Ring vs Ring 2 Doorbell: Pros & Cons and Verdict

There are hundreds of companies that promise to create functional, durable and reliable smart video doorbells. They advertise their products as top-notch devices with unique features and outstanding capabilities.

Sadly, not all those companies can be trusted since many of their smart doorbells are poorly-built devices, and so the reality doesn’t live up to the hype.

On the bright side, Ring is well-known for manufacturing functional, durable and capable smart video doorbells. Two of their notable creations are Ring Doorbell and Ring Doorbell 2. These two are among the best products on the market.

Wireless doorbells are a new trend and companies have been continually releasing enhanced smart devices that better meet the needs of a buyer.

Ring vs Ring 2 Doorbell: Pros & Cons and Verdict

In this article, we’ll compare, evaluate and rate the most important aspects of both wireless doorbells. We’ll also present detailed charts, and lastly, we’ll come up with a reasonable verdict and crown either of these two as a leading product.

Ring Video Doorbell Review

When Ring Video Doorbell was released, it was a real game-changer. A wireless doorbell seemed like a dream come true and Ring instantly gained recognition in the smart doorbell market. But let’s dig in more and find out what lies beneath.

This device has some excellent features and capabilities. It’s still a best-seller, with thousands of satisfied customers and positive reviews.

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1. Installation Process

Since both Ring and Ring 2 are wireless video doorbells, they don’t require drilling, and installing them takes a minute or two. I won’t write a step-by-step guide since Ring uploaded a fantastic video that perfectly explains how to activate your doorbell.

The video posted above describes how to complete the installation of Ring Video Doorbell. If you still have questions and don’t understand how to do it, check the user’s manual for further guidance.

2. Design

Today, it’s essential for modern smart home products to be both functional and beautifully designed. Everyone wants to shop for devices that improve the overall looks of the indoor and outdoor surroundings.

So it’s vital for Ring to be an eye-catching wireless doorbell since it plays a significant role in how well the product sells.

Visually, Ring doesn’t look like a traditional video doorbell. I’ve personally owned it and can say from experience that people love to compliment how it looks.

Besides having an eye-catching design, it’s important to know the dimensions of Ring Video Doorbell since we need to know that it’ll easily fit the mounting area. The dimensions of Ring Doorbell are 0.9 x 2.4 x 5 inches, and it weighs around 1 pound.

3. Features and Specifications of Ring Doorbell

Features of Ring Doorbell	Details
Camera	HD (720p) @ 30 fps
Field of View	180°
Night-vision	Has built-in night vision.
Audio Streaming	Two-way with noise cancellation
Motion Sensor	Smart motion detection
Dimensions	0.9 x 2.4 x 5 inches
Cloud Recording	The only doorbell to offer a cloud recording service.
Dual Powered	Use built-in rechargeable battery or existing doorbell wiring. In other words, you can use it as wireless or wired.
Weather Resistant	Yes
Easy Set-Up	Quick and easy setup – mount and sync to your Wi-Fi network in minutes
Colours Offered	4
Warranty	Lifetime. Check on Amazon for more information
Suggested Price

Ring Video Doorbell has outstanding features, and people widely consider it as one of best wireless doorbells on the market. What I love about the first-generation Ring is that it records quality images and rarely sends false alerts.

4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Ring Doorbell

We’ve created a detailed chart where all the advantages and disadvantages of the first-generation Ring Doorbell are listed.

Pros	Cons
Speak with the visitor straight from your phone	Motion Sensor Problems
Easy to use	Average Video Quality
Modern design	Low Battery Life
HD video and audio quality
Built-in night vision
Lifetime protection (if someone steals the doorbell, Ring will replace it for free)
Comes in various colours
Cloud recording

So, as seen in the chart above, the Ring doorbell has a few issues. Having an average video quality and low battery life are notable drawbacks for a wireless doorbell, which cause a lot of buyers to question the reliability of the product.

