Ring Video Doorbell Cold Weather Charging
Ring Video Doorbell Cold Weather Charging
This is a follow-up to an earlier post I made concerning the cold weather performance of the original Ring Video Doorbell. I have had the opportunity to observe the behavior of both the original Ring (i.e., the non “Pro”) and the Pro versions through several cycles of very cold (down to -30C) weather over the past two years, and I can now draw some conclusions.
Background information:
- I have both the original Ring and the Ring Pro
- The original Ring is hardwired to my mechanical chime doorbell
- The Ring Pro is hardwired to my mechanical chime doorbell
- The voltage at each doorbell is in the 19-20 VAC range (Klein CL1000 portable DVM)
Conclusions:
The Ring Pro doorbell seems unaffected by external temperature. It operates properly even through prolonged stretches (10 days or more) of -20C to -30C outdoor temperatures.
The original Ring doorbell will operate properly down to about -20C for prolonged periods, BUT the battery voltage (as a percentage of full charge) will drop to 30% or less. This is with the reduced detection radius and notification frequency I described in the previous post. Below about-20C the battery voltage drops low enough that Live View is disabled, and “critical battery” notifications pop up in the app (iOS). However the doorbell continues to function (without Live View) at -25C or lower even though the battery is reported as “critical”. As the weather warms up, the battery recovers and recharges on its own. For example the outside temperature at the moment (Feb 23, 2017) is -10C and the battery level reports at 59%. I also need to point out that Ring has made many improvements in device health reporting and power management via firmware updates, which are automatically pushed out to the device.
Given what I now know about the cold weather performance of the original Ring doorbell, I would likely opt for the Pro version (which has no cold weather issues) if I were making a purchase today. That said, I will not be replacing my original Ring with a Pro anytime soon.
Thanks for reading.
Shaun Merrigan
