Ring Video Doorbell Plus 3 Review & Comments

[Greg Hook]

We take a look at Ring's newly updated Video Doorbell 3 Plus, featuring 1080P HD video, advanced motion detection, dual band Wi-Fi and a new Pre-roll feature.
Read the review.

Write your own review for Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus

 

[cydavidho]

I have used Ring Doorbell Elite (with Power over Ethernet) and Ring Doorbell 2 (Wifi) for more than 2 years. My major criticism is the time it takes for my mobile phone or Ring Chime Pro to receive notification after the doorbell is pressed, and the time it takes to open app & talk to the person via the smart phone, it is definitely not quick enough like a traditional doorbell system. Because of this delay, sometimes leading to whoever press the doorbell thinks no one is at home and leave.

The duration of this delay varies, as it depends on a number of factors. To establish a successful connection, many crucial factors must be in place, e.g. solid Ring's wifi signal strength for both doorbell and chime, stable Internet connection at home, fast Ring's servers response time at their data centre to push out signal, mobile phone network provider stability, strong 3g/4g signal strength in local area, fast smart phone performance, user unlock phone and open app fast enough, etc.

I understand the vision of Internet of Things, we live in a modern society, but at the same time some products can become too complex, hence overall reliability cannot be guaranteed.

The end result, a traditional wired doorbell or a traditional video doorbell are more reliable and fit for purpose in my opinion.

Would welcome other Ring doorbell users to share their long term usage experience, want to see whether my observations apply to you too?

 

[dr no]

I use to use Ring 2 and did notice the delay. Having a wired chime eliminates this initial gong at least.

I moved over to the Nest Hello when it was released and overall prefer that. Looks better and better video quality

 

[Inked]

I use to use Ring 2 and did notice the delay. Having a wired chime eliminates this initial gong at least.

I moved over to the Nest Hello when it was released and overall prefer that. Looks better and better video quality

Is it more responsive?

 

[cydavidho]

Is it more responsive?

I never use Nest Hello doorbell, but all those connectivity factors that I listed above still apply no matter which brand it is in used.

I guess most people on this AV forums are fairly technical, but do we really want to do trouble shooting on everything we own?! Especially, most of those factors are outside of user's control.

In hind sight, I would rather have a traditional video doorbell that can provide 100% uptime with instant doorbell ring, than one that is as complex as my computer (in fact I find my computer is much simpler!). Not saying Internet of Things is not good, I love technology, but sometime it can be overkill.

 

[Boye]

How to connect to internet

 

[cydavidho]

How to connect to internet

Are you serious? If that is the case, then this Ring Doorbell is definitely not for you.

 

[Greg Hook]

I have used Ring Doorbell Elite (with Power over Ethernet) and Ring Doorbell 2 (Wifi) for more than 2 years. My major criticism is the time it takes for my mobile phone or Ring Chime Pro to receive notification after the doorbell is pressed, it is definitely not immediately like a traditional doorbell. Because of this delay, sometimes leading to whoever press the doorbell thinks no one is at home and leave.

The duration of this delay varies, as it depends on a number of factors. To establish a successful connection, many crucial factors must be in place, e.g. solid Ring's wifi signal strength for both doorbell and chime, stable Internet connection at home, fast Ring's servers response time at their data centre to push out signal, mobile phone network provider stability, strong 3g/4g signal strength in local area, fast smart phone performance, unlock phone and open app fast enough, etc.

I understand the vision of Internet of Things, we live in a modern society, but at the same time some products can become too complex, hence overall reliability cannot be guaranteed.

The end result, a traditional wired doorbell or a traditional video doorbell are more reliable and fit for purpose in my honest opinion.

Would welcome other Ring doorbell users to share their long term usage experience, want to see whether my observations apply to you too?

I've not had that at all with any of the Ring Doorbells I've reviewed. All the notifications are instant.

 

[dr no]

Is it more responsive?

