The Ring battery doorbell provides a simple method of adding a WiFi-connected entry control system. It offers excellent features, such as movement sensors and live video transmission to your smartphone or tablet.
With the Ring doorbell, you can monitor anyone that approaches your door, no matter where you are in the world. You can even speak to them, via the intercom, as if you were in the house.
The Ring system uses a rechargeable battery, eliminating the need to hardwire it to the mains. However, as we shall discuss below, relying on the battery has its downsides.
How Long Does the Ring Doorbell Battery Last?
This question has two answers and depends on your initial installation choice.
If you connected your Ring doorbell to the mains supply, then you will never need to charge your battery. The Ring unit provides a trickle charge that keeps the battery topped up at all times.
According to Ring, if you skipped the mains connection, your battery should last around six to twelve months between charges. The battery life depends on several factors:
- Outside temperature
- How often the doorbell is activated
- The settings you select
- Condition of the battery
From experience, the battery life is severely affected by the settings you choose.
With all the security and monitoring features enabled, the battery will be flat within three to four weeks. Using the live view feature is particularly battery draining.
The battery will last around three months by reducing the features down to the bare minimum and turning off the live view.
To get the best out of the Ring doorbell, we recommend that it’s hardwired into the electrical mains.
This does not eliminate the battery, as the doorbell still runs off battery power. But at least you’ll only need to change the battery when it reaches the end of its working life, which will be many years.
How Long Does It Take to Charge the Ring Doorbell Battery?
How Long to Charge the Ring Doorbell Battery
Whether your battery is replaceable or not, you charge it via a micro-USB connection. The battery will typically take between 5 and 10 hours to charge fully, depending on the charger.
USB chargers are usually marked as either 2.1A or 1.0A. The numerical value refers to the amperage of the charger.
A 2.1A charger provides 2.1 Amps of power and will fully charge your battery in around 5 hours. The 1.0A charger will take approximately 10 hours.
How to Charge the Ring Doorbell Battery
This depends on the type of battery fitment.
For non-replaceable batteries:
- Remove the two securing screws from the base of the unit.
- Pull the unit up and towards you to remove it from the baseplate.
- Connect to a USB charger using the supplied micro-USB cable.
- While charging, the front lights will spin.
- When fully charged, the light on the front will be solid blue.
For replaceable batteries:
- Remove the securing screw from the base of the faceplate.
- Pull the faceplate gently towards you to release it.
- Push the black tab to release the battery.
- Charge the battery using the supplied micro-USB cable.
- While charging, both the red and green LEDs will illuminate.
- Once fully charged, the green LED will be illuminated.
To avoid being without your Ring doorbell, it could be a good idea to purchase a spare battery.
How To Change the Ring Battery?
How easy it is to change a Ring doorbell battery will depend on the model you have.
On models where the battery is accessible, changing it takes just a few minutes. As you would expect, Ring has designed the process to take a few minutes to protect the system from thieves and vandals.
Changing the battery step by step:
- Using the supplied screwdriver, remove the small securing screw from the bottom of the faceplate.
- Pull the bottom of the faceplate towards you while gently pushing in the center of the faceplate.
- Push the black tab to release the battery.
- Insert the fresh battery until you hear a click.
- Refit the faceplate and the securing screw.
In models where the battery is part of the unit, Ring offers a one-year warranty. That said, the battery should give you years of reliable service. Replacing this type of battery is not straightforward and beyond the scope of this brief article.
Find purchasing options for Ring DoorBell Battery to replace here:
Ring DoorBell Battery
Aftermarket Ring DoorBell
& Charging Station
How Do I Extend the Ring Doorbell Battery Life?
There are several ways of extending battery life:
- Adjust the light sensors so they only activate when it’s very dark.
- Set the auto-shutoff time to the lowest setting.
- Use quality original batteries from Ring or good brands.
- Set the motion sensors to the lowest possible level.
- Make sure the branches of a tree are not accidentally activating the device, for example.
FAQs
1. How to check the battery level on the ring doorbell?
The battery level can be checked using the Ring App on your smartphone or tablet.
Open the app, and in the top right corner is the battery icon, showing the battery level. The app will also alert you when the battery is low.
2. Battery showing low despite a full charge, how to fix it?
This is usually caused by a communication problem between the doorbell and the app. There are some easy fixes for this problem:
- Reset the Ring unit by holding the orange button in for 20 seconds.
- Reconnect your wifi.
- Remove and reinstall the Ring app on your phone.
- Active your Ring doorbell by causing a motion event; this should reconnect your device to the app.
For more help, watch this Ring doorbell troubleshooting video.
3. Why is my ring doorbell not holding a charge? How to fix it?
Several possibilities:
- If it is hardwired, check the battery’s supply voltage is between eight and 24 volts AC.
- The battery could be loose in the holder. Find out why and rectify.
- Poor connection between the battery and the contacts. Try cleaning the contacts and coating in marine grease to prevent corrosion.
- The battery could be old and need replacing.
4. Do you need to charge the Ring battery if hardwired?
No, if your Ring doorbell is hard wired, then the battery receives a trickle charge from the base unit.
Conclusion
The Ring doorbell is a great battery operated video entry system that is easy to set up and use. Being battery powered has its limitations, so we recommend it’s hardwired to the mains electricity supply.