5. Motion Detection and Camera Quality

Since the first-generation Ring was the company’s first release/model, it’s not as smart as Ring Doorbell 2 and Ring Pro.

Since the Ring Doorbell isn’t that smart, it regularly sends false alerts triggered by random people or cars passing by. Ring tried hard to fix the problem and came up with an excellent solution.

They’ve introduced a feature called ‘motion zones’ that allows the owner to configure what places the wireless doorbell should focus on. Unfortunately, even by shrinking the zone to within a few feet of the front door, Ring still sent a lot of false alerts, which was quite annoying.

The built-in IR sensor eliminates the possibility of false triggers from trees and shadows since it detects body heat. Still, it wasn’t enough for the smart doorbell to work as smoothly as the next generation Ring doorbells do.

Our Ring Video Doorbell came with a Chime Pro that extends the Wi-Fi Coverage of the doorbell and also allows you to receive notifications.

Whenever you receive a notification that the smart doorbell has detected activity, you can view the feed using your phone, tablet or PC.

The live stream of Ring Doorbell was quite good. It’s not super good but the quality was moderate, and it’s enough to meet the minimum requirements of a wireless doorbell. The night-vision seemed nice, but we’ve noticed the quality loosening from time to time.

When you receive the Ring Doorbell, you’ll have access to a free 30-day cloud storage trial where you can find all the past footage recorded by the doorbell. After the first month, you’ll have to pay $3/month to save six months’ worth of videos. If you don’t want to subscribe, you’ll only have the instant alerts and a live feed feature.

Verdict on Ring Doorbell

While Ring is a beautiful wireless doorbell, it can’t compete with the newly released Ring 2 and Ring Pro. The latest models are enhanced devices with greater features and capabilities. If you currently own the first-generation Ring, you should consider upgrading to one of the more recent models.

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Ring Doorbell 2 Review

Ring Video Doorbell 2 is the newly released wireless doorbell that is garnering attention. It’s the second-generation smart doorbell that smart home shoppers have been anticipating. Ring Doorbell 2 is an advanced device that exceeds its predecessor in every aspect.

Visually, Ring 2 hasn’t changed much, but there are strong enhancements regarding functionality. To find out how Ring 2 differs from the first-generation Ring doorbell, we need to compare and evaluate their features.

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1. Installation Process

The installation process for the Ring Video Doorbell 2 is very similar to that of previous models. It can be installed as either wired or wireless, depending on your preference.

What you need to do first is connect your wireless doorbell with a smartphone. If you’re interested in the initial setup process, here’s a short guide:

• Download the Ring Application
• Click ‘Set Up a Device’
• Click ‘Ring Video Doorbell 2’
• Then choose the name of your wireless doorbell
• Verify your address and click continue
• Insert the batteries (after removing the faceplate), press the small button on the top right corner of your Ring Doorbell 2
• Connect your smartphone and Ring 2 via Wi-Fi

So that sums up the installation of Ring Video Doorbell 2. It’s a piece-of-cake process, and there’s no chance of messing up. If you somehow get confused, check the user’s manual. It’s well-written and explains everything in detail.

As a last resort, you can reach out to the support team of Ring. I’ve reached out a few times and always received professional answers and tips.

2. Design

The design of Ring Doorbell 2 has slightly changed. It’s now a bit larger, and the body kit seems to be quality made. The dimensions of Ring 2 are 2.4 x 2.4 x 5.1 inches, and it weighs 9.6 ounces.

Ring 2 is available in two colours – Satin nickel and Venetian. The cool part is that the plates are interchangeable and are included in the wireless doorbell’s package.

So you don’t need to decide which colour looks best. You can try out both and install the one you see as a better fit.

3. Features and Specifications of Ring Doorbell 2

What we need to discuss now is the features of Ring Doorbell 2. It’s important to find out how the second-generation doorbell differs from its predecessor and if there are any noticeable upgrades.