Next Hello is hardwired to power and chime.
so connectivity or not it will function as a bog standard doorbell.
The wireless Ring won’t chime inside the house unless it is connected to the network. And it can take a few seconds.

as for showing up on the app, they’re both similar.
my experience of both is that the Nest is much more reliable.
Ring I had to tinker with networks issues regularly

 

[Bl4ckGryph0n]

Been using my Ring Pro for years. Simply don't have the need to tinker with networks (even swapped my routers, and wifi access points during that time), nor with getting slow or delayed notifications. It is near realtime for me. We have two chimes dotted in the home, and got it going on several mobile end user devices.

 

[Clem_Dye]

Am I mistaken, or is this sort of thing pretty pointless? A burglar is not going to announce their presence, so is not likely to bother ringing the bell. Delivery agents never use the knocker on my front door, so I think that the chances of one being used chez moi are pretty low. A nice idea in principle, but if I was going for extra security, then I’d use standard camera technology.

 

[THX1138UK]

Am I mistaken, or is this sort of thing pretty pointless? A burglar is not going to announce their presence, so is not likely to bother ringing the bell. Delivery agents never use the knocker on my front door, so I think that the chances of one being used chez moi are pretty low. A nice idea in principle, but if I was going for extra security, then I’d use standard camera technology.

It compliments security, it’s not designed to replace CCTV systems.
It does prevent criminals who ring the bell to check if a home owner is in, before breaking-in. I may be in the Abu Dhabi, or I maybe in the Living room - they have no idea. Also, it’s an effective visual deterrent.

I’ve had mine (original version) installed since 2018 - hardwired into the bell power-circuit, so no faff regarding recharging batteries. It works brilliantly. Delivery drivers use it all the time, and I can direct them where to leave parcels when I’m not in.

Regards,
James.

 

[Bl4ckGryph0n]

Am I mistaken, or is this sort of thing pretty pointless? A burglar is not going to announce their presence, so is not likely to bother ringing the bell. Delivery agents never use the knocker on my front door, so I think that the chances of one being used chez moi are pretty low. A nice idea in principle, but if I was going for extra security, then I’d use standard camera technology.

You’ll be amazed how much “innocent” scouting can take place. Including ringing of the doorbell.

But ultimately security isn’t about a single item for defensie. It’s about layers that works well together and together provide that layer of defence even if one “ring” gets broken.

 

[Welsh Whirlwind]

Am I mistaken, or is this sort of thing pretty pointless? A burglar is not going to announce their presence, so is not likely to bother ringing the bell. Delivery agents never use the knocker on my front door, so I think that the chances of one being used chez moi are pretty low. A nice idea in principle, but if I was going for extra security, then I’d use standard camera technology.

In addition to what's already been said, I've found it massively useful for doing things such as proving something wasn't delivered, or just dumped on my doorway, it's helped loads with stuff like this. I've even caught a delivery driver breaking something by just chucking a parcel at my door from the front gate.

You'd be amazed the stuff that gets picked up...

 

[Clem_Dye]

That’s interesting. I hadn’t considered things like that.

Clem

 

[the porter]

I wouldn’t be without mine ring 2 and other ring cameras on my system ,
Alerts are pretty Much instant But I do have the chime pro for alerts inside and network bridge
It saved my car one night imo it was ripped of my wall ,thrown over the bungalow in front into there back garden
next morning I was looking at my alert and thought to myself why is my neighbour looking into my doorbell and it had reconnected to my network when he brought it to the front of his house and it was put back on the wall still works flawlessly

 

[bongo123]

Also i would add their customer service is second to none, i was having some problems with my Ring Pro2 having audio issues and they sent me out the Chime extender for free! it helped and now with my new BT router and Note10 my notifications are near instant and i can get into the app a lot faster than before, so definately reccommend.. I just wished when someone rang the doorbell my phone would simply go straight to the live view without the need for any input from me but i assume thats an Android issue

 

[GW65]

Bit odd that the review lists removable battery as one of the features this 3rd gen gives you for the extra £110 over the 2nd gen...as the 2nd gen has the removable battery too. Agree that you need a good wi-fi signal strength, but not sure why the review thinks that adding 5GHz will help - it's shorter range and more impacted by solid objects than 2.4GHz... I went for the 2nd gen which is now a bargain at £89 (+£20 if you want an extra battery to avoid downtime when recharging).

