also a special feature here, namely the color recording at night. Most other video doorbells record a two-color image through the infrared LEDs.
Of course, it is also compatible with the most common Smart Home systems, but the big advantage over the ring doorbell is the free cloud storage space!
The Skybell HD is also completely insensitive to rain, snow, and frost.
Related article: The 5 Best Smart Home Video Doorbells
Related Questions & FAQ
Which Ring Video Doorbell is the best?
With so much choice, it can be hard to make the right decision. If you’re looking for the best value for money, the classic Ring Video Doorbell* is recommended.
But you have to accept that you won’t get some of the better features like 1080p HD. If this feature is important to you, you should choose either Video Doorbell 2 or Ring Video Doorbell Pro.
Where can I buy a Ring Doorbell?
Best on Amazon*! There you will find the best delivery times, prices and also the newest models. Besides the original Ring Video Doorbell there is also the successor Ring Video Doorbell 2, the premium version with the Video Doorbell Pro and the latest model Door View Cam.
Are all the video doorbells from Ring wireless?
Yes, all models work with a built-in battery, but you also have the option to power them with the old bell’s power supply.
Are there Regular Costs at Ring like a Subscription?
Yes, but they’re not necessary. If you want to store your recorded videos in the cloud, you need a subscription. It doesn’t cost very much and gives you a big advantage. This allows you to download saved videos for up to sixty days and store them locally on your hard drive or similar storage media.
Is the Ring Video Doorbell compatible with Alexa?
The most popular voice assistant for smart homes is Amazon Alexa*. Compatibility is also an important selling point as many people are explicitly looking for Alexa compatible video doorbells.
All Ring Video Doorbells are compatible with Alexa. All you have to do is activate Alexa’s Ring Skill and you can control and access them with Alexa. If you have a smart video device from Amazon, like the new Echo Show 5, you can tell Alexa to show the live stream of the camera so you always know who’s at the door.
Does the Ring Video Doorbell need the Internet?
Yes. The smart doorbell has a built-in camera, but no memory of its own. It streams the videos to the cloud and needs to connect to the app over the Internet to access the videos.
The Ring Video Doorbell works with all modern routers that are compatible with a 2.4 GHz frequency – and that’s almost all of them.
Can the Ring Video Doorbell be Mounted behind Glass?
Yeah, but then the motion detector won’t work so well. Since the camera does not continuously record videos but only when the motion detector is activated, this could considerably limit the camera’s function.
The whole principle is based on the fact that the motion detector immediately detects movements and starts video recording. If there is a glass pane between it and the moving object, you may not be alerted if something happens because the motion detector is not triggered.
Attention: When installing electronic equipment, please be sure to observe the manufacturer’s safety instructions. You have to take care of your own safety. The information on this site only helps you to learn.
Disclosure: This website is the property of Martin Lütkemeyer and is operated by Martin Lütkemeyer. Martin Lütkemeyer is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to enable Web sites to earn advertising revenue through advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Links marked with * are affiliate links.