Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 Review
It's already been 5 years since my article about the first generation Ring Video Doorbell Pro:
and it's been in daily use on my home ever since. After moving from a 16V to 24V transformer when first getting started, it's been largely a decent experience, and it's most definitely improved my peace of mind when receiving packages.
What's changed that caught enough of my attention to pre-order the 2nd generation the day it was announced, the new Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2? Here's my personal pics for the most intriguing new features:
- Head-to-Toe HD+ Video (1536p)
- 3D Motion Detection (radar powered)
- Bird's Eye View
- +HD Audio
Given I'm already a subscriber to Ring Protect Plus since I already have monitored fire, smoke, panic/intrusion and water alarm, I used Ring's direct order site to login and get my 10% discount. For bloggers like myself, this is kind of unfortunate, as there's no affiliate links that generate independent author income when buying from Ring directly, and it certainly undercuts Amazon's prices. Amazon bought Ring for 1 billion in 2018.
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You can see a comparison table between the new Video Doorbell Wired, the Video Doorbell Pro, and the Video Doorbell Pro 2 on Ring's Product Page:
Video
In this video, you'll see:
- Unboxing the Pro 2, noticing that the whole backplate is now a heatsink, and the now-curved sides of the Pro 2 appear to hover in front of the surface it's mounted on by roughly 1/8" / 3 mm.
- Measured overall watt usage is 5 to 6 watts at idle and 8 watts when in active use.
- Screw holes for wall mount are the same as the origin doorbell
- Test out latency (from button push to notification)
- Set up the 3D Motion Detection
Pros
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I'm glad to have a much wider field of view, better image and sound quality, and the now-expected smooth integration into the ever-growing family of Ring products.
- I'm also glad to have presumably better detection of motion by humans rather than leaves and other movements, but only time will tell if this is actually the case for the front of my home.
Cons
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I do wish this flagship doorbell had a button with a much more premium feel, especially for a product that retails at $249.99. The button feel is much like the original, with a bit of play that exudes more plasticky cheapness than quality.
-
I'm not a fan of the moves Ring has made with the cooperation with police, but I'm glad they've allowed options to largely opt-out, as well as added new IP login notifications and multi-factor logins, similar to c|net's opinion on these potential concerns.
- The world of IoT / Smarthome devices is still very sticky, with little choice to mix-and-match across vendors. In other words, if I object to Rings policy changes in the future, replacing my entire Ring Alarm and Ring Video systems would be both expensive and time-consuming. I don't place any connected-cameras from anybody inside my home.
Conclusion
It's too early to say for sure how I'll feel about this purchase until I have some more experience with using it for day-to-day package delivery monitoring. I'll add some observations below this article over time. My initial impressions are that it was worth the price for me since the video quality, time-lapse image quality, and sound quality are all significantly improved.
I can also say that the much improved 150° field of view still isn't quite wide enough. I'd prefer the 180° some competitors offer, especially since my deliveries are often left leaning up against my front door, despite my large delivery box intended for deliveries that's on my front step. I have a Ring Stick Up Cam aiming at my delivery box from another angle too, this really helps given I get a lot of home deliveries, especially during the pandemic.
Warning
If you're replacing an existing Ring doorbell, don't do what I did by deleting it, as it also deletes all videos that were taken from that camera. Well, at least those you didn't download to your phone's photo library.
Footnote
My previous Ring's reliability as a plain old doorbell chime has been getting a little iffy lately, but that could very well be becomes I'm somehow getting sporadic duplicate IP assignments on my eero Pro's guest Wi-Fi, used for my 4 Ring Chimes. This is especially the case since my home's wall chime is no longer connected, as I found it problematic. I have a case open with eero support to get to the bottom of that issue, as it's happened on the guest Wi-Fi for my ecobee thermostats too. It might have something to do with my use of bridged mode, we'll see.
Apr 30 2021 Update.
Another great episode of The Smart Home Show w/ @adamjustice & @richardgunther
smarthome.fm/episodes/199At this spot:
overcast.fm/+BmBDyIJng/05:55
@dcseifert from @TheVerge talks about his recent video doorbell reviews, including the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2
Correction, it's @verge.
See also at TinkerTry
- First look at the Ring Stick Up Cam
Dec 10 2018
See also
- Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 review: Do you really need radar at your door?
Despite a promising innovation and improved specs, Ring's products still can't escape the shadow of their controversies.
Mar 31 2021 by David Priest at c|netWe have resumed recommending Ring's products with this caveat: If you have concerns about Ring's privacy policies, make sure to familiarize yourself with its privacy statement.
