It never ceases to amaze my family that while I’m a pretty savvy tech writer who covers B2B enterprise software, I often need guidance when it comes to using consumer products. Some might even say I don’t know what I’m doing.
Ironic? Perhaps. In my defense, besides a Nest thermostat and a refrigerator that flags us when the door is open too long (my husband set up and controls both devices), we don’t have much of a smart home. But it’s a brave new world out there, and when I was given the opportunity to write about my experiences with a video doorbell, I jumped at it.
We used a Ring Battery Doorbell Plus for our initial dabbling, but most of the lessons learned could apply to any make or model of video doorbell, including those from ADT, Arlo, Blink, Eufy, or Vivent.
Read on for my observations as a smart-home novice after using the video doorbell for about a month.
Setup was easier than expected
Configuring the Ring doorbell to Wi-Fi and figuring out the settings turned out to be surprisingly intuitive. The only minor issue was mounting the device—Ring recommends that it be 48 inches off the ground.
Rather than remove our existing doorbell, we left it as-is because of the age of the wiring, and also because it would have been too low for the camera to pick up images.
You can get notifications galore–sometimes too many
The chime volume is pretty low, so we configured our Alexa speaker in the kitchen to notify us when someone is at the door. This gets really fun when paired with an Apple Watch, which I set up as well.
I found the video camera to be especially useful on a recent day when I was at the dentist. While sitting in the chair, I got a notification that my cleaning people were at the front door.
Since my husband works in the basement, he couldn’t hear the doorbell from his office, nor could he hear Alexa. I texted him to let them know the cleaning crew was there.
You can even configure the device to send email notifications. That felt like overkill, so I passed on the email alerts.
You’ll be surprised by what the camera picks up
While I didn’t see anything overly provocative on my Ring videos, I did spy my husband changing out the flowers in planters on both sides of our front door one day. Seeing that he put the new plants in without lowering them further into the soil, I sent him back out to fix the job. That’s a win.
What I did find disconcerting was getting a notification after going outside to get the mail. The doorbell picked up me leaving through the front door, as it should have, but it also caught on camera the weeds I pulled from a flowerbed on my way back. I did not enjoy watching myself on the camera!
One day, my next-door neighbor dropped off some veggies from her garden at the door as a “surprise,” but–spoiler alert!–the doorbell dutifully picked up on the activity and warned me ahead of time.
Another neighbor decided to have fun with us and came over with their rooster (and some eggs–yay!), hoisting Hertl up to the camera. Our feathered friend got his five minutes of fame.
More ruined surprises: I used to be able to sneak Amazon/UPS/FedEx packages into the house without my husband knowing. So much for that, as now he sees when packages arrive, too.
Our Ring doorbell caught our bug spray technician at work. Also: meet Hertl.
Our Ring doorbell caught our bug spray technician at work. Also: meet Hertl.
Esther Shein/Foundry
Our Ring doorbell caught our bug spray technician at work. Also: meet Hertl.
Esther Shein/Foundry
Esther Shein/Foundry
You can keep an eye on the neighborhood
There is a (somewhat controversial) Neighbors feature in the app that acts as sort of a neighborhood watch group, and I found myself checking it often.
We set the neighborhood area to a five-mile radius, and not long ago, someone four miles from where I live posted a video of a man running through their backyard and advised people to “be on alert and … keep doors locked.” It got 1,200 views.
My husband set up the ability to see our daughter’s neighborhood—in Washington, D.C. A few days ago, I saw that someone posted a video of a package being stolen from their porch not far from where she lives.
The app also offers “report a found pet” and “search for your lost pet” features, and as the owner of two dogs, I think that’s great. Here’s hoping I never have to use them.
A video doorbell can see further than your stoop
We configured Ring to have a wide field of view, which results in our ability to see into our neighbors’ front yards. (Editor’s note: Security cameras by Ring and others allow for “privacy zones” that will block a view of a neighbor’s property. In this case, the neighboring front yards were plainly visible from the street.)
Related: 7 hidden Ring app settings that make your smart home even better
This proved to be a double-edged sword, not because we saw anything unusual, but because our grass is mowed weekly and we received multiple notifications when the mower was moving back and forth through the front yard. Likewise, when the buy spray technician came. (It was useful to see how thorough a job he did spraying the yard, however.)
You’re going to want more cameras
Overall, I become more hyper-aware of things going on outside now that I have a better view. So if there’s any “cautionary tale” here, it’s that after having the Nest doorbell for a few weeks, I’ve discovered I’m more of a surveillance junkie than I was before—something that pleases my husband to no end.
Now, we want to install cameras over the garages on the side of the house, where packages are more frequently delivered, and in our backyard.
So when it comes to security cameras, I’ve learned you can never have enough of a good thing.
