Teach me about Ring doorbells

[disneysteve]

My wife has been bugging me for ages to install a Ring doorbell. We don't want it for any purpose other than to know when a delivery comes. If it sends some sort of alert when somebody comes to the door and we can see that few seconds of video, that's perfect. I don't care if it stores the video for eternity. I don't want to have to pay a monthly fee forever. We just want to know that a package was delivered. It would also be nice to be able to chase away the random person trying to sell us solar or whatever without actually opening the door.

There are models from $30 up to $150 or more. How do I decide on one?

[Fishindude77]

It's pretty much free unless you want capabilities to "record" activities at the unit.
Meaning, being able to look back and observe what was going on at any point in the past.

We've got the pretty basic package:

• Alerts when someone approaches
• You can click on phone at anytime and get a live view
• We have the ability to talk to and see someone at the front door

Like any security system, they can be a pain in the rear if you get too fancy with it.

[bjl584]

I have Blink. Basically the same concept. Free unless you want to pay $10 a month so it will record footage. You can link up to 10 camera to the central hub that is connected to WIFI.
I currently have 2 camera at home.

You receive an alert on your phone with the blink app whenever motion is detected. You can talk into the cameras via the app, as the cameras have microphones. Same as Ring, you can also do a live view on your phone.

[ua_guy]

If your existing doorbell has power to it, then you don't need to opt for one of their models that is also battery-powered. The cheapest is wired-only. All models include the camera, at least 1080p, motion detection, the doorbell, two-way audio, night vision, and the ability to view live feed from the app.

From there, you can upgrade resolution or choose a model that can be wired to ethernet. The newer (4?) model has a pre-roll feature that saves off video leading up to the motion event.

Check out the form factor and depth of the model you want to buy - they are different sizes and depths. Sometimes doorbells are in tight little spaces.