Features of Ring Doorbell 2	Details
Camera	HD (1080p)
Field of View	160-degree field of view
Night-vision	Has built-in night vision.
Audio Streaming	Two-way with noise cancellation
Motion Sensor	Smart motion detection
Dimensions	2.4 x 2.4 x 5.1 inches
Cloud Recording	Yes. 60-Day storage for $3 per month.
Dual Powered	Use built-in rechargeable battery or existing doorbell wiring. In other words, you can use it as wireless or wired.
Weather Resistant	Yes
Easy Set-Up	Quick and easy setup – mount and sync to your Wi-Fi network in minutes
Alerts	Motion-activated alerts
Warranty	Lifetime. Check on Amazon for more information
Suggested Price

Judging from the chart, Ring Video Doorbell 2 offers superior features, and it looks like a smarter wireless doorbell. Compared to the previous model, it offers more powerful and enhanced capabilities.

4. Motion Detection and Camera Quality

The motion detection system of Ring 2 is now better. The second-generation wireless doorbell sends fewer false alerts, and it’s more human movement oriented. We’ve tested the wireless doorbell with Chime Pro, which extends the Wi-Fi coverage and strengthens the signal.

While testing the wireless doorbell for more than a week, we’ve only had three cases of the doorbell sending a false alert. That’s a huge improvement since we’ve had at least one false trigger a day with the first-generation Ring.

We’ve also taken notice of how well the doorbell records and the 1080p camera of Ring Doorbell 2 is just outstanding. Compared to the first-generation model, the Ring 2 doorbell captures cleaner images. We’ve also compared the live feed with downloaded clips, and the quality hasn’t changed.

The two-way audio of Ring Doorbell 2 is enhanced. While lots of buyers reported the feature being buggy in the Ring doorbell, the company made sure that the ‘bugginess’ is no longer present in the Ring 2 doorbell.

The camera capabilities of Ring Doorbell 2 are stunning. As you can see from the live feed below, even on a rainy and cloudy day, the face of the visitor is visible. With this kind of quality, you’ll have zero trouble figuring who’s standing next to your door.

The angle is quite wide, and you don’t need to worry about not being able to control the whole front area. It’s visible from the feed above that we have zero trouble controlling the front yard.

The mobile application of Ring works smoothly, and it allows you to control the motion zones. In other words, you can set specific zones for the wireless doorbell to focus on. Additionally, there’s a scheduling feature where you can configure hours and command the Ring Doorbell 2 to send notifications only in that timeframe.

If it seems like the wireless doorbell is sending a lot of false alerts, you can adjust the sensitivity levels so that it becomes more human movement oriented. 

As for the cloud storage, the same goes for the Ring Doorbell 2. You get 30 days of free cloud storage with an option to subscribe to a paid plan. You can either pay 3$/monthly or 30$/yearly. If you don’t feel the need for the cloud storage, you’ll only have the instant alerts and a live-feed feature. 

5. Advantages and Disadvantages of Ring Doorbell

Before moving forward, it’s essential to know all the advantages and disadvantages of Ring 2 Doorbell to avoid any misunderstandings before purchasing the wireless doorbell. To find out the pros and cons of the Ring 2, we’ve created a detailed chart.

Pros	Cons
Speak with the visitor straight from your phone	Larger in size
Wireless Installation	Paid Subscription
Modern Design
Motion Zones
Built-in night vision
Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery
1080p HD Camera
Cloud Recording

Compared to its competitor, the Ring 2 Doorbell is a more capable and advanced wireless doorbell. It’s less problematic, and the majority of first-generation Ring bugs are gone.

Ring 2 Doorbell would be an even more desirable offering if it provided a free cloud storage plan.

Verdict on Ring Doorbell 2

Ring 2 is the latest doorbell released by Ring. It’s already a best-selling wireless doorbell that has caught the attention of the market. Ring Doorbell 2 exceeds the first-generation doorbell in every aspect and offers superior features and capabilities.

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Final Words On Ring Vs Ring 2 Doorbell