Bradly S
Published on: December 4, 2019Ring Doorbell – Is the battery life good?
Picking the right Ring Doorbell can be time-consuming, there’s quite a few in their range now. It generally considered, at the time of writing this article that the Ring Video Doorbell Pro is the best option, it’s not the most expensive but is crammed with great technology at a premium (And affordable) price.
One of the main differences between each of these model variants is the Ring doorbell battery, if applicable.
In this post, I’ll tackle the Ring, Ring 2, Ring Door View Cam, Ring Pro and Ring Elite.
Ring Doorbell Battery Review
If you go with the battery-powered Ring Doorbells, you will need to recharge the battery yourself. The charge time can vary from one device to another, as well as the method on recharging them (The Original Ring can be quite annoying).
The Ring App will try and remind you multiple times about recharging your doorbell, you can also set up emails. If this does deplete, you may need to set the doorbell back up in the app as a new device.
| Ring | Ring 2 | Ring Pro | Ring Door View | Ring Elite | |
| Battery | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Battery Life | 1 – 12 months | 6 – 12 months | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Charge Method | Remove from wall and plug into micro-USB | Unscrew and release the battery. Once recharged, simply replace it. | Hardwired Only | Hardwired Only | Hardwired Only |
| Hardwired? | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| PoE | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
This is a basic table of the differences. If you’re looking for more differences, keep an eye out for my in-depth Smart Lock / Doorbell breakdown coming soon. Let’s breakdown the Battery Life of each Ring Doorbell!
Battery Life & Details of each Ring Doorbell
Ring (First Gen)
This is the original Ring which works as a video doorbell and can be hardwired into any existing doorbell wire (Easy pickings eh!), alternatively, there is an internal battery if you don’t want to hardwire it.
Charging a Ring does require you to uninstall the entire device and plug it into the charger to recharge it (I’ll tackle how to resolve this later). Typically, you’ll find the Battery life is anywhere between 6 – 12 months per charge, depending on the amount of activity your doorbell has.
Recharging
Recharging the Ring Doorbells battery is a bit of a pain, you’ll need to take it down (So no more security! 😭) Follow these steps:
- Unscrew the two screws attaching the doorbell to the mounting bracket
- Lift the doorbell gently from the bracket (Leave the bracket there)
- Plug the Ring Doorbell into your Micro-USB cord which is located at the back (This should be a 2.1amp wall charger)
- Leave for 5-10 hours.
Battery Life
According to various users, the battery life changes from 1-2 months to 12 months. However, Ring has said that the cold weather can be a contributing factor to the battery life dropping quicker. Typically when the temperature is below 40°F
Important temperatures
Cold Weather and Battery-Powered Ring Devices
The following are key temperatures to watch out for in regards to your batteries.
3°C: The battery may not hold a charge as effectively, resulting in you having to charge the unit more frequently.
0°C: The battery may not charge at all. Even hardwired configurations may not charge the battery.
-20.5°C: The battery may stop working completely until temperatures warm up.
A common fix for preserving the battery life is reducing the motion sensitivity / specifying a motion zone. Whilst this does have its negatives such as fewer alerts, it does mean you won’t be recording as much.
This is definitely worth playing with and testing to find the perfect set up for your view.
Ring Battery FAQs
Ring 2 (Second Gen)
Whilst it’s not crucial to move from the Ring 1 to the Ring 2, it does have some benefits.
The main one in this instance is that ability to take only the battery out when recharging it, allowing you to leave the device slotted in without issue.
Typically, you’ll find the Battery life is anywhere between 6 – 12 months per charge, so it’s not really any different from the Ring 1 but this is based on the amount of activity your doorbell has.
Recharging
Recharging the Ring 2 Doorbell battery is so much easier than the first. It has a compartment you can simply drop the battery out of to charge, allowing you to leave the device in place.
- Unscrew the single screw attaching the faceplate to the doorbell.
- Push and hold the Release Tab whilst sliding the battery out of its compartment
- Plug the Battery into your Micro-USB cord which is located at the back (This should be a 2.1amp wall charger)
- Leave for 5-10 hours.
- Slide battery back in (It’ll click)
- Screw plate back on
Battery Life
According to various users, battery life changes from 1-2 months to 12 months. However, Ring has said that the cold weather can be a contributing factor to the battery life dropping quicker. Typically when the temperature is below 40°F
Important temperatures
Cold Weather and Battery-Powered Ring Devices
The following are key temperatures to watch out for in regards to your batteries.
3°C: The battery may not hold a charge as effectively, resulting in you having to charge the unit more frequently.
0°C: The battery may not charge at all. Even hardwired configurations may not charge the battery.
-20.5°C: The battery may stop working completely until temperatures warm up.
A common fix for preserving the battery life is reducing the motion sensitivity / specifying a motion zone. Whilst this does have its negatives such as fewer alerts, it does mean you won’t be recording as much.
This is definitely worth playing with and testing to find the perfect set up for your view.
Ring Battery FAQs
Ring Pro
The Ring Pro is the main device which is batteryless, it’s entirely hardwired. This is great if you’re replacing your current doorbell or simply don’t want a battery recharging.
Hardwiring the Ring Pro isn’t particularly difficult, Ring do provide you with step-by-step instructions but this may seem quite overwhelming to DIY newbies. The basics for this come down to disconnecting your current Doorbell (Make sure it’s turned off at your breaker/fuse box). Connect the cables as instructed to the Ring Pro Power Kit and then place this inside the Ring Pro device itself.
Ring Pro FAQs
Ring Door View
This one is different, it hooks straight into your door rather than being a bell on the side of it. Pretty cool concept to be honest, especially if you want to do a DIY job, just not something I would put much effort into!
It only takes batteries which is great for anyone not looking to hardwire anything, especially with a door in the way.
The battery life is anywhere between 6 – 12 months.
Ring Door View FAQs
Ring Elite
This is another device with no battery, instead, you will power this over ethernet (also known as PoE). This will power the device and connect it to the internet with less latency than a wireless connection.
Having no batteries or electrical wires means it is a pretty sleek design without a bundle of ‘hidden’ tied up cables, but this doesn’t mean it’s totally free of any issues. Personally, I find the ethernet cable to be quite chunky to be on display, so this would be something you’d want to put in the wall.
It is the most expensive Ring Doorbell and I don’t think it’s worth it, to be honest as there is no backup power (Battery) should it go down and no local storage.