[Miboater]

Originally Posted by Life as I know it

We have our whole house, garage and the whole yard with cameras. We use Blink camera’s (Amazon). These are battery operated (tells you when battery needs to be replaced) which record everything until you delete it. Even if they cut the electric to your house or steal the camera’s you will still have the video’s. They have both inside and outside camera’s. We also have the Ring doorbell.

How long do the batteries last in the cameras? I was thinking about installing them and was curious if would last 3 months while we are up north over the summer.

[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

I would guess most of the fancy doorbells are made in China.

Yeah, China. It's sad, but Made in China is like everything else!

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Miboater

How long do the batteries last in the cameras? I was thinking about installing them and was curious if would last 3 months while we are up north over the summer.

My Ring doorbell is wired to the old doorbell button. The low voltage current automatically recharges the battery, so it never needs to be charged. But, the video recording only operates when there is motion detected.

[Viperguy]

Move to a gated community.........Oh, wait a minute.....

[PoolBrews]

I was looking at a Ring, and did a lot of research. My research led me to an Arlo wireless doorbell. Half the price of a Ring with all of the features. Monthly subscription is the same cost ($2.99/month). You don't need the subscription if you don't want to keep history.

If you have an existing wired doorbell, you can connect the wireless doorbell to it so it constantly gets a trickle charge, yet still works when power goes out.

[Ritagoyer]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I think you will need a subscription. The lowest cost plan is $30 per year. When there is motion near the Ring device, it will create a short, 15 second video and save it as a "motion event", and you can review it later. But, without a subscription, it will not save any motion events. The only thing you can do without a subscription is to view the camera in a live view.

I got tired of sitting in front of my computer all day watching the front door, so I broke down and bought the $30 subscription.

Quick note that each camera has a $30.00 annual cost. You can have up to 10 cameras .

[villagetinker]

Has anyone had success with the rind video doorbell switch operating an EXISTING doorbell as well as the wifi connected devices? The reason I ask is that the rind was purchased so that we could know when someone was at the front door when we were not near the existing doorbell. I will be contacting Ring Technical support, but thought this might be faster.

[B-flat]

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

Eufy does not have a monthly fee.

The 5 Best Smart Doorbell Cameras 2022 | Reviews by Wirecutter

We have 2 homes, one has the ring doorbell and the other the Eufy. I prefer the Eufy. I get face-type portraits from anyone who comes to the door as well as a video of their approach. It's very impressive more so than Ring. I also installed a Eufy AC powered 360 degree spotlight/camera. The tracking of this camera is incredible, it will lock in on the face of anyone roaming within your property.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0967TSRBM...&sprefix=eufy+

[B-flat]

Originally Posted by CosmicTrucker

I currently use a Ring and Blink door bell cameras. My recommendation is for the Blink which is now owned by Amazon. With the Blink system you can install a memory stick into the hub for all of the video storage. You then control the video storage and it's not held in some unknown cloud under some unknown control.

I love the Blink cameras, it's a great product. I have 6 of them in a seasonal home for keeping an eye on things.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

Has anyone had success with the rind video doorbell switch operating an EXISTING doorbell as well as the wifi connected devices? The reason I ask is that the rind was purchased so that we could know when someone was at the front door when we were not near the existing doorbell. I will be contacting Ring Technical support, but thought this might be faster.

I connected a Ring doorbell to my existing doorbell button with two wires, and it operates the existing doorbell when the Ring button is pressed. The low voltage current from the existing doorbell button also keeps the Ring doorbell battery charged, so you never need to remove and recharge the Ring battery. All of the other Ring functions seem to work as designed.

[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I connected a Ring doorbell to my existing doorbell button with two wires, and it operates the existing doorbell when the Ring button is pressed. The low voltage current from the existing doorbell button also keeps the Ring doorbell battery charged, so you never need to remove and recharge the Ring battery. All of the other Ring functions seem to work as designed.

That is what I did, and existing doorbell does not work, so I will call Ring to see what is going on. Thank you for confirming that this should work.