 

[mike7]

Am I mistaken, or is this sort of thing pretty pointless? A burglar is not going to announce their presence, so is not likely to bother ringing the bell. Delivery agents never use the knocker on my front door, so I think that the chances of one being used chez moi are pretty low. A nice idea in principle, but if I was going for extra security, then I’d use standard camera technology.

The burglar, or other unwanted guest, does not need actually to ring the doorbell. The device can be activated by someone who is simply within the sensor range of the device. I had to wind the sensitivity back on mine because it was triggering on anyone who walked past the house on a footpath that is about 8 metres distant. It also detected the comings and goings of the family cat!. Now working satisfactorily. However I find Alexa's verbal message "Motion detected at the front door" might be reworded.

 

[Jeek]

I've got both a Ring Doorbell Pro and floodlight cam covering the garden. Before that I had a 1st gen doorbell on battery.

The pre-roll sounds crucial as the only real issue with the earlier battery powered ones are that they don't connect to your wifi until they pick up motion. This can take a few seconds and they only started recording after that. As mentioned it would then often be too late to catch who was there.

The ring cameras works really well here for the most part. The only issue with the floodlight cam is that the lights are reasonably strong and the motion detection often turns them on when a neighbours cat comes into the garden. Not ideal if the light gets in to your bedroom at night.

Also works well if you've got multiple echo devices around the house - no one misses the fact there's someone at the door! Also means you don't necessarily need multiple chimes.

 

[RXP]

Have the ring on one of my doors - very frustrated with it having to go out to the internet to talk to the App when you're in your house/same network. The lag is frustrating.

Just moved to a simple wireless doorbell that has a flashing light for when the projector is on and it's LOUD. Works great. A cheap dericam offers local network access so it's instant to see who's at the door. Cheaper than ring and better for me

 

[asheashe]

I have used Ring Doorbell Elite (with Power over Ethernet) and Ring Doorbell 2 (Wifi) for more than 2 years. My major criticism is the time it takes for my mobile phone or Ring Chime Pro to receive notification after the doorbell is pressed, and the time it takes to open app & talk to the person via the smart phone, it is definitely not quick enough like a traditional doorbell system. Because of this delay, sometimes leading to whoever press the doorbell thinks no one is at home and leave.

The duration of this delay varies, as it depends on a number of factors. To establish a successful connection, many crucial factors must be in place, e.g. solid Ring's wifi signal strength for both doorbell and chime, stable Internet connection at home, fast Ring's servers response time at their data centre to push out signal, mobile phone network provider stability, strong 3g/4g signal strength in local area, fast smart phone performance, user unlock phone and open app fast enough, etc.

I understand the vision of Internet of Things, we live in a modern society, but at the same time some products can become too complex, hence overall reliability cannot be guaranteed.

The end result, a traditional wired doorbell or a traditional video doorbell are more reliable and fit for purpose in my opinion.

Would welcome other Ring doorbell users to share their long term usage experience, want to see whether my observations apply to you too?

this was my quandary and no matter which solution I looked at there was upsides and downsides. We already have nest cameras and heating / smoke alarms but the complexity if their product and how poorly thought out the launch was put me off on top of everything you listed above. Our solution was a £20 mp3 wireless doorbell off amazon, and a nest IQ outdoor camera places just above the door. This gives us best of both worlds with a basic doorbell that looks unassuming and always works, and gives us 24/7 recording with facial recognition and app alerts