Review of Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell -

This is a review of the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell. I got it off Amazon.com in June 2020 when there was a promotion with Echo Dot devices for about US$79 excluding shipping charges. As the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell cannot be shipped directly from Amazon.com to Singapore, I have to use a forwarding service provider to help ship the package to Singapore. It took almost 3 weeks before the package finally reached my hands but it is worth the wait as the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell retails for S$299 in Lazada. I also ordered one extra battery (US$29) for the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell as this video doorbell runs off batteries and requires a change every 2-3 months.

What’s a RING PeepHole Cam Video Doorbell?

The Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell is one of the video doorbells produced by Ring Inc., owned by Amazon since 2018. The Ring Peephole Cam is a 1080p Full HD video doorbell that lets you see, hear, and speak to people standing outside your door from your phone, tablet, or select Amazon Echo devices. It defers from the rest of the video doorbell produced by Ring Inc. as it directly replaces the peephole on our doors instead of a separate installation on or by the side of the door. The Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell kit comes complete with all the accessories and tools you will need to remove your existing peephole and install the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell. The camera on The Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell has a field-of-view (fov) of about 155° horizontally and 90° vertically. Quite sufficient to capture the motion and activities of people in front of your door. However, it only allows WiFi connectivity via 2.4Ghz, which is quite dated in my opinion.

According to the simple installation guide provided, the whole installation process does not take more than 15 minutes to complete. Of cos, you should charge the included battery pack prior to the physical installation of The Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell on your door. The battery pack takes about 6 hours (first initial charge) to be fully charged on my 6-ports Anker charger if I remembered correctly. Depending on the usage, the battery pack will need to be recharged every 2-3 months. The Ring mobile app will remind you once the battery drop below 25% of its capacity.

After installing the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell, the next time is to configure it via the Ring – Always Home Mobile App which is available on the Apple App Store as well as the Google Play store. Follow the simple on-boarding installation and you will be able to see the video of the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell via the Ring – Always Home Mobile App. Ring Inc. also offers the Ring Protect Plans as shown below. The Free Tier provides the basic functionalities for the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell to work but the Basic Plan @ US$3 a month per device will give you additional features such as video histories and sharing. With the setup complete, now whenever someone appears in front of your door, you will get a notification on your mobile phone via the Ring – Always Home Mobile App. You can use the app to see and hear who is there and also talk to the person if needed.

Ring Protect Plans

One unique feature of the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell is the ability to work with the Amazon smart home/automation ecosystem. Ring video doorbells can connect and interact with Amazon Echo devices and even display the videos on Amazon Echo Show devices (See the pictures below). Imagine telling the Amazon Echo Show device “Alexa, show me the front door” without having to get up from your sofa. This handy integration is only for the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell as Ring Inc. is owned by Amazon. One thing to note is the USD$30 annual subscription is for unlimited devices in one single household/address. Thus if you have one cam in the front door and one at your back door, you will only need to pay for one subscription.

Specifications

The detailed specifications of the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell are as follows.

FEATURES
Dimensions	Indoors: 2.26 in. x 4.40 in. x 1.16 in(57.4 mm x 112 mm x 29.5 mm) Outdoors: 1.85 in. x 3.83 in. x 0.78 in (47.0 mm x 97.3 mm x 19.8 mm)
Video	1080p HD with 155° Field of View
Motion Detection	Adjustable Motion Zones
Field of View	155° horizontal, 90° vertical
Audio	Two-way Talk with Noise Cancellation
Power	Rechargeable Quick-Release Battery Pack (included)
Connectivity	802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connection @ 2.4GHz
Integration with Alexa	Illuminates and sends announcements to Echo devices when visitors press your doorbell button or motion is detected, and lets you see, hear and speak to visitors with select Echo and Fire TV devices.

The Verdict

This is actually my second Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell. The first was hand-carried back by a friend when he was in the US for a conference. After using the first Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell with the Basic Ring Protect Plan, I find that the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell has served its intended purpose well for my case. I can know if anyone is loitering outside my door or I can also let the Grab Food guy know to leave the package at my doorstep. The quality of the video feed from the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell and also its integration with Amazon’s Alexa community (especially with the Show product line) provided a seamless user experience. Overall, I would give the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell an 8 out of 10 score with plus points in setup and use and integration with Amazon Alexa family but minus points in the need to change batteries manually and also the need for subscription service to reap its full potential. Nevertheless, the Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell is still a good gadget to have in your smart home.

Ring Peephole Cam Video Doorbell – Box